By Harriet Bachner

During the early voting here in Kansas, I wore a button from the Women for Kansas, which reads, “Bad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote.” Many people experienced much angst leading up to election day, anticipating the predicted challenges of what, for them, would be an undesirable outcome.

Since May, my precinct co-chair and I canvassed our neighbours. Initially, we explored the issues that they want our local candidates to address, and many opened their door and discussed issues and their concerns, especially about the current negative rhetoric. As we approached election day, we provided voting and candidate information and inquired about their voting plan.

To our dismay and confusion, there were some folks who adamantly disavowed any plan to vote. Some expressed no interest about the social, political, international or personal ramifications in this very contentious presidential general election. I am surprised at this, considering my deep concerns about our democracy being at risk: the possibility of living in a fascist country, fear for the thousands of undocumented immigrants being rounded up, detained, and deported, and the perceived “enemies within” being incarcerated. I share with many others a range of feelings and reactions: despondency, anger, fear, sadness, and sleep disturbances about the global strife of so many innocent people.

A brief look at the voting statistics showed that in the 2024 general election 63.7% of registered voters in the U.S. voted compared to 66.6% in 2020. In Kansas, 63.8% of registered voters voted in the 2024 general election and of that 61.58 voted for president as compared to 65.86% in 2020. Here in Crawford County, 57.8% of the registered voters voted in the 2024 general election.

Recent polls show that most “respondents who did not vote in the recent presidential elections feel that voting has little impact on their lives, and that it won't change how the country is run. In addition to being disaffected, they are also more likely to be Latino, younger, and make less money than voters.” Leah Rodriquez in 2020 writes in the Global Citizen that “the U.S. lags far behind most other developed countries when it comes to voter turnout.” In this 2020 article she identifies five reasons that people don’t vote here in the U.S.

1. Many want to but can’t.

2. Age, gender, socioeconomic status and race can impact whether a person votes.

3. Election day is held on Tuesdays.

4. Voters who feel candidates don’t represent their views might choose to opt out.

5. Citizens are less likely to vote if they don’t think their ballot matters.

So, I want to inquire of these non-voting and/or apolitical folks in my precinct if they take time to talk. “What contributed to your decision to not vote, even though you registered to vote? Why do you abdicate the privilege and responsibility as a citizen? Do you shield yourself from or not attend to what is happening in our country and globally and how do you do that? Do you expect those who do vote to make decisions that will benefit you? Have you read or heard about Project 2025? Do you trust those who do vote to vote in a way that will maintain our democracy so that you are able to continue whatever level of stability you have in your life?” I realize that my questions show my bias and values about voting.

Some of these individuals take some time to share their reasons for not voting. Their reasons vary: being undecided; just don’t pay attention; don’t listen to the news or read newspapers; only get information from Facebook; all politicians are corrupt or evil; I pray; God is in charge, and he decides; Jesus protects me; nothing will change; it’s overwhelming; I don’t know (or like) the candidates or didn’t have a choice in selecting the candidates; don’t have time; don’t want to think about it; or I don’t care about voting and never have. I imagine that the decision to not vote is deeper than these simple explanations.

I wonder how they escaped the daily barrage of disparaging, political rhetoric, social unrest, and the horrific events in the Middle East and Ukraine. At times, I wish that I could just let go of or ignore these messages and the news about local and global strife, but I can’t. I wonder what non-voters say to their children, if they have children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews about their non-voting decision, especially since this election had so much depending on the outcome – our freedoms, our democracy, the U.S. constitution, international impact, and the effects on the next generation. I am disappointed that some people don’t want to vote, although I can empathize with the stress and overwhelming nature of the decisions involved in this voting process.

So, we now are grappling with the results of the November general election and planning our responses both individually and in community with other like-minded folks. Trump and his allies now contend that they have a mandate from the people. But do they really with only 49.7% of the 63.7% of registered voters who voted? Robert Reich on his Coffee Klatch program with Heather Lofthouse on November 23 pointed out that only 31% of eligible voters voted for Trump. Thus, let’s remember that in fact Trump does NOT have a have a mandate from the American people!

An interesting anecdote is the example of voting in Austria. My daughter lives and works in Vienna, Austria and has attained permanent residency there. Although she is not a citizen, she had the opportunity to vote for the political party that she would align with if she were a citizen. The government was interested in how permanent residents were aligned, even though their votes would not actually count in the outcome of the election since they pay taxes there and are affected by election results.

The Crawford County Democratic Headquarters, 217A N. Broadway, will be open on Dec. 2 during and after the Pittsburg Christmas Parade serving snacks and hot chocolate. Stop in and enjoy holiday cheer and fun conversation.

There will be no December meeting and the first meeting of 2025 will be on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1 pm at the Crawford County Democratic Headquarters. Everyone is welcome to attend to participate in planning events for the new year. Please let Emily know if you have any items you'd like to see added to the agenda at emily@crawfordcountyksdems.org

We are hoping to see everyone there!

The following officers for the next cycle were elected during the Nov. 17 meeting of the party:

Officers

Chairperson – Dr. Emily Walters    Vice Chairperson – Jackson Bertoncino

Secretary – Dionne Blakemore       Treasurer – Don Pyle

2nd District Delegates                         Alternate Delegates

Dr. Harriet Bachner                         Dani Ebert

Isaiah Harris                                     James Orwig

Sally Harryman                                Dr. Bert Patrick

David Su                                            Shannon VanBecelaere

By Emily Walters

(First published on the Crawford County Democrats Facebook page on Nov. 6.)

Hindsight bias is a psychological phenomenon that makes people believe, after an event, that they "knew it all along." This bias often convinces us that we can predict future events. It's a common pitfall in decision-making, but it also affects how we view difficult situations after they happen.

Yesterday was tough. As Democrats, we got beaten. Badly. And let's be clear: almost every Democrat on the ballet in Kansas got their butts handed to them. Whether conservative or progressive, whether we raised big money or ran grassroots campaigns, whether we had deep local ties or outside endorsements, whether we utilized data-driven strategies or relied on our intuition—Kansas Democrats across the board faced a sweeping defeat. This wasn’t about campaign flaws. It was part of a larger red wave, driven by a sickness afflicting more and more of the country: the cult of Trump.

Hindsight bias is often a defense mechanism. When we feel threatened, it helps us feel protected against uncomfortable emotions. Instead of shielding ourselves, though, I invite you instead to listen to them. Let’s face an uncomfortable truth: there was nothing more we could reasonably have done to change yesterday's outcome. We were essentially powerless to stop it.

And that is real damn hard to accept. I’m about the worst person there is at being powerless. I hate it. I really hate it. My guiding philosophy has always been that you can only fix the things that you are responsible for (and therefore you should try to be as responsible for as much as possible.) Yet while we were powerless against the larger force, we retain all the power when it comes to our own actions—and, friends, our actions were phenomenal.

In Crawford County, our Democrats ran incredible campaigns. And the volunteers supporting them? Absolutely superlative. In a normal year, these efforts would have won, no question. The quantity and quality of what you all did leaves me breathless. I am so damn proud of every one of you. Yes, the outcome was heartbreaking, and, like you, in the dark places of my heart I worry that our country will never recover. But I will not allow anyone to diminish the value of what you did or the sacrifices each of you made. More than I’ve ever seen before, all of you fought the good fight and kept the faith. As a result of your actions, we’ve built something special here in Southeast Kansas, and what we’ve built isn’t going anywhere.

On Monday, several of us were working at HQ when the storms rolled in. We took shelter in my basement, safe but still working until the storms passed. The cult of Trump is another storm, and we’re in the dark of it now. And while it may get darker still, I think we should first find shelter- and then continue the work.

Right now, our work should focus on grieving, connecting, and resting. After we’ve rested, we’ll regroup. When we do, we’ll find a community that’s learned, grown, and strengthened over the last two years. That’s the essence of community building—laying the groundwork to elect Democrats in Southeast Kansas.

If you’re wondering what you can do next, start by taking care of yourself. Find shelter, find strength, and keep building. Go for walks, lift weights, plan your garden, pick up a new skill, like spreadsheets, or website development, or video editing. Or work in small ways externally—do something that brings brightness to your world. Yes, winter is almost here, but spring will come again. And friends, I want for all of you to be here with me when it does.

By Susy Hammons

Liberal Ladies Who Lunch met on 11/6 at noon, at Dem HQ.  Since it was the day after the election there was a lot of emotion being expressed:  grief, horror and fear.  We supported each other and expressed appreciation for Emily and our good candidates.  We have excellent leadership and hard working members.  We ended with a group hug.

We met again on 11/20 at noon, at Dem HQ.  Liberal Ladies and the Crawford County Dems had generously donated money to show our appreciation for our Leader, Emily, for our Vice Chair Jackson, our HQ Manager, Marcia, and assistant manager, David.  Our Secretary, Janice retired and was recognized with a card and a gift.

Delma opened our meeting with a “prayer” and I wrote it down:

If Trump should die before I wake.

I pray to God the news ain't fake.

We discussed attendance sheets at our monthly CCDems meeting.  Janice will help making sure we all sign.  Jean had questions about HQ hours.  We will not be open for regular hours for a while.  Emily explained the Act Blue contributions that helped us have a year round open HQ.  There are only four HQs in the state. Emily also helped summarize the election results.  We ended the meeting by singing "Wise Women," a song written by Joy Leeper especially for Liberal Ladies. Joy Was there to lead us!

Harriet reminded me to mention the Christmas party at my house (706 West 2nd St.) on 12/18 at noon.  I will have potato soup.  Bring a snack, dessert or side dish if you are able.  We collect items for Safe House for our Christmas project.  More later.

The November Book Club meeting was lively even though some attendees hadn't finished (or read) the book. The discussion about the book War by Bob Woodward involved the complexities, atrocities, and devastation of the wars in Ukraine and Israel as that extends through the Middle East. Woodward meticulously details through “interviews with participants and witnesses to the events” or from “government and personal documents, calendars, diaries, emails, meeting notes, transcripts, and other records” (Woodward, 2024, p. 371) the tense conversations and decisions by Biden and his key advisors as well as with Putin, Netanyahu, and Zelensky.

The stressful nature of the issues addressed in Woodward’s book and the outcomes of the general election gave way to the need for comic relief. There seemed to be a genuine bonding experience in being able to safely share differing opinions about the nature of the events depicted in the book, especially when the conversation moved to laughter as members shared embarrassing life experiences. How we arrived at these hilarious stories is difficult to discern now in retrospect.

In summary, good company, dynamic conversation, and plenty of tasty food was shared by everyone. Join in the fun and attend the next book group meeting on Wednesday, January 15 at 6:30 at the Crawford County Democratic Headquarters. (We are meeting in January rather than December since there are many holiday events in December.) The book selection for the January meeting is James by Percival Everett. This novel is a re-imagining of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective. The author, Percival Everett, has recently been named the National Book Award winner for fiction.

Wishing you a peaceful and happy holiday season as we look forward to seeing you in the New Year,

— Harriet Bachner

Article submissions are needed from Crawford County Democrats and friends about issues and topics we should all be thinking about. We want to publish your thoughts in this Revue, for distribution to county Democrats and others across the state.

Please email your thoughts or those of your caucuses and interest groups for publication in the county party’s newsletter to news@crawfordcountyksdems.org. Accompanying photographs or other ideas for illustrating your articles are also welcome. Feel free to ask questions by text or phone of newsletter crew Harriet at 620-704-8566 or Phil at 708-466-0659. Also please include your phone number with your message in case we have questions for you.

We look forward to hearing from you!