And then there were two

News from the political front: John Edwards dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. This isn't really a huge surprise, since he's been trailing Hillary and Obama by a fairly large margin. Personally I'm sad to see him drop out because he's from my home state of North Carolina and I'd sure like to see a home boy in the White House. At the same time I think that dropping out of the race now is the best thing Edwards could have done for the party overall. Edwards bowed out with dignity and class, and said in his speech that he'd been in touch with both Hillary and Obama to make sure that his issue of primary concern (ending poverty) is a priority for whoever wins the nomination. Wonder if he'd be open to a VP spot on either ticket?

Incidentally, the field for the Republican nomination was also whittled down by one; Giuliani also withdrew from the race and gave his delegates to McCain. That move was long overdue, as was Fred Thompson's withdrawal from the race for the nomination a few days ago. Wonder if he can get his part back on Law&Order? I liked the role he played on that series, but I strongly disagreed with his politics.

Hubby said something today that made me think. In a typical Presidential election season, there are more Democratic candidates than you can count and the primary season is pretty chaotic. On the Republican side, the good ol' boys of the GOP meet early on to choose their heir-apparent and then everyone falls into lockstep, so from a very early point in the season there is only one Republican and he is the focus of all the Republican publicity. This election year seems quite different. Hubby asked me today how many candidates there were left on each side. I was able to tell him quickly that on the Democratic side we're now down to Obama and Hillary, but I have no idea how many Republicans are left. There doesn't seem to be an heir-apparent for the GOP, and neither side has a clear front-runner. This election season just keeps getting more and more interesting. Hopefully that will create more discussion, more voter turnout, and more involvement with the political process.

"We in America do not have governnment by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." - Thomas Jefferson

This brings me to one of my big fears for this election season. I am very scared that the conservatives will utilize their networks, particularly through churches that are quite easy to mobilize, to mount voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives in order to sway the election toward a Republican candidate who will work to maintain the status quo (in the name of God, of course). I believe this is a very real threat and one we can't dismiss lightly if we are to stand any chance of achieving the real changes that this country desperately needs.

We've got to seek out untapped resevoirs of support for change, bastions of liberal thought where likely voters may be found. Forty years ago those words described college campuses nationwide, and to some extent that still applies today. However I would also make a point to seek out likely Democratic voters on community college campuses as well. Being a recent CC grad and new university student, my take on the demographics of each campus is that there are more blue-collar students at the CC level, and there is more of a sense of elitism and privilege at the university level. Members of the power elite (or their children) naturally have a vested interest in preserving the status quo. A large number of community college students are there because they face challenges with going to school, and often it's the financial challenge of not being able to affort university tuition. That's why I went to CC, to save money while doing my core classes. Typically the higher socioeconomic status students will desire to preserve the status quo, while lower SES students will desire change. We've got to get in touch with potential voters who are likely to want change, get them registered and make sure they vote!

So how can we achieve this lofty goal? By educating ourselves, by helping to educate others, by starting conversations (in person or electronically), by volunteering, by making damn sure we walk our own talk and get our own asses out there and vote, in both the primaries/caucuses and in the general election, and by helping our family, friends and neighbors do the same. We've got a large job ahead of us but if we all pull together, we can exercise our collective power and change the world for the better.

Later,
AuntieM