NIApedia

In most states, the deadline to register to vote is in mid-October. If you're not registered to vote, click here to find out whether you can still do so--and if you can, go here right away to register. Democracy is a fragile system of government that depends on citizen participation. We have a responsibility to inform ourselves about the issues that are important to us, vote accordingly, and then follow up to make sure that those we elect carry out our will.

As far as I'm concerned, the media feeding frenzy of the last few weeks, in response to revelations that former Florida Republican congressman Mark Foley sent sexually explicit emails and Instant Messages to a series of teenage congressional pages, is largely a distraction from the more important issues facing our country and communities.

Issues That Matter

Here at home, health-insurance premiums are rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, job growth has been slack over the last three months, and the chairman of the Federal Reserve has warned that the housing market may be facing a "substantial correction." But it's not just the economy we need to worry about--our civil liberties remain in jeopardy.

In late September, the Republican-led Congress acquiesced to claims by the Bush administration that it should not be bound by the Geneva Conventions in pursuit of the failed "war on terror," giving government officials the right to detain and torture whomever the president deems a noncitizen enemy combatant. And in early October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Bush administration can continue to eavesdrop on Americans' international communications without a warrant while the government appeals a federal district court decision (by a Black female judge, by the way) that such eavesdropping is unconstitutional.

As if that weren't enough, New Orleans and the Gulf region are still in crisis as a result of the government's incompetence and negligence before and after Hurricane Katrina. According to a recent report, nearly two-thirds of New Orleans' residents have been unable to return to the city. Yet Congress, which failed to allocate sufficient funds to build appropriate levees before the hurricane, continues to stall on budgeting money for bolstering the levees and replenishing the wetlands that provide natural protection to the Gulf Coast.

Abroad, the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and that country's opium harvest this year is the largest on record. Almost 2,750 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq as of early October, and more than 20,680 wounded. Civilian deaths in Iraq are not heavily reported, but most estimates are in the 40,000 range--and some are even higher. American diplomatic influence is at its lowest point ever, North Korea has apparently just detonated a nuclear weapon, and the Bush administration's saber rattling toward Iran increases steadily.

What's at Stake

Meanwhile, for the first time since Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, the November 7 midterm elections offer Democrats a real chance to recapture the House. While obtaining a Democratic Senate majority is unlikely, it is not impossible.

Inappropriate as Foley's actions were, the efforts of House Speaker (and third in line to the presidency) J. Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders to hide or deny what they knew about Foley's predatory activities--apparently in order to preserve a Republican majority in the House so that Congress continues to rubber-stamp the Bush administration's policies--are far worse. Yet worst of all is the reality that these actions are part of a much larger pattern of cynicism, opportunism, and corruption by Republicans that has stymied all efforts to pass effective ethics-reform legislation.

I'm looking at those running for election in my home state and community through the lens of issues that are important to me. If they want my vote, for example, they have to pass my test by not supporting the war in Iraq, government eavesdropping on citizens, or the torture of so-called enemy combatants. On the other hand, they must be in favor of vigorous ethics reform, as well as sufficient funding to strengthen levees in New Orleans and rebuild housing throughout the Gulf Coast.

A Plan of Action

• If you are not registered to vote and can still do so, click here. Time is short!
• Make a list of local and national issues that are important to you. Take time between now and Election Day to educate yourself on which candidates running for the House of Representatives, Senate, and local offices support your agenda, and vote accordingly.
• Encourage family, friends, and neighbors to exercise their right to vote on Tuesday, November 7.
• Continue to hold our elected officials responsible by tracking their votes and actions after Election Day.