Topic Tuesday #120 2014/11/05 "Mid-Term Elections"

Here we are on another election day. I hope that you have done your civic duty and participated in this great experiment of democracy. I know many of you likely did not. Why do I know? Statistics. This is a “Mid-Term” election, defined loosely as an election in the middle of a presidential term. These elections on those off even years are when we typically elect our local representatives. The sixth year of a president’s tenure is typically a time of loss of seats in the House for the president’s party. The only exception for this was Clinton’s Presidency in 1998. They didn’t lose any, didn’t gain any. This is still momentous, and shortly we shall see if the average 6 seat loss holds, or we have another trend bucked.

Of note, the State legislatures present vastly more laws than what we see at the national level. And yet… most of us do not know who our State representatives are, much less the ones we send to D.C.. This is a sad state of affairs since we are being represented… by people who are largely anonymous to us. Over a thousand offices are being filled around the country this year by unopposed candidates. It could be you. Really, it could be you up there, making the calls.

But again, largely we don’t care. We don’t know who these judges are that we are asked to retain or oust. We don’t know the yahoos on the School Board. We hardly even know our own Governors.

That needs to change. Pay attention to the issues and vote. Investigate the issues. Learn. Make a stand. Help others know what is going on.

Vote.

Just vote.

Seriously… These people spend your taxes. Know who they are and hold them accountable.

I’ll see you at the polls.