The #2 thing you can do this fall, (besides voting -- that's always #1) -- is to find a fed/state/local candidate you can really get behind and GO MEET THEM. This is not someone you just sort-of agree with -- ideally this is someone who aligns with 70-80% of your values and give this person all you've got. Stay focused on your values. Get out there and it could change your life. Campaigning is a high, even when you loose.
In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in..... We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder. But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land. — Robert Kennedy
I adore Bernie and his policies, but as he said last night, this is not about him, it is about the future. I just hope we can all keep our heads on straight, work together for progress, and not let He Who Will Not Be Elected (HWWNBE) MIND HACK us with some kind of bizarre Russian-backed TV Celebrity takeover. Sometimes I feel like the dog whose ears go up at Trash Banter and I go chasing after that distracting Squirrel Messaging.
These down ballot candidates are dying to meet you. There are local, state and national races. Pick one candidate. That doesn't mean you have to stop blogging or engaging on the internet, or you abandon other good candidates, but campaigns are won on the ground. It's won with muscle and courage of convictions. The people you'll meet are much like yourself -- ordinary folks most of them -- some I've found are rather geeky and not glamorous at all. Local races can be the toughest because everyone knows each other and it can get personal.
If you've never volunteered for a campaign before, state races are a good entry point. A new State Rep candidate gunning for blue in a red district may actually be much easier to win than you might expect. Oftentimes all you need is enough votes to fill your local high school football field -- and I'm talking margin of victory -- I'm talking that's all you need.
The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man’s making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it. The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have called into being. There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short nor an easy task, but it can be done. We must have complete and effective publicity of corporate affairs, so that the people may know beyond peradventure whether the corporations obey the law and whether their management entitles them to the confidence of the public. It is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes; it is still more necessary that such laws should be thoroughly enforced. Corporate expenditures for political purposes, and especially such expenditures by public-service corporations, have supplied one of the principal sources of corruption in our political affairs. — Teddy Roosevelt.
If you volunteer to help somebody running for the State Senate, determine the number of votes you need to win. Again, you'll be surprised.
Start with the friends and family plan, let them all know what you're up to. You don't need to argue. If you've chosen well, you should be able to explain clearly and with clarity why you're backing that candidate and leave it at that. Expand out from family and friends to include the neighborhood. Work your out in concentric circles. What can you uniquely offer your candidate? Are you good at organizing events? Are you good with web and message design? Are you leader or follower? They'll need everybody. And you will be put to use. I firmly believe if you've never done this before, you won't regret it. It's exciting and worthwhile.
The close race in 2004 demonstrated that all the money in the world can't fool all the people. During the aughts, messaging and memes, attacks on Kerry's war record were angry and bitter and there was no meaningful discussion. We must push our values forward despite the noise and distractions. We're in a similar fight now and the fall is our golden opportunity to keep pushing the country in a new and better direction. And take heart, there are more registered dems than repubs.
There is a feeling of urgency and excitement to get a candidate elected to the presidency. We are not there yet. Some of us are tepid at best. Many of you lived through the daily drumbeat (and I mean daily 24/7) of HRC trashing in the 90s which offered no solution to moving the country to a brighter day. I actually wrote to her at that time and expressed my horror that anyone could be treated in such a manner. Now the treatment is commonplace and worse. I kindly received a letter back from her as a reply with her thanks for my thoughtfulness. I’m with her and I look forward to her presidency.
Think of yourself as if you were in the World Series, and it's your turn at bat. A fast ball is thrown and you need to hit it out of the park. There are hecklers on the sidelines -- sneering and jeering -- trying to distract you. We need your concentration. Do not engage the distracters who will attempt to Mind Hack. Keep your eye on the ball. There is too much at stake. That's why you cannot let anyone turn you around from your purpose. My best to you all.
