As you may well know, there’s a midterm election int he US, where all the members of the House of Representatives are up for election, as well as 1/3 of the Senate. In California, other positions and initiatives are also on the ballot. I guess what I’m going to say will probably fall upon deaf ears, but voting is by far one of the most important thing any US citizen can do.
I know I’ve pressured quite a few of my friends (beyond Z & Tony ^^) about voting, and usually it’s to very limited success. But yes, I understand it’s each individual’s perogative whether they want to vote or not, but considering that it’s free, generally need less than 10 minutes to fill out an absentee ballot, and also allows you to participate in democracy, I don’t fully understand why people willingly choose not to do it. I suppose there are folks who just haven’t received their “calling” yet.
Unfortunately sometimes I can understand about the frustrations of voting. There’s a lot of misinformation and slime going around about candidates and initiatives, so it’s hard to find the truth. It’s also frustrating to see something you vote for go down in flames, or to see something stupid get passed. Which is why, sometimes voting isn’t enough. You have to spread the message, and most importantly, you have to Get Out The Vote (GOTV).
So this weekend I decided to put my money where my mouth is. I went to volunteer for Jerry McNerney, who’s running for congress in CA-11 district (Dublin, Pleasanton, Tracy, that Area). He’s running against Richard Pombo, one of the 10 most corrupt politicians in Congress currently. I decided to volunteer for McNerney because I felt as though he was the real deal. He’s a businessman, not a politician, and he’s the CEO of a windpower company. He’s got a vested interest in creating alternative energies in California and also focusing on ending the corruption in congress. Of course, he’s also in favor of ending our occupation in Iraq. Match that against Pombo, who’s a rubber stamp for George Bush, who’s received a zero for his record on the environment, and who’s never met a big corporate lobbying firm he didn’t like.
I walked a precinct in San Ramon for a Get Out The Vote campaign, or GOTV. I basically walked with another volunteer to around 400 houses, tallied up which voters would definitely come out to support McNerny, politely reminded familes that Tuesday was the most important election in recent history, and also gave out fliers and door tags. The whole ordeal took about 6 hours, and it was a little tiring walking for most of the day. However it was my first time walking a precinct, and because of my enthusiasm for the election this year, I was excited that I was spreading the word. It was also great meeting folks in the community who generally also had a great interest in McNerny and this election.
Currently McNerney, according to internal pulls, is either slightly ahead or statistically tied with Pombo, which in itself is an amazing feat considering the district he’s running in has been traditionally the reddest of red. I’m optimistic, but I won’t put all of my hopes that he will get elected. Even if he doesn’t get elected, I have no regrets for volunteering for McNerney. Seeing so many normal folks at the campaign headquarters so energized and fighting for sanity in Congress was really something, as was meeting all the folks in the precinct that supported the cause. It was an experience that really enriched me, so win or lose, it’s something that made me feel better already.