This is an
activist clearinghouse I've built up with the help of many, many of you. If you're tired of debating the polls or feeling disempowered by GOP voter suppression efforts and smear, if you are looking for some way to volunteer in the last weeks of this election:
this is a place for you.
On the good news front:
- our GOTV is unprecedented. One East Bay group has set a goal of 300,000 calls to Ohio alone, and we will surpass that, and Ohio is not our only target and the Bay Area is not alone.
- last night I spoke with a voter in Las Vegas on his cell phone, at a Bus Stop, and had a hard time educating him about Early Voting because he had just moved to the state and didn't know which Mall was closer to him. That is the new GOTV: hi tech, fresh, focused on every voter and the Democratic party is on it.
- the number of people going to swing states this weekend and next is HUGE.
- if you ask me, "Early Voting" and "New Registrations" are THE stories this week, not just for us activists. But across the board. People are pumped, we are doing it, friends.....
and
you can too.
update: just the beginning of an update here...there are so many strong links below. First, the $$. Soon, the others....thank you all so much for the input. It will live on in further updates.
activist zone ZERO hour:
brief: the ever needed $$ for Congressional Candidates. {thx to mole 333.}
the Kos dozen
the dean dozen
PA and OH...Shrader, Murphy and Fingerhut....plus!!
Florida and KY here.....Castor, Mongiardo & More!!
Colorado and New Mexico...starring the Salazars!!
activist zone 1: election fraud, voter suppression and GOTV
brief: Dems across the country are worried that fraud and voter suppression efforts will chill turnout on election day or result in post-election legal quagmires that put us back in 12/2000 all over again. We are committed to GOTV like never before.
what we can do:
- the first thing anyone who is truly worried about this should do is give some money to GELAC. The Kerry General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance Fund. Donate here and give the Kerry legal team $$$ to know they can fight for every vote.
- the second focus is on early voting. the GOP can't suppress or defraud a correctly cast and logged ballot. phone bankers are encouraging and educating people about this in every state where it is possible, right now. You can join them. here. Trust me, if feels good when folks say, "I voted." (well except when they voted for Bush. :(.... )
- ACT is in desperate need of $$ to carpool folks to the polls in Duval Country Florida. Sound familiar? It should. {Thanks to ChicagoProgressive.}
- If you are interested in an alternative activist clearinghouse, try ACT's "Party for America" where you can "Revel with a Cause"....link here and ACT's main link here thanks to EJ, a fellow eastbay Kossack!
- If you are a law student or lawyer, and want to help with this issue, contact Impact to help monitor that this election is free and fair. {thanks to Res Ipsa Loquitor for this link.} ZoBai points to this People for the American Way website that has info on poll watching for non legal types as well
activist zone 2: an October surprise
brief: It's Oct. 21st and counting. There is up until about noon Saturday on the 23rd for some news story to break and still make the Sunday the 24th paper. Imo, that is the window for anything that will get "full media play". Let's say that something does.
What we can do:
- early voting will lock 'em in before the dirt (link to October Surprise website) hits.
- Remember that we are the October surprise and this is our chance to do the GOTV that will make us and our unprecedented efforts the story of this last news cycle. So, let's not only keep up the GOTV....let's see if we can get local news coverage of US as it gets close. Everyone wants to be on the winning side. remember that.
- We need to pre spin that Bushco is planning, in Karl Rove's words, "some surprises" this October. we need to use Rove's words against him (and man that article is full of BS, check out his take on Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin), and build a sense of distrust of anything that Bushco does at this late date.
activist zone 3: independent and undecided voters
brief: they still exist. anyone doing GOTV can tell you that. our concern is that they break to us as much as possible come election day. smart, coordinated efforts to win them over might yield us the decisive votes in key states.
What we can do:
- Quite simply, helping with phone GOTV efforts identifying who the independents and undecideds are. where they are, and what their issues are. If you are new, I highly recommend working with the Kerry campaign. The lists are good, the instructions are professional and tight, the callers tend to be really skilled and give you lots of ideas, and you will not feel like you are imposing on people.
- We follow that up with door to door, issue-oriented, targeted appeals to undecideds and independents. (everyone from KE04 is telling us that independents want information on their issues this year.) When we get them that information in person...about Kerry's specifics on health care, the economy, and education...we win their votes. You can volunteer to canvass at the same link as above.
- Try this amazing link for outreach to single moms. It's called....The MMOB...for Mainstrem Moms Oppose Bush These are our undecideds. You can help persuade them. {thanks to mole 333 and others}
- So, we get educated and use every educational tool at our disposal to make sure that we Democrats win every "issue based" vote we can this election. diaries, posting on non-partisan boards, walking your neighborhood and, imo, just talking to folks are all activist strategies to spread the issue-oriented meme with undecideds.
activist zone 4 the Nader factor
brief: Nader won 2.7% of the national vote last time around. His supporters, had they voted Democratic, would have put the election in our column. Nader supporters, much fewer than last time around, are pissed about Democratic legal challenges to their ballot access in different states.
What we can do:
- a suprisingly large number of Nader leaners are not aware of David Cobb. By learning about the Cobb/LaMarche ticket and sharing that with Nader leaners...we are doing them the favor of taking their vote and concerns seriously and at the same time empowering them with information. Tell Nader leaners about Cobb.
- share our activism with Nader leaners. One thing that Nader leaners don't necessarily see is how committed many of us Kerry supporters are...not just to Kerry, but to the very same core issues that Nader supporters feel strongly about. If you protested the war, but are for Kerry, be clear about that. Our personal example is as persuasive as any argument we are going to make, especially with Nader leaners.
- use reverse judo. never, for one second imply that Nader may cost us the election this time. instead, convey that we are activists who are proud to do GOTV for Kerry and for our issues..and use positivity, not guilt, to sway Nader leaners to see our position, if not join us. If Nader has .8% of the electorate...I bet we can still win 25% of that .8% if we use honey, not vinegar.
- Ash Tree suggests taking a look at VotePair for those who need to find a kind of Nader Trader 2000. Visit the web site and suss it out if you know someone who is interested.
activist zone 5 the Supreme Court and Spreading Suskind's "faith based Presidency" meme
brief: we Dems have not used this issue fully yet. In Sunday's NYT, George Bush provided us with the smoking gun of his vision of "Four Supreme Court appointments" alongside his clear desire to breach the separation of Church and State.
What we can do:
- spread this link and this meme, this election isn't just for the Presidency, it's about the Supreme Court.
- we need well written and considered LTE's on this issue to hit the newspapers next Sunday. This is a critical issue that WE speak better than our candidates do. We need to make it our own, in our own voices.
- if you feel strongly about the issue of choice, first amendment rights, the patriot act....do something about this issue in the next two weeks. an LTE, an essay on dKos. talk to your neighbors. Know this: we don't talk about abortion when we do GOTV, it's usually against the rules (but that doesn't mean folks don't talk about choice if appropriate and if they are GOOD at it)....Truth, if activists don't stand up and make choice and freedom or religion an issue this year, it won't be.
activist zone six the SCLM and humor
brief: we may have maxed out the power of the blogosphere with the mainstream press. our letters to Adam Nagourney or Cokie Roberts, however sincere, will have no further effect, if they ever did before. But humor and web-based activism like freeway blogging or the spliced tape of the GOP convention..or the "pass it around" Jim Ryan speech have immediate stealth power. the power of the blogs.
what we can do.
activist zone seven build a counter meme and post it here. it will get noticed.
brief: dKos is a part of the story of this election. right now. Really good writing here...good analysis...get's read by smart folks all over the country including those in the media and the campaigns. You have the power to write a diary that will make a powerful counter meme and take off these last days.
what we can do: pick a topic and work it
There is so much to do. So much of the big stuff is locked in place, and the time for a big change in dynamic is rapidly dissappearing....but we activists can make a difference with all these activist zones...and from what I've seen so far, I know that we will.