Needing To Do Something
Paulie Brading
Candidates are fired up! Their roadshows speed over the mountain passes to Bend, Klamath Falls, the coast and up and down I5. They sense more determination from their supporters in each town and city visit. The common thread among those standing in the crowds were summed up by a woman who attended her first political event at the Jackson County Democratic Headquarters in Medford last night. She came to hear John Kroger announce his run for Attorney General. She said, "My denial about where our state and country is headed had turned to sadness and then I got to the point I needed to do something." She had decided she could no longer let herself off the hook by feeling disempowered. "I've got the feeling of optimism about the future and I'm ready to go to work," she continued.
Civic apathy is real. Over 50 million Americans don't even bother to vote. Generating dialogue on BlueOregon is a place to begin for some of us. Eventually, many of us figure out that bashing, snarking, nitpicking, misinformed statements isn't very satisfying, count me as one who transformed from years of serving as a blog moderator on a national site to go to work actively to help build a strong organization to elect Democrats.
As one of those outside-the-box of party politics for many years, preferring to invest in individual candidate's campaigns, Kari noticed my transition because he actually reads and follows individual commenter's as we evolve. His encouragement has been key in going forward. Drawing gasps from friends, the decision to work within the party system was done. Now, knowlegeable about what it REALLY takes to elect a candidate or pass a measure I am fascinated by many, like the woman at the Jackson County Headquarters last night, who finally walk through the doors to go to work. Getting to the point of needing to do something is just the beginning. People from all walks of life, ages, races, belief systems, rural, urban, suburban, loggers and actors work side-by-side determined to reverse the damage of the Republican's Iraq War debacle, disinformation and erosion of our civil rights.
"As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is such twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. Justice William O. Douglas
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Sep 21, '07
"Over 50 million Americans don't even bother to vote."
Why bother when Activist Judges or Democrat Politicians figure out how to over rule their Vote anyhow? i.e M-37-Property rights, Gay Marriage, Hazelton PA.-No Jobs to Illegall aliens, ACLU defending N.A.M.B.L.A. (Child Molesters), Proof of Citizenship to Vote, Licenses to Illegals, Sudsidized Housing to Illegal Aliens, NOT Americans(Hooley this week), English Immersion bills, "Free" Health Insurance to Illegal Aliens=M-50, one Socialist program after another after another, because Democrats/Government knows better than you, how to spend your money & raise your Child.
I know many Russians, Ukrainians & some Cubans & a couple of immigrants from China, who came to America to get away from Communism and Gov't knows better baloney, they will never Vote Democrat or Vote for Republicans that are "moving to the center".
11:51 a.m.
Sep 21, '07
Well Rick, if you really feel that way, you certainly have the right not to vote. In fact, given your overwhelming lack of both intelligence and morality, I'd say that you're doing our Founding Fathers a service by not voting.
As for everybody else, don't just vote, Get on the Bus! Join your local Party!! Canvass, canvass, canvass!!!
Sep 21, '07
Hey Rick - It would probably be beneficial to your cause if you closed your mouth. Every post I read of yours, either on here or on another blog, is complete nonsense intermingled with mistruths, halftruths, and utter hatred. People like yourself have pushed the Republican party so far to the right that they could be considered a fringe group. Two-double-o-six was just the start.
Paulie - I completely agree with you. Voter apathy may be a bigger risk to our country than people like Dick Hickey and Chimpy McVader. Great Read.
Sep 21, '07
great story, inspiring. thanks!
6:53 p.m.
Sep 21, '07
I don't like to feed the trolls, but I thought I would clarify part of what Rick said, since he chose to bring up such old news in a disingenuous way.
ACLU Statement on Defending Free Speech of Unpopular Organizations (8/31/2000)
NEW YORK--In the United States Supreme Court over the past few years, the American Civil Liberties Union has taken the side of a fundamentalist Christian church, a Santerian church, and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In celebrated cases, the ACLU has stood up for everyone from Oliver North to the National Socialist Party. In spite of all that, the ACLU has never advocated Christianity, ritual animal sacrifice, trading arms for hostages or genocide. In representing NAMBLA today, our Massachusetts affiliate does not advocate sexual relationships between adults and children.
What the ACLU does advocate is robust freedom of speech for everyone. The lawsuit involved here, were it to succeed, would strike at the heart of freedom of speech. The case is based on a shocking murder. But the lawsuit says the crime is the responsibility not of those who committed the murder, but of someone who posted vile material on the Internet. The principle is as simple as it is central to true freedom of speech: those who do wrong are responsible for what they do; those who speak about it are not.
It is easy to defend freedom of speech when the message is something many people find at least reasonable. But the defense of freedom of speech is most critical when the message is one most people find repulsive. That was true when the Nazis marched in Skokie. It remains true today.
Sep 21, '07
Paulie,
I applaud your involvement in party politics. Unfortunately, party politics has the potential to chew people up and spit them out over time, and so needs to be constantly replenished.
Now there is the added problem (not new to the 21st century, just more obvious) of "why join a party?". A friend came to visit in a previous decade and said his wife was working for the State Chair in the state where they lived. It came as a surprise to him (more so than to me when he told me) that one time he and his wife were out with her boss and he brought up the question "Why do we need parties?".
As someone with 3 decades of volunteer experience, someone who spent considerable time at state and district central comm. meetings as well as local meetings, committee meetings, working on the revision of delegate selection rules and putting together the 1988 delegate selection convention for our congressional district, I applaud all those who work on party building.
Paulie said "Now, knowlegeable about what it REALLY takes to elect a candidate or pass a measure I am fascinated by many, like the woman at the Jackson County Headquarters last night, who finally walk through the doors to go to work. "
The presidential campaign I worked on in a previous decade was like that. The main reason I was chosen to chair the volunteer effort for the local campaign was that when the organizing meeting broke into diff. committees (fundraising over by the window, volunteer committee by the door, etc.), I looked around and realized I had never seen anyone there before, and when I asked about their previous political experience, they didn't have any experience. Yet, we won that primary although we got a late start.
I applaud all who work in such efforts. It is also important to realize, though, that there are those of us on the other end of the process who met our goals, got burned out by the process, had life changes, got tired of being told "but a REAL Democrat believes", all of the above, or just finally chose to spend our spare time elsewhere. In my case, I am glad to lend my expertise whenever there is a cause I believe in, but often would rather just work one on one with young people who know nothing about the process, or talking to my non-poltiical friends and giving them some insight.
6:24 a.m.
Sep 22, '07
I would only add to Glen HD28's remarks above that right now the ACLU is taking up the cause of Senator Larry Craig, and attacking the validity of his arrest due to the circumstances under which he was arrested. Truly, the ACLU's only ideology is adherence to the Constitution, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude no matter how much some of their clients may squick us out from time to time.
Sep 22, '07