In which I consider not voting
Election day in the United States is less than a week away. Nate Silver, of the fabulous 538 blog, pegs President Obama at a 77% chance of winning the election, and the democrats at a 90% chance of retaining majority in the Senate, but that doesn’t mean Democrats can afford to be complacent. Those numbers are based on looking at multiple polls conducted by different firms, and change every day. Just about four years ago, I stood in Grant Park on election night, with hundreds of thousands of others, to watch Obama deliver his victory speech. From a post I wrote at 3AM, November 5, 2008:
His [Obama's] ability to go through history and call out moments without being overbearing was poetry. (He mentioned the New Deal, a “generation’s greatness,” a “preacher from Alabama who took us to the mountain top,” and more.) His refrains of (of course) “Yes we can,” and the call-and-response effect on the audience. Talking about building bridges and forging alliances and working together.
Just incredible.
It made me glad to have donated money and made almost 100 phone calls over the past week. (And even better that the two states I called the most, Indiana and Colorado, both went for Obama.) That I have a Obama bumper sticker on my car, and a button on my jacket. I feel really hokey and more than a little silly saying it, but it made me proud to be an American.
This year, I question whether or not I’m going to vote at all.
What a difference four years makes.
I’ve voted for the last ten years, since I turned 18. (I may have missed a midterm election, but I tried to vote every time I was afforded the opportunity.) I’ve considered myself at least somewhat politically aware for a few years before that. And, for all of that time, I’ve believed in voting. I believed in the power of individuals to make a difference on a national scale. I believed that – for all its flaws – the US voting system grants the American people to change the course of their nation. Sure, I watched, flabbergasted, as the Supreme Court decided the 2000 election instead of the American people. I watched, disappointed, as the American people selected Bush for a second term over an (admittedly mediocre) Kerry. But then, in 2008, I watched, elated, as almost 70 million Americans elected the nation’s first black president.
And I’m not blind to Obama’s successes. I acknowledge Obama has done some amazing things over the past four years. While I don’t think the Affordable Care Act goes far enough, it’s a huge step in providing insurance to more people. While I don’t think Obama has pushed hard enough on gay rights, he (and Joe Biden) helped change the Democratic Party’s official party platform, repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and is (hopefully!) helping push equal marriage rights (slooowwwwwly) forward. While I don’t think the stimulus package went far enough (are you noticing a pattern?), it helped tip the scales back towards economic growth. Here’s a list of 200 things Obama has done, the vast majority of which I support.
So why am I doing the unthinkable, and considering not voting at all in 2012? I know the arguments as to why one should vote. I’ve made them myself, when debating elections with friends. I realize how different Romney and Obama are, and how important this election is.
My first issue is Obama and his policies. For all those things I support, they’re primarily domestic issues. On abortion, gay rights, health care, the economy, and just about every issue directly happening on American soil, I’m (generally) with Obama. But on security and foreign policy, he’s almost as bad as Romney: drone strikes, blind support of Israel, increased warrantless wiretapping, and doing little to reduce US forces in the Middle East. I’m not nearly as happy with President Obama as I was excited about Candidate Obama.
“But Rebecca,” you might say, “that happens with every politician. And if you dislike Obama so much, you could still vote for a third party candidate. Didn’t you recently say you really liked Green Party candidate Jill Stein? Since Illinois is going for Obama no matter how you vote, you have the freedom to vote however you want.”
That’s true. If I were in a swing state, I would almost certainly grit my teeth and vote for Obama, hesitancies and al. But I’m not. I’m in Illinois, which has Obama up 16+ points over Romney. I was at my mom’s the other day and the Chicago Tribune had the front-page headline “Polls: Illinois Strongly Favors Obama.” Really, Trib? That’s front page news? Excellent reporting over there, gang. But, yes, even without voting for Obama, I could (maybe even should) vote. As a civic duty. As a message, on a national scale, about my beliefs. Maybe even, if I vote for Stein, as a way of sticking it to the two party system I dislike so much.
And yet, I’m still considering not voting. Why?
Because only 50% of the country support my right to marry who I choose, and that’s if they assume I’m cis. Who knows how low that number would be if it specifically asked about support for trans people?
Because my right to use a bathroom gets people all up in arms.
Because the East Aurora school district thinks trans children aren’t entitled to a safe school environment.
Because one of the two major candidates blocked trans and bi protection for students while governor and later used ads which outed a trans woman.
Because all of those slings and arrows – on the national stage and in my own life – add up.
Because sometimes the psychic energy of 150 million Americans (probably more!) not liking me makes it difficult to get out of bed, let alone muster the energy to participate in a national pissing match in which my rights and my humanity have become a political plaything.
Because my throat is dry and my voice is drained and – for one single, solitary day – I would like the personal to not be so damned political.
I’d like to just sleep in next Tuesday; hit the alarm, roll back over, and return to slumber.
I can dream, can’t I?
Themocracy
I don’t follow your logic. I don’t follow how you not voting will help ensure that the 50% number you quote will increase. It all sounds like excuses to me.
The fact that you’re not in a swing state isn’t valid, either. Enough people have that attitude, and that 16-point lead drops to 15, or 14, or less, come Election Day. And then nationwide, what might have been a 51-49 popular vote win for Obama turns into a 49-51 loss, and with it even the hope that Obama had some sort of mandate.
Which means nothing on your laundry list will be any closer to being accomplished over the next 4 years.
Wah, wah, wah. It’s hard to get out of bed because you’re trans, and you’re a political plaything. Guess what, me too. Deal with it.
First, this is a reminder about my comment rules, in particular rule one: play nice. You drift toward rudeness in your final paragraph, something I don’t appreciate on my blog.
But I do appreciate your comment as a whole. You’re right, not voting won’t help shift those poll numbers on marriage equality. But, hopefully, the work I do the other 364 days of the year is: educational workshops on trans identity, performance material on the same, participating in panel discussions and activist groups, and more. Whether or not that’s a good enough excuse/justification is entirely up for debate.
I will bet any amount of money that Illinois is going for Obama. So I don’t believe my vote would have an impact on his presidential chances. Should I vote, I won’t be voting for Obama anyway – I’ll be voting for Stein – so that specific argument is even less likely to sway me.
As a side note, while 51% does constitute a political mandate, I don’t think it constitutes a moral mandate. An election at 51% is the barest minimum of a democratic majority, not the type of political consensus with which one should be expected to efficiently run a high school student council, let alone a country. That’s a bigger discussion, but I’d honestly be more excited about voting for Obama if I thought his popular vote would be closer to 60% than 50%.
You could argue that my vote will give a third party candidate a larger voice and that increased third party turnout (socialist voters prior to WWII, Ross Perot in 1992) helps influence their parties; socialists helped push the Democrats to the left and Perot helped push the Republicans to the right. Theoretically, a strong turnout for Stein (such that third party turnout is ever strong in the US) could help bolster the Democrats’ commitment to LGBT rights, national healthcare, less militaristic foreign policy, and so on. But I can make those phone calls to Obama, Kirk, Durbin, Schakowsky, and whomever represents me at the state level, whether or not I actually vote.
Your status as a political plaything doesn’t impact mine. I wasn’t intending to encourage anyone else not to vote, simply outlining my own hesitancies. And, again, I am dealing with my minority status the best I know how, with the loudest voice I can muster. I’d just rather use it in situations where it won’t be drowned out.
I apologize for the last paragraph.
Agreed that 51% isn’t much of a moral mandate. I think that “W” made quite a fool of himself in 2004 when he spoke of his “mandate” after being re-elected over Kerry, and he was right around 51%.
Apology accepted. Thanks!
I’m a weirdo who believes in federalism and a national executive with limited power, the states as laboratories of democracy, etc. The tenor of both Pro-bama and No-bama talk seems to take as a given that the US Prez could and should be a short-term dictator with infinite power and magical management skills. After alla that 18th century fighting, all we really want is another king. Not apologizing for the man. But there’s only so far you can drive a broken car.
Most of my feelings about politics are influenced by growing up in New England where pure democracy still exists. Each year, the town votes on the budget. Every citizen can have his/her say at the mic at town meeting. Then every citizen can vote. Beautiful, right? My hometown has an aging population that doesn’t want to pay taxes to support the school system. Every year it’s an increasingly dirty shitshow to pass a budget.
So I don’t hold a high opinion of democracy in the context of ownership culture.
I had a good time yesterday going through the entire sample ballot, researching and making decisions about all the local elections. And was surprised that, though I’m generally a Dem, a number of local Republicans will get my vote on Tues. Surprised and pleased. Democracy
Anyway, Becca. You should vote. Don’t do it because it’s right, do it because it will feel good.
Gonna add, too: I don’t hold a high opinion of blog comments in the context of ownership culture, either.
Geeze, you guys! You do know death is coming, right?
[...] wrote a post about the upcoming elections: In which I consider not voting. She said, Because sometimes the psychic energy of 150 million Americans (probably more!) not [...]