The midterm election is scheduled Nov. 3, and if the year’s primaries are an indication, there could be changes ahead.
However, unprecedented fundraising and spending, unusual and selective redistricting, an attempted crackdown on mail-in ballots, and various unproven allegations of corrupt voting together pose a challenge, if not discouragement – or even intimidation.
“Many scholars of global history note that such repressive actions follow the authoritarian playbook,” wrote Na Eng, author of “The Art of Saving Democracy” and chief creative officer at People for the American Way. “For authoritarians, elections aren’t a healthy competition of ideas and candidates, and voting rights aren’t constitutionally protected rights that our ancestors marched and fought hard to expand. They are merely inconvenient barriers that prevent the consolidation of power. To control the outcome of elections, authoritarians specifically target the historically marginalized and groups that resist their agenda.”
There are ways to overcome this contrived sabotage, and two stand out:
First, vote early. In Illinois, it started 40 days before Election Day, so it’s underway. And easy.
Next – and maybe more importantly – cast ballots to candidates you feel will honor their oaths of office and seek to enact changes that most of us want.
Sure, there are divisions in the country, but there’s also an enormous amount of common ground.
Here are examples of where U.S. citizens agree on issues – and these aren’t positions I want from a representative government. These are what WE want, according to polls.
* 70% believe that no one is above the law. (USA Today/Ipsos)
* Between 58% and 63% favor raising taxes on the rich and corporations. (Pew Research)
* Some 60% of us oppose the War in Iran. (Quinnipiac University)
* 61% support Ukraine defending itself against Russia’s invasion. (YouGov and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs)
* 52% favor a ban on military-style rifles (Gallup) and 87% support background checks for all gun sales. (USpollingdata)
* About 80% favor reforming and strengthening foreign aid a year after the U.S. Agency for International development (USAID) was dismantled. (Rockefeller Foundation)
* 67% support providing some relief to student loans, and 64% back cancelling student debt in exchange for public service. (Bipartisan Policy Center)
* 74% want reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Navigator Research)
* 71% approve of labor unions, and a substantial minority, 47%, want unions to have MORE influence. (Gallup)
* 56% support raising the federal minimum wage – which has been $7.25/hour since 2009 – to $30/hour by the year 2030. (YouGov)
* 66% say the government must make sure everyone has affordable medical coverage. (Pew) and 86% of Americans support allowing the federal government to set maximum prescription-drug prices based on what drugs cost in other developed countries. (University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation)
* 83% support a law combining mandatory immigration’s E-Verify mandates for employers with an expansion of legal work visas when employers need workers. (University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation)
Also, continuing with findings from Maryland’s survey program, most Americans want:
* Social Security reforms through actions such as subjecting income over $400,000 to the payroll tax and reducing benefits for top lifetime earners;
* more federal funding to establish free universal preschools;
* tax incentives for builders to construct or repair homes affordable to working families;
* a national paid-leave program to let workers take 12 weeks off to care for a new child, an ill family member, or themselves;
* prohibiting Members of Congress from trading stocks in individual companies;
* subsidized child care for low- and middle-income parents so families spend no more than 7% of their income on it; and
* guardrails on Artificial Intelligence, especially for systems making decisions about hiring, loans or health coverage.
Personally, it’s difficult to accept that most everyday Americans hate others who are different races, religions, genders, ages, national origins and so on, but the bottom line, expressed by Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League is that “Americans deserve better. They deserve leaders who place affordability ahead of ideology. They deserve policies that reward work, not simply wealth. They deserve a government focused on expanding opportunity rather than manufacturing outrage.”
Some will cry that these public-opinion results are radical. But isn’t supporting Americans’ preferences anything BUT extremist?
