I’m an introvert and very shy, and also work two jobs, so when I get out the vote, the best I can do is write a few postcards, which is not enough. However, there are people out there who are making phone calls, making texts, writing postcards, going door to door, organizing, tallying, targeting and inspiring with their get-out-the-vote efforts.
Let me tell you something… NONE of that is easy if you’re an introvert. For me, even calling customer service makes my stomach knot up and paralyzes me with fear. People like me who tamp that down to talk to strangers, knowing full well they may get a MAGA-chud or an anti-vaxxer or just an irritable person having a bad day, rank really high with me. It can feel as challenging as racing in the Indy 500 or cliff diving. So everyone who works hard to do that gains instant kudos from me, even if they’re natural extroverts who enjoy conversing or reaching out.
Recently I’ve been called “obnoxious” because of my reaction to posters who angrily shout out “DON’T GET COMPLACENT!” the minute there’s any good news. And I’ll tell you why I feel the way I do. I don’t like the implication that these hard-working people getting out the vote will just immediately slack and head to Cancun the minute things seem to be going our way. It’s insulting, demeaning and contemptuous. Of COURSE they won’t give up. We’re not the hare to the Republican party’s tortoise.
Your 2016 PTSD is not their problem. Our GOTV activists fought in 2016 but came up short, through no fault of their own. They have to fight such things as right-wing media and slacking peers who won’t be reached no matter how much GOTV pressure you place on them. We need to stop implicitly blaming losses on our GOTV efforts. To me, that’s more dispiriting than actually losing; it’s basically telling our activists that the only reason we lose is THEY DON’T WORK HARD ENOUGH. And we constantly reinforce this narrative if we counter every positive message with browbeating cries of paranoia.
So if I’m not Mr. Sunshine when I see these, I’m sorry. But when I see good news about ballot returns and changes in polls, I look at it as our GOTV working the way it’s supposed to. And it’s so amazing and creditable that people are out there, unsung, fighting for us, working the positive messages and fighting the misinformation. It’s a depressingly thankless job, and everyone who does it needs our support and thanks.
So let me propose a different way of encouragement. Tell them thank you for all their hard work; with their efforts, we can make it past the finish line. Tell them if we win, it will be because of their efforts. And if we lose, it isn’t their fault; they did the best they could. Encourage the existing GOTV campaigns, like a real leader would. We need our Democratic Party footsoldiers, the way we need our firefighters, nurses and schoolteachers. Let’s give them MORE than their due.
Thank you, everyone who’s working hard to get out the vote. You’re the inspiration that makes me feel like the world may have a chance after all.