We have precisely 1.5 weeks until the big day in Wisconsin. Cheeseheads and other Badgers are kickin' ass and reminding everyone of just how fun civic engagement can be. The only bummer coming out of Wisconsin is that each and every one of us cannot personally vote Walker out.
But there is plenty we can do to have Wisconsin's back! Many of you have already been incredibly generous in donating to the great organizations working the streets for the recall, as well as supporting Barrett's campaign. Let's dive below the cheese curd and have a look-see at what else can be done from afar.
I am guessing that most Wisconsinites have their minds made up. This, coupled with my personal experience of campaign call overload, leads me to think that the most useful kinds of calls to make at this point go beyond the usual reminders, focused mainly on helping voters. This makes it more personal and since the offer of help is sincere, it can really reach voters. Also, as an out-of-state person, I would feel kinda presumptuous to do much beyond being helpful, answering questions, etc. For example, I would love to be able to give people info on rideshares and the like for those who need help getting to the polling place. Not being from Wisconsin, though, I have no idea what I'm talking about, where stuff is relative to what, etc. Being able to accurately hook people up with the information and resources they need to cast their vote would be super.
Wisconsin peeps: is phonebanking from out-of-staters helping or overload at this point? If it's still helping/needed, could some kind Badger please compile a cheat-sheet of the above info that we could use to help GOTV?
In the meantime, the rest of us can make sure to not let any pro-Walker or defeatist narratives take hold by following news stories about the recall and leaving comments on the articles, across Facebook, etc. This is something we can all do, usually via our facebook logins. You don't need to be local at all. Just as I like to do with Komen, one can find lots of articles to push back against by running a news search for "Wisconsin recall." You also find lots of good news, like early voting has already exceeded the numbers seen in the May primary. Badgers are motivated to turn this mother out! Let's get their backs by keeping the environment positive.
Beyond leaving comments on news articles, LTEs are, as always, incredibly important for setting narratives. Some papers insist you be local for that; others don't much care. They're certainly more lenient on that point when the LTE is directly addressing something they recently published. If they're sticklers on that, I'm sure there are any number of Cheeseheads here who would be happy to submit them.
These kinds of pushback efforts are going to be essential from now until the 5th, especially after tonight, when Barrett and Walker have their first of two debates. Be sure to watch the debate tonight, but make extra sure to watch the reporting/Facebooking/pontificating on it tomorrow, and please don't be shy about jumping into the discussion!