amy_thomson (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} amy_thomson) wrote,@ 2004-11-11 06:09:00 |
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The Election & Beyond
Well, like many people on this list, I took the day off and helped get out the vote. I signed up for the King County Administration building because it was the closest available polling place near my daughter's school, so I wouldn't have to fight my way across town to pick her up and then resume my duties. I was supposed to check the polls, make sure they were running smoothly, and then follow up on any voters who hadn't yet voted. But after a couple hours in the rain, it transpired that all the buildings in my precincts were security buildings, making door belling impossible. So I went home and called everyone from the comfort of my home, rested a while, picked Katie up, checked the polling place one more time, made more calls to people who STILL hadn't voted, and then went back in time to oversee the closing of the polls.
When I got there, there were two old people in wheelchairs, sitting there, hand in hand, waiting for their taxi. Forty-five minutes later, they were STILL waiting.Apparently, the taxi had driven up, seen that they were in wheelchairs and refused to take them. So I bundled them in my car, and took them back to their nursing home. Which was a really nice way to end my day, though I'll never use Yellow Taxi again, given the way these people were treated. (Since Yellow Cab drivers seem to be unable to find my house with both hands and a map, it's not much of a loss. They never seem to bother passing my directions along to the driver.)
And then woke up the next morning to rampant defeat. Waaah! At least we turned OUR state in for Kerry. And an incredibly tight Governor's race may well go to the Democratic Candidate because of the votes the Kerry campaign got out. It's STILL too close to call, within a couple thousand votes, with a bunch from King County yet to be counted.
Like a lot of people, I went into shock, and kind of drew in my horns. It's going to be a crappy four years, though I'm planning on working hard on the mid-term elections. King County and Seattle have brought most of the best women in Washington State politics to the fore. Both our Women senators, and Christine Gregoire are from Seattle. So working to get other talented women into state and local offices here may well keep women feeding women into higher political offices. And there's lots of other states to encourage with donations.
Up until we moved out to Woodinville in '97, I was a go-to-meeting Democrat. Woodinville was so conservative that I didn't have the heart to keep up my activism. And since moving back here, I've not really picked it up again. But I think I should now! When I was active, I got to see a lot of people come into office, including my congressman Jim McDermott, who was interviewed in Fahrenheit 911. And I was a voter registrar, a door beller, and a poll worker, as well as being a Precinct Committee officer, responsible for getting out the vote in our precinct. It was exhausting, but fun, and a learned a great deal about the election process, and maybe even did some good.
I've gotta say that I'm kind of tired of liberals who say they're too good for the Democratic Party. And then they piss and moan about how the party has slid to the center. Well, goddammit, just how did that happen? It's the grass-roots Democratic organizations that do the groundwork for getting candidates at all levels into office. It's where a lot of good people get their start in politics, sometimes moving up to higher office. If we don't get out there, and put our shoulders to the wheel, then how the hell are we going to keep the Dems liberal? We sit and whine about how the Republicans are sooo organized because they all go to church. Well, maybe it's time to do something more than whine. If you're hurt and upset and angry about this election, contact your local Democratic Party organization (they're in the phone book) and ask where and when your local district organization meets, and start going. You don't even have to go to every meeting, just the ones ramping up to the elections, say June or July through November. You'll meet good people, and help at the most basic level of politics.
Well, like many people on this list, I took the day off and helped get out the vote. I signed up for the King County Administration building because it was the closest available polling place near my daughter's school, so I wouldn't have to fight my way across town to pick her up and then resume my duties. I was supposed to check the polls, make sure they were running smoothly, and then follow up on any voters who hadn't yet voted. But after a couple hours in the rain, it transpired that all the buildings in my precincts were security buildings, making door belling impossible. So I went home and called everyone from the comfort of my home, rested a while, picked Katie up, checked the polling place one more time, made more calls to people who STILL hadn't voted, and then went back in time to oversee the closing of the polls.
When I got there, there were two old people in wheelchairs, sitting there, hand in hand, waiting for their taxi. Forty-five minutes later, they were STILL waiting.Apparently, the taxi had driven up, seen that they were in wheelchairs and refused to take them. So I bundled them in my car, and took them back to their nursing home. Which was a really nice way to end my day, though I'll never use Yellow Taxi again, given the way these people were treated. (Since Yellow Cab drivers seem to be unable to find my house with both hands and a map, it's not much of a loss. They never seem to bother passing my directions along to the driver.)
And then woke up the next morning to rampant defeat. Waaah! At least we turned OUR state in for Kerry. And an incredibly tight Governor's race may well go to the Democratic Candidate because of the votes the Kerry campaign got out. It's STILL too close to call, within a couple thousand votes, with a bunch from King County yet to be counted.
Like a lot of people, I went into shock, and kind of drew in my horns. It's going to be a crappy four years, though I'm planning on working hard on the mid-term elections. King County and Seattle have brought most of the best women in Washington State politics to the fore. Both our Women senators, and Christine Gregoire are from Seattle. So working to get other talented women into state and local offices here may well keep women feeding women into higher political offices. And there's lots of other states to encourage with donations.
Up until we moved out to Woodinville in '97, I was a go-to-meeting Democrat. Woodinville was so conservative that I didn't have the heart to keep up my activism. And since moving back here, I've not really picked it up again. But I think I should now! When I was active, I got to see a lot of people come into office, including my congressman Jim McDermott, who was interviewed in Fahrenheit 911. And I was a voter registrar, a door beller, and a poll worker, as well as being a Precinct Committee officer, responsible for getting out the vote in our precinct. It was exhausting, but fun, and a learned a great deal about the election process, and maybe even did some good.
I've gotta say that I'm kind of tired of liberals who say they're too good for the Democratic Party. And then they piss and moan about how the party has slid to the center. Well, goddammit, just how did that happen? It's the grass-roots Democratic organizations that do the groundwork for getting candidates at all levels into office. It's where a lot of good people get their start in politics, sometimes moving up to higher office. If we don't get out there, and put our shoulders to the wheel, then how the hell are we going to keep the Dems liberal? We sit and whine about how the Republicans are sooo organized because they all go to church. Well, maybe it's time to do something more than whine. If you're hurt and upset and angry about this election, contact your local Democratic Party organization (they're in the phone book) and ask where and when your local district organization meets, and start going. You don't even have to go to every meeting, just the ones ramping up to the elections, say June or July through November. You'll meet good people, and help at the most basic level of politics.
