On the heels of a long hot summer, the 2012 Presidential race is only beginning to heat up. With only two months left until the November 6th elections, candidates and their eager supporters, as well as their over-zealous opponents, are buckling down for a showdown. The result of which will serve as a testimony towards the faith gained and hope lost of the American people. Whichever way the tides shift this fall, we as LGBT/women/allies/parents/anyone with a brain need to realize the severity of the ideals and influence that some very powerful politicians have. Let me put this in the most basic way: if we the minorities and the marginalized fail to show up to the polls on election day (or the weeks leading up via absentee or early voting) We. Are. Screwed.
For the last few months I have been cultivating a series of articles that will cover everything from the upcoming Democratic National Convention to the grassroots elections efforts that are taking place right here in Chicago. Today, for those of you who have tried your hardest to drown out the sounds of ignorance with Corona Light and street festivals, I will ease you in to the every-four-years glory (headache) that is election time. Are you ready to catch up?! Great! (Note: if you have been keeping up to date with the ridiculousness that is the 2012 Republican candidates, good job! This is a recap).
Let’s start with the first Mormon who has ever been the Republican Presidential Nominee, Gov. Mitt Romney himself. Now, would you believe me if I told you that he is even more conservative than former crazy President George Bush when it comes to relationship recognition? Well, it’s true! Romney does not support ANY form of relationship recognition for LGBTQ couples, not even Civil Unions. To top that off, he believes that the State should be responsible for whether or not employers can discriminate due to sexual orientation- and as a Governor? He’s not a fan of equality. Yep, Romney thinks these protections are an “unfair burden” on the employers. I could write a novel on all of the missteps and sketch that is the Romney Campaign, but I say we let this unfold a little, shall we?
Conveniently enough, Romney chose an über rightwing running mate from the politically charged state of Wisconsin, who happens to have a voting record that matches his anti-gay and presumably anti-women views perfectly. Romney has been quite wishy-washy on his views towards women’s rights, so why not have an outspoken nutcase from Wisconsin do the heavy lifting? Rep. Paul Ryan scares me. Listening to his speech at the RNC, which was laced with inaccuracies and outright lies, it hit me. WHAT IF THEY WON. Dude is as conservative as can be when it comes to LGBTQ rights- even the ones that keep us protected from hate crimes (i.e. the Federal Hate Crimes Law) and reproducing (outlawing In Vitro Fertilization). Disregarding the fact that IVF is a viable family planning tool utilized by thousands of heterosexual couples, banning IVF (and presumably limiting or banning same-sex adoption rights) effectively kills the “gay family.” Again, I am predicting some big guns to come out in the next few weeks— maybe he will go spend all of Romney’s tax savings on some clothes à la Sarah Palin? Or maybe we will catch him walking into Steamworks on Halsted (note: if this reference goes right over your head, good for you). Here’s to hoping we get some killer news to knock this anti-abortion (even in cases of rape) nut job down a few steps.
Speaking of rape, did you know that it is officially the cheapest and MOST IDIOTIC form of birth control? You have all heard it before, and you probably read our very own Leah Schein reflect on the idiocies of Rep. Todd Akin and his ties to Paul Ryan. A hilarious post by the Daily Beast claimed that the politician believed that homosexuality can be cured by drinking breast milk. While it was merely a ruse to further fire up us crazy liberals, I wouldn’t be so surprised if some of these people believe it to be true.
As I conclude this brief synopsis, I want you to think about what it would be like if these men take control of this country. Mind you, these are just the pawns who are representing millions of people, billions of dollars and zero common sense. In the following weeks you will read about some of the many hurdles that we will face in the next couple months, some of the work that people are doing in the community to shape these results and much more. Below you will find a timeline of the next couple of months including details for registration, absentee voting and debate dates.
The Democratic National Convention officially kicked off Thursday, with President Obama accepting his party’s nomination. Festivities have been well underway this whole week, complete with a perfectly timed and well executed speech by our beautiful First Lady. It is vital that we pay attention. Viewership of these events count as votes to pollsters. On that note, polls count as votes to pollsters. If they call you, answer. Take a few minutes, get your issues recorded and take a stand. With the Republican National Convention leaving Florida with a box of tainted ballots and wealthy strippers, I will leave you with a quote from a Romney pollster who vowed that the Romney campaign would “not let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.” Hmmmm. Well, that makes me feel good about the trash sent into the airwaves.
Presidential Election 2012 Timeline: VOTING
(Adapted from the Illinois State Board of Elections Website)
*REMEMBER! In Illinois, it is not necessary for you to have ANY excuse to register for an absentee ballot. That means that you can vote from anywhere at any time once you receive the ballot delivered directly to you. ALSO every Ward has a location open for early voting, which is available about two weeks before the election date itself. So sorry, no excuse to not get out and vote (or, stay in and vote)!
9/27/2012—–First day to apply for absentee ballot (mail or in-person)
10/9/2012—–Last day to register
10/10/2012—First day for grace period registration and voting
10/22/2012—Early voting starts
11/1/2012—–Last day for absentee voting by mail
11/3/2012—–Last day for Grace Period registration and voting
11/3/2012—-Last day for Early Voting
11/5/2012—-Last day to vote via absentee
11/6/2012— ELECTION DAY
2012 Presidential Debates! (Watch one- they will all be
streamed live!) From, http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-debate-
schedule/2012-presidential-debate-schedule/
October 3, 2012
Topic: Domestic policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: University of Denver in Denver, Colorado
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
Moderator: Jim Lehrer (Host of NewsHour on PBS)
The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.
October 11, 2012
Vice Presidential
Topic: Foreign and domestic policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Centre College in Danville, Kentucky
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan
Moderator: Martha Raddatz (ABC News Chief Foreign
Correspondent)
The debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics and be divided into nine time segments of approximately 10 minutes each. The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the question.
October 16, 2012
Topic: Town meeting format including foreign and domestic policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
Moderator: Candy Crowley (CNN Chief Political
Correspondent)
The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues. Candidates each will have two minutes to respond, and an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate a discussion. The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization.
October 22, 2012
Topic: Foreign policy
Air Time: 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Participants: President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
Moderator: Bob Schieffer (Host of Face the Nation on CBS)
The format for the debate will be identical to the first presidential debate and will focus on foreign policy.
For more fun and educational reading:
Leah’s scathing Todd Akin article
Daily Beast Article: http://www.examiner.com/article/liberals-duped-by-satirical-todd-
akin-breast-milk-article-attempt-to-smear-gop
No, Seriously. The RNC is great for Tampa strippers: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/23/
politics/tampa-gop-strip-clubs/index.html
For more entertainment: http://gawker.com/5939003/the-best-republican-convention-
dance-moves-set-to-my-neck-my-back
To watch footage of the Democratic National Convention: turn on any news channel.
CNN, MSNBC, whatever you normally watch.
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About Lauren
Lauren was born and raised in South Minneapolis and like many other innocent midwesterners got sucked into the black hole of Chicago politics 4 years ago. As the LGBT Coordinator for the Gery Chico for Mayor Campaign she attempted to take on the entire city and hasn’t looked back since. Now working for a communications firm, she spends her extra time running around with cases of PBR playing in different sports leagues, hosting couchsurfers from all over the place, and deciding how she is going to change the world. A simple lady at her core, she has decided that the first person to send her an edible arrangement must be the one.
My God man — so vital – everyone get out and vote the party that will actually speak about and fight for human rights for all in this country. OBAMA 2012 — FORWARD my friends….
Posted by k guz | September 7, 2012, 1:34 pm