This is the first election in a long time where I have not either been a volunteer or had picked my candidate of choice well before it was time to vote. But this time, I was a pure consumer. I was the one who had to be convinced rather than doing the convincing.
Overall, that made it feel like a much different election. A lot less work and stress, for sure. But here is the thing that is sticking with me:
About two weeks ago, I narrowed the field down to two candidates. I then contacted (and was contacted by) several people who are usually of like mind. A lot of us were in the same position. We spent a non-trivial amount of time trying to decide which one was going to get our vote.
My first reaction after the race was called was: It didn’t matter. Neither candidate I was considering won, and even if my entire little cabal all voted in sync, it still wouldn’t have mattered. All that analyzing I did was moot.
Like a lot of you, I get annoyed when there is low election turnout. I usually can’t fathom why people don’t vote. But yesterday, I got a sniff of it. When I’m working on a campaign, my vote feels like a part of something bigger, something I’m doing in concert with thousands of other people. Yesterday, I was just one vote that didn’t make any difference. So, while I still would not consider not voting in an election, I can begin to understand where someone is coming from when they say they don’t vote because it doesn’t matter.
I’m not sure what to do with this. Maybe it will be a good “I know how you feel” story to begin with when I’m trying to convince someone to vote in the future.
This was the greatest among the good rather than lesser of two evils election. I’d say any of the candidates were far more progressive than Obama or even Markey or Patrick, but I was far more motivated to help those campaigns and felt my vote was important. I’d have voted if I was registered in the 5th, but I largely feel the same way. I really was excited by Sciortino but I’m very happy for Clark and convinced she will do a great job. Odd though that fear is a greater motivator no?
And I’m not sure it’s fear per se. The fear of a loss is just a symptom of the fact that the difference between possible outcomes is far greater when it’s Warren-Brown than when it’s Sciortino-Clark.
I encountered a lot of “election fatigue” among local volunteers during the Markey race. With that one just done and 2014 on the horizon, it’s not surprising people outside the distrct didn’t get too emotionally invested.
I was shocked that NECN did not show election results (not even in a crawl) last night. My only comfort in all of this is that the candidate DFW supported did not win.
Some patients will die whatever is done. Some patients will live whatever is done. When resources are scarce, it makes sense to focus resources on patients where that care is the difference between life and death.
For me, some campaigns are the same. The upcoming gubernatorial campaign is shaping up to be a contest where my participation won’t make a difference. Even if I my efforts could sway many votes, I don’t see either of the likely major party candidates as being worth the effort. I can do more for the world, my community, and my family by devoting my energies elsewhere.
In the spirit of triage, whatever political energies I have will be focused on helping Senator Warren take the next step, and on making sure that Somerville has the best government I can help it to have.
Had I been a voter in CD-5, I might well have come to the same conclusion about this primary and upcoming special election.
I encourage you to relax and replenish your political batteries for the next campaign that passes your own triage.