The Day After

Well, there was no devotional yesterday because I spent a 15 hour day working as a clerk in a polling place. As far as polling places are concerned, we had a pretty sweet spot. We were set up inside a retirement residence in an area with frequent visits by the elderly residents and entertained by the banjo club which came in for an hour in the afternoon.

Voting was steady, but not particularly brisk. That left time and opportunity to speak with some of the residents. One, a woman who is 87 years old shared her story. She is from Germany and spoke with a heavy accent. Since earning her citizenship in 1956 she has not missed a single election. If the polls open, she makes the effort to vote. She was in Germany when the privilege of voting did not include actually having a choice, so she understands what is at stake.

As in all elections, there were winners and losers. In my experience, winning and losing can be a lot like pulling a band-aid off a wound. It can hurt fast or you can prolong the pain. Sometimes, winning just prolongs the pain. In one statewide race yesterday, the best qualified, most experienced candidate actually lost in the Republican primary because of his Hispanic surname. If the candidates' resumes had been presented as Candidate A and Candidate B and the choices been based on qualifications, integrity, or any other issue other than race, the Hispanic in this seat would have won. Those who cast their votes without knowing the qualifications of the candidates and allowed race to be the determining decision should be ashamed. The Lord will continue to use this godly man, but the State of Texas will no longer benefit from his faithful service.

In other races, it is not yet certain what the political landscape will look like in the next session. The State Board of Education had mixed results with some incumbents winning and some losing. The net result remains to be seen until after the general election. The Texas House had a few incumbent changes. Those incumbents who lost in a primary did so for various reasons. Some lost because of political positions they have taken. Some lost because of changing demographics - the growth in their district make up has switched their core constituency base. Some are out because of integrity issues. And who knows what happened with others.

But, just to demonstrate that you can rarely understand all that you know, there was a proposition on the Republican ballot concerning whether or not voters believe that they should have to show identification to cast their vote. Statewide, 93 percent of primary voters agreed that it is important to show identification. However, in the local elections, the representative who sponsored the measure to require ID lost in the primary and the legislator who was key in blocking the measure won. Both were Republicans. Go figure.

For any incumbent who lost, today must be a difficult day. People like to complain about their elected leaders, but the voters seem to be rather fickle at times, also. Those elected officials who will change their core principles for the expediency of the next election probably should not be in office in the first place. While those who stood by their core principles and lost anyway, can take comfort in standing by what they believe in.

But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3

P.S. Yes, in a rather weird way, I do understand the Democrats wanting to push socialized medicine while they have a majority. They ran on that principle, and the ones who truly believe that is the right thing to do, should not change unless they have a revelation of why that principle is wrong. We should all be praying for revelation.