Kasich a Reminder

There is a cost to those who can least afford it when we do not exercise our right to vote.
We didn’t always have the right. People died getting us the right, and when we, I mean, African Americans, do not exercise that right – for whatever reason- it bugs me.
But bigger than how it affects me, it affects our quality of life. When we do not vote, we leave the way open for people who do not particularly care about “the least of these” to get into office and make policies which do not work in our favor.
John Kasich, our new governor, showed his colors this week when he said “I don’t need you people” when challenged by Ohio State Congresswoman Nina Turner about his cabinet. As of this writing, the governor has not appointed a single person of color. When Sen. Turner challenged him on it, citing the value of diversity, Mr. Kasich said, “I don’t need you people.”
Excuse me?
Mr. Kasich later said what he meant was that he didn’t need Democrats. OK, so we’ll be stupid today. Sen. Turner wasn’t talking about having Democrats in his cabinet. She was talking about him not having any person of color in his cabinet. Mr. Kasich reverted to the oft-repeated excuse that he could not find any qualified people of color. He then said the whole discussion was about quotas, and, he said, quotas are “so yesterday.”
Excuse me again. Quotas? No, we’re not talking about quotas. We’re talking about being representative of the people of Ohio. Like it or not, Mr. Kasich is duty-bound to represent us all, red and yellow, black and white, Christian, Jewish and Catholic. That mandate, that responsibility, seems lost to Mr. Kasich, who didn’t even want the media to cover his inauguration.
Excuse me?
But …we brought this on ourselves. Just a few more of us going to the polls might have made a big difference. Mr. Kasich did not win by a big margin. He just won. And now, he is in the seat of power and I shudder to think what his policies will mean for “the least of these.”
The move has been on since President Obama got elected to make sure he is a one term president. Trust and believe that the machinations to make him lose in Ohio are in motion. What will we do? Will we wring our hands, or get to work?
The Bible says that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord, and who are called according to his purposes. We are called, by the blood and suffering of our ancestors, to vote, not less, but more, always more. We are called to get people hyped up and moving for a big victory.
Otherwise, what Mr. Kasich is showing us will be nothing. I am not sure of the shenanigans that will be put in place to make it more difficult for people to vote in the 2012 election, but I know to expect it. I read that some lawmakers are trying to make it mandatory for every voter to have a picture ID so they can control and reduce voter fraud.
I think that if the powers that want to be want to play hardball, then we ought to enter the game. We ought to be proactive and not reactive. I truly believe that we might have a different song to sing as far as Ohio had more of us turned out to vote, but that is water under the bridge.
We need to gird up and work as our ancestors did, to work with the passion of Fannie Lou Hamer who risked her life to get herself and others the right to vote. It was she who said, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Me too, Mrs. Hamer. Me,too.
Pastor Smith