Vote

On Tuesday we will have an extremely important vote. Please, oh please, vote.

I live in Washington, DC where voting doesn't matter much since we don't have real representatives at the federal level and the mayor is always whoever wins the Democratic primary in this very Democratic city (thus, our new mayor was basically elected a few weeks ago during the primary - welcome, Adrian Fenty).

We DC folk (oh, and the rest of the planet) are counting on you. The turnout in this election will be absolutely critical. All the reports of how many seats the Democrats will take from the Republicans, and all the reports of how much the American electorate is backing away from the Republican Party worry me greatly.

First, the polls are tightening as we come down the home stretch. There is no guarantee that the Democrats will gain any majority and right now it looks like they'll still be in the minority in the Senate.

Second, be very careful of hubris. Remember, John Kerry led in almost every poll just the day before the 2004 presidential election. The election seemed in the bag for the Democrat. In DC the next day, everyone walked the eerily quiet streets like zombies - no one in the city could believe that the country had just reelected one of our worst and most damaging presidents ever.

Third, this election is about more than simply which party has control of Congress. It has to do with the long road towards making amends for the disasters this presidency and congress have laid at our feet and our children's feet, and the world's feet. The war on Iraq and on terrorism, the environment, Social Security, healthcare, education, retirement, labor, medieval social and cultural policies, the shredding of civil liberties, the fear-mongering, the torture state, the domestic spying state, the economic elites first citizens second state, the screw the rest of the world state, and the shut up and consume state are all profoundly disastrous under this administration and Republican-controlled Congress. They blame everyone else for their failures - they're not even courageous enough despite the image they present to the public to take any responsibility for anything they have done. And they tell citizens to shut up if they know what's good for them when the citizens are critical. They threaten their own people, the press, and create new enemies of other countries and peoples.

If you don't vote, nothing will change. Even if the outcome in your state and district seems preordained, make certain you vote and help others to vote.

Do not take the common cynical position that all politicians are the same. This administration and Congress should have proven this false to us for all time.

And if you need a reminder about the war and its trumped up justifications, see this timeline here. [via Norwegianity].