I Used To Vote for the Candidate
But now, there's only one democratic party
Nationally we’re in an odd moment of distaste for Joe Biden’s age. It’s as if our endangered democracy were a sun too bright to look at, so we looked around for something else to focus on.
I’m not a historical figure like Biden whose experience matters a lot to the world, whether you like him or not for President in 2024. But I do share his age, and the history I’ve lived through gives me some perspective on what’s going on now.
The grown-ups in the picture above were there to hear Vice President Richard Nixon speak. Now a grown-up myself, I’m aware that today’s deep political divide was beginning to be exploited in the Nixon years by his Republican strategists.
But in 1954 I was naive enough to take my freedom of choice at face value. In college, I didn’t want to be defined by a group. For example, I didn’t join a sorority; I lived in a house where students rented rooms, instead of in a large dorm on campus.
Yet, at the same time, I inherited from my parents a strong Republican identification. To my lasting regret, I refused to go with my housemates to hear the Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy speak on campus.
This tension between individualism and what is now called “identity politics” is hard to figure out. Can you be detached from politics and still be a good citizen?
A few years later I was living over 1,300 miles from my parents, and it dawned on me that I could make my own choices as a voter. So I began watching the PBS Newshour on TV to learn what the candidates promised, regardless of party.
I blush to tell you the results of my early political “wisdom” - first, I voted for Ross Perot for President in 1992 because somehow I thought government should be run like a business (!). Then in 1996 I voted for the Green Party’s Ralph Nadar, because I had two children and Nadar was all about safety.
Oh, oh! But I’ve recovered.
So as a voter I tried to vote for the person I liked the most. This is a good thing in an ordinary world. Even before Facebook, people have always Liked their candidates.
But America’s political world has not been ordinary since the Internet. Now, candidates get to choose their voters.
In 2010 Republicans took over the North Carolina General Assembly for the first time in 140 years, and by now their gerrymandered voting districts have nearly shut out Democrats. Democracy can’t survive without two healthy parties and fair voting rights.
Nationally, the Republican Party has been taken over by extremists who don’t want democracy in America.
So today when you vote for a candidate, you’re really voting for a party. You just are.
Remember what I said about people not liking Biden’s age? The odd thing in this extraordinary time is that if you like democracy, you don’t even have to like the candidate you vote for.
Because you’re either voting for the party that’s defending democracy, or you’re not.
A friend of mine made a short video about this.
James Carli says,
You don’t have to love Joe Biden. You don’t even have to love Democrats. But you should love your ability to continue to participate in the process of government and decision-making about your life.
Re-electing Joe Biden and the Democrats is what protects that ability. That’s what’s on the ballot. That’s what’s at stake. That’s why I’m supporting Joe Biden and the Democrats in 2024.
I’m not saying I don’t like Joe Biden. I do, for his democratic vision and for what his administration has done.
And I’m not saying to ignore the candidates this year. Follow their every word. If your community, like mine, desperately needs better representation, you’ll figure out which party has the democratic vision - for everyone.
Then go vote it in. Down ballot.
Beautifully put, Deda!
Well said!!! Thanks!!!!
Carrie Anne