VOTE

Tomorrow is a big day for our country.  Every two years it seems like people are saying "this is the biggest election ever;" and this is a year that I wish I could say, "this election isn't as important as elections past."  But I don't think that I can say that, because I'm not sure that would be right.

Take the "tea party," for example.  This is one of the most ginned-up phenomenons I've seen in my lifetime.  The "tea party" is a well-financed grasstops (as opposed to grassroots) cadre of organizations run by people whose primary motivator is cutting taxes for the wealthy and eliminating the social safety net (in other words, the economic self-interests of the few people financing the "tea party").  Contrast statements by "tea party" candidates Sharron Angle (AK) and Joe Miller (AK) who want to gut Social Security and Medicare with all the health care town hall protesters who simultaneously lamented "government-run healthcare" while vigorously defending their own medicare.  In a genuinely grassroots operation, the message being spoken by the people at the "bottom" of the organization is the message of the organization, by definition.  In the case of the "tea party," the message from people at the "bottom" is the opposite of those at the top.

Take social issues.  This election is particularly notable for the level of vitriol being spoken by people who claim to have god on their side.  A candidate for Congress compared LGBT people to alcoholics and another candidate defended his choice to dress up as an SS guard (i.e. Hitler's army), and both of these men continue to have the support of the GOP leadership.  Nearly all the "tea party" candidates for Senate oppose a woman's right to choose, even in the case of incest or rape, which is such an extreme anti-choice position that very few elected officials have been willing to venture that far outside the mainstream until now.

Take anything you care about.  Access to college?  The wealth gap?  Don't Ask, Don't Tell?  A woman's right to choose?  Tax fairness?  You name it.... it appears to be on the line this election with a cohort of some of the most extreme candidates for office we've ever seen.

I am sad, because it appears that Democrats will handily lose the House tomorrow, which will mean that one of the most outspoken and powerful advocates for equality and fairness - Nancy Pelosi - will lose her ability to keep moving the national needle toward equality.  That needle will be left with Barack Obama who, quite frankly, has been disappointing in his willingness to buy into the GOP narrative.  I am sad, because it appears that people like Pat Toomey, Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio will dominate DC for at least the next two years, with their primary intent being to undermine this President (even as the President doesn't seem to fully get that this is in fact their primary intent).  I am sad, because Democrats had a unique opportunity to create a sea-change in our national narrative since 2008, and instead they punched a couple times and then crawled back into their collective shells, surrendering to the GOP months before their time was up, and basically handing over the keys to the Capitol without a real fight.

I hope I'm wrong about what appears to be the certain outcome of tomorrow's election.  I sure would like to be.  And one way you can change that is to get out and vote.  There's so much at stake, and it is through our vigilance and commitment to sticking with it, even (and especially) when times are tough, that we shift the narrative and the direction of our country toward increased fairness and equality for all.

Vote.