FROM THE LEFT
Democrats, it’s time to vote
As you’ve heard, “there are consequences for not voting.” If there has ever been a time that illustrated this truth, it was during the election of 2016. Even though Donald Trump lost the popular vote, he won the electoral vote. Ninety seven million eligible voters did not vote. Simply put, many Democrats did not care enough to vote.
Because many Democrats did not vote during the last election, we’ve had to deal with chaos almost daily. We’ve had our Constitution trampled on daily. We’ve had our credibility as a country destroyed. Many of our “partners” throughout the world no longer respect nor trust us. We’ve had our environmental achievements turned back. We’ve had out safety protections turned back. We’ve had our respect for one another questioned. We’ve been “put in bed” with Russians and other rogue countries.
Our economy has been jeopardized because of a turn back of regulations regarding financial centers, ill advised tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and tariffs imposed on our trading partners that do harm to our workers and farmers.
Most importantly, we had changes on the Supreme Court that will be generational. All of this because we did not vote.
Voting in America has changed from the beginning of our country. In 1776 one could vote only if they were white men age 21 or older and owned land. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment granted voting rights to all men born or naturalized in America. In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment eliminated racial barriers to voting. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed to ensure that all citizens had the right to vote. This illustrates that over the years, our country has passed legislation to have more and more people vote. However, it has become a task to encourage citizens to vote. The fact of the matter is “change is brought about from the ballot box” and not those in office.
Contrary to the opinion that “my vote doesn’t matter,” every vote makes a difference. Many examples throughout history show one vote made a difference. In 1845, one vote made Texas part of the U.S. In 1868, one vote saved Andrew Johnson from being impeached. In 1876, one vote elected Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency. In the 1960 election, one vote per precinct would have elected Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in Michigan by only two votes per precinct. Every vote counts.
We have been saying for the past two years that we need to change the chaos created by Donald Trump and the Republicans. As indicated earlier, change is bought about through the ballot box. It is time we walk the walk. We can no longer take for granted that people will vote. It is up to each of us to make sure that our family members, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors. Go vote.
During the 2016 election, I stated it was one of the most important elections in our history. It was to decide if we continued the path set by President Obama, one that would continue to grow our economy, enhance civil rights for all, improve relationships around the world, improve the environment, provide affordable health care for all and bring about a more civil society.
By not voting, the other path was taken, one that led us to where we are today. Once again, this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime. We can choose to continue this path of chaos or one that will put us back on a road which offers a better society and begin repairing the damage done by this administration.
Not voting will give Trump and his gang power to do more destruction to our country. Democrats, vote to take this country back and let’s Make America-America Again.
GARY CLARK