I don't know about you, but as much as I want Obama to win, I want him to actually be able to get something DONE in his second term instead of fighting republicans every step of the way.
This past week we were gifted with Tom Akin, who makes our Senate chances better. But it's not just congress in Washington we need to focus on. Most of the craziness that is actuall being enacted is happening at the state level.
See, republicans know that with just a few hundred or few thousand votes at the state and local level they can enact all sort of crazy shit that would never make it through at the federal level. So, with this being a presidential election year, we know turnout will be high. The goal of this project is to get every single person who votes for Obama to vote straight ticket, wherever they are. If we can do that, we can kill this teabagger bullshit, take back the U.S. House, hold the U.S. Senate and wrest our statehouses from the who occupy them. And we can do it in one fell swoop.
These are fights we have to win. And we can. And we can do it stealthily while completely going around their mega-bucks.
BACKGROUND: One thing I noticed canvassing heavily in 2008 and 2010 was that there were tons of enthusiastic people voting for Obama but not voting for anyone else. This has stuck in my craw ever since and I've decided to do something about it.
Follow me below the squiggle and see how we're going to get this done.
This is a printable handout. I've done one for Florida, my state of residence. But I will be doing others for every state. The handout is an infographic that shows why voting "only for president" is a bad idea. It also shows a graphic of ONE important issue or benefit that was lost because of our state legislature. Below that, there's a place where volunteers can include the names of those pols their local or state democratic party endorses.
It's simple, understandable, free to print and can help in every district in America. Print one, take it to your local Democratic Committee, fill it out and make sure people have it when canvassing or for any other activity. It can be folded in thirds and mailed, if preferred. It can be used by voters as a cheat sheet, if desired. And canvassers can use it as an educational tool.
Take a look.
With your help, I can create one for each state. There is NO CHARGE for any of this. But I do need your help to customize and localize these infographics. I'll also need help creating Spanish language versions of the flyers.
Simply fill out this form. Please be sure to include ONE ISSUE that was lost to your state or that effected the lives of middle class people in your state because of the U.S. Congress and/or who was in your statehouse. Please remember to keep it simple and concrete. We're not dealing with partisans or political junkies who always vote downballot. Try to make your issue one that they can actually see the effect of in their day to day lives, if possible. The idea is to help them understand how their lives can be effected negatively by only paying attention to the presidential "box".
If you live in a blue state that didn't have too much damage over the last 2-4 years, then, when you submit your form, list an important issue that could be in jeopardy if the congressional or state representation doesn't stay in Democratic hands.
I have not listed individual local issues because there's only so much space. But I;m happy to create a local-issue infographic is requested.
I'd like to have all the flyers done as soon as possible so we have everything we need for the final stretch. This is grassroots but it's damned important. Please let your friends, family and colleagues know about this so I can start customizing the infographics.
Please remember there is no charge for this. I will mostly be working on infographics in the evening hours. So if you make a request, give me a couple days and check back to the website to see if your state's infographic has been added.
I will be working on radio "Vote-By-Mail", "Check your Registration" and "Vote Whole Ballot" PSA's this coming week as well. While these cannot, by definition, be partisan, we will create versions in English and Spanish to run on selected radio networks. If you are fluent in Spanish and have access to a decent microphone, please PM me.