Let’s talk about enthusiasm. In a time when people can be cynical about whether politicians are really working for them, getting people excited about voting can be like trying to get people excited about taking the garbage out. Taking the garbage out is what you to do get rid of the rot and the stink, but nobody goes “Yay I can’t wait to bag up the kitchen can and put it on the curb!”
But this year, it’s different: chicago.suntimes.com/…
Camacho, a “really broke” junior from Chicago, said she made her first political contribution on July 22.
“I felt OK donating $1 because I knew that millions of people like me were doing the exact same thing,” she says from a study-abroad program in Vienna, Austria, “So even though I had a really small donation, it still kind of counted.”
People who are barely scraping by are donating to Harris’ campaign. This isn’t motivated solely by fear of a fascist takeover. Something more is happening.
“People are so excited about her as the nominee, we’ve got a level of energy and enthusiasm that we haven’t seen since Obama was the candidate in 2007 and 2008,” says Nellis, a Harris 2020 adviser and one of the creators behind the “White Dudes for Harris” fundraising call. That event collected more than $4 million in a matter of hours.
We have seen this enthusiasm almost from the moment Biden stepped down and Harris stepped up. We have seen it among our own neighbors and even here on Daily Kos. We read about it on the news and see it on social media. Despite the polls, Harris has momentum, and each day, more people learn about her and what she stands for.
But to me, what is significant is that the people cited in this article who do not have much money to spare are giving to Harris’ campaign. They are sacrificing because they actually believe she will make a difference in their lives. I think such a phenomenon is probably not easily measurable by pollsters. If that many people are spending money they don’t have on the campaign, it follows that they will probably ensure their investment by showing up at the polls on Election Day.