When The Choices Make You Sick
According to the Pew Research Center, only about 60% of the voting-age population cast their ballots in the last few national elections. The current election is shaping up to be even worse. About half the electorate would replace both candidates. The incentives to “stay home” and just “sit this one out” are strong. Given President Biden’s “deer in the headlights” performance during his debate with former president Donald J. Trump, one suspects that sentiment has only grown worse. It’s enough to make you vomit.
Which takes me to memories of an old friend with politics in his blood. His parents were activists in a town that didn’t particularly approve of their party affiliation. His mother persisted, eventually becoming a Washington State legislator from that very district. In other words, when it comes to politics, he tends to know what he’s talking about. Little wonder that one of my fondest political memories comes from this child of politics.
“Lee,” he once confided, “there are some elections where I need a vomit bag in the voting booth.”
J.C. to Leland E. Hale
I am certain many — if not most — of us have felt this same impulse. The choices sometimes seem so grotesque. A certain sense of “air sickness” pervades the mere contemplation of the act. We’re forced to imagine swallowing our own puke as we reach for the levers (broadly construed). We are, I submit, currently in one of those “vomit bag” elections.
Two Old Farts
The 2024 race for the presidency is, after all, a contest between two old men, both characterized by their opponents as doddering old farts. These are men certain to die in office. One has a vice president few seem to cotton to, the other has a lineup of toadies, replete with knee pads and matching ties. It’s hard to take any of them seriously. Such is the historical stature of the V.P.’s office. Few actually vote on the premise of an obscure non-entity. Nor should they.
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Indeed, the most famous line about being a vice president comes from FDR’s former V.P., John Nance Garner, who once offered his sage advice to LBJ. The latter was considering the V.P. role in JFK’s administration. Garner did not pander to his fellow Texan.
“I’ll tell you Lyndon,” Garner said. “The vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm s*it.”
Dr. Patrick Cox, History News Network
All of which is to say, we’re stuck basing our decision on the head of the ticket. Back to square one. As for those who ask, “why can’t either party put someone else at the top of the ticket?,” they already know the answer. Political parties have a lot in common with the Titanic: changing directions is difficult. Which leaves us with the conclusion that, short of the pre-election death of one or both of these candidates, this is all we’ve got. Which takes us back to the vomit bag.
Take The Vomit Bag
Let it be said: my friend J.C. was convinced that voting is always more important than not voting. Vomit bag notwithstanding, nothing could stop him from making that commitment. He thought of it as an obligation — a privilege — even when the choices are repulsive. Indeed voting is, even today, a fragile right. One that political groups have continually tried to obliterate. Consider: poll taxes, literacy tests, gerrymandering and dubious courtroom tactics designed to nullify legal votes, already taken.
Like it or not, this is all about power.
Not Everyone Gets To Vomit
Remember, too, that the vote was once reserved solely for white men who owned property (or who met certain religious tests). That right has gradually been extended, first to non-property owning white men, then to black men, to Native American men, to women and then to all Native Americans. Make what you will of that historical progression. Nothing is sacrosanct. [See: it’s all about power, above.]
So, given this context, try to imagine a man with a deeply felt duty to pick the least bad option and hoping for the best. A person who “takes” the vomit bag to the voting booth, just in case. Well, not just in case. It is a necessary prophylactic.
This election you, too, need to be like J.C. That said…
Fragility Personified
It is indeed pathetic that so much rides on such a fragile act. Aren’t there better ways? Well, if you listen to the authoritarians, yes, of course there are. In Mussolini’s Italy, you could still vote, but…
The Italian Parliament passed a Fascist-sponsored electoral reform that gave any party receiving over 25 percent of the vote two-thirds of seats. This measure, plus voter intimidation and fraud, gave the Fascists 64.9 percent of the vote in the April 1924 election.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present”
Did I mention Putin’s Russia?
Plus, corrupt elections are not the only path to power. Who needs elections when there’s a more foolproof alternative? Consider Muammar Gaddafi, who became the all-powerful leader of Libya in 1969. He seized power through a military coup. He retained that power for more than forty years (1969 – 2011).
Below is his 1969 radio message to the people of Libya. Let’s hope we don’t hear something similar in our near future.
People of Libya! In response to your own free will, fulfilling your most heartfelt wishes, your armed forces have overthrown the reactionary, backward, and corrupt regime. As of now Libya shall be free and sovereign; we shall build glory, revive heritage, and avenge a wounded dignity.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present.”
What, Me Worry?
So far, our political and judicial institutions have seemed “up to the task.” Or at least somewhat disinclined to go swerving hellbent toward every single extreme. I’m thinking here of the Trump-anointed U.S. Supreme Court, which… [SUPREME COURT UPDATE: Oh, how wrong could I be? They went there. They actually went there. ]
At any rate, I am still thinking about the Titanic. Can’t happen here? Please, let me buy you an iceberg.
Copyright Leland E. Hale, 2024. All rights reserved.
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