But will it make a difference?
A few days ago, I was in the Department of Motor Vehicles tending to some unfinished business when the clerk asked me if I was registered to vote. I told her I was. I noticed a sign saying you can register to vote or change your registration online. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, so I ignored it.
But later, while driving home, I began thinking of maybe changing my registration. I have been a registered Democrat since I was 18 and never considered changing that. My parents and all my family members were part of the working middle class and never once thought of becoming a Republican, much less voting for one.
I had friends who were Republican and felt the same way about their party. But we were still friends. Politics were hardly ever mentioned once every election was over, except sometimes when applying for a job when being a Republican assured your success. I’m sure there were places where being a Democrat assured others job success.
I have always been told that anyone could grow up to be President, but I never believed it. If you want to be elected, you must be rich, come from a wealthy family, and have very wealthy connections. Today, even a convicted felon can be elected, but he must still be rich.
I began thinking of the 2016 election and how hard the Republicans fought to change the results, even though they knew they lost. Then I thought of this past election, where Trump won by a very narrow margin. There were many irregularities and discrepancies in vote counts, yet the Democrats laid down and rolled over. There were no challenges. What the hell is wrong with them?
Our presidential elections have never been democratic, thanks to the racist antiquated Electoral College. It has been years since the majority of American people have elected the President.
This was the first year a billionaire, lock, stock, and barrel purchased the Presidency. Millionaires have been bankrolling presidential candidates for years. Once elected, the candidates serve their donors, not the citizens.
No other country in the world has political campaigns lasting months and even years. No other country spends billions of dollars on every campaign. This incoming administration will consist of billionaires and millionaires dedicated to serving their own interests and those of other wealthy businessmen. We will officially be an oligarchy.
Should I change my registration? The answer is, what’s the use? I am a non-religious, retired, white, middle-class, gay man married to a male immigrant. Who represents my interests? There is no way in hell Republicans do. Some want to invalidate my marriage, take away my rights, deport my husband, decrease my Medicare and Social Security, and force Christian nationalism on me.
The reason why I have always supported the Democratic Party is because I believed they would protect me and defend my rights. For many years, they have done just that. But lately, it seems they are afraid to anger Trump and his extreme right-wing supporters. They have missed many opportunities to codify LGBTQ rights, as well as women’s reproductive rights. They wanted to wait for bipartisan support from the very people who have declared their intentions to destroy both LGBTQ and women’s rights.
They appeared to have lost their collective spines in the past four years. Under the leadership of AG Merrick Garland, they have failed to hold accountable Trump and the members of Congress who attempted a coup on January 6th, 2021. Now, the coup has almost been completed.
In deciding the Democratic Party leadership for the next Congress, the Party has shown they have not learned anything from their recent loss. They are still going with the same old, white, sickly male Democrats instead of handing the party over to the younger generation.
I have lost faith in the Democratic Party and have no faith in the Republican Party, so what do I do? The only option is to become an Independent. But, really, what good is that? Big-money donors will still support and elect either a Democrat or a Republican.
What we need is an effective and popular alternative party or parties. But that will never happen because everyone is pathologically attached to the party they now belong to. Wealthy donors will never allow a third party to exist, especially if it has the support of the poor and middle class.
Political parties are becoming a thing of the past. The grassroots members of the party are no longer of any importance. Their votes won’t matter anymore. During the last campaign, Trump even admitted that he did not need people’s votes. They can be bought or technologically manipulated.
I won’t bother to change my registration because it will make no difference in my future. I can only hope there are some politicians of either party who have the courage to take our country from the oligarchs and give it back to the people. It’s “We the People”, not “We the Wealthy.”
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