I happened to watch “Becoming” last night, and wow.
It made me feel like I did when the Obamas ran things, and I remembered why I loved the whole darn family so much.
If l list all the reasons here, I’ll need a lot more room.
But I think most of us understand their inherent kindness, extraordinary character, fierce commitment to each other— and to a fair shake for all of us.
They made me feel good. Not because I’m white. They had me cheering for everyone!
DT makes people feel good too, I get it. But only white folks who fear people of color will take something away from them. They only cheer for people like them.
But there’s many more of us than there are of them!
So how did we get to this 180?
I believe it started in the midterm elections during Obama’s 2 terms.
The losses in Congress crippled his ability to really change things, which led to the catastrophe in 2016.
Why couldn’t we keep the Obama momentum going?
Plenty of us got him elected against all odds. Why didn’t we support him all the way through?
- Maybe we expected too much from him.
- Maybe we thought he could do it all in a couple of years and were disappointed.
- Maybe enough people didn’t vote.
I think it’s #3, but #1 and #2 factored in too.
In those low-turnout midterms, candidates whose sole purpose was to undermine Obama got elected. They were pretty successful at slowing him down.
We let that happen. Obama needed support in Congress and he didn’t get it. Then many complained he got “nothing done.”
Of course, that’s untrue. He led us out of a recession into prosperity, brought health care to millions, took action on the environment, curbed corporate abuses and so much more. And he made me feel secure. He was headed in the right direction.
Michelle became the standard-bearer for better health and worked her tail off to make it happen. It’s worth a mention that she worked for $0 like all First Ladies do.
Then, in 2016, instead of electing a candidate who would continue what he started, juuuuust enough people stayed home on election day. Now, look where we are.
Here’s why every vote matters:
Look at the %age of eligible voters who voted in the last 6 elections:
2008: 58.2%, Obama elected, a new record
2010: 40.1%, Obama midterm, loses the House
2012: 54.9%, Obama reelected, keeps the Senate
2014: 36.7%, Obama midterm, loses the Senate
2016: 55.7%, DT elected, keeps the Senate and House
2018: 50.0%, DT midterm, loses the House
http://www.electproject.org/2010g
In the 2 midterms when 20% fewer people voted, the GOP took power. We democrats finally woke up in 2018, showed up, and took back the House.
So why do we keep dreaming about a better, fairer future and not vote for it in every election like our lives depend on it? Because guess what, it does!
We need to vote consistently, here’s why:
- Working people, minorities and young people together make up the vast majority of voters.
- When these groups get their asses to the polls, we head in the right direction—forward.
We are in the majority!
But so many stayed home in the Obama midterms, almost 20%.
In the 2016 presidential election, about 2-3% fewer people voted than in 2008. Incredibly, many voters left their checkbox for president blank.
The election margin was only 1% apart. Do the math.
Were we tired of voting, complacent or just lazy? Or did we just give up on government?
I don’t know, but I guess we’ll have to put our dreams of a fair shake aside for now.
For my part, I am going to do everything I can to get voters to the polls, support Democratic candidates for Senate and enroll everyone I know to help. Of course, I will support the Democratic presidential nominee.
Read more about how political branding can win or lose an election here
A note about your vote, in case you think it doesn’t matter…
Even in 2008, a record year, less than 60% of eligible voters went to the polls.
40% left their voice at home.
This is baffling but surprisingly typical.
In 2008, the unprecedented diversity of the electorate was driven by increases both in the number and the turnout rates of minority eligible voters.
In 2016, DT won the electoral college by a razor-thin margin.
Note that 2-3% fewer people voted than in 2008. This made the difference.
He took:
- Michigan by just 10,704 votes out of about 5 MILLION
- Pennsylvania by 44,292 out of about 6 million
- Wisconsin by 22,748 out of about 3 million
So out of 9 MILLION votes, he won those 3 states by just 89,789, 2-3%. Unbelievably, in Michigan, around 160,000 people voted, but not for president. Go figure.
Read this article for even more detail and brilliant analytics:
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-a-difference-2-percentage-points-makes/
With those 46 electoral votes, Hillary would have won.
Of course, Hillary did win by 2,868,519 votes.
Think about it.
Who runs the White House matters. Those tight Senate races matter. State Senate races matter.
YOU matter.
Never stop dreaming of a better, fairer world and VOTE for it every time you can.
And never take your vote for granted.
I’m a baby boomer and lifelong leftie. I design stuff for a living at network9.biz.
I love daily Kos and am grateful for the humor and devotion of this website. It lifts me up.