coming out of my shell

coming out of my shell

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Better than an action movie

I'm sure you are all sick to death of my political posts. Hang in, please. The mid-term elections are less than two weeks away and then I promise to go back to Colette's World style posts. For now, though, I am having the most fun of my adult life with this Florida gubernatorial race. Like so many political battles in this 2018 mid-term election year, this represents the divide that exists in this great country, and it delivers the best hope for breaching that divide and returning us to a healthy democracy.  

Last night I watched the final debate between the progressive Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum and his Trumpite opponent, Republican Ron DeSantis. The first debate had more quotable quotes, but this second one was absolutely epic. I spent that hour on the couch whooping it up, pointing, snapping, and feeling more hopeful than I have in a long time. It was more exciting than watching the Chicago Cubs finally win the World Series last year, but oddly similar in spirit. And yes, Andrew knocked it out of the park. 








and here's a video of it in case you are as obsessed as me:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRjRreOomWE

10 comments:

  1. Thank you, Colette, for the link to the debate. May Andrew Gillum be the next governor of Florida!

    Interesting to witness the fist bump rather than a handshake at the end, to see Ron DeSantis extend his hand as Andrew Gillum extended a fist and that Ron DeSantis aqreed to a fist bump.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=43&v=S52V8YeVPqw

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    1. Yes, I liked that as well. So do all the young people.

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  2. I am Canadian and don’t understand what will be happening with this election. I would love a post on what a mid-term election is and what you hope happens. We don’t have mid-term elections in Canada. The only time we have an election is if it’s a bi-election. In my city the person that represents us provincially has stepped down so we have to go back to the polls to have another election. Other than that rare occurrence, we are stuck with who is in office until the next election.

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    1. Interesting! What we in the U.S. might refer to as the regular election cycle are the years when our presidents are elected. For example, our last presidential election was in 2016, and our next one will be in 2020. U.S. Presidents are elected for 4 years terms, and they can be re-elected once for a total possibility of 8 years in office.

      Our biggest voter turn out are in those years when presidential elections take place, because it is such an important election. In between we have "mid-term" elections (i.e., middle of the presidential term) where many other public servants who are elected on a 2 year cycle, or who have 4 or 6 year terms that aren't on the same 4 year schedule as the presidential ones, happen. Each state is a little different with statewide elections, but in Florida, our governor is up for election every 4 years in the "mid-term" cycle, not on the same schedule as presidential ones. However, there are other states that are in sync with the presidential ones. Voter's are not as likely to show up to vote in the "mid-terms." So the fact there there is so much excitement about so many mid-term elections around the country is a sign that voters are quite energized these days. November 6 will tell the tale, though.

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    2. Okay. Got it. It makes sense now. Thank you.

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    3. We are hoping for a huge turnout in these midterms. And hoping that things begin back toward normalcy.

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    4. Wouldn't both of those things be great?

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  3. I just sent in my absentee ballot in Pennsylvania (I'm heading south for November). Good luck in Florida.

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  4. The Electoral College only applies to the presidential election. All the other elections in the U.S. (that I know of) are decided by the popular vote. If you are interested in why we have such a ridiculous presidential election scheme, you might want to look at the Wikipedia entry about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College
    Cheers.

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So, whadayathink?