Tag Archive: “vote”

As I wrote back in 2016, I believe the Constitution requires a president to nominate (not just for SCOTUS, but for all appointed positions) within some period of time. Congress should designate that period, but 90 days seems appropriate barring statutory guidance. Donald John Trump has repeatedly failed to fill positions in our government, or to fill them through the constitutionally-required process.

But this one he will not fail to fill. And the Senate, by the same shared shall in the Constitution, is required to offer its say on any nominee. They, again after some reasonable time, have a duty that they failed to undertake, that they were derelict and contumacious in failing to perform, to vote up or down any nominee for any appointed office. As such, I believe that calls to not hold a vote, or to obstruct, are misguided.

The call should be to vote down any nominee until the results of the election are known, and if there be a change in officeholders, whether in the Senate or the Presidency, then the new members should bout it out to finality and confirmation of whoever is fit to fill the seat.

I make that call: vote down whomever Donald John Trump nominates, until such time as we know what the people say.

More generally, the bulk of Republican leaders, certainly nationally, and in some states, seem to not care what the people say. They work to suppress the vote. They work to hide the truth. They put themselves forth as foes of the right and good, as degenerates. And so, we may have a six–three court, a Republican-packed court. For a time, anyway.

And women’s rights may suffer. And minority rights, voting rights, the rights of those suffering in the penal systems, speech rights, human rights… God knows. And those of us who do not support the lowest star shall do what? Route around the damage. Vote with our wallets, our feet, our raised cries against it. And vote with our ballots.

The cooling saucer has become an icebox, with no COVID bill of any worth. The icebox will not renew the Voting Rights Act. They will not act on any matter of justice, and instead priority for them is to place a padlock on the Judiciary, their last, best hope to maintain power and supremacy over a people who deserve better.

But Americans have long fought off masterdom by anyone. In time, Americans have bested every tyrant before it. And so we, the people, will fight off these latest mutants to claim mastery of our lands and of our people. Of that I have no doubt.

The matter at hand is not if, but as always when? And right now, you can help make that when be very soon, by registering, and by voting.

Do it for Justice Ginsburg. Do it for the dead. Do it for your mothers, your sisters, your daughters, your gal-pals, your female manager, coworker, customer. But also do it for your homeboys, fathers, brothers, sons. The government runs on elections, it is the fuel of that engine. Every citizen who votes fills up that tank so it can run better.

When you vote, you will be given a sticker. It’s a piece of paper with adhesive on one side and decorations on the other. You put the sticky side on your clothes. Also, you get to weigh in on who does what in the government. It’s fun! Will you elect a dog as dog catcher? A cat? A fox to guard the henhouse?! It’s up to you! Choose wisely!

Predictions for the Midterms

There is a lot of misery from the muralists’ failure to make any attempt to govern in an inclusive way. Trump stomps on the values of America on the regular. The Republicans sit at the table counting their money. They pause on occasion to look over at what the president is doing to the country but don’t do anything about it.

That is not a healthy dynamic. Everybody knows it, including the elected Republicans who keep following along, wayward elephants who think Trump’s their mother. They don’t want the music to stop. Keep dancing, Trump says, and nobody (who’s a Republican politician) gets hurt.

But the voters know. Even the Trump supporters know. They think it’s all a game. They think Jesus is coming soon to put them in the goat pile and that it’s too late to fix climate change or the crumbling bridges. But the rest of us, who plan to be alive through and after Day Zero, want good governance.

In the House things look good for the Democrats. They currently hold 193 seats (two vacancies) to the Republican party’s 235 (five vacancies). The magic number is 218, so they need 23 seats.

FiveThirtyEight: “2018 House Forecast” gives them a chance in the mid-80s of winning control, but where within that range they’ll fall is harder. The median and average are both short of a direct reversal of the numbers (a 40-seat swing), and in recent history the largest the Democrats gained was 2006 with 31 seats (in 2010 the Republicans had a 63 seat pickup).

Signs point to turnout exceeding 2006 and 2010, so I’m predicting the Democrats beat their numbers but fall short of the Republican record: 42 seats putting it 237 to the Republican party’s 198.

In the Senate, as anybody who’s looked knows, the Democrats have a rocky path. I will be very surprised if they can make the climb, but it could happen if there are enough draw races (like the gubernatorial election in Florida and some of the House races, particularly in red districts that might have gone uncontested in other years). Democrats should learn that contesting races (with reasonable candidates) always helps: if it gets just a few more people to get an “I voted” sticker, that can turn the tide for other races.

I predict a 50-50 Senate (net gain of one seat for the Democrats) with a very busy Vice President Pence (Mother will be pissed).

We should all have the luxury to vote by mail, but for those of us who don’t, it’s to the polls on 6 November 2018. Even if we don’t have vote-by-mail, we should vote as though we are post carriers:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Because that’s what voting is: it’s sending a message, a signal, to our nation’s capital. And boy do we all have a message to deliver in 2018. We want America to be what e’s meant to be. Smart and ready for the rest of this century and the centuries to come. Self-improving steady and dependable. Welcoming and helping eir neighbors and strangers alike.

We do not want America back, as though we could own it. We want to share America again. To share it here at home, and to share the values of America with the world. We must be rid of the feeling this nation is held captive by those who want to possess and decide without hearing the thing out. They do not own America, and any who seeks to conquer her, internal or external, by force or by deception, will hear us all tell them exactly where they can stick that notion.

The midterm election is on Tuesday, 6 November 2018.

(The 2020 election is in about 104 weeks. hehe)

Tag: vote

Justice Ginsburg’s Vacant Seat

The 2018 Midterm Election is Tuesday: ⓋⓄⓉⒺ✔

Predictions for the Midterms