Time to Vote 2022

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for this election season to end. Unfortunately, I have great concerns about this election and its aftermath. I'm concerned about our democracy. While economic issues are important, they come and go, but if our democracy is undermined, then we lose the freedoms we value. If elections are called into question, no matter who the party is, that endangers our trust of our systems of government. Across the country candidates following the Donald Trump line continue to question the validity of the 2020 elections. Some have been quite clear that if elected they will make sure their party wins the next election, no matter how we vote. So, let us be careful. 

While electioneering has never been an above-board enterprise (just look back to the Adams-Jefferson election of 1800), I continue to be bothered by untethered rhetoric. For example, the other day I received a nasty flyer attacking the candidacy of Padma Kuppa, who is running for State Senate here in Michigan. This flyer suggests that she wants to defund the police and that she is a radical who embraces the message of the so-called "Squad." She's been called a Communist. In fact, reaching back to McCarthy-era rhetoric, all Democrats (that would apparently include me) are called Communists. Here's the thing. I know Padma Kuppa. We've been friends for fourteen years. I regularly walk with her knocking on doors. I've been doing this since her first election run in 2018. So, I think I know her. What I've read and heard is far from the truth. Below is my video endorsement of Padma's candidacy. 

So, as you get ready to vote, check things out. Know the candidates and the issues. Most of all remember that no matter what you've been hearing, the United States is a democracy. Yes, it is also a republic (as opposed to a monarchy). The United Kingdom is a democracy, just like we are. However, instead of having a President as Chief of State, it has a King. We don't have a king or a queen. Thus, we are a republic, but we are also a representative democracy. On Thursday, we have the right to exercise our vote to decide who will represent us from School Board to the US Senate (in some states). For those who think that only the presidency matters, ultimately all politics is local. That starts with school boards, judges, city councils, etc. 

So if you've not already voted, join me on November 8th and vote for the good of the country! But, be an informed voter.