I've been caught off guard over the past two weeks with the amount of political attention suddenly focused on my state. For all of my voting life, Texas has been a write-off state - an assumption - and as such, completely ignored by national-level politics. Particularly democratic politics.
But now, we've got some pull. Some leverage. Some say-so in the form of the democratic primaries. And I have to say, it feels good. I had forgotten what it feels like to know your vote may actually count for something.
I'm not even a declared democrat. I'm squarely in the independent camp, with strong tendencies that recklessly cross those red and blue lines in multiple places. But here in Texas, any registered voter can vote in a primary. But they can only choose one. In other words, if you vote in the democratic primary, you can't in the republican (or independent, if there were such a thing). And when the general election rolls around, you're free to vote for whomever you choose, regardless of party. Since the democratic primary is really the only one with a looming question mark, it's a pretty easy choice.
So Todd and I both watched the debate last night (if you know Todd - the most a-political creature in the world - this was amazing in and of itself) and reveled in the feeling of mattering. It made me feel giddy - almost like a naive teenager who hasn't yet learned that the world does not, in fact, rotate around her. And I couldn't be happier to know that come November, I'll be making a choice between candidates I feel are capable, honest, and truly value voters.
Not to mention the joy I feel at the prospect of having a president who can actual string words together while speaking publicly! What a change of pace!
