Political Burnout

In case you’ve been living under a rock, tomorrow is election day in America. And I debated writing a post today about how I’m going to vote and why. Except when it came time to actually write it, it seemed . . . redundant. I mean, I’ve been banging the drum around certain topics for what feels like forever. Did I really want or need to write yet another post about it?

What in the world could I say that I haven’t already said before?

I’ve been against Trump since before he was elected. I hate what he’s done to the tenor of politics in this country, and what he’s done to the tone and focus of the Republican party. I know people who say to look at the legislation he’s passed. The *things* he’s done, and not the things he’s said. I can’t separate it out like that. As long as he’s in office, I will personally do everything I can to stop his agenda from moving forward.

Of course, this is made more simple by the fact that my other big push is for tighter gun laws. I’ve said before that I’ve made it my litmus test for a candidate. “Do they support tighter gun laws?” If the answer is no, then I won’t vote for them. I think it’s shameful that we’ve done nothing as a nation to try and solve the problem of gun violence in this country other than thoughts, prayers, and hand wringing.

So the question of “who to vote for” is made pretty simple, especially since I’m still a registered Republican, and the party is sending me all these mailers that talk about how their candidates will “protect your guns.” Each mailer I get like that only reminds me who *not* to vote for. (Especially since I hate political mailers as well . . .)

In the end, the only really “up in the air” questions on the ballot for me are the ballot questions:

1. Tax the rich to pay for home health care for the elderly and disabled
2. Wastewater bond
3. Infrastructure bond
4. Public university bond
5. Community college bond

I’m for better public infrastructure and education, so I’m for 2-5. (#4 is something I can particularly advocate for, as I know firsthand just how needed the funding is for the public university system in Maine. Please vote yes!) So then we’re down to Question 1, and I’m honestly still up in the air about it. On the one hand, I want to help out the elderly and disabled, but on the other, I’m generally against spending other people’s money to solve problems. With the other bonds, it’s the state taking out money, which will be passed on to all tax payers, and so I’m part of the payment program. With the first, it’s just limited to taxing people who make a certain amount of money or more.

They make more money, so they can arguably afford it, but if you make the state a place where the rich just get taxed more than elsewhere, they’ll move. They’re not idiots. So . . . I generally feel this is the wrong solution to a real problem. I’d like to see it handled differently. I’ll likely be voting “No” on that issue.

But in general, I’m just tired. Tired of having all these political debates. Tired of the fact that some issues are still up for debate. I’m tired of making arguments over and over for or against the same things. Tired of confronting people. If someone is still voting for Trump and his ilk at this point, I don’t see anything I can say that will change their mind.

So in the end, I suppose this is just a “please vote” post. We’ll see how it all settles out on Wednesday. My hope is that the tide of nastiness finally begins to really turn. I’d love to see the House retaken by the Democrats, and for a Democrat to return to the Governor’s mansion in Maine. Which still feels odd to me to say, since I’ve been a Republican for so long. But the party I really believed in . . . doesn’t exist anymore, in my mind.

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