Basically, as of this writing (late Wednesday night, Oct 22) there are 12 days before the polls open on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 4.
12 days to go - here are 12 things to do. No partridge in a pear tree, but if all goes well we'll have a Dem president in the Oval Office and that will be a great early Christmas present no matter what my diocese's Bishop has to say.
So I offer this checklist. Check off one or several or all 12 items.
Let's do this !
12 days to go - 12 things to do :
_ 1. Vote ! Vote early if you can.
_ 2. Donate. Whether to Obama, or to the Senate or Representative candidate(s) of your choice, or state-/local-level Democrats - or a combination of all of the above. ActBlue.com is a good place to find a slate of various candidates too - such as our own Orange2Blue.
_ 3. Visit a local campaign office - Obama or other candidate, or your nearest Dem Party office - and see if they need help in areas you can offer something. Find local Obama campaign office via this web page - 1. click on your state, and 2. Click the link in the right column entitled 'FIND Your Local Office'. As my dad used to say, write down the address and present yourself there first thing in the morning.
_ 4. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
_ 5. Listen to your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. You know the people - you know who supports Obama by now, you know who doesn't, and then there are some who might be on the fence. Ease them off that fence. Nicely but firmly, advocate to them why Obama would be best for them. Know the Obama plan so you can communicate more easily and clearly to them.
_ 6. ( I'm sure I forgot at least one big glaring thing, or else something unique to each individual or a particular state or area. This space reserved for that. )
_ 7. Speak. Hear someone spreading lies about Obama ? Get e-mail smears from 'friends' or family ? Refute them with the truth. [I realize, I have it easy, in a Blue State (WI ain't no swing state this year), so I suppose it's easier said than done in a so-called Red State. I have simply said to a couple people who've passed on smear e-mails - 'Come on, you know that is NOT true' - and they've agreed. ]
_ 8. Consider taking the day off work Election Day, if you can, to help with whatever - making calls, driving people to the polls, holding signs, whatever it takes.
_ 9. Be confident - Be positive - Do not fear. We are gonna do this ! Think good thoughts, stay focused on the goal, be proactive, be good, pray with confidence if you're the praying kind, be thankful and joyful, and so forth. This is an amazing moment in history . . . we're in that moment.
_ 10. Take a break once in a while. Go for a walk on a nice brisk autumn day. Do something different - it's easy to get obsessed with minute-by-minute political news. Work hard and do all you can - but be good to yourself and don't get too run down.
_ 11. Make sure to keep reminding people to vote. For many people who have multiple obligations - long workdays, family and child-raising, household tasks, transportation barriers, whatever - it's sometimes easy to just not vote. Keep reminding people to VOTE ! Humor can be a good touch, as in 'If you don't vote I'll never forgive you, haha.'
_ 12. Give some thought to what will be needed AFTER Election Day. If Obama wins the presidency, there will be a huge amount of work to do. There are 2 wars, our economy is in shambles, there's the health care crisis, on and on. There's no time for victory dances, spiking the ball in 'their' face, or doing the Lambeau Leap.
I've been giving some thought lately to this question, #12 above - If Obama wins the presidency, what do we do ? Do we all just go back to our routine and wait until the next election campaign ? I think not ! I don't know what exactly will need to be done, or how exactly I am supposed to play any kind of role, but the local relationships established in this campaign in your area - and beyond - need to continue.
Some kind of massive network of ordinary citizen 'lobby' (for lack of a better word) needs to organize, mobilize, and push hard for advancing - and IMPLEMENTING - a progressive agenda for this country's future. How would we do that here, at this blog or others, in a targeted, organized fashion ? Can it be done online, or does it need to be the local Neighbor To Neighbor (N2N) networks the Obama campaign has enabled, both, a mix, or something else ?
There will need to be PUSHBACK too. We here have proven we can do that - a recent exhibit is the Bachmann Boomerang. You can bet your bottom dollar there will be massive mobilization by the Right Wing, Hatemongers, the Religious Right, the Republicans, the Traditional Media, the Corporate Powers, and entrenched interests in Washington DC to UNDERMINE an Obama Administration from Day 1 - heck, it will probably start in full force long before Inauguration Day. So what can we do to effectively counteract this ?
We need to think about how to harness, organize, and channel ourselves into one massive movement that is a powerful agent and advocate. Others, such as Al Giordano who will be in Wisconsin tomorrow night, have given much more thought to this than I ever could. I admit I probably should read Kos' book. It's just that the question has been gnawing at me the last few days/weeks.