Politically Sidelined

It is easy to compare politics to football. It is big in the fall, there is a lot of competition, there are different teams with different colors, there are challenges on calls, there is a lot of strategizing, and only one person can win the big game. So I guess then it is not surprising when I say I feel like I'm watching everything from the sideline instead of being out there on the field.

I decided a while ago that I was going to take a political sabbatical to focus on my academics and not burnout from politics. There are some times when I really miss it. I feel like that injured player who just wishes to be back in the game and feels like she's missing out on all the action. Yesterday, with the primary elections in DC and Maryland, was one of those moments. As I was checking the results of these races that I'm not very familiar with (I have only been a local for precisely a month), I saw that Jamie Raskin, an American University professor, had beat out a 20+ year incumbent for the Democratic nomination for a State Senate district. I know that the Law School Dems poured their heart and souls into that race, so it must have been a really great feeling for them to contribute so much into what seemed like an impossible task. It is a bit selfish for me to have wished to be part of that but I'm overall glad that grassroots campaigns can really help the Davids beat out the Goliaths.

But with every longing to be back in the game, there are also reminders of why I'm glad I took myself out. At the same time when DC candidates are jockeying votes, some ambitious 1L students are running for Senate seats for our law school's Student Senate. Basically with 8 people running in our 90 person section, it feels a little like the recall with just a long list of very interesting characters running in an election that we really don't understand. No one knows what the issues are, people are lobbying for votes using humor and their celebrity, and candidates are challenging other candidates to town halls that no one will go to. Really, it feels like a circus. And I'm not saying I'm above any of this kind of vote getting (as now President Marwa pointed out, we handed out tacos on bruinwalk!) I compeltely understand and sympathize with all of these hoops you have to jump through to get to the job where you can hopefully do some good. But it's nice every once in a while to be above the fray.

While it is ironic that I decided to move to DC and then take my political break, and while I do miss it at times, I'm overall very happy with my position. I would be very sad if I had political meetings interrupt one of the highlights of my week: Project Runway.