Thomas Kennedy: The most important election of your life

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Every election it seems like we are told that it’s the most important election of our lifetime. We as voters hear this line so much, it’s become a bit of a cliche, something to shrug off as we head to the polls.

Taking that into account, I’m here to tell you that this is indeed, the most important election of your life. Especially if you live in Florida!

If you want to shrug this off, just think about what’s at stake.

Our waterways are currently a mess, largely thanks to Gov. Rick Scott, with toxic green algae and red tide making our beaches a health hazard to the public and killing marine wildlife.

Our minimum wage is currently at an abysmal $8.25.

Republicans in the state Legislature continue to reject Medicaid expansion, leaving around 660,000 Floridians who would qualify uninsured.

Public education is increasingly defunded as charter schools continue to raid taxpayer funds with the aid of Tallahassee lawmakers.

No meaningful action has been taken to prevent more senseless gun violence, even though the state has had fifty-one shootings since the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.

Millions of Floridians are disenfranchised through various methods of voter suppression.

I could keep listing the many ways in which working-class families in Florida badly need a change of leadership in Tallahassee, but I think you get the point.

The historical implications of these midterm elections on everyday Floridians are huge. We have the opportunity to elect the first black governor in the history of the state in Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and pass Amendment 4, which would restore the vote to over 1.4 million Floridians who have served their time yet are currently disenfranchised due to prior felony convictions. People who have paid their debt to society should not be punished for a lifetime.

One out of five black citizens can’t vote because of this form of voter suppression and ensuring its passage would be a blow to the legacy of Jim Crow in the South.

That’s all without addressing what’s going at the federal level. Immigrant children are still being put in cages, in fact, hundreds of them have been moved under the cover of nighttime from detention centers to a tent city in what could accurately be described as a concentration camp in Tornillo, Texas.

The Kavanaugh hearings have been a national disgrace, with Republicans in Washington refusing to take seriously sexual assault allegations leveled against a man whose entire political career has been a war on women, and working-class people for that matter.

The Trump administration continues to be corrupt and lawless, with five presidential aides convicted of breaking the law.

Luckily there is a way for you to address all these injustices and hold accountable those who refuse to stand up for you and your loved ones.

You can vote.

In Florida, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 9. That means that you only have a few days to get it done if you are planning on voting. Once you do get registered, early voting across the state is Oct. 27 to Nov. 4, although you should check with your supervisor of elections office since they can provide additional early voting days if they choose to.

Election Day is Nov. 6. Get out there and make your voice heard.

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Thomas Kennedy is the Political Director for FLIC Votes and a communications fellow for the Center for Community Change Action. He tweets from @Tomaskenn.

Guest Author


3 comments

  • C. S. Poulsen

    October 2, 2018 at 8:17 am

    Put Scott in handcuffs, lead him through the toxic waste to JAIL not the senate.

  • Jimmietsmith

    October 2, 2018 at 9:00 am

    Question, how many businesses are actually paying minimum wage?
    Even the burger franchises pay more than that.
    As to the war on women, how many Democratic elected officials are accused of sexual in proprietary or Democratic contributors? Definitely think the D’s got the war on women in their column. Algae and Red tide has been an issue for as long as man has been on Earth, funny that other states are seeing algae blooms, must be Rick Scott traveling there to cause it.
    This usual empty political statement is based off easily disproven facts.
    Thank you for this article, it’s the reason so many more voted for Trump and call many articles out as fake news.

  • Miguel

    October 2, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    Let me see: BSO and Broward School Board allowed a crazy guy skate around till he finally killed a bunch of people. But we need more Gun Control.

    Woman accuses a Judge of something she is not quite clear when or where or if happened and Republicans suck. Get drunk, drive off a bridge and abandon the piece of ass you were humping to drown, and you are crowned as the Lion of the Senate.

    Demand that felons get their rights restored…except Gun Right, we don’t want them people to have guns! Are you crazy? Them hopheads that got 2 years in prison for one too many joints can lose their mind and go shoot a school.

Comments are closed.


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