I know that you will likely never read this, but I have a few questions for you.
Why I Am Writing This Letter
I was inspired to write this letter in large part because of your words about voting since 2016, namely the comments you made in October of this year. For instance, I watched the video you made for ATTN: in which you shot down 7 mostly-valid reasons for people choosing not to vote.
Josh Fox also inspired me to write this letter. Shortly after he saw your ATTN: video, he asked you a question about your tenure as president:
YES. PLEASE. VOTE FOR PROGRESSIVES!! but what are @BarackObama’s 7 excuses for 1)not ending wars 2)not banning fracking 3)bailing out big banks 4)not supporting Medicare for all 5)not reforming prisons 6)not supporting marijuana legalization 7)not ending fossil fuel subsidies? https://t.co/cbF41y8Ttj
This gave me an idea. I also wanted to ask you a series of questions, but indirectly, and I wanted to stay on topic and talk about the electoral process. However, I realized that would require a series of tweets and I had far more to say, hence this letter.
Unfortunately, former President Barack Obama has engaged in some voter-shaming. That’s why I felt compelled to say that I disagree with his line of attack. I also want to point out that voter-shaming absolves the powerful.
I believe that voter-shaming is a futile exercise and you cannot change my mind.
The 2018 midterms are largely over, but not all races have been decided yet. For example, there is at a runoff in Mississippi today for the last undecided U.S. Senate seat. In the meantime, I’m making a few extra posts this year about voting and this is the second.
If you’ve been following this blog for over a year or looked through my archives, you may have read the posts I made about the general disdain Americans Democrats have for non-voters and third-party voters. In general, Democrats usually blame non-voters and third-party voters for their losses because it is assumed that people from both groups would otherwise for Democrats. Third parties are mocked as being spoilers, jokers, and dreamers. Non-voters are also told that they have no right to complain if they don’t vote.
As I’ve said before, I generally disagree with these assessments, although something must be said about first-past-the-post voting. In such a system, it would behoove one party (usually the Democrats) to only have two choices on the ballot. However, I believe that people should be able to vote the way they want without being guilted.
That said, this post is generally pointed at things said by some people aligned with Democrats (at least in this election, for one person): former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Farron Cousins. The former president supported a plethora of Democrats running in this year’s midterms. Oprah once supported the former (in 2008) and Stacey Abrams (this year). Cousins prefers Democrats, but he went off the handle (again) and went after other lefties because of two results in his state (Florida).
Sen. Jeff Flake (pictured at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Annual Legislative Luncheon in Phoenix, AZ in 2014), announced his retirement on Tuesday, October 24, 2017. Picture by Gage Skidmore via Flickr. Some rights reserved.
This afternoon, I caught the tail end of a news report concerning the pending departures of two Republican Senators, Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. The news comes days after George W. Bush made statements that were understood to be against President Donald Trump. After the news segment, I knew I had to blog about my reaction to these Republicans’ reactions.
Currently, I am looking at the problems within the Democratic Party. But I would also like to look at the problems of the other major party in American politics. These developments provided a prime opportunity.
What do I have to say? There are three things, actually. But first, let’s discuss what transpired over the past few days.
Did this guy try to influence the 2016 United State Presidential Election? Each house of Congress is conducting a probe to find out.
How did we go from Benghazi to Russia?
Some weeks ago, I discussed California Representative Maxine Waters, including her belief that the 2016 U.S. elections were hacked by Russia. I promised to lay out where I differ with prominent Democrats, including Waters. Now is the time to address this topic, although it isn’t an easy one to cover.
Shmaltz and Menudo 
You must be logged in to post a comment.