I wasn't going to let construction work stop me from voting!

Well, yesterday, I did it.

Finally got it done.

At 12:20 PM (Central time), I walked inside Dundee Presbyterian Church (52nd St. and Underwood Ave.) to cast a midterm ballot.

Took me 25 minutes to go through the whole procedure...from giving the Election Day attendants my name all the way to filling out a two-page ballot.

And once it was all done, I was able to join millions of other Americans in scratching an itch that had been festering for two years.

Two long years.

Two excruciatingly long years.

Two years of- let's face it- this country's Republicans setting the stage for full-fledged fascist rule, what with the Elephants dominating all phases of government...from the national level all the way to (in too many places) the local level. 

Speaking of local level...it seemed as if Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert (she's a Republican) and her staff were determined to make it difficult for folks in the precinct around Dundee Presbyterian (and people living in the precinct centered by nearby Brownell-Talbot School) to get to their respective polling places. 

Roadwork along 52nd Street gave the game away.

So...I ended up parking on Webster Street and walking across Happy Hollow Boulevard to get to the church. 

And when voting was done and I left the polling place, it felt good.

But I ended up spending most of the next ten hours on pins and needles.

I'd feared that the Republicans had retained both divisions of Congress.

They didn't. 

The Democrats took back the House while the Republicans added to their Senate majority. And according to www.dailykos.com, the Elephants won 18 gubernatorial races while the Donkeys got 13 of 'em.

I didn't get everything I voted for (Kara Eastman and Jane Raybould didn't unseat, respectively, Don Bacon and Deb Fischer, while Pete Ricketts got reelected as Nebraska's governor), but I'm glad about the fact that in two months, this country's House having more Democrats in it than Republicans should help to bring checks and balances back to Washington. 

And here's hoping that Nancy Pelosi and Co. investigate, investigate, and investigate.

And oh, yes...start impeachment proceedings.

Pronto.

 

Darn Right I Voted!

On Tuesday, 11-6-2012, I arrived at my neighborhood polling place, Omaha's Dundee Presbyterian Church, at 11:20 AM...and cast my ballot.

And as things turned out, I got some of what I wanted. (But then, when you go out and vote, chances are you're not going to get everything you want.)

John Ewing (my choice for US Representative from this district) didn't win...and that means former Omaha City Council member Lee Terry Jr. will be back in Washington, DC, for his eighth term in the US House.

Bob Kerrey won't be back in the nation's capital. Instead, State Sen. Deb Fischer gets to supersize her gig...and becomes one of a record twenty women who'll take the oath of office the first week of 2013 as US Senators.

But I was happy about The Big One.

Barack Obama getting a second term of office in the White House means- as far as I'm concerned- that America's got a real chance to really get back on its feet.

Over sixty million people just got through telling this country's government that, among other things, for a recovery to just plain take off, the nation's 300,000 wealthiest citizens have absolutely GOT to pay their fair share (or else they're going to continue to be labeled as traitors!).

Those voters also said: "Look, Republicans, the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is the law of the land. And if you don't like the law the way it is...don't repeal it! Strengthen it, okay?"

I'm excited about the possibilities ahead. (Maybe you are, too.)

And whether or not the people you preferred to win won their seats (or got reelected), it's long been time for all sides to get together and find common ground and think about We the People        and move this country forward.

Thanks for reading this blog!