Tag: Elections

Please, Do Something

I thought I would share a Facebook post I wrote from this date in 2018. While I hold out hope that we might one day find this shared truth as a nation, I am relatively certain I could post this in another six years, and it would be just as relevant as it is today. Alas, as a gun owner myself, I give these words back to you today.

February 16, 2018:

Why must we limit the causation of horrific acts to a single factor? Nobody blames guns. Nobody should blame the mentally ill. This is not about blame. This is about prevention. It’s not about the 2nd Amendment. It’s about our children. Who says we have to search for a single-track solution. One simply does not exist. But this isn’t really about finding a solution.

You see, to find common ground, you have to have shared truth. We could not address the public health crisis of smoking as long as society didn’t accept the truth that smoking tobacco makes people sick. The tobacco itself isn’t inherently bad. Nobody blames the plant. But you cannot remove tobacco from the equation. We could not address the crisis until we accepted the inconvenient truth.

We will continue down the same road we’re on until we accept the fact that a lot of people should never come into possession of a gun. Just like we accept that few people should have access to a bazooka. Just like we accept that vehicles must be regulated. Just like we accept that bridges must meet stringent construction standards. There will be no solution until we are courageous enough to admit that we have a problem. We will not solve anything until we accept that what we’re currently doing, is not working.

If you pray, pray we’ll reach our shared truth. If you act, act in the memory of those we have failed. Be courageous enough to find a new way. But please, do something.

How Abortion Rights Will Shape the 2024 Elections

On June 24, 2022, Conservatives around the United States celebrated as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, removing protection for abortion access on a federal level. Many around this nation celebrated the ruling as a political win for their cause. I knew differently. I also believe that many Conservative politicians could see what would happen next. While it was a blow to women’s rights, it was by no means a political win for Conservatives. I have to believe that some wise Conservative politicians could see that this ruling spelled political turmoil for their cause. You see, with Roe v. Wade serving as the law of the land, none of them had to seriously campaign on the issue. With the ruling gone, it would be the biggest campaign issue for the foreseeable future. They had to read the polls, right?

With the striking of judicial precedent, the issue of abortion rights was front and center in the national political dialogue. Regardless of any individual’s opinion on reproductive freedom, roughly two-thirds of our country believes that access to safe and legal abortions should be protected. If it wasn’t protected by judicial precedent, how would it be protected? The only other way possible way would be through the will of the people at the ballot box. Conservative politicians would no longer be able to hide behind the court ruling, which in essence made abortion a non-issue when it came to an election. Roe v. Wade acted as an insulating, protective barrier that would prevent abortion from impacting their political ambitions. Last night, we saw that very issue drive elections in Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.

In Virginia, their Governor had been campaigning for Republicans to retake their State Senate, which had been controlled by Democrats. They didn’t. In fact, Republicans lost control of the State House, which had been controlled by the Republican party. The central issue of the campaign…a 15-week abortion ban. In Kentucky, a Republican stronghold, re-elected their Democratic Governor last night. The central issue of the campaign…reproductive freedom.

In Ohio, voters overwhelmingly voted to amend their State Constitution to include the right to access an abortion. This was after a failed attempt by Conservatives to change the way their Constitution could be amended, to prevent that issue from going to the voters yesterday. Obviously, that effort was also unsuccessful. Ohio went for Donald Trump by 8 points in the 2020 election.

The Conservative push to overturn Roe v. Wade may turn out to be one of the biggest political miscalculations this country has ever seen. What is clear, abortion rights are a central issue to voters in this country, regardless of how red or blue their state happens to be. Republican candidates seeking statewide or national office must be fretting about the decision they will have to make. Which side of the abortion debate will they tie their aspirations to? If they remain in the abortion abolishment camp, we’ve seen what the results will likely be. If they jump ship, likely, many would never survive a primary challenge from the right. Neither option gives them much hope for 2024.