Want to
really GET OUT THE VOTE on Nov. 7th?
"What can I do?"
I am asked this question every day right now. Every day people of all ages ask me what they can do to derail George W. Bush and his nasty band of Republican cronies. If you live in a hotly contested district, there are many opportunities to volunteer. But for many -- whether in less competitive districts, or because they are shy or uncomfortable or new to politics -- volunteering face-to-face is not an option they are willing to pursue. Still, there IS something everyone of your progressive/liberal/Democratic friends can do: volunteer for MoveOn.org's "Call for Change". And there is something easy you can do: spread the word on the GOTV effort!.
Imagine if every Kossack got ten people to get ten people to get ten people to volunteer for the Democratic GOTV effort. That's how to exponentialize our GOTV efforts.
Jump the fold for my open letter to my friends asking them to help get Democrats elected.
Now you and I and all Kossacks know about this, and have possibly already taken part. But I suspect that you, like me, know dozens (hundreds maybe) of people who would like to help, but don't know how, or perhaps need a small encouragement. Use your address book. Network. Send an email, now.
Here is my e-mail message. I want to state ahead of time that much of the last four substantive paragraphs are taken from the always good Kagro X's message here.
Note that this is written for most Americans -- they don't know what GOTV is, they don't read dKos, they are just beginning to catch on to the criminality of the Bush Administration.
Here is my e-mail:
Subject: Want to help?
Friends,
The coming election (Nov. 7th) will be a national referendum on Executive and Legislative branches' abuse of power. Anyone who wants to can help turn the tide against the ingrained policies of torture, criminality, and corruption that mark the Republican President and Republican-lead Congress who have had a monopoly on power in the United States since 2001. MoveOn.Org has organized a Get-Out-The-Vote drive to encourage all Americans to vote for Democrats on November 7th. Taking part is easy: go to www.moveon.org and follow the link to "Call for Change". Call for Change is a national phone tree, organized by election district. You will have to register with MoveOn, after which you will receive a list of people to call (99% registered as Democrats), usually in districts in which the election is predicted to be close (the district may be anywhere in the US). You will also get a very short script -- it goes something like this:
I am __, I"m calling on behalf of MoveOn.Org to encourage you to vote for the Democratic candidate ____ running for ____ on November 7th.
You then ask one question, "What is the most important issue for you regarding this election?". That's it. No sales. No discussion. Just "Vote for Democratic candidate __", "What is your most important issue?", and "Thank you." I've been calling in half-hour blocks, and am able to make about 30 calls in each block (80% are messages left on machines). Everyone I have spoken to has been friendly and encouraging.
You can help: I was hesitant to loan myself out for personal contact (I don't have a friendly phone presence, and don't like talking to strangers), but it is easy, quick, and it feels good to help.
Many elections are lost because people don't vote. The goal of the Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) effort is plain: to encourage voters to vote. Our GOTV efforts this election have the opportunity to make a large and vital difference in the direction this country goes for the next 10 years or more.
There is a lot at stake.
Thirty years ago, a Republican president resigned rather than face impeachment and certain removal from office. Nixon's crimes were wiretapping American citizens and using a private slush fund to further the Republican Party's political goals. Nixon was also waging an illegal foreign war in Cambodia. In the aftermath of that criminality, laws were enacted to regulate presidential wiretapping (FISA) and the use of cash by political parties. We thought we were safe from Republican abuses.
Fifteen years after Nixon's criminality forced him to resign in disgrace, America found itself once again confronted by an intransigent Republican president and Republican party insiders who maintained an even larger secret political slush fund, who lied to and mislead Congressional investigators, and who conducted a secret, illegal war (this time in South America). No-one involved in the Republican criminality of "Iran-Contra" suffered any penalty: President Reagan was allowed to join the sunset, and those convicted were pardoned.
Today, fifteen years after Reagan's abuses, we are once again confronted by a Republican president, administration, and Congress who openly break the law. George W. Bush's administration is conducting wholesale, nationwide and comprehensive warrantless surveillance of American citizens, is openly using the U.S. Treasury to maintain a vast network of outrageously inflated, no-bid contracts to enrich rich Republicans, is lying to and misleading Congress, and is conducting an open, illegal war in Iraq which he threatens to expand to Iran. On top of which, President Bush has managed to engineer for himself the power to order torture, indefinite detention of American citizens without charge, the suspension of the eight-hundred year old "Great Writ" of habeas corpus, and the unilateral power to simply decline to enforce the expressed will of Congress.
The stakes are clear. Vote Democratic. Stop Republican abuses. It may be our last chance.
Please forward this to your friends who would like to help. Contact MoveOn and take part in their GOTV. Get involved.
Thank you.
My Name
How does that sound? Will you copy it and send it to YOUR friends and acquaintances?