No Vote

Polling place at Verona's City Hall. 4/4/23 dwm

 There's nothing on the ballot in Wisconsin today but a year from now, on the first Tuesday in November we'll be voting for local, state, and federal officials.

 The Presidential race will take all the oxygen between now and then, with red versus blue contests at the state level influencing what the legislatures and gubernatorial offices look like in the years ahead.

 All this usually means less gets done over the next year as candidates become afraid of their shadows.  They wouldn't dare vote for a bi-partisan bill that could be used against them and would rather there isn't a solution instead of acknowledging a good ideas by the other side.

The character I played Saturday evening had a couple lines we'll hear to some extent or another during the next 12 months, "You... are one of THEM!"

It seems highly unlikely entrenched partisans will reach across the aisle or look for common ground.  Politics has been plagued with this to some degree forever but current systems are designed to nominate candidates that appeal to people farther to the right or left than most voters.

A year out, it feels like the primary season will be a series of exhibition matches leading to an orderly, civil, and factual discussion and debate over facts and feelings about the next four years. 

Probably not, but it's a nice thought, isn't it?  It will be on each of us to decide the important issues and the most vital to our country; hopefully choosing the proper path for our nation.