Pinpointing Those Who Really Lost Last Night
No doubt, concerning conventional news, Nikki Haley lost in all remaining states and announced the end to her run. Joe Biden has all but sowed up the Democratic nomination. And here in Alabama it was a ‘free for all’ concerning some of our U.S. House races due to redistricting. Some observations:
The real losers out there are those who believe in the validity of talk radio on the right, podcasts and straw polls on the left regarding how a candidate is doing. I’m not bashing middle aged democrats and independents in regards to the news they are getting from CNN or young progressives from any left leaning podcast or website run by young liberal purveyors of opinion and news. I’m not really bashing those podcasters either. They have a passion for what they do and progressives for what they consume. When I denote the term ‘loser’ it is also not in the sense of signifying failure or disqualification. I’m using the term in the sense of them as recipients not getting what they desire. The problem with hope is that it often times does not arrive at our future’s doorsteps along with reality.
During the past half year it was easy to believe Joe Biden would not be able to carry any significant momentum into another potential term due to his perceived failure to stand against Israel when he needed to. That he’d accrue for the party an historical low turn out in November. I actually began to believe this myself. This notion was predicated upon the issues over in the middle east and how young progressives perceived the matter. Polls last night in all states demonstrated profoundly otherwise. Other than in Michigan, and the uncommitted votes there with a heavy Arab population, his perceived disappointments to young, blue voters won’t have too large an outcome in November. I believe this is a tragic reality for young Americans who want a world of compassion and justice. Yet, they are seeing that at times negotiation calls for our leaders doing their best under impossible circumstances and those negotiations may not please the more idealistic factions of America. Our current president strategically realized that older and more centrist Democrats, aligned with wealthy Jewish interests in our country would be more of a factor for his potential reelection than Americans just out of college. This issues over there and how they relate to a campaign are a tough ‘life lesson’ idealistic progressives have to learn in regards to how politics work. Especially over a broader ‘ lighter blue’ electorate for something like a presidential campaign vs. something like campaigning in a U.S. House district, that would lean a deeper shade of blue with more homogeny. Biden’s campaign knows what it is doing, even if it seems lost to the YouTube ‘podcast’ crowd.
Trying your hand as a candidate in a U.S. House district where you don’t live is a tough sell. Surprisingly, Anthony Daniels who resides in North Alabama was able to get his race with Shomari Figures to a run-off. Figures finished higher and more than likely will win that seat. Personally, I’ve considered the desire to scratch the itch of running for a U.S. House seat in a district that I either used to reside in or one in which I did not. Voters see through this as being ‘insincere’ at times and rightfully so. They can begin to question a candidate’s motives if they are coming in like a ‘carpet bagger’ as a perceived publicity stunt. They see it more as someone who wants the notoriety of being in office instead of someone who wants to serve their home populace. Most new or redrawn districts like #2 had upwards to over 7 or so candidates in both parties coming out. I believe several did not live in that district. It is a ‘strategy’ to run in a district that you don’t live in, yet it’s not a solid one. Now more than ever voters want sincerity. Sometimes it’s legitimate and other times it can be misguided (i.e. the whole conspiracy, ‘drain the swamp crowd’). Yet, all the ferver for wanting sincere politicians is legitimate, even if it causes people to become gullible to false messaging. God knows we’ve never had a whole lot here in Alabama since we were founded.
There is still a reason new candidates choose to run for open seats, instead of challenging incumbents. Beating incumbents, particularly in a southern state, where voter apathy is stronger is impossible. It takes either a population base of young new and informed voters or an incumbent taking on a herculean scandal. Results here in Alabama last night for our U.S. House primaries proved that.
Takeaways:
Monitor your addiction to newsfeeds, podcasts and polls. They are often times biased or don’t tell the full truth about how an election may turn out. Always look at results, especially historically speaking over the past half decade. Political newsfeeds and opinion pieces are often times for clicks, either intentionally or unintentionally. They’ll take you for an emotionally ride you can’t get off of, only to leave you out in the ‘middle of nowhere’ when it comes to the value of your life. You, the consumer will be the ones with proverbial ‘egg on your face’ if you take in too much political based news and try to use it as a map concerning what will happen in any given election. I know how addicting it can be………………..PLEASE, LEAVE IT ALONE! Use that time as a civic minded activist or toward planning your campaign if you feel like running for office instead of spending time scrolling.
We are a nation in serious trouble as far as what we value in a candidate. At least half of us. Running for office is a noble endeavor, yet now more than ever we have to ask ourselves if a huge swath of our population is worth serving in what they show their values to be. Remember……………..like I said before………………the taxpayers and voters are going to be YOUR BOSS if you get into office. Do you want a certain type of voter as YOUR BOSS!
It’s easy to dream and want to ‘scratch that itch’ of notoriety in being a candidate or office holder. Make sure you are mostly doing it for the right reasons. Every candidate who has ever lived is doing it for some selfish reasons. The decent ones just let the altruistic motives outweigh the selfish ones. If there wasn’t a bit of some selfish motives involved……………..no one would run in the first place. Campaigns are just too damn hard. If you don’t do it for mostly decent reasons some voters can see through the insincerity. This paradigm must be most observed by candidates running outside of their home district. Finally, You’ve got to be a ‘once in a lifetime unique’ candidate or have ‘once in a lifetime unique’ circumstances to unseat a ‘multiple cycled’ incumbent in Alabama.
See everyone at the polls in November
-J
#Alabamaprimaries2024
