Hey all- I am a longtime lurker and (very occasional) diarist, but I wanted to share with you my personal action plan for the next 63 days. Below the fold is a copy of a letter I've written to friends and family. I've taken stock of what I can do to score the landslide victory that clammyc is writing about, in the diary currently atop the rec list. I have realized two things in the past few days: one, we really can demolish McCain this fall, and two, I am terrified of the thought of living in a nation that would elect the McCain/Palin ticket. We can't let that happen. I have been inspired by this community, and I hope my ideas below may help some of you find your own way to make victory happen. Any support would be appreciated- be it mojo, comments or donations to jump-start my fundraising page.
I hope this finds you well. I have not been in contact with many of you nearly as much as I would like, but if you recieved this email, you are in my thoughts. As you might be able to guess, I have been a bit preoccupied lately with a certain little six month old. I've also finished grad school, and am trying to create some semblance of balance in my life. It is interesting, being a new parent, the ways in which perspectives and priorities shift. Instead of viewing things from the perspective of an adult man, as I was just getting used to doing, I view life and events through the perspective of a father of a wonderful six month old boy. I ask myself how my choices and behavior effect not just myself, but my family as well. It is from this perpective that I am now reaching out to you.
I believe that at this time, the most important task I can work towards to secure my son's future is to work to elect Senator Barack Obama to be the next President of the Unitied States. (I can hear the groans, please bear with me). You may have recieved an email from me about a year or so ago with a similar purpose, but at the time I was too consumed with my own life circumstances to follow up in the way I would have liked. Well, there are only 63 days left to election day, so it's time to get busy.
So why is this so important as to cause me to resort to the most cliche appeal imaginable: "It's for the Children!"? There are many. I will say up front, this is a list to motivate those of you who may be sympathetic to Obama's candidacy, or at least on the fence. If you are a McCain supporter, this list isn't designed to change your mind. If you support McCain or are unsure, I would love to chat with you at greater length. If you are strongly on-board, skip the next few items and follow me to my action plan at the bottom.
I have supported Obama since he announced his candidacy. I believe he is the right person for this country right now. I feel a newfound sense of urgency, though, because as the campaign has progressed, I find his alternative, Senator John McCain, to be shockingly out of touch and dangerously reckless.
Obama can certainly make his case better than I, so if you haven't already, I recomment watching his nomination acceptance speech from Denver.
- Climate Change. To me, this is the most important issue in the world today. Obama and the Democrats have pledged to address it, and have offered policies to begin action swifltly. McCain has paid lip service to this issue, but has offered no specifics and seems to have reverted to his party's head-in-the-sand attitude. Exhibit A is his flood of donations from big oil and drill here, drill now energy policy. Exibit B is his ultra right wing choice of a running mate, a fervent anti-environmentalist and global warming denier. For those of you still still skeptical on the global warming front, I ask you this: are you so confident in your opinion that you are willing to contradict the vast majority of the world's climate scientists AND WAGER YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDSHILDREN'S FUTURE on the long shot that man-made climate change is a hoax? The benefits of confronting the issue now (green jobs, energy independence, reversal of climate change) far outweigh the benefits of doing nothing (waiting for big problems).
- Economy. For most of us in the middle class, things are tight. With a new baby, we've felt the pinch, in particular by making sure he and Emily have adequate insurance coverage. McCain doesn't seem to believe the problems are real, has admitted that economics is not his strong suit, and offers no real change, continuing the discredited "trickle down" philosophy taken to new lows by George W. Bush. Barack Obama has listened to the concerns of the middle class, and has pledged to re-commit to the principles of a Democratic government; that a strong, functioning government can be a force to help people, that government is not the enemy, but also not the only answer. With leadership and hard work, we can make our economy work for all of us again. The Bush/McCain Republicans would like you to believe that Goverment is the problem. Well, with them running the show, it is.
- Commander in Chief. John S. McCain is dangerously ill suited for this job. He has repeatedly shown inferior judgement and a tempermental nature (read: anger problem) that undermines the very premise of diplomacy. He embodies the opposite of Teddy Roosevelt's "Talk softly and carry a big stick"- McCain talks like a schoolyard bully, but would spread our resources so thinly that the best response we could muster, were a crisis to arise (Georgia) would be woefully inadequate. John McCain carries a very small stick, for all his bluster. Obama, meanwhile, has been right on the major security issues. Right to oppose the Iraq war, right to call for more troops in Afgahnistan, right to support timetables for withdrawl. And Obama chose a runningmate that was bipartisanly lauded, as opposed to John McCain, who chose an unvetted, unqualified, unproven, Alaskan seccesionist, ethically challenged, scandal plagued tabloid trainwreck of a disaster to be a 72 year old heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world.
- Women's Issues. John McCain does not support mandating equal pay for equal work, Obama voted for it. Obama is pro-choice, McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned and would support a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. His running mate has stated that she would force women who had been raped to carry and birth the rapist's child were she to become pregnant during the violation. This is radical, reactionary stuff. Putting a woman on the ticket doesn't make up for his unacceptable positions, nor his longstanding penchant for misogynistic jokes. As a man, I want my son to learn to respect and value women, but the messages he gets won't be only coming from me- he will see the example set by our country's leaders. John McCain's record and behavior in this regard are disgraceful.
I'm going to cut myself off, here, and tell you what I am prepared to do over the next 63 days, and how you can help.
I am going to do two things, and I'd like you to commit to sponsoring me. First off, I'm going to canvass every weekend between now and election day. I started this weekend, knocking on 40 doors. Only about 10 were home, but I had some good conversations and warmed up to the idea of knocking on strangers doors. You can support me in this venture one of two ways. One, you can make a one time donation here. Or, you can sponsor me per door knocked. So, if I knocked every weekend between now and election day, and averaged 50 doors per weekend, I would hit about 450 doors. So, if you donated 50 cents per door, you would give $225 to the campaign. 10 cents would equal $45, a dollar per door would be $450. It would take a lot of time for me to track this and get back to you every week, so if you want to pledge me per door, I suggest using the 450 estimate and making the proper donation here. Let me know by replying to this email if you are sponsoring my canvassing.
The other "adventure" I am undertaking for the Obama campaign is something I'm calling a "Century of Change". This Saturday the 6th, on my 31st birthday, I am going to ride 100 miles on my bike, which should take me 7-8 hours. I would love for you to sponsor me by the mile. You can sponsor me before my ride (that would be great for motivation), or you can sponsor me after I have completed it, if that timing is better for you. Go to the same place, and make the donation to the Obama campaign.
Please help. If you are supportive but tentative about getting involved, just think of the last eight years, and ask yourself how much more we can take. We have a chance to make our voices heard, but to do that we must speak. I've told you what I am prepared to do. Will you support me?
With Love,
Nate
Please visit www.barackobama.com