Hi there CivFanatics,
I don't know how many of you will recognize me, but I hope some of you do. CivFanatics was a huge influence for me in understanding the nature of the world. To this day, I regularly talk about how my interactions with other individuals on CivFanatics made me open to learning lessons from individuals of foreign cultures, nations, and languages. Saying that my experience on CFC was formative is understating things. If you want to learn more of my background, you can visit
www.nakuipersdesign.com.
I am working to put together a campaign for the state legislature in my area.
My question to you Fanatics is, what would you want to say to a person running for office in Florida? I like to think that this is a uniquely impactful position on the world stage. What would you want to say to a minor player in the legislation of the most powerful country in the world?
Thank you CFC for being you. Please talk to me as much as you want to.
Quick reply: Please try to influence politicians there to be sane, not anti-science, not anti-choice, and not needlessly cruel to the marginalized demographics.
I kid you not, Florida's politics matters here in the province of Alberta, in Western Canada. Our premier, Danielle Smith, LOVES DeSantis, and her followers who are at the same time all too willing to get her turfed if she doesn't say and do what they want, admire the far-right crap that's going on in the U.S. The "Take Back Alberta" bunch admires everything Trump did and that the anti-choice states are doing or have done (they never say what/who they're "taking Alberta back" from, but they're constantly bleating about "freedom" and "choice" and don't ever explain what it means to them beyond scaremongering about masks, the covid vaccine and the boogeyman of the "15-minute city").
Our premier and her cabinet being influenced by this American style of politics scares the hell out of people like me - I just joined the middle ranks of being a senior citizen a month ago, I'm disabled, and as long ago as Stephen Harper in 2015 with his (Un)Fair Elections Act, there have been attempts to rig elections or tinker with ID requirements to lessen the chances of seniors, homeless, disabled, students, and indigenous people voting - because most of these groups are less likely to vote for a right-wing party.
So sanity and less anti-science and blurring of church and state (it is supposed to be separate in your country, if I understand it correctly) would be great, because the worse it gets there, the more our own far-right want to import it here.
I’m not sure if that would help. Even going by his signature, I’m not all that inclined to vote for a progressive leftist.
Please define "progressive leftist." Progressive means to move forward, to make things better, at least in my view. I've never voted for any right-wing party, and never will. Yet I don't think I'm wrong in believing that you don't consider me an awful person, right?
I think this is great that you're doing this. Good luck to you.
My first bit of advice would be NOT to care what CFCers think you should do with the post. As Hygro said, get out there and find out what your constituents would want of you in the role. Your sole job is to represent them as effectively as you can. Find as many vehicles as you can for them to communicate with you: an inviting website that says "tell me what's on your mind," you dropping in on coffee shops and just sitting for three minutes asking "what would you want to see your state representative fight for?"
Just listen. Take it in. Don't put too much stock on any one answer (since you might be talking with an outlier). But once trends emerge, put that as a question to the people you talk to: "I've been hearing people say X; is that a big concern for you?" but always add "or is there something even more important?"
Vote Toasty! The other candidates are toast!
Vote Toasty! The best thing since sliced bread!
(You see where CFC can help you is with your sloganeering!)
Excellent Post #1.
As I keep saying to the UCP cheerleaders on FB, our current batch of cabinet ministers have no clue that they are highly-paid civil servants whose job is to serve ALL their constituents. Not just the ones who gave them money or services in kind (favors they expect to be repaid after with juicy contracts or appointments to boards and committees), not just the ones who voted for them, or put up a lawn sign, or come out to cheer for them at photo-ops. I have the right to expect my moronic MLA to at least acknowledge any communication I send her, since I'm one of her constituents. Yet because I don't publicly kiss the ground she struts on, she feels free to pretend that people like me don't exist.
If someone phones you, sends you an email, or a snailmail, always at least acknowledge that you received it, even if it's not something you can do something about. People hate it when they go to the trouble of trying to communicate with a politician and the politician makes it abundantly clear that (s)he doesn't think it's worth the time to say "we received your message/email/letter", never mind actually figuring out what to do about it - sometimes all that's necessary is contacting someone who
can do something about it.
Oh, and there's another method of communicating with politicians that some people use here that I don't know if they do there. My aforementioned MLA ignored the tens of thousands of phone messages, emails, letters, and online surveys that criticized her new curriculum. So some teachers and parents and concerned citizens left messages on the sidewalk outside her office, in chalk.
That got her attention. She put up a sign in the window, warning people that doing this was illegal and anyone caught would be fined. She carried on about having to use high-pressure hoses to clean these chalked messages off the sidewalk.
All of that's baloney. The cops have been clear that writing on the sidewalk with chalk is NOT illegal, and does not require a high-pressure hose to clean. All you need to get rid of the messages is this thing called a broom. Or wait until it rains.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying that you need to make sure the phone messages and mail get at least acknowledged, because people will find other creative ways if you don't. And if they have to go that far, they're usually pretty pissed off.
This.
Even though we at CFC are intellectuals*: those who can, do; those who can't, post about what they would do online.
Just make sure to have the hose handy in case any of the bath salt brigade think you stole the election with the help of the Pope and Tom Hanks.
*Anyone else been here long enough to remember that meme?
I've been here longer than you have, but tend not to frequent the American political threads. When was this going on?
If you know any progressive leftists that aren't dismissive of my experiences, I'm all ears. Until then, this bitter old man is on his own journey.
Once you've defined "progressive leftist" I think you'll find that there are plenty who don't dismiss your experiences, or at least don't dismiss all of them (I'm not sure which experiences you're referring to).
Just please remember that if someone identifies as a feminist, it doesn't automatically mean that they hate men. I don't. Why would I hang around on a forum populated mostly by guys for the last 18 years if I hate guys?
You should be honest about who you are and what your motivations are. But I think you should also try to be "above the culture wars" in one respect. Don't let the terms of those wars define and limit you. "I want to be a voice for all members of my district, including especially those who have no other voice" (both/and) is better than "I want to be a voice for the voiceless" (either/or). Hillary's biggest slip-up was the deplorables comment. You're always running to be the representative for all of your constituents.
Yeah, the "voiceless" bit reminds me of the terminology used to describe people like me at the polling station. Someone like me, if I need a little help or want to vote in any way that requires a bit of extra paperwork, is defined as an "Incapacitated Elector."
That's an insulting label. I'm not as able to get out to protests or events, but I don't consider myself to be voiceless. I may be physically disabled, but I'm not incapacitated in that I can't think clearly, or read and write. Elections Canada needs to find a better term, but of course they're not in any hurry for that, because there are actually people who have told me, "I didn't know people like you were allowed to vote!"
(There are only TWO people in Canada who are not allowed to vote, assuming they're otherwise a citizen, 18 and older, and reside in the riding they'd normally vote in, and those are the Chief Electoral Officer and his/her deputy - because one of their jobs is to resolve disputes and they MUST be seen to be completely neutral.)
So anyway, after all that, I wish you luck.
