THOSE NOT LIKE US

When I attended the Meet & Greet session with Dr. Hans Keirstead--was it only a week ago? It seems much longer!--I asked about him how he planned to attract the votes of the people who are "not like us." With "us" I was intending to refer, not unkindly, to those of us gathered in the room. I included--and include--myself.

We are the fortunate ones. We are relatively affluent. Some of us are well off. We live in Southern California, where the sun shines most of the time, and by the Pacific Ocean, which keeps things relatively cool. We have beautiful homes, like the one we were gathered in that evening. We are well-educated: most of us have college degrees and many of us advanced degrees. We are in good health, and can afford the insurance to cover the health care costs that keep us that way. What hunger we have experienced in our lives is most likely self-imposed, to lose the excess weight we gain with our good food and drink!

I repeat, I include myself. I am among the fortunate. But I am very much concerned about those who do not share the good fortune I enjoy. Many of them were persuaded to vote for a man who has proved even worse than we expected, even more dangerous to our country and the world. Many of those potential voters, feeling their disempowerment, did not bother to vote at all.

We Democrats need not only their votes, we need to convince them that the Democratic Party will represent their interests more fully than the Republicans have done. We need to be sure of that ourselves, to commit to a path of recovery for those who have suffered increasing losses, both culturally and economically, in the years in which Republicans have held the power in Congress. We need not only to commit to that path, but to make our commitment very clear and very public, and have the integrity to honor it in action.

Especially in an area like our own congressional district, where the electorate is heavily Republican, a Democratic victory will require support from every single Democratic voter--especially those who may have despaired of voting in the past--AND a good number of disenchanted Republicans.

To succeed in this, we must learn to speak clearly to others than our fortunate selves. Which is why I asked my question at that Meet & Greet. I'm not entirely convinced that my question was heard for what it intended; nor entirely convinced that it was answered. I'm asking Dr. Hans to speak loud and clearly in answer to this concern.