For one moment; please try to educate an uneducated voter.....
Why should they choose to be a Republican or choose to be a Democrat? Explain with PARTY ONLY format---without divisely using one candidate as an example.
If you had five minutes to empower a voter with factual based splendor why they should support a party; what would you tell them?
I walked door to door a few times... the educational experience relative to talking to "Citizens vs VOTERS" was absolutely humbling. I heard it all..but reality speaks by the turnouts... and the reality is pretty ugly. People are completely DISENFRANCHISED, INTIMIDATED, and adversely affected by the political regime of our region. They have a long history of getting violated for speaking their truths and opinions on matters of significance in our community from the simple public forums to asking for politicians to do their jobs in the local community. They have been retaliated against; had their integrity and character devaluated by the regime, and in many cases; they have been used as pawns and stepping stones for the politicians. In addition to that; they have been labeled recklessly, bullied, and threatened. So, now, they do not even CARE about what happens in this arena. They are bitter, angry, and resentful of the historical and ongoing political practices that affect them and their community at large. They have been hit with the pay to play politics that have destroyed their senes of neighborhood stability and community. Their bottom line is the same as the politicians, What is in it for me? Why should I vote? Who cares? What are you going to do to make our lives better? If I vote for your candidate; will they stop harrassing me for not supporting the other candidate? If I tell you my opinion; will it make a difference? In most cases; they answer that themselves with a big, "NOPE!"
Meeting with citizens who are totally disconnected from the local politics and disgusted by the history is not easy. First; you get to hear the horror stories of how the politicians speak down to them. Second; you get to hear how they have been violated by retaliatory practices for not playing on the team of the current regime effectively. Third; you get to hear their excuses of how they don't have time for all of the politics. Fourth; you get to hear how many of them are so transient that they don't even have roots to vote. Fifth; you hear about how they are unable to get out to vote or that they didn't even know that it was voting day. Sixth; they don't know how to register to vote, didn't have time, or simply don't vote because they are a "FELON!" Seventh; they don't believe that their vote counts anyways.
I remember Santiago telling me that "non-voters don't matter." I wanted to strangle him. But that is true at the end of the line; for only the actual people who engaged their democratic rights to vote usually chronically engage the councilman's office. All the rest are just pawns. So, perhaps the non voters are right. (I personally don't believe this; but it's a great reflection of how the politicians treat them.)
So, I think back to the days of living in the community where it started with block club leadership, then it went up to Precinct Leadership for both parties, and upwards to the local councilman with public meetings that overflowed with citizen engagement for voting sessions and much more. Citizens once worked tirelessly to hold their local leadership accountable and to share up and down information to keep it's population INFORMED. Over the years; all of those public sharing sessions, one on one engagements, and citizen driven forums has been maligned with corruption that violated the citizens.
So, Republicans and Democrats.. please explain to the ignorant voters; what is in it for them to choose sides?
...............oh, I forgot.... there are more sides to the party system. Yet, at this time; in our community; only the R or D's matter on the ballot. By stance; the D's outweigh the R's. So, anyone playing politics would be an idiot to run on the R ballot by sheer numbers alone.
The voting bases that actually vote have LEARNED by trial and error---to play politics to acheive their missions-even unsuccessfully and getting burned many times over for supporting the 'wrong' candidates.
SO, WITHOUT DISCUSSING SPECIFIC CANDIDATES; CAN YOU PLEASE EDUCATE THE UNEDUCATED VOTER ON WHY TO CHOOSE WHICH PARTY?
JUST CURIOUS. :)