Trending
What an election! Folks, the power has always been ours, we just need to be convinced to use it! For every election, large or small, we should have a very modest expectation that at least a majority of registered voters would cast a ballot. I heard so many folks at the polls say this, that if you don't vote, don't complain. These people take their responsibility seriously, as we all should.
Not every country affords its citizens the right and privilege of a say in its government, and we are lucky to be where we are, and to be part of this blue wave that is rising to the occasion. This nation was founded on the principles of government of, by, and for, the people. Without the "by" there isn't a "for" for long. We must not take that responsibility lightly.
Up until Tuesday, our future as a democratic country was in jeopardy. Tuesday's election results grabbed us back from the precipice of autocracy - for now. But it shouldn't have taken this long, so much damage has been done to our beloved country and its citizens, so much greed, corruption, hatred, ignoring of the common good of the people.
The plan to take the reins of government away from the people and give them to the huge corporate CEOs, to put big business interests in charge of us, to make us feudal peasants to the moneyed class, was taken from the pages of history and put into the pages of Project 2025. If we can build on the momentum that this election has given us, we may see this plan unravel. Trump was useful to the Project while things were going well, now they may not be too happy with him either. We may see rats jumping ship. We may see Elon go try to ply his influence elsewhere. We can only hope. We the people must stay strong.
Remember, our votes are what puts the politicians where they are. If we just let them go their merry way without holding them accountable to us, how many of them will stay true to their campaign promises? Very few. It takes strong character, an internal honesty and integrity, and if that is not something they have carried with them since their childhood, it is very easy for them to make excuses and to follow the shiny objects of wealth and power. We have to keep them in line, be strict parents, and we have not been doing a good job lately. They need to know we are paying attention.
For instance, just a factual five-minute biography read on DJT would have told every voter all they needed to know about his real-life history and why to avoid electing him at all costs. But so many chose not to take the time, to listen to his snake-oil pitch (remember the story about the snake he always liked to tell - that was him revealing his truth, just as clear as day), and believe his made-up reality showbiz persona. It was so much more fun to go to his rallies, to laugh at his nonsense, to feel authenticated in the grievances that he assured his followers were the fault of Obama, or Biden, or their next-door neighbor- anything to take away the pain of responsibility rather than work toward a way to fix them. We all were warned, now we have to claw our way back from the ruination that he inevitably caused, – that was predicted by everything he has done his entire life.
It also needs to be mentioned, something that was already passed into law by the Republican 119th Congress, the Big Beautiful Bill will have provisions that were scheduled to take effect in 2027. Be on the alert for those who will feel the pinch of the healthcare cuts that will begin next year, and think that it was the doing of the 120th Congress. Healthcare is already at a premium in our region. Due to the Federal cuts to Medicaid, rural hospitals and nursing homes are hurting or disappearing altogether. Insurance costs are skyrocketing along with everything else; many are facing losing insurance completely. If the federal government cared about the common good, they would be investing in more hospitals, more healthcare workers, more research, not cuts to benefit big business and as President Eisenhower warned, the influence of the "military-industrial complex". So many of our tax dollars have been blown up in Trump's war with Iran.
So many things to fix! Our broken healthcare system, ending the war and getting prices down, getting money and corruption out of politics, and here's something that hasn't been dared to be speculated but with the states that have flipped, it could be possible - a way to circumvent the electoral college system and elect the president by popular vote, by 2028! The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could get the needed states to complete the agreement, New York state is already on board, since 2016.
The ramifications of the Blue Wave will begin to be felt, when the new congress gets sworn in. Our district regrettably will not be part of the mending process, because our area stays stubbornly red, even when it's against its best interests. It's been republican policies in Washington that have been strangling our rural populations - no help with healthcare, infrastructure, food assistance, tariffs and immigration policies that hurt farmers. When elected representatives just toe the Trump line without fighting for what their constituents actually need, why do they get re-elected? When they continually say one thing and do another (look up their congressional voting record), why keep believing them? The saying, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result", whether or not it was said by Einstein, or whether it is insanity or not; is what republicans seem to do.
Many developments await, we will begin to see what steps will be taken to fix what's broken, the tasks that the voters have charged Congress with. It is not unusual for a midterm election to swing in favor of the minority party, but this one was a knock out of the park. The new Congress will have its work cut out for it - and that isn't even taking into consideration what has not happened yet, but could happen between now and Jan. 3. Every day is a new challenge - we the people have to stay on our toes. Stay tuned folks.
Susan Bigler is a Sheridan resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com