Hart Notes
The Election
I haven’t changed my politics, but haven’t written much about being a yellow dog Democrat this year. It’s a job to keep up with politics, and I haven’t worked as hard as in previous years.
I just want to remind those people who voted for Greg Abbott, that he sued the federal government, according to Google earlier this year, 31 times. Now, that’s working together, right!
Some folks voted against Wendy Davis because of abortion. She bravely revealed she has had two abortions, one because of an ectopic pregnancy and the other because the infant would have lived in a vegetative state. A fertilized egg can’t survive an ectopic pregnancy, and letting it continue can do harm to the mother. I can’t imagine anybody thinking what Wendy did was wrong. It’s just common sense.
What I don’t understand is how people get so riled about abortion, which has been legal since 1973, but run from stances that could prevent abortions? Even if Roe v Wade is overturned, abortions will happen. It’s like prohibition. I personally think booze should be banned in most cases because of the many problems it causes. But, people kept on getting bootleg booze and some died drinking the homemade stuff. So prohibition didn’t work well.
Why not keep women’s right to choose in place, and do something about preventing abortions. I read the following from the Progress Texas website: “If you want to prevent abortions, you make sure everyone has health care, a high school educate, and birth control. Not the exact opposite.”
Why not sell birth control pills over the counter? It would decrease the number of abortions. Hey, we sell tobacco and booze over the counter.
But, it’s much easier to rail against Wendy Davis and those of us who are Pro Choice, instead of railing against the politicians, mostly Republican, who want more private schools, and want to ban Obamacare. Why would so many in the GOP, who call themselves Christians, be against Obamacare?
Many of the meager one-third of the populace who bothered to vote on Nov. 4 live in states where the uninsured rate has plummeted, and still voted in Republican candidates who oppose the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).
I read a comment from a poor Kentucky woman, who works as an eBay warehouse packer, and said she was grateful for her new Medicaid coverage (Kentucky has its own health insurance exchange, said she was born and raised Republican and, “I ain’t planning on changing now.” Now, I ask you, is that voting against your own pocketbook, as so many blue collar folks do?
I agree with Gail Collins of the New York Times who said the most depressing result for her was Sam Brownback’s being re-elected governor in Kansas, after he wrecked the state’s economy. What is the name for a Republican who votes like a yellow dog Democrat. I think, in most instances, voting for a political party, is the best case because you are voting for policy. There are times, however, when a candidate is so bad, that either one should vote for the other candidate of another party, or don’t vote for the bad candidate.
The Democrats who were running, for the most part, did a pitiful job of campaigning, running from President Obama. Mention how important Obamacare is, how we aren’t in a Great Depression now, how jobs have increased, and on and on. Running from POTUS didn’t help in most instances.
This young Democratic woman from Kentucky who ran against Mitch McConnell (ugh) didn’t have the gumption to say she had voted for President Obama. Puhleez!
For the many people in Texas who didn’t bother to vote for people who want an increase in minimum wage, you should be ashamed. Why not vote for people who want to create good jobs and improve the nation’s roads and bridges, expand quality pre-K programs.
And for Wisconsin to re-elect Scott Walker. Wow! The GOP has done a good job of making it impossible to organize unions in the private sector. We all know every public organization (and private for that matter in many cases) has opportunities for abuse, and unions are no exceptions. But, without unions, there would not have been the former great Middle Class. I can assure you that owners and managers aren’t often big on being pro labor. Remember the movie Norma Rae in which Sally Field won an Academy Award for portraying a real life minimum wage textile worker, Crystal Sutton, who worked to unionize the textile factories.
Too many middle class folks and blue collar folks put people in power who are not their friends, economically. It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it?
Maybe it wasn’t smart to run against the Koch Brothers, because many folks don’t care about them. Harry Reid tried that; by the way, Harry, for now is the majority leader of the Senate. These powerfully rich brothers are against Medicare and Social Security. Really, do you want their funding your candidates?
It’s hard to appeal to poor white and poor minority candidates at the same time. Collins writes that she doesn’t think Republicans are meeting uneducated white voters’ needed (who overwhelmingly voted GOP), but are appealing to their fear of change. Amen to that!
The Republicans’ base wants to think they hate government, but many of them benefit greatly from government programs. Would someone rational explain that to me? It’s been going on way too long.
And, for those Hispanic Democrats who voted, thank you. But, far too many don’t bother to vote, which is essentially harming you.
By the way, if you don’t want to vote elect electronically, which is the only way you can vote in Castro County, call the County Clerk’s office and request to be mailed a ballot for every election in 2015. That way, you don’t have to bother with the machines. I think these machines have kept some voters from voting.
Rachel, my daughter who lives in Grapevine, said that paper ballots are still used there. I guess there aren’t enough machines, and since there are more people who live there than in Hart, it’s easier for many to vote by paper. Sounds good to me.