Michigan Election Happenings

Newspapers and Voter Participation

“Democracy Dies in Darkness”

I had written a post about pre-voting activities here in Michigan, but then the news broke that the planned endorsement of Kamala Harris by the editorial staffs at the LA Times and at the Washington Post had been forbidden by their zillionaire owners. So I'm adding some information about their cowardly choice. This is a very bad sign for American Democracy. Here is a part of a very insightful article from the Guardian, explaining how the term "anticipatory obedience" is a very effective description of these two acts of anti-democratic repression:

“Yes, 'cowardice' has also been a popular way to describe the choice by the billionaire owners of two of the country’s major newspapers to not to risk angering Trump by allowing their papers to endorse his opponent. But 'anticipatory obedience' is more specific. The term comes from On Tyranny, the bestselling guide to authoritarianism by Timothy Snyder, a historian of eastern and central Europe. The phrase describes, in Snyder’s words, 'the major lesson of the Nazi takeover, and what was supposed to be one of the major lessons of the twentieth century: don’t hand over the power you have before you have to. Don’t protect yourself too early.' It’s a way of describing what Europeans did wrong as totalitarians came to power: by 'mentally and physically conceding, you’re already giving over your power to the aspiring authoritarian,' Snyder explains.”

I'm frightened by the looming potential of another administration by the Facist-Republican candidate. This repression of traditional editorial independence (as well as a long history of political endorsements) seems to be a harbinger of the disaster that will undoubtedly blight our democracy and destroy our traditions of liberty and equality if the Republicans win the election.

In case you are wondering, Ann Arbor used to have a newspaper called the Ann Arbor News, but this paper went out of business and was folded into a statewide news website and occasional publication (just to deliver ads). So we don't have a local paper.

Voting in Ann Arbor

Also since I first wrote this post, a huge fence has gone up around our local park, Burns Park. It is evident that a big event is expected there. The school adjacent to the park has cancelled all after-school activities on Monday. The only big event known to be happening in Ann Arbor this week is a campaign rally by Harris and Walz on Monday, whose location has not been announced. Very likely this event will take place here: virtually in my backyard. I’m hoping that we will be able to attend, but if not, I suspect we will be able to hear it from our front porch.

The fence is in place in the park.

Several tiers of bleachers are being set up along with a lot of sound equipment.

Several tents are also set up on the basketball courts.

Now for the part of the blog post that I composed before things got so exciting –

One of many campaign signs in my neighborhood. All for Democrats.

48104 is my zip code — local contribution to Democratic candidates in this election has been overwhelmingly for the Democrats, according to a study in the Washington Post that analyzed “online contributions to the Trump, Harris and President Joe Biden campaigns, combined with voter registration data.” You can enter any zip code and find out how much was contributed by people there. (source)

My neighbor’s sign is right: we live in Harris*Ville!
Needless to say I’m terrified that the election won’t keep it that way.

Elsewhere in Michigan

Here are some photos about the election that I found in various publications:

Kamala Harris and Michelle Obama campaign in Kalamazoo. (source)

This mural was painted on a gymnasium in Bloomfield Township (near Detroit) in 2021.
To comply with state law, it will be covered during voting in the building on election day. (source)

Detroit, 2024: get-out-the-vote mural. (source)

From Nowhere in Particular

Blog post © 2024 mae sander