At a recent writing workshop I attended, the speaker suggested one strategy to find your niche for writing: pick three things you’re passionate about, and imagine yourself in the space where those three things intersect. While I have imagined myself in the middle of many a three set Venn diagram, few sound more appealing than this:
(1) West Wing
(2) Nonpartisan Issues
(3) Public Service Announcements
While my list of three was still nebulously forming, however, it appears as though Bridget Mary McCormack beat me to the punch. Though I am from Ohio – and thus on principle cannot like anything involving the state of Michigan – I have very positive feelings toward this woman who reunited, however briefly, the cast of West Wing.
Note: If these three topics lie outside your interest and you are (thankfully) not from the state of Michigan, you may be unaware of McCormack and her current campaign for Michigan Supreme Court.
Wherever you are from though, hopefully you are familiar with the nonpartisan issues section of your ballot. There are several issues that show up in the nonpartisan issues section, including positions such as judgeships, municipal offices, and school boards. A significant portion of voters, noted by McCormack as between 25 and 38 percent, only vote along party lines and bypass completely the nonpartisan sections at the bottom – including, you know, the position for which she is running. You can see now why she would enlist the help of Martin Sheen!
Thus bringing me to the middle of this wonderful Venn diagram: the Public Service Announcement from McCormack, featuring the cast of the West Wing, highlighting the importance of the nonpartisan issues section of your ballot. As Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) explains, “People walk into the voting booth, they check the straight party ticket box and they think they have voted for everything, but they haven’t. They still have to vote on the nonpartisan section of the ballot.” President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) adds, “If people fail to realize that a straight ticket vote doesn’t count in nonpartisan races, if they just casually vote the party line, then their interests will continue to go unrepresented.”
While I’m 95 percent certain that the people who will watch this video in its entirety already know how to correctly fill out a ballot, I still love it so much that I’ve watched it twice. Sadly, as McCormack has already found my niche, I will have to move on to a new one.
Great video!