Midterm Musings

President Obama sent me an email today. The short message had a personal touch -- Barack addressed me by my first name: Chris. I know that some of my readers must be jealous. I mean, it's not everyday that the most powerful man in the world takes the time to write to a regular citizen like me. Even if it's about raising money for the midterm elections...

Now that I reflect upon the email, it looks oddly familiar to the other 487289358 emails that I have received in the past thirty-five minutes; like the email Vice-President Joe sent me. Something seems fishy. I wonder if the two of them had shopped at Target recently.

All kidding aside, us political enthusiasts can expect dozens of similar emails in the next few months. As an individual who donated money in the past to Democratic campaigns, my personal information is ripe for solicitation. The midterm elections are right around the corner.

Most people must agree with President Obama about the midterms, however. They are not sexy. It doesn't even come close to the Presidential elections. That's the real sexy stuff -- remember when Mitt Romney opined about his sleeping wear. Indeed, most people do not even know if their candidate is on the ballot this year.

But for me and other liberals, there is something uniquely troublesome about the elections this November. Midterms are historically a bad time for Democrats. We tend to fall asleep. In other words, voter turnout during non-presidential election years are proven to be horrid. This year will be even more of a hurdle because of the unprecedented congressional redistricting, or "gerrymandering," by Republicans in 2010.

As stated before in a previous post, the Congressional maps heavily favor Republicans. In 2012, there were 1.4 million more votes for Democrats, but the Republicans maintained a 33-seat majority in the House of Representatives. That was the second time since the 1940's that a party receiving more of the votes ended up losing the majority.

That's not all. Democrats can expect more obstacles to overcome. I know: it is not fair. The 2010 wave of Republicans, and Tea Party candidates, also stormed the state legislatures. Conservative states obtained Republican super-majorities, meaning that those states were relatively free to pass whatever "freedom-loving" bills that it wanted. On the agenda: strict voter ID laws.

Voter ID laws -- passed under the guise of fraud-prevention -- mandate that voters possess a valid identification card while casting a vote. Some states require a birth certificate or passport. The GOP has also taken steps to limit early voting,  online voting, weekend voting, and same-day registration. Evidence shows that these type of laws have a negative disparate impact on low-income and minority populations -- traditional Democratic voters. The Republicans have been busy in the state legislatures -- as opposed to the House of Representatives.

So, while you may hear or see the occasional pundit pontificating about the political ramifications of ObamaCare on the midterms, it's actually more about structural advantages set into motion in 2010. Not that ObamaCare is necessarily politically bad for the Democrats. There is evidence to suggest that over 7 million will sign up by the deadline today. But it is undeniable that millions of dollars in TV advertising are being poured into the false ObamaCare narratives. Fact-checkers will be busy for some time.

We have a choice. The red or blue pill. Democrats can accept the traditional midterm blues or we can do everything in our power to help with the turnout. If we simply concede to the slick strategies implemented by the GOP, I question our resolve. The simple "reality" is that we may have to do more than read emails. Let's pick up the phones too -- we may find ourselves in a "better world."

2013: Incompentence over Nihilism

Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" is the go-to program for political satire, high-brow comedy, and potty jokes. In one moment during the show, a viewer can see an insightful interview on voter suppression, and in the next minute, a shtick on Chicago Pizza. The comedy central team certainly has range -- and it is no wonder that a larger majority of Americans are relying on the New Jersey native for quality news (as opposed to Cable News).

One segment, however, summarized the 2013 political year for me: Team Incompetence v. Team Nihilism. Can you guess which political party stands for nihilism and vice versa? Let me give you a hint; one was "responsible" for the Government shut-down, and the other, a botched health care roll-out.

Neither team names carry positive connotations. At this point, both political parties are facing huge electoral challenges in the future. Both have to fight their historically low favorability ratings in the upcoming 2014 elections.

In fact, the lack of faith in institutions, both Government and private, are at an all-time high. Even the reputable "60 Minutes" faced backlash when it ran with a bogus Benghazi story. It had to retract and apologize. No wonder people are pessimistic.

My posts this year have constantly focused on the GOP's absurd policies for obstruction, corporate welfare, and fiscal callousness. But, it would be a disservice to my handful of readers (I jest, it's at least a dozen) to ignore the failings of the current Administration. President Obama needs to do a better job with overseeing executive programs.

Let me be clear: I am happy with the President overall. No president in the history of our nation has had to face the amount of hatred and nonsense that he has had to deal with. He is the President in times of incomparable polarization and special-interest influence. Moreover, the GOP are not really opposing Obama, it's more like, they are opposing the imaginary Obama that they have created in their minds. Hell, if half of the things e-mailed to me about Obama were true, I would have purchased my tea party hat a long time ago.

That being said, President Obama should have appointed a head of the Health Care Exchanges at the beginning of 2011. The program, at the start, should have had a top-down hierarchical system to ensure efficiency and functionality. I was greatly disappointed that the first couple of months were plagued with glitches and bugs. Had there been better oversight, coupled with a more efficient procurement system, the problems could have been avoided.

Of course it doesn't help either that we have a minority party in Government that are nihilists, which brings me back to my central point -- I support candidates that want to improve the way things are done, not simply advocate a position of opposition. The GOP still, after three years of repeal obsession, has no alternative to the pre-ACA healthcare system. It's okay to the GOP that 40 million people remain uninsured, and that people with preexisting conditions, like cancer, diabetes, and the like, are out of luck.

It's much easier to fight for nothing, than to try to implement change -- messy, difficult, and demanding change. That's how I would summarize the 2013 political year though. We have one party willing to risk political capital to help the uninsured, and the other, willing to cash in on petty political points for every reported setback. For some reason, I had a crazy thought that after the 2012 election, we would have moved towards reconciliation and compromise. Boy, was I wrong.

Next year, 2014, we will have a choice as voters. Do we want a majority party that may mess up at times for trying to enact difficult reform? Or do we want to support the party that are naysayers, can't-doers, and perpetual alarmists? I have to admit, I don't really like either option. But, I'm willing to bat for the team that are willing to make mistakes, rather than the team willing to strive off of them. Bring on 2014.