Florida Proximate
Staying Stoic Post-Election
The clouds rolled in after the midterms, the edges of a rare November hurricane turning the days gloomy here, to match the mood for Democrats after our state elections. South Carolina has a straight ticket voting option, perhaps partially explaining how such large numbers of people voted for a Republican candidate with no education experience to be our next state superintendent. I was most depressed at the result of state-wide races; since they can’t be gerrymandered I figured we could eke out a victory or two.
But the people who turned out voted Republican, by large margins. In other states, abortion rights drove people to the polls, staunching the predicted red wave (cue so many period jokes). It seems like young voters and voters motivated by reproductive rights have provided a much-needed shot in the arm to our floundering democracy, as Heather Cox Richardson writes:
It will be interesting to see what happens if South Carolina enacts the abortion bans on the books (the case to reject the current law on the basis of the South Carolina constitutional right to privacy is currently being considered in the South Carolina Supreme Court). Once we’re living under an almost total abortion ban, will it increase Democratic voter turnout?
Assuming, of course, we have any Democrats on the ballot. I was again dismayed to see so many state-level legislative races uncontested. Until we have a functioning two-party system in the state, we should pay close attention to Republican primaries and put our weight behind the least worst candidate.
It’s going to be a long haul, and our scope needs to be broader than abortion rights. On my drive to campus, someone taped up a homemade sign on a bridge pillar: “Cunningham will take away your guns.” Voting Republican here is a way to affirm a violent and toxic masculinity. It’s also caught up in morality and religion, as evangelical preachers use the pulpit to promote right-wing politics. A good portion of people here who support Republican politicians do so because accepting authority is baked into Southern mores. Once in power, people assume you have the right to that power.
Southern (and national) Republican political identity is also about whiteness, so choosing to vote Democratic might also seem impossible for people raised in white supremacist communities. Segregation is alive and well, in schools, churches and the voting booth. Republican politicians reinforce these divides through race-based gerrymandering, and so the cycle continues.
On my commute, in between tuning into NPR’s coverage of the election results, I’ve been playing my favorite songs list. Angel Olsen’s album Burn Your Fire for No Witness is fabulous, and the song “Lights Out” has some good lines for these times: “If you feel like quitting now, then try a little harder/ The things we need the most, they seem to take a little longer.” We need things like a fair and just state government, reproductive rights, racial and economic equality, and the recognition of full human rights for our LGBTQ citizens, especially our children. There’s too much at stake for too many people to give up hope. So don’t give up. Dig in.