Ever get the feeling that dailyKos isn't representative of the USA?
I mean, around here, I'd guess Obama gets over 99%. And we wonder why the race is close. "OK", we reason to ourselves "there are some true wingnuts and some one-issue voters who will vote against anyone who is (fill in the blank)" but surely most people recognize that McCain is Bush III?
But they don't. Do they?
And we write diaries.
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It's worse for someone like me. In my circles, voting Democratic is considered right of center. I know more people who will vote Green or Socialist Worker or something than Republican.
And we write diaries.
Read by each other. Recced (or not) by each other. Giving all sorts of reasons to vote for Obama (which we would all do anyway).
Obviously, I don't mean all diaries. There are quite a few that aren't even about politics. Then there are ones that are about downticket races. And many that are really informative, either with breaking news, or with ways to help the campaign, or wonderfully analytical, or inspiringn
But then there are the endless diaries, and not just the latest gossip about Palin diaries, that essentially reinforce what's already solid as stone.
Yes, I am voting for Obama. So are you.
And writing diaries.
The election will be won by energizing the base and convincing independents. But we are energized! I don't need to be any madder at Bush, McCain and Palin --- I really don't. I've donated to Obama and many others. I'd like to help more, but I live in NY, solid blue ... I don't drive, I have two kids, so I can't travel a lot, and I really, really stink on the phone (I'd be a hindrance). I try to come up with ways I can be useful. I registered at myBarackObama, and listed my skills; I've heard nothing.
I wrote a diary that was quite well received (about 9/11) and tried to send it to Olbermann (at 3 different e-mails, all rejected). I sent it in via MyBarackObama and heard nothing.
But I write diaries.
OK, I haven't written any anti-McCain or pro-Obama diaries, not just because I don't have anything new to say, but because I know you are voting for Obama!
So, what can we do?
Well, we can write diaries, and we can refrain from writing diaries. I've played diary cop a bit, but this isn't about diaries that violate the FAQ, this is deeper.
When you're arrested, they are supposed to tell you that 'everything you say can and will be used against you'. Well, it's like that here. Does that mean we should be silent? No. You will not find me being silent. Does it mean we should refrain from writing diaries that excite us? No. I am, for instance, a fan of OPOL's diaries, and he's hardly the soul of moderation!
But let's try, too, to write diaries that show all of us how each of us can help. Let's try to organize some things. Some ideas:
Idea 1:
The Obama Pizza and Flowers fund .... I've volunteered on lots of campaigns, back when I had more free time. Started when I was 7; later on, I got beat up working for McGovern. I've probably worked in 20 campaigns. It's hard work. It's fun. But a lot of it is boring. I've done data entry and I've loaded boxes, and I've put up posters.
So, what if we sent pizza and flowers to campaign workers? I think this could be great! I mean, everyone's gotta eat, and who doesn't like to be recognized for his or her hard work? I mean, suppose a campaign office got a dozen roses ..... wouldn't that be cool?
We'd need to know where the campaign offices are, where a good pizza place is nearby, where a flower place is, and their phone numbers. But we've got thousands of kossacks! Surely we can find that out!
Idea 2
Loan your car to rock the vote
I don't drive, so I don't own a car. But, here in NYC, a lot of people who own cars don't use them much, or use them only on weekends. I'm sure that's true in other cities, too. Or maybe you have two cars, and don't need the second one all the time. Could you loan your car to campaign workers? There's probably some legalities to work out, but we've got thousands of kossacks and some are lawyers,......
Idea 3
Letters to the editor support team
Letters to the editor are probably best from locals. It's hard to write well. It's very hard to edit your own writing, and it's easy to get discouraged when your letter doesn't get published.
Well we've got thousands of kossacks including some very good writers, and some very good editors. I've worked as an editor myself. We can help each other. Suppose you want to write a letter to your local paper, but you are not too sure of spelling and grammar and style and such. Well, can we help each other? We've got thousands of kossacks! Yes we can!
Idea 4
Share what convinces independents and Republicans diaries
There's already quite a bit of this, but this is something we all need to know. Some people are still undecided, and some people who say they are for McCain can be convinced. But, if you're like me, you don't know what convinces them. I don't know these people! But we've got thousands of kossacks and some of us do know these people, and some of us have convinced them that Obama is the man. Please share!
Idea 5, 6 and so on..... well ..... we've got thousands of kossacks! Let's hear more ideas!