Don’t complain if you don’t vote

By Elaine Harman, Las Vegas

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Dear Democratic Party: If you want to win midterm, state and local elections, stop pandering to groups that don’t vote in any elections other than for president.

Dear Democrats who only vote for president: Don’t complain now that the GOP has taken over state houses, the U.S. Congress and state governorships. Don’t dare complain when social programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and housing subsidies are cut. Don’t complain when the state houses start passing voter ID laws and gerrymandering districts to ensure GOP control, or when immigration reform never happens or is limited for the sake of appeasement for a potential 2016 GOP presidential win. Don’t complain when higher education and student loan costs skyrocket and the only jobs available pay $7.25 an hour, and only if the federal minimum wage is not repealed altogether. Don’t complain when the Affordable Care Act is repealed and Medicare costs go up; preventive care is no longer free; people lose their health coverage; and health care, drug costs and premiums start to rise again.

Don’t complain when high-paying union jobs that don’t require college degrees go the way of the dinosaur, or when public-sector jobs disintegrate, public retirement funds get raided, and public services and public education become even more grossly underfunded. Don’t complain when we end up in another never-ending military conflict for decades, draining our Treasury and creating deficits like we saw under President George W. Bush.

Don’t complain, because elections have consequences, and not voting in them does, too.