Hi Kossacks! I've been reading other people's diaries on this site for a while now, but I am finally sitting down and writing one myself. Not only that, but I recently joined Twitter, which is difficult for me to come to terms with. But it appears I have slipped the surly bonds of my comfort zone, and am dancing the skies of social media mediums that pretty much everyone my age long ago figured out.
But I digress
Recently I started going to organizing meetings for the SF Chapter of Bay Area for Bernie. I've been a Bernie fan for years, having lived in Vermont, and agreeing with just about everything he has said and done since I started paying attention. When he made the decision to run I was ecstatic. Finally there was a politician I was excited about running for president. There was just one small problem: very few people outside of New England knew who he was. "That's no big deal" I thought to myself "The last couple elections there were, like, a billion debates. By the time the voting starts everyone will at least know his positions. This is how Democracy works."
Then came a staggering realization. There are only 6 sanctioned democratic debates, not one of which has even been scheduled yet. When the leaders at the organizing meeting asked if anyone wanted to head up the Twitter #WeWantDebate project i felt conflicted. This is an issue I feel strongly about. We can't have a functioning democracy if the electorate doesn't know who's in the race, let alone what their positions are... but my severe aversion to Twitter! So I sucked it up, volunteered to lead the group, and just posted my first tweet. Today is, in fact, the day that we are trying to get the message out.
This is an extremely important issue. Not only if you are Bernie Sanders supporter, but also if you believe in the idea of self governance. Debates are the one forum we have in elections where the playing field is equal. Everyone gets the same amount of time and opportunity to show the voters who they are, and what they stand for. No one can buy more exposure at a debate. Once they are on that debate stage the media can't pretend they aren't there. The voters have that time to decide what they think for themselves.
Of course the fewer debates there are the better off that will be for Hillary Clinton, however I implore Hillary supporters not to fall into that trap. Every time the Republicans do anything to try to use their power to shape election votes we have been there to say that it's wrong, which is the right thing to do. Right now it's our favored party that's doing it. If we have any integrity we must all stand up to the party and say "You don't get to decide, we do". Beyond that is the fact more debates would be good for her, too. Most people on the left that don't like her feel that she is out of touch with where most people in the base actually are, and that she's just playing the middle road like her husband did. With more debates she has a chance to show that she can align herself with the will of the people. If she can do that, then I for one would vote for her.
If you are interested in joining today's campaign to get more debate, please follow me over the squiggle (I finally got to write that!)