With the midterm elections fast approaching and Democrats expected to sustain heavy losses, President Obama is feeling the heat – and he wants unenthusiastic voters to feel it too. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Obama blasted disillusioned liberals as “irresponsible,” adding that “it is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election.” Yet after nearly two years of Democratic control and virtually nothing to show for it, sitting on the sidelines is precisely what left-leaning voters should do.
Obama’s fears of a Republican Congressional takeover are not unfounded. According to cbsnews.com, recent polls show that most of those planning to turn out for November’s elections are Republicans. Energized by the Tea Party movement and recent controversies like that surrounding the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” conservatives will no doubt show up to the polls in full force. Dissatisfied liberal voters deciding to sit out the elections could result in the Democrats ceding control of the House, perhaps even the Senate.
For all of Obama’s apocalyptic warnings, however, it is hard to imagine that this outcome could be any worse than the current state of affairs. Casualties continue to rise in Afghanistan, where the peace-loving Democrats deployed tens of thousands of additional troops. 50,000 others remain in Iraq. Missiles from CIA-operated drones continue to rain daily on Pakistan, killing scores of civilians. Guantánamo remains open. Terms like “preventive detention” and “targeted killing” routinely issue from the corridors of power.
Here at home, the surveillance and harassment of political activists continues unabated, as evidenced by recent FBI raids in Chicago and Minneapolis. Unemployment and foreclosures abound. Those responsible for the economic crisis retain their positions of wealth and power, their financial institutions buoyed by federal bailout money. Disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill demonstrate that corporate executives will never see the inside of a courtroom, no matter how many regulations are ignored, no matter how much damage is done, no matter how many lives are destroyed. Such is the nature of “change.”
In the upcoming weeks, Obama will try to persuade dissatisfied liberals to forget these things. He will point to the latest ravings of the Tea Party fanatics, trusting that his once-loyal supporters will file once more – resignedly, this time – to the ballot box. After ignoring their opinions on issue after issue, he will expect them to re-elect his party in hopes of staving off a still-worse competitor. This arrogance should not be rewarded. Rather than consent to the lesser of two evils, voters should protest the only way they can – resounding silence.
In his 1964 speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” civil rights leader Malcolm X implored his audience to vote wisely. “A ballot is like a bullet,” he said. “You don’t throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.” It is a sentiment that left-leaning voters would do well to remember in the days ahead.
Matthew Kovac is a Medill freshman. He can be reached at [email protected] the midterm elections fast approaching and Democrats expected to sustain heavy losses, President Obama is feeling the heat – and he wants unenthusiastic voters to feel it too. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Obama blasted disillusioned liberals as “irresponsible,” adding that “it is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election.” Yet after nearly two years of Democratic control and virtually nothing to show for it, sitting on the sidelines is precisely what left-leaning voters should do.
Obama’s fears of a Republican Congressional takeover are not unfounded. According to cbsnews.com, recent polls show that most of those planning to turn out for November’s elections are Republicans. Energized by the Tea Party movement and recent controversies like that surrounding the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” conservatives will no doubt show up to the polls in full force. Dissatisfied liberal voters deciding to sit out the elections could result in the Democrats ceding control of the House, perhaps even the Senate.
For all of Obama’s apocalyptic warnings, however, it is hard to imagine that this outcome could be any worse than the current state of affairs. Casualties continue to rise in Afghanistan, where the peace-loving Democrats deployed tens of thousands of additional troops. 50,000 others remain in Iraq. Missiles from CIA-operated drones continue to rain daily on Pakistan, killing scores of civilians. Guantánamo remains open. Terms like “preventive detention” and “targeted killing” routinely issue from the corridors of power.
Here at home, the surveillance and harassment of political activists continues unabated, as evidenced by recent FBI raids in Chicago and Minneapolis. Unemployment and foreclosures abound. Those responsible for the economic crisis retain their positions of wealth and power, their financial institutions buoyed by federal bailout money. Disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill demonstrate that corporate executives will never see the inside of a courtroom, no matter how many regulations are ignored, no matter how much damage is done, no matter how many lives are destroyed. Such is the nature of “change.”
In the upcoming weeks, Obama will try to persuade dissatisfied liberals to forget these things. He will point to the latest ravings of the Tea Party fanatics, trusting that his once-loyal supporters will file once more – resignedly, this time – to the ballot box. After ignoring their opinions on issue after issue, he will expect them to re-elect his party in hopes of staving off a still-worse competitor. This arrogance should not be rewarded. Rather than consent to the lesser of two evils, voters should protest the only way they can – resounding silence.
In his 1964 speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” civil rights leader Malcolm X implored his audience to vote wisely. “A ballot is like a bullet,” he said. “You don’t throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.” It is a sentiment that left-leaning voters would do well to remember in the days ahead.
Matthew Kovac is a Medill freshman. He can be reached at [email protected].
