A little last minute something for the email list. Now it's time to shower up and drive the little old ladies. Make the most of this great day, you wonderful, wonderful people.
Hi, everyone. Thanks for letting me talk with you right now. I know I haven't touched base with many of you in a long time.
This message is for everybody in the family. I don't have space to offer shout outs to every group and grouping we sort ourselves into, whether based on accident of birth or habit of thought and belief. There's just no time.
Because, today, tonight, now, I want to talk with all of my brother and sister Human Beings who live in our political self-organization, the United States of America.
We're all under a lot of strain right now. Money's not just tight, it's scary tight. Some of our family aren't making it. And there's damn all we can do about it, other than keeping the food bank supplied.
Time be tight as well. To get everything paid and anything done, we're forced to plot our days in quarter-hour slices and follow a phone web that would stun an efficiency expert of decades past.
And now it's Tuesday, when choir practice conflicts with the neighborhood school group already. And there's something else to do.
It can't be put off 'til next week. Or even tomorrow. It's something that must be done today, no matter what else is on the agenda.
My dear, dear, dear loved ones, you have to vote today. You have to carve out time from the job and the kids' schedules and the million mountains that must be moved and go to the polls. And wait there as long as it takes. And vote for every candidate with a "D" behind his or her name.
It's more important than choir practice. It's more important than the PTA. It's more important than a balanced meal with everyone around the table at the same time.
Because, in the end, what is choir practice going to matter if your children are not going to grow up in a country where equality, opportunity, upward mobility and economic fairness are no longer the background of our society? Would you rather your son have a choice of fields to exercise his talents? Or do you foresee a booming market for choristers in the decades to come?
The neighborhood school meeting? Well, that's a fine and essential obligation, but, if the GOP takes control of the House tomorrow, it's not likely your neighborhood school is going to enjoy more funding and support from a federal government that's being asked to take up the slack from your cash-strapped state.
Bowling night? Movie night? Book club? Really? You're really telling me there's something more important to our family than your time at the polls today? Reeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaalllllllly?
Yeah. Thought so.
Because, like all families, ours comes down to one conviction, one hope: our kids are going to do a lot better than we. With all the distractions and threats, we, like all families, gamble all we have, hoping for a half-decent break, on the chance that our kids will walk across mountains where we couldn't even stand.
My brothers, my sisters, all my relations: that can still be so. If you vote today. Because, for all their flaws, the Democrats are of us. They understand the gamble, the promise, the choice. They are, love them, hate them, scream at them, family.
And when family needs help, they come to family. Us. And it's up to us to come through for them. It's a family thing.
Let me know if you need a ride. I'll be at headquarters.