Before I talk about that, let me explain that there is one thing that I have generally believed for some time and that is: any general election is usually over well before election day. Thus, the general election is not what really matters. The primary election that comes before the general – that’s what matters.
If you go to the polls on the day of any general election, you will likely stand there looking at the sea of human sludge on the ballot, and you will ask yourself, is this all there is? Can I do no better? Why did I even come here today? Who are these people and why are these people my only choices? The answer is: because they came from the primaries.
The primary elections – that process of selecting the candidates who will be their parties’ standard bearers in the general election, the sausage-making aspect of politics, if you will – should be crowded with candidates and fought with great passion. Primaries are where you vote with your heart, your passion, your conviction. The theory is that, with the participation of as many people as possible, energized with opinions and passion, a primary fought with heart and soul will result in a thorough airing of the issues that matter and the selection of the best possible wo/man for the job.
Last year, I believed in my candidate. I was backing a winner. I believed our guy was gonna make everything all right. I believed we mattered. I believed we were onto something. I believed that together we were going to change things. I believed power belonged to the people and the people was us and we were going to have our day. I truly believed that justice and common sense would prevail after 2 years and one war of Bush. I believed that if we just worked hard enough, all would be made right again, and the good guys would prevail.
Then, my candidate got crushed in the primary. Nailed. Trounced. Clobbered. Annihilated. Obliterated. Squashed. Destroyed.
And I haven’t gotten over it.
I did what beginners always do. I made the biggest mistake in politics, which everyone knows is a game played by and for cynics: I believed. I’m a sucker.
This realization, of course, does not improve my mood tonight.
I reflect on a conversation I had a couple of months ago with my lawyer, shortly after my return from the Texas Democratic Convention.
I’m not accustomed to having my attorney call me. Generally, I call him when I need him, and then only sparingly, because he charges a lot of money per hour. But my attorney is a long-time Democrat in good standing with the local party and he knew of my involvement in the presidential primary campaign, so one fine day, he called me up, feeling it necessary for some reason to share with me his convictions about the importance of straight-party ticket voting.
Straight ticket voting?
“No, Dennis,” I said. “I disagree. People these days don’t believe in the ability of political parties any more to solve all their problems. They tend to vote for the person, not the party. That’s not what bothers me. What bothers me is the huge number of people who don’t vote at all because neither the candidates nor the parties seem to stand for anything.”
“No, no, no, no, no, Ann,” he said. “People like you and me, we study the issues, we know what’s what. We’ll read a long ballot. But not everyone’s that sophisticated. And to get unsophisticated people to go to the polls and vote, you’ve got to make it easy for them to vote. So, just sell them on the party. The Democratic Party has proven time and time again it stands for working peoples’ issues. Working people are better off with Democrats in power and they know it. That’s really all anybody has to know when they go to the polls.
“We did that for a long time here in El Paso,” he went on. “Told people to vote the straight Democratic ticket. And they did. And this is the reason why Republicans can’t win in El Paso County. That’s why if they’re going to run for office at all, they run as Democrats. But the real Democrats usually find out who they are and keep them pretty marginalized, anyway, so the net result is, the Republicans just can’t win in El Paso. And that’s good for the party. And we need to keep reminding people of the power of straight ticket voting.
“And you know what?” he added. “You want to know who the biggest straight party ticket voters are? Republicans.
“Oh, they deny it. They like to holler and scream about how foolish the Democrats are, how unfair it is that the Democrats all vote together as a bloc. But Republicans very seldom split their tickets. They’ll vote straight Republican every time, and then point fingers at the Democrats and complain.”
“Well, Dennis,” I said. “I believe you about the Republicans. You make a good point, there. But, I mean, come on. Is there any such thing as an ‘unsophisticated’ voter? Any factory worker who dropped out of 9th grade knows his kids don’t have health insurance and he knows why. The poorest person in the meanest slum in the county knows that he’s unemployed and that his kid’s in Iraq. If these people had someone to vote FOR, they would. But they don’t. What they hear, instead, are speeches about stem cell research, the perils of gay marriage, capital gains taxes, Social Security, and foreign threats.
“And, besides,” I added. “Voting a straight party ticket means not casting any vote at all in a race where the Democrats aren’t fielding a candidate. I distinctly remember, Dennis, in the 2000 election, the Greens ran candidates in state appellate court races where the Democrats didn’t. So if you were a Democrat, you had a choice for these races, Dennis, only the choice was between a Republican and a Green. Voting straight ticket Democrat means not voting at all in those races and, in effect, throwing those races to the Republicans, when you could have at least voted Green.
“I’m not too sure about this straight ticket business, Dennis. I think it’s better, instead, to field candidates who stand for something, and let them talk, really talk, to the voters. People aren’t stupid. They’ll vote their best interests if you talk about the things they care about and give them a reason to vote.”
But Dennis is not one to let substance triumph over form. “Ann,” he told me. “I’ve voted straight ticket Democrat in every election I’ve ever voted in and I’m proud of it. As a matter of fact, remember a few years back, Ann? When that yay-hoo, Gene Kelly, down in Austin, ran for State Supreme Court judge or something?* And he made the ballot because a lot of people liked his name? Thought he was the other Gene Kelly, the actor? But he was really just some kook from Austin trying to get a little attention?
“He got more votes in El Paso County than he did in any other county in Texas, and he got it because of straight party ticket voting. That’s the power of straight ticket voting. I voted straight ticket that year, myself, which probably means that I even voted for Gene Kelly. But that’s the type of thing that keeps the Democratic party in power. And I don’t apologize for wanting to keep the Democrats in power.”
I paused, letting this all sink in.
“Dennis,” I said, slowly. “Voting Green means never having to say you voted for Gene Kelly.”
“Ann,” he said. “It’s for the good of the party, over all. And it keeps the Republicans out of power. That’s all I’m saying. I hope you’ll think about this, and encourage people to start voting straight ticket Democrat, because that’s the only way we’re going to hold onto this county.”
I do not dispute Dennis’ assessment that the Democrats could lose their long-held grip on this county. I wonder, though, if he understands that the status of the Democratic party in Texas today just might be related to the fact that it once actually fielded a pro se, serial litigant named Gene Kelly for state judicial office.
*He did run for State Supreme Court, but was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2000.
