Readers,
Happy October! The temperatures are falling, the days are getting shorter, and fall holidays are right around the corner. But for me, what’s even more exciting than watching the leaves change colors is seeing the blue and red candidate and issue signs popping up in yards around my neighborhood.
Yes, I know that elections aren’t until next month, but since I may not have a chance to bend all your ears before polls open, I figured I’d speak my piece early.
The November elections could have huge ramifications for politics in the coming years. While the Republicans are expected to retain the majority in the House of Representatives, control of the Senate majority is hotly contested.
Why does it matter who has the majority in the Senate? Well, it may not matter much in the short term. After all, we’ll still have a Democratic president in the White House for another couple of years. And with the parties so far apart on major legislative issues like immigration, climate change and the Affordable Care Act, it would be unlikely that anything major would happen legislatively.
However, if Republicans manage to gain a majority in the Senate, they could start to unwind some of the current executive actions that President Obama has implemented in lieu of formal climate control regulation by imposing checks on the Environmental Protection Agency. They could also conceivably block President Obama’s judicial appointments – preventing him from sitting left-leaning federal judges. And since those judges serve terms well beyond the tenure of the President who appoints them, their views could help shape the law of the land over the course of decades instead of merely years.
And of course, local elections have immediate consequences too. For example, my local ballot will have no fewer than four levies to vote on (I bet you can guess which way I lean on those). But what it boils down to is that no matter what your views, it’s your duty to get to the polls and make your voice heard.
Go vote next month! Until next time,
Dave Fournier, Jr.
American Recycler
Published in the October 2014 Edition of American Recycler News