On the East Cost it is now 72 hours until the polls close. We'll have to wait awhile for the results to come in, but in 72 hours, we will have done all that we can do before the polls close. (What may have to be done after the polls close is the subject for a whole other diary).
Since I am from Florida, I'm going to write about what I know. Which a lot of people will tell you isn't very much. Nonetheless, here goes, below the fold...
A lot of people are just fed up with Florida and elections. Lord knows we've caused plenty of grief in the last six years. We've been causing ourselves a lot of grief here in Florida for ten years, so don't feel like we don't know it.
There is something a bit different in the air here this year. (No, it's NOT the new paper plant in Jacksonville). It is somewhat the same air that is blowing across the rest of the country. It is the winds of change.
For the first time in 12 years, Jeb Bush will not be on the ballot for Governor. For the first time in I really don't know how long, Florida Dems have a decent shot at picking up four or five or more red Congressional seats. In the Tampa Bay area, Dems have a better than decent shot at picking up two previously R State Senate seats, and a decent number of State House seats.
We have some good shots. What we need now is a small army of good shooters. There are only 72 hours left to have an impact on the elections before the polls close. This is it folks. 72 hours is all there is.
If you really want to see change in Florida, and the rest of the country, get off your ass and help the candidates of your choice. There are plenty of things you could still be doing to have a positive impact on the elections:
You could walk your neighborhood talking up your candidates.
You could help your candidates with their Get out the Vote efforts, knocking on doors, making telephone calls, sign waving, arranging to give people rides to the polls, and any number of other things that I am a bit too weary to think of right now.
I am taking a break from calling voters to write this piece. It is about 6:25 PM right now on the East coast. I have been calling voters since 9 AM and will be here until 9 PM. Tomorrow, I will be back here at noon tomorrow. Don't want to offend any sensibilities calling folks when we should be at church, don't you know.
Monday, we'll be at it from 9 AM till 9 PM again. On Election Day, I'll be at my precinct from 7 AM until 9 AM, when I will resume making GOTV calls. That will go on until the polls close at 7 PM.
I happen to be doing my work for Jim Davis, our democratic candidate for governor. I like to think that by helping get out the vote for Jim Davis, I'm helping all the other Dems on the ticket. The Governor's race is going to be close here. I know some people had written this one off some time ago (Kos). So too, apparently had the Democratic Governors' Association. We learned today that the DGA contributed a whopping $322,000 to the Florida Democratic Party. In contrast, the RGA gave the RPOF $1.22 million, nearly $1 million more than the Dems. In Florida, that's pretty much one week's worth of TV. Rest assured, you'll be hearing more from me on that subject in the future, Governor Richardson.
I guess the moral of this story is there is only a finite amount of time left to effect change. Either you want it more than the other guys or you don't. My chosen candidate, Jim Davis was a tennis player in school. In tennis, when the going gets tough, the winners dig down inside themselves for the determination necessary to will yourself to victory. That's what Jim Davis has been doing.
What have you been doing?