THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO VOTE, DON’T HELP THEM…VOTE!
What responsibility do the residents of Ferguson, MO. have for the situation they are in? I think they have a huge responsibility for their situation. Not for the behavior or overreactions of police, but for the elected officials that they tacitly put in power. Bob McCulloch is the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney. He is responsible for prosecuting the case in Ferguson involving the shooting death of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson. McCulloch and his family have close ties with the St. Louis police department. Several members of his family have worked for the department, and his father was killed when he responded to a call involving a black suspect. He won a Democratic primary a few months ago and is running unopposed for his re-election. Ferguson is 2/3 black, yet the Mayor and the Chief of Police are white. There are three black police officers and there are no blacks on the school board. The fact that all of the elected officials are white, does not mean there is a problem, but when the policies and attitudes they put in place and enforce run counter to the interests of their citizenry, then there is a problem and something needs to be done. What can be done? In a word… VOTE !
Only 10-12% of the black residents of Ferguson voted in the last election. If you don’t participate you need to take some responsibility for the policies that are put in place that undermine you. Of course you can complain and protest, but it’s even more effective to be proactive and take positive action. VOTING has proven to be an effective course of action. The fact that a half-black man named Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President of the United States, TWICE, is proof of that. He won in the face of complete obstruction by Republicans who saw defeating him as their “number one priority”, according to Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell. Not jobs, not the economy, not foreign policy, but making sure President Obama wasn’t re-elected. However, in response to laws passed by Republican state legislatures designed to depress their turnout, blacks and Hispanics in coalition with whites, Asians, women and students, turned out in epic numbers, to VOTE and President Obama won re-election.
It’s not just Ferguson Missouri, nationally people are not involved enough. THEY ARE COUNTING ON US NOT VOTING! People tend to vote more in elections that involve choosing a President, however, mid-term elections are equally important. When less people vote it opens the door for people who may not have the support of the majority of the people to win. A Republican politician from Ferguson, MO. said that it was “digusting” that there were voter registration booths set up at the site where Michael Brown was shot. Ted Cruz and the Tea Party rose to power in Congress in the 2010 mid-term elections. They energized their base by demonizing and spreading lies about The Affordable Care Act, which is also known as Obamacare. The truth is that Obamacare has outperformed the governments best estimates and has provided affordable health care to millions of people.
There is another mid-term election on November 4th. Republicans stand a good chance of gaining more power, because MOST PEOPLE DON’T VOTE in mid-term elections! There is a lot at stake. Republicans are again using FEAR to bring their base out to vote. We need to counter with the fact that Republican policies are not supported by the majority of Americans. If you believe in affordable health care, women getting paid the same as men for doing the same job, raising the minimum wage, marriage equality, immigration reform, responsible gun legislation or corporations paying their fair share in taxes, YOU NEED TO VOTE! If Republicans win this election, none of these things, that you believe in, will be supported. THEY ARE COUNTING ON US NOT VOTING! I will be in China on Nov.4th, so I voted three weeks ago.
PLEASE VOTE!