It took me a couple of days to gather my thoughts for this one.
This was my first election. Let me just say, there has never been a better time for a young person to get involved. That said, I feel let down by the system. I did more than just vote. I worked with (and against) the candidates in order to get the people I thought were best suited into office. I worked the polls. I showed up at 5 o'clock in the morning. When we opened at 6am, we already had a line. That line remained until 7:30 pm when everyone that was in line at the official closing time of 6pm finally got to vote. I went to the Vanderburg County Democrats "Victory" party in downtown Evansville. By the end of November 2nd, I hadn't just partaken in the process; I was part of the process.
Here in conservative, red-state Indiana I knew that only a few Democrats would win. I may be optimistic, but I know this state swings heavily towards the right. That said, I would like to extend my congratulations to a few Indiana Democrats who shined Tuesday night:
- Senator Evan Bayh
- State Representative Phil Hoy
- State Representative Trent VanHaaften
- State representative Dennis Avery
I have personally met each of them except Sen. Bayh. They are all very kind men. Both Reps. Hoy and Avery told me I could get in touch with them in a couple of years to work in the Indiana Statehouse as an intern. Yay for me, already making political connections!
With all that said, Tuesday night and into Wednesday was very disappointing. I wasn't expecting huge things. The races I had really high hopes for were a Kerry presidency, Gov. Joe Kernan to get re-elected, and for challenger Jon Jennings to defeat incumbent US Representative John Hostettler. When neither of those things happened, I was crushed. Jennings actually gave his concession speech 5 feet in front of me at the "Victory" party. That kinda sucked. He choked up at one point, and, to be honest, I almost did too. You see last week the University of Evansville College Democrats held a rally. It was an "Ass Kicking Good Time." That name was contributed by yours truly and made its way all over campus. A bunch of great candiates came out including Jennings, Avery, Hoy, and VanHaaften.
Seeing the results came in made me lose faith in the entire American public. I actrually would have traded state victories in every race for a Kerry victory. When it became apparent that that wasn't the case, I started playing the "Four years ago" game. I dare all Americans to look me in the eye (or in this case the comments below) to truthfully tell me that they are better off now than they were before Dubya took office. I don't think anyone whose name isn't Ken Lay or is working for Halliburton (or really any big business type) can make that claim. I know I'm not the only person who felt/feels this way.
Even with all the depression, I am trying to remain optimistic. Senator Kerry said it best, "Now is time for healing." As much as I am not looking forward to it, we have to deal with this administration for four more years. I say let's make the best of it. We can hold them accountable for every action they take. We have Congressional elections in just two short years. In four more years, let's vote for Hillary, Edwards, Bayh or whoever else may pop up between now and then. (On the possibility of a Bayh presidency, somebody keep reminding me, and I'll make a post on that one. I've got some ideas...)
Now is definitely not a time to roll over. We always talk about change. We embrace "good for the country" ideas. But let's face it, unless you or I are president or at the very least in Congress, ideals like that are lots of talk with no results. We need to start embracing small, local charities and things of that nature. By widely helping on the small-scale, we can make a huge difference on the large-scale. Let's stop talking and actually go do something!
Please everyone leave some sort of reply. I would love to hear everyone's ideas. We all took the last couple of days differently, and I for one would love to hear how everyone coped (or didn't cope).
