Bob S. reminds us, at least in Texas, that we’ve got an election coming up. Massachusetts has an election underway too, and JayG posts a fantastic TV ad from Scott Brown, the Republican running for the US Senate seat vacated when the “Kennedy Dynasty” ended some months ago.

I’ve shrunk away from politics a bit on my blog because I’m a little tired. Last big political issue I spoke on was the healthcare debacle and boy, what a mess that’s turned into. Sure I personally continued to pay attention and take action, but blogging is a bit of an outlet for me, not a way to continue to raise my blood pressure.

Nevertheless, it’s time yet again for us Texans, and all Americans, to get up and get going.

What got me going was this from Bob:

Now you may be asking how I can say that local elections are more important then the national ones, right?

It’s a good question and I’ll answer with a question — where do you think those candidates for national office come from?

That’s right folks, from the people elected or who have ran for local office.  So, in my opinion, it is extremely important that we get out and vote for people now – at the local level – who reflect the values, traditions and principles we want to see at all levels.

He’s certainly right about that. Most people “rise through the hierarchy” in some way. It’s important to work at this “entry level” and put the right people in office.

But there’s an even more important reason to care about your local elections.

Your local laws, codes, regulations affect your daily life far more than anything that goes on on a national level. Obama doesn’t fix the potholes in the road outside your house. When the snowplows need to roll, Nancy Pelosi has nothing to do with it. Yes, we do have to care about national (and international) politics, but it’s a sad thing that most citizens seem to only care about politics on the national scale. Hell, we have higher voter turnout for fucking American Idol than we do for the elections of our public servants. Fucking sad, people.

For you folks in Austin, are you upset about the traffic cameras? Are you upset about urban development and how it affects the Edwards Aquifer? All this is local stuff folks. Mayor, City Council, your state Representative and Senator. You need to pay attention, you need to vote for these folks as well. Care about them today to ensure you can care about your tomorrow.