“Oh no. No, no, no,” I thought after Bernie Sanders had a heart attack two weeks ago. “If he doesn’t run, I won’t vote.”
I have felt increasingly ambivalent about the power of my vote. That is to say, I feel powerless. I elected precisely two politicians in the last election. The state has gone red, and my vote no longer counts.
I supported Bernie in the last presidential election, and he is still at the top of the pack, as far as I’m concerned. I agree with his socialist policies: the Green New Deal, Medicare for all, free college tuition, eliminating college debt and medical debts, and banning advertising during presidential debates.
The other candidates have made little impression on me. I can’t see jumping out of bed and running to the polls to vote for liberals with spotty voting records. And then there’s the image thing. I think Elizabeth Warren’s PR people made a huge mistake in squandering several thousand dollars on a Facebook ad, in which they posted fake news, in order to show how easily misinformation can be promulgated. Wouldn’t it have been more effective to cancel her Facebook page in protest? It’s not just the fake news problem, it’s the sad fact that people have been seduced to post all their private information at Facebook.
Okay, every candidate has “borrowed” Bernie’s policies for his or her platform, so everyone is all right, right? But the media are pushing only three of them: Biden, Warren, and Bernie. No one else has been able to climb up from the middle or the bottom of the pack. And that seems improbable.
I will vote next year, whether I like it or not. The world is a mess. I no longer have the option of not voting. One votes in case it counts.
And I’m relieved Bernie is back: he will participate in the debate on Tuesday. (Check his voting record: he does what he says.)
Go, Bernie!
I’m with you and Bernie, but my feeling is this heart attack will be used against him effectively and he will again be sidelined. He is our best hope ….
I’m sure they ARE using it against him. He is well-liked, though. We’ll have to see. Some people never took down their Bernie signs from 2016!
I’m with Bernie.
Yay! 🙂
Not a Bernie fan. There is no way in hell that this country will elect a New York Jew. But I’ll vote for the blue candidate even if I have to hold my nose. I can’t deal with all this shit anymore. My anxiety is at an all time high. Thank goodness for books.
It certainly is a circus! I try to avoid reading political news. Let’s move up the election and get it over already.
Well that sounds inclusive.
I do think Obama broke the racial and ethnicity barrier, so am crossing my fingers that we don’t have to worry about that factor anymore!
On Mon, Oct 14, 2019 at 9:20 AM Thornfield Hall: A Book Blog wrote:
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I’d love to believe that you’re right, Kat. Let’s just hope we get him out one way or another.
It’s nerve-wracking!
I’m with anyone different than what we have now.
Yes, that’s the way we must go.
Of course voting matters! I’ve never managed to understand the American system, but historically, here in the UK people campaigned for universal suffrage and a secret ballot. You may not like the outcome of an election, but that is the way democracy works, and only by taking part in the process do you have any chance to make a difference.
One does one’s best! Not voting can be a kind of protest. I am dismayed to say voting has made little or no difference lately both in federal and state government. And I have certainly done my duty by voting.
So Clinton won by almost 3 million votes and because of our antiquated system look what happened. By the way Kat, Sanders had a huge turnout here yesterday.
Yes, we’ve seen some stinking elections.
Yay, Bernie!