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The Vote
Tales From the Mid-Term Elections: St. Louis, Missouri
by Lynne Michelson
I grew up in a staunchly Democratic household and recall
with fondness canvassing with my mother for Eugene McCarthy
for President. His slogan was "Be Green for Gene" -- weirdly
predictive of the current progressive political party. We
wore white flat-top hats holding green flowers to
symbolize McCarthy's committment to the environment. I also
worked for George McGovern, who fared poorly in his
presidential bid. After these losses and the horrifying assassinations of Robert Kennedy
and Martin Luther King in the late 60's, my disillusionment turned to resignation and then
finally to apathy, and I left politics altogether -- until the most
recent elections some 30 years later.
The Monday preceding the November 2002 election found me
at the dentist. As I waited, the receptionist and I talked about the upcoming
vote, and she said she was going to be a Republican
election judge. I asked her, "Can you tell me why you vote
Republican?" I really wanted to know. She was well-versed politically, and said she votes the person rather than
the party. Bush, she said, was consistent:
he responded to the nation's need for clarity, strength, direction, and order. To her he was giving the people what they were asking for: action after 911.
The next day, November 5th, I arose early and went to
vote. Finding my polling place mobbed, I was optimistic -- high voter turnout usually helps the Democratic cause. At 9:00 I reported to the St. Louis County campaign office of Jean Carnahan, and found donuts, coffee, juice, excitement, and later
a full lunch. We were given ponchos, flashlights, and street
addresses; it was time to GOTV: "Get Out The Vote."
My car barely held the bodies of us six canvassers and our
enthusiasm was evident as we began our GOTV. We were armed with a
packet containing an address list of Democratic-leaning
voters, and we walked in the light rain to empty homes and left "vote" signs on door
knobs. I became a bit discouraged as we found only a smattering
of people at home -- and some of those shared only their frustration with
dirty campaigning and overzealous phone callers. One man
angrily told me he wouldn't vote Democratic because he
felt his privacy had been invaded by the incessant
campaigning. It was uplifting to find some voters
supporting my candidate, but mostly it was I and my partner who bonded
over the volunteer effort. I just hoped the crucial city
numbers were high, and I worked the entire day, from 9am-7pm, including a frantic drive to polling sites at
6:30 to check for voting numbers. I eagerly awaited the
polls' close at 7.
Much to my dismay, on the stroke of 7, NPR reported energetic crowds only at the headquarters of Jim Talent (Carnahan's Republican opponent). By the time I arrived at Carnahan's
party site, the dispirited group clung to each other like
cold, wet disaster survivors. By 1:00 a.m., the numbers were tilting to Talent. I was not
shocked, just puzzled.
My alarm awoke me at 7:00 a.m, and I heard Talent had indeed won by a whisker. In addition, the vote
for raising state taxes on cigarettes had been defeated.
Mondale had lost in Minnesota. The results flattened me
and I just lay in bed wondering how this could be. What
did people want? What did Talent offer? Strong
conservative opinions and a tidy suburban look -- safe,
predictable. Just what the dentist's receptionist wanted.
People wanted predictable, people wanted forceful. Percentage-wise, most of
those who voted had their material needs already covered. People voted for something that they knew and in
some strange way must trust. Perhaps fear has become a contented bedfellow for material security -- fear creates a need for
immediate answers, so we elect those to office who give obvious and simplistic solutions. Homeland security,
finger pointing at "bad guys." The conservative stance is predictable and
clear: military solutions, freedom to have guns but not to
choose whether to have a baby. Most of all, Republicans offer a
veiled but clear promise to serve first the weathy and powerful,
especially the corporations. I read in the paper that
Republican stock prices did well on November 6th.
After some time I got up, got back to my life and found a
quiet resignation -- the people had chosen. But still
today I truly wonder about "my" country's priorities.
Yesterday I received an email link to a website full of
beautiful woods, waterfalls, and lush unspoiled country.
Who could receive this and not worry that it will all be
eventually developed? Who doesn't love the serenity and
beauty of our national parks? Who wants to be without
healthcare? Who wants their child afraid to go outside
because the citizens have guns?
But "my" president is worried about Iraq and not our
trees. He warns us about Saddam's weapons of global
destruction and not about the ongoing loss of our world's
species. The judges he picks will determine whether we
will still have clean air protections and the multitude of
environmental laws designed to safeguard our land.
Predictable? I hope not. Safe? I can only hope these two
years pass quickly and not too many laws protecting our
country's natural gifts are reversed. I can only hope for
safety and that war is somehow avoided by minds larger
than those that have prevailed in this election.
Lynne Michelson is a counselor and Nia teacher in St. Louis, Missouri.
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