With the passing of civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis Friday night, I am reminded to be thankful that in 1965, people like me were finally afforded the right to vote because of efforts like his to convince white male lawmakers and then president Johnson that it was the right thing to do. Think about it. Lawmakers and presidents get to determine who gets which rights, which opportunities, when they get them and who doesn’t. These lawmakers get to determine the lifelong judges who then decide the legality of their decisions. This is why elections matter. And this November is the most consequential election of my adult life.
First, this election will likely determine who gets to appoint new federal judges but likely also a Supreme Court justice. While I admire the perseverance of Justice Ginsburg, I doubt that her body can persist much longer. This week’s hospitalization for an infection and the announcement of liver cancer shook me. It would be devastating to have Trump make another nomination and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, has already announced that he would have confirmation hearings even though it is much closer to an election than when Obama nominated Merrick Garland and he blocked confirmation hearings. McConnell is precisely the reason we also need to flip the senate this November.
Imagine if we had a democratic president, House of Representatives, and Senate? We could move this country forward in terms of getting this pandemic under control, improving access to healthcare, protecting the environment, infrastructure, and passing reasonable gun control laws. We could finally protect Dreamers and pass comprehensive immigration reform and criminal justice reforms. These are all the issues the current Republican senate has blocked our country from making any progress on. Instead they have simply confirmed lifetime judges and protected a president whom they know is corrupt and a clear and present danger to our country.
Republican senators have shown themselves to be complicit cowards who care more about preserving their political lives than improving the actual lives of the American people. With that preservation in mind, they are working with Trump and wealthy plutocrats to suppress the vote in their home states enough to be re-elected. They don’t want people of color, college students, and ex-cons to vote. They suppress these votes by starting lawsuits to severely limit access to mail-in ballots, requiring unreasonable voter ID, providing fewer polling places to vote in poorer districts to discourage voters by creating excessively long lines, and now prohibiting ex-cons from voting if they owe any legal fees. Their strategy is happening in plain sight and it should be evident to all of us that if someone has to prevent you from voting to be elected, they don’t represent you or your best interests.
The Republican lawmakers do not deserve re-election. They are complicit in the overturning of the rule of law, limiting our democracy, and even the lack of common sense when it comes to controlling this pandemic. Again, I think they see a perverse benefit in allowing the elderly and people of color die of COVID-19. Remember that these groups have a much higher mortality rate than the general public? These senators are fearful of the vocal bully in the White House who has managed to take over a few media outlets that conservatives watch and listen to. How is it that they are not savvy enough to join forces to oust the bully from their midst? Because of their willingness to protect a failed president, to suppress the right to vote, and to even endanger lives, they do not deserve our votes. And we must vote against them! We must support the candidates running against them with our money, our voices, and our votes.
Elections definitely have consequences, and this November we must all vote. If we excise our civic duty, we can rid our nation of this dangerous president and flip the senate. We can improve our nation. We need to vote like our lives depends on it. Because they actually do.
Eloquence. In red state Arizona, my primary mail-in ballot is ready to go. My biggest concern is election security – from domestic as well as outside US influence. My biggest disappointment is a spineless GOP, unwilling to fight for country, for fairness, for military security, etc., out of fear of 45. Pay attention to down ballot, there is strength in change. John Lewis gave all of us a solid & positive reason to vote. His strength, sense of fairness, wisdom & vision will be missed. This truly is the most important vote I will ever cast in my lifetime.