General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCan we have an honest discussion about power for a minute?
First off let's take a minute to relish in the fact that Joseph R. Biden is going to be our next president. I mean this was a hard fought battle and the victor should be celebrated. Now let's get to the sobering reality that power could be taken away from us at any moment. Let's think about how Donald Trump won in 2016.
You know why he won? It's because conservatives got their people out there. They will run for any damn position in government no matter what it is, because they use it as a stepping stone to greater power. We do the same thing. Both parties do it. But the reason why red states are red and stay that way is because conservatives get their people out there.
I mean come on Tommy Tuberville? The guy is such a dumb fuck that he failed a basic question they teach you in the 4th grade history, and he's going to be a fucking senator. But he got there because he's surrounded by people who think just like he does. But conservatives start at the local level and run in positions that people don't give a flying crap about. They don't care if it's city comptroller or the water board or the fire department. They run and win. And they hold onto their power because they are surrounded by people who think just like they do. Alabama? They have plenty of conservative judges, sheriffs and mayors who influence their districts. And they endorse people like Tuberville no matter how incompetent they are.
Let's talk about the school board for a minute. Most of my conservative friends talk about the local school board being "broken" because they teach scary things like what's going on in the world. The reason why they think it's "broken" is because a teacher wore - wait for it - a "vagina hat" (their words) when discussing the women's march in the classroom. And even though they don't have children in this district, they still run people. What's really scary is that the qualified candidate in my city lost to a retired police officer who has never spent a day in a classroom, and has adult children who have most likely long graduated. And - here's the kicker - there were qualified educators who were on the ticket who didn't win. And the person who did win will use it as a stepping stone to run for higher offices. That's what conservatives do - they stomp on the little guy to get the big prizes.
My county is Orange County, California. In 2018 we flipped all 6 districts in Orange County. This year? We lost three of them. Two of them to religious conservative business people - one of which happens to be my own district. And you know what happens when you try to run the government like a business, that's how we got this clusterfuck of an administration. And that's why I keep saying that power begats power. We can't win at the national level if we don't start with the local ones.
And think about judges. Amy Coney Barrett only served as a judge three years before being appointed to replace RGB on the Supreme Court! And the reason Barrett got into that position is because conservatives run for everything. And there's people who don't vote on or care about local politics. But just like knowing who's president, you got to know who is representing you at every single level. Know who your local sheriff, mayor, judges, and city council are. Know who's on your school board and hell even the water district.
One of my favorite bands is Gogol Bordello, and in 2005 they had a song called "Think Locally, Fuck Globally". And we need to do that. We need to start thinking about the smaller picture and not necessarily the bigger one. Sure you won't change the mind of your creepy uncle who sits in his basement and listen to Infowars all day and thinks the globalists are out to get him. But we can start changing the city and cities around him.
We won 2020. But we have two Senate runoff elections and the 2022 midterms to come. Let's make sure that Biden hangs onto his power. Vote at every single level and do your research on the candidates. This is how you "drain the swamp" - something Trump failed to do.
tblue37
(65,305 posts)chowder66
(9,066 posts)Lars39
(26,109 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)dalton99a
(81,442 posts)JudyM
(29,225 posts)okaawhatever
(9,461 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)I'm kinda disappointed
Initech
(100,062 posts)BlueNProud
(1,048 posts)if they can't put the niceties aside and be bare knuckled brawlers then there's no hope. GOP are playing by different rules and if we don't follow suit this election will ultimately just be a brief respite from the fascism to come.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Buckeye_Democrat
(14,853 posts)I don't have the personality to do it myself, but I often shake my head over the unopposed Republicans in my area. There's not ANY Democrat who can run against them? We can't get anyone, even if they have almost no cash?
I'll just keep voting all-Democratic in the meantime.
Initech
(100,062 posts)Because he has a law degree and currently works for the county government. But his county is Tulare, and that's unfortunately Devin Nunes territory. There's some serious hardcore right wingers and Trump fans there.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,853 posts)Sad.
My county is purple (Biden/Harris winning this time), so the unopposed Republicans here is more of a head-scratcher for me.