DON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO VOTE?

Then LEARN something!

I heard last night of a young, smart, decently-employed, well-educated young woman (!) who announced blithely to her friends that she didn't vote because she didn't know enough about the issues. (Well, maybe not so smart...)

We must let these absentees know, unambiguously, that if they fail to vote for anyone they vote, effectively, for Tr*mp. Are they happy now with the result of their inaction?

These are (among) the people we must start talking to!

No point in even trying to talk to those who have already succumbed to the Tr*mp flimflam, and we've had enough of talking to ourselves, or to each other.

We can't afford to throw another election to this man's Republican enablers.

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FIRST POST

This first post announces my intention to do everything I can to assure the election of Harley Rouda this November, along with the rest of the Democratic ticket.

If this seems like a fast turnaround from "Rooting for Dr. Hans," be assured that I am heartily thankful that we have a Democrat to vote for this November, and are not faced with an imponderable choice between two Republicans.

I know very little about my new candidate, and pledge that I will to what I need to do to learn more. For the moment, suffice it to say that I beg every one of those who joined me in supporting Dr. Hans Keirstead will now join me in supporting his erstwhile rival. We cannot afford to lose one single vote to regrets or pique.

Today I will be making my first financial contribution to the Harley Rouda campaign. It will not be my last. I urge others to join me. Defeating the current unspeakable incumbent will unfortunately require more than our votes on polling day. Given the current (deplorable, to my mind!) electoral system, it will require a ton of money. Let's make sure we make that happen.

It will also require loud voices. I hope to make mine as loud as possible, both in asserting the positive values of the Democratic Party and in condemning the Republican of those same values.

LAST POST

ROOTING FOR DR. HANS


For one obvious reason, this will be my last post on "Rooting for Dr. Hans": his concession a few hours ago to his competitor Harley Rouda. I am of course disappointed in the outcome of this hard-fought race, and the tiny difference in the number of votes cast makes it especially heartbreaking for those of us who supported Dr. Hans and liked his chances for beating the unnameable incumbent.

But...

We also have reason to celebrate: we dodged that top-two bullet and the prospect of having to choose between two Republicans in November. We have a Democratic candidate to vote for. Each of us will now have two urgent tasks:

1) to support our Democratic candidate and the Democratic ticket in every way we can--which includes our pocketbooks, insofar as we are in a position to do so. I pledge to make my first contribution to the Harley Rouda campaign today, and it will not be the last;

2) to persuade all our friends of the necessity of turning out to vote; of making our shared convictions public; of contacting their friends and associates with a positive Democratic message as well as a rejection of Tr*mp, his administration, and every one of his Republican enablers including notably, in our district, the far right-wing incumbent.

Please join me in this effort. Amidst all the distractions scattered in our field of vision, we must not lose sight of our immediate purpose, to change our representation in the US Congress. I will announce my new blog shortly, in support of Harley Rouda.

ONWARD!

What are we to do against the powerful Tr*mp/right wing machinery of lies and propaganda? Reason is powerless against it. The truth is powerless. Those in its thrall will not be persuaded by facts, data, or indeed reality in any of its forms. We know for sure that Tr*mp and even the loudest of his enablers--especially the loudest of his enablers--will not lose a single vote in November to further public exposure of the man's venality or his incompetence.
So let's not waste another breath attempting to expose Tr*mp and his administration for the bumbling grifters they so plainly are. Leave to them the task of further revealing to the world their incompetence and their betrayal of every value America has stood for in the past.
Let's us, instead, concentrate all our efforts on three absolutely essential priorities:
1) Discarding petty personal preferences and grievances and uniting in support of every Democratic candidate for local and national office with our voices and whatever money we can possibly afford;
2) Getting every last remaining uncontaminated voter to the polls, whether Democrat or Republican; and
3) Persuading those among us who are disenchanted, discouraged, cynical or apathetic that their failure to show up and be counted at the polls will only serve to increase their disenchantment, discouragement, cynicism or apathy. Not voting is a vote for the status quo.
Let Tr*mp defeat himself. For the rest of us it should be: Onward, to November!

NO TRIPLE CROWN

OC 48 is no Triple Crown. Justify may have romped home yesterday, but we're still in the slowest horse race in history. I note this morning that Dr. Hans's lead has dropped to a mere 87 votes. This is absurd--and painfully absurd, at that.

UNCERTAINTY

I'm glad to note this morning that Dr. Hans has gained a few points against his main opponent. But I hear it could be another couple of weeks before the result is clear--and the second Republican is only one percentage point behind. The nightmare could still become a reality. And at this point there is absolutely nothing we can do.

Should this be happening in California, that it takes weeks to produce an election result? Don't we have a system that can work faster than this?

Also... should it be happening in California that huge numbers of voters don't even bother to show up at the polls, or even to mail in a ballot? This article by Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times is shocking evidence of the apathy that abounds.

STILL COUNTING...

I checked in on the latest New York Times tally this morning to discover that a mere 45 votes separate the two Democratic front runners--and a mere one percentage point separates both of them from the second Republican. Analysts--the redoubtable Steve Kornacki among them--seem confident that one of the two Democrats will end up as one of the "top two." I certainly hope so, but the small remaining gap of uncertainty is not calming to my digestive system. When will this be over? When it is, assuming that a Democrat will be on the November ballot, he (yes, no question about that!) will have my last ounce of support.

STILL ROOTING...

... for Dr. Hans this morning, and hoping to be rooting for him still tomorrow morning. If that turns out to be impossible, then I'll hope to be rooting thereafter for another Democrat. In the case of the nightmare scenario, I will be in some form of REVOLT!

Fingers crossed for the best of all outcomes today, whatever Democratic voters decide. May there be many, many of them!

ELECTION DAY--AN ANNIVERSARY

It's the anniversary of Ronald Reagan's death on election day, tomorrow, as I'm reminded by an article in the Washington Post by his daughter, Patti Davis. I'll confess I was no great fan of Ronald Reagan. I disagreed with virtually every one of his policies and disliked his air of patrician insouciance. He, more than anyone, started us down the path that has led to the disparity between wealth and poverty that plagues our country to this day. That said, though deeply misguided in his belief in wealth and privilege as tokens of human merit, he projected a desire, at least, to adhere to standards of decency--if not a great deal of compassion. Looking back on that time, I share his daughter's belief that he would have been deeply offended by Tr*mp and the Tr*mpism that now dominates the Republican Party. By today's standard, sad to say, Ronald Reagan would be judged a Democrat.

LAST WEEKEND

It's the last weekend before primary day. I trust all my Laguna Beach friends and neighbors have already cast their vote, as many do, by mail, If not, I trust that every last Democrat in Orange County will be out there at their polling place on Tuesday.

Every single Democratic vote is needed--along with a lot of rightfully disenchanted Republicans voting for a Democrat.

Having cast my vote already for the man I think would do the best job as our Congressman, I lay awake last night with the waking nightmare of that circular firing squad, terrified at the thought that I, along with my fellow sincere and conscientious Democratic voters, might prove to be responsible for having only two Republicans to choose from on the ballot in November.

There must be a sufficient number of Democratic votes for ALL the contenders to circumvent that horrible eventuality.