I think DailyKos has become my favorite website in the last few weeks. This is a great place to talk about the specifics of the different issues, share ideas of how to move forward, and talk to like-minded people that already agree with more than 80% of what I say before i say it. That last part is the problem here--we all think alike and already know who we are voting for (please answer the poll below just to prove a point).
Now is the time to switch gears from the primary election to the general election.
That means we need to start trying to convince others that may not agree with everything we say to VOTE for Barack Obama, as painful as that may sound. So where do conservative bloggers hang out? Where is the DailyKos of the conservative brand? I am asking because I honestly don't know.
I have really come to enjoy debating politics with just about anyone with a pulse. It's great to get into a real good discussion about just how great a president Barack Obama will make, but I have even more fun trying to convince my old-school, military officer, hard-core Republican friends that Obama isn't Muslim or going to raise taxes. I think it's crazy how much they agree with once you get past the Fox News soundbites they quote from and actually get into to details of what these guys are actually proposing.
I read a rec'd diary last night that was about how to sell Obama to those types of people (very informative and helpful, highly rec'd). I realized that I was doing most of that stuff already because I have learned through trial and error that the GOP doesn't care about health care--they want to know about taxes, government spending, and foreign policy. The truth is that Obama's plans on every single one of the issues they care about is leaps and bounds better for them than what McCain is proposing, they just don't know it yet.
Well I am here to tell you it's now time to step out of your comfort zone and start selling Obama to people that aren't planning on voting for him.
Yes, it can get messy and frustrating, but some people are more than willing to listen or read. But the truth is from now until November, every single able-bodied person that has voting rights is a potential Obama VOTE, and we can't just stick to trying to mobilize our base to win--we have to also try to convince others to VOTE for Obama. So starting off by hitting up conservative bolg sites you can fine-tune your message and get an idea for how others think before you start making phone calls later this summer.
Just a few more thoughts before I end this: Don't get into pissing contests on stuff that's off topic. Remember that the people on the other side of the isle are just as enthusiastic for their side as you are for yours (well, maybe not). Persuasion is an art form, and to pursued is to first understand how someone thinks so you can tailor your message to get maximum results.
Please read this diary first. My experience is that most people that consider themselves conservative care about taxes and spending more than anything, and FactCheck.org just released two articles breaking McCain's horrible plans for both here and here. I think I have made reference to these two articles about 50 times in the last week because I am absolutely convinced that this is the key to winning over the conservative vote once they understand just how ridiculous McCain's plan are.
A little story of my own: A few days before NC and IN I decided to make a few phone calls to Indiana residents using Skype (an internet phone service) from my office here in Iraq. I talked to about 40-50 people, and had a little success swaying their thoughts. But then I called Greg. Greg was mad. Greg was very cynical about government and said there was no way he was voting for Obama, and would instead vote for McCain in the GOP primary, but he didn't like him either. I saw my entrance and seized on it. I started by asking Greg what was important to him, explained what Obama's positions were on those issues, and spent a lot of time listening to his thoughts. I had to do a lot of damage control from the Reverend Wright stuff and the tax-and-spend-liberal label, but I got through to this guy. After about 30 minutes, Greg had completely changed tones and was listening to me more that I was listening to him (it took a while). I gave him some websites to research the real issues, and when I left him he said he would give Obama a "second chance".
That's all we need--for every potential voter to give Obama a chance to be heard and he does the rest.
So where do these people hang out?