If you want to go right to the favor, please scroll down to the bolded paragraph.
If I didn't know better, I'd say it almost feels like Election Day around Daily Kos.
The excitement is palpable. The pace is feverish. And the news is coming fast and furious.
New allies. New endorsements.
Big flips. Small victories.
Inches. Yards.
And, hopefully, on Sunday, victory.
Anyone who has particpated in an election knows that the most important advice to supporters and volunteers in the final countdown to Election Day is don't get complacent.
When we push to get out the vote, we don't stop for a second until the polls close. Everywhere.
If you're on the East Coast, you call until the polls close in the Florida or North Carolina or Ohio or Pennsylvania. And then you focus on Indiana or Missouri. And then you set your sights on Colorado or New Mexico or Nevada.
You follow the sunset across the country and you don't let up for a second, you don't give up a single opportunity to talk to a supporter, you don't cede a single possible vote.
And when you are in-state, the rules are the same. Last year, in Northern New Mexico, I lead a caravan of canvassers into an underperforming precinct, long after dark, to flush out the last possible voters.
It was 6:30PM. The polls closed at 7PM.
Here on Daily Kos, we often call it running through the tape.
You don't slow down, you don't look behind you or next to you, or worry about what how the other guy is running. You just keep staring straight ahead and plow towards the finish line at breakneck speed.
And that is what we need to do this weekend.
In the excitement and giddiness of counting ayes and whipping votes this weekend, it's easy to become fixated on following the momentum, instead of being the momentum. And that would be a rookie mistake.
Now is the time to call, and call again, and call one more time. Until the ayes are sick of hearing us say THANKS! and the fence-sitters see the error of their ways.
So I am going to re-post some of the most important action links that we'll need for the next forty-eight hours.
And then I am going to ask the community to do its best to continually save a rec list slot for an action diary all through the weekend, so that activists can find the information that they need easily and quickly, so that links can be easily e-mailed around to family and friends, so that URLs can be easily posted on Facebook and Twitter.
This is the moment to act in concert, as a community, and provide some sacred space for a topic that we know is crticial to our success on Sunday. And if (and when) the current action diary falls off, to grab the code and re-post and re-post and re-post, so that none of us has an excuse for not doing everything in our power to forge the path to victory.
H/T to the indomitable Femlaw for the following information for both neophyte and veteran field hands.
In these final hours, join fellow activists in your community and around the country and:
Go to an OFA Phonebank or Final March Event Near You
Across the country, tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, OFA volunteers will be hosting large and small phonebanks to get as many calls in to the Hill as possible at this critical juncture.
You can search for nearby events here: OFA Final March Events.
If you can't find an event near you, and you know your OFA staff or the community organizers for your area, contact them and ask how you can help. They are all running on empty at this point and would be thrilled for the support.
There's been great turnout and tons of enthusiasm at these events in the last week, and as OFA and many Democratic allies crank up the calling campaigns, the switchboards are feeling the heat.
Call Your Member of Congress, even if you think they are on board to vote YES
Thank them and make sure to tell them that you will have their back in November. Remember that the other side is calling them as well - and that they need to hear from supporters, even if they have already pledged to do the right thing.
You can get contact information and talking points about how reform affects your district here: OFA Call Congress Tool
Line busy? Try the district office, or this great e-mail tool:
OFA Letter Writing Tool - E-Mail Your Member of Congress Here
And mention that you've tried to get through on the phone.
Reach Out to Family and Friends in Key Districts and Spread the Word
If you know people who live in key districts, where the representatives need to hear from more supporters, e-mail them the link to the calling tool and encourage them to make their voices heard.
Here's a cool scorecard from the NYT to help identify who might need a few extra phone calls to keep up the forward momentum we are seeing.
Tell Congress Why YOU Are Fighting For Reform
Personal stories are the most effective persuasive tools we have. When you call, tell your Member of Congress what reform means to you and to people you care about.
This OFA ad in USA Today highlights photos submitted by volunteers from across the country honoring the names of people who they are fighting for.
You can see the photos and submit your own right here:
OFA Why We Are Fighting For Reform
I invite you look at the photos -- especially if you are exhausted or jaded or tired -- and feel the spirit of the millions of supporters and volunteers and people just like you, who desperately need healthcare reform for loved ones and for themselves, and who want healthcare reform because the status quo is just baldly unconscionable in the richest country in the world.
Now, go get 'em.
We. Don't. Quit.