Many of us live in what are considered to be "red states" and while we hope for a record turnout for Obama in November, we realistically know that there isn't much hope that our vote for Obama will be able to outweigh the votes of ignorance, cowardice, and racism that favor McCain. So what can we do about it?
Plenty.
Obama is the better of the two candidates, and despite his capitulation on FISA and a few other things that have greatly annoyed me, he is my choice. I've settled on the fact that he is going to get my vote, even if he does more things that I don't like. So I'm not quite as excited about him as I once was, but I do want him to win.
Since I live in Texas, as do many others on this site, I know that a lot of work is being done in this state to turn it back to a blue state. However, it is still highly unlikely that Obama would win. I think a real victory for us in this election will be to get Rick Noriega into the senate. I encourage everyone to go to his site, donate, volunteer if you can, and help us take out the trash here in Texas. We have a real chance of winning this battle.
On the presidential level, though, there's not much chance of Texas going for Obama. I think the percentage will be higher than it has been for any other Democrat in recent history, but it still won't be close. As a result, we Texans that support Obama, or those from any red state, need to go beyond simply voting to support our candidate. This is a lesson I learned in 2004, and it applies even greater today.
Back in 2004, I was here in Houston, but wanted to do something to help put an end to the Bush administration's destruction of our nation. So, I found a job in Ohio, packed up my wife and dog, and we went up there while I worked and did what I could. We attended meetings, met local candidates, canvassed, printed out and handed out flyers, and all sorts of things. I worked with MoveOn, the local Democratic party, the Kerry campaign, anyone I could find something to do with. Sure, there were lots of problems. In fact, I would say that Kerry was a terribly lame candidate and I wasn't too excited for him. However, the stakes were high, and we had a chance of booting Bush from office. So I, along with many others, worked hard to do what was necessary to get John Kerry elected. Unfortunately, Kerry was a crappy candidate, and didn't take the election as seriously as most of us around here did.
Here we are, it's 2008, and my situation dictates that I can't quit my job and move this time (family, house, etc.) However, I still want to make a difference, even though my vote won't count. I have many options before me. There are even more options available than there were in 2004. For example, if you go to Obama's site, you can:
- Find events to attend, which include house parties, rallies, canvassing, etc.
- Make a donation to his campaign online.
- Volunteer for many different ways to help Mr. Obama become president.
- My personal favorite, the My Barack Obama site, which is sort of like a Facebook for Obama supporters, where you can manage the above things, sign up for specific groups for your local area or to discuss specific issues, create fundraising campaigns that you manage, and find ways to volunteer.
In my case, today I bought a bumper sticker for my car, and made a separate donation. I'm not a fan of spam phone calls and will never make a donation to anyone over the phone, so I won't do any phone banking. However, I will do whatever else I can to make a difference.
So there you have it. If you live in a red state and want to get even with your neighbors who will all be voting for McCain, do something to help Obama in another way. Donate, volunteer, whatever. Just do something. As a friend put it uneloquently, "McCain will fuck us up." So please, help Obama win in as big of a landslide as possible. Don't count on the polls and fundraising numbers staying the same. McCain still has a chance to come back and beat Obama. Work hard, and don't lose sight of the goal.