[EDIT 12/2/2014 - We got slaughtered in the midterms. But I didn't see or hear about anyone trying these 6 ideas. So to prevent future slaughters, let's start trying these now!]
The November 4th mid-terms are fast approaching. A lot of Democrats and disillusioned progressives have already written them off as a lost cause, particularly in red states.
It doesn't have to be that way!
We can not only keep the Rethugs from taking the Senate, we can even take back the House too. And we can replace a lot of GOP Governors while we're at it.
But in the absence of big money, it will take some hard work and effort, along with some fresh creative strategies. Here are six of mine. If you have ideas of your own, or ways to improve mine, please share in the comments.
1. Reach out and dialogue with Tea Partiers and other right-wing groups. Let them know we're not the enemy and ease them into the realization that they're being tricked to support an agenda that actually hurts them.
For example, you could go to one of their events or meetings and say something like,
"Hi, we're progressives/liberals/Democrats. We're not here to disrupt or ruin your event. We would just like to offer to schedule another time when people from your group and ours can get together for some friendly discussion of the issues. Would anyone in your group be interested? Here's our phone # and email. Have a nice day."
If they accept, you could even make it into a weekly or monthly discussion group. You could also invite them to a progressive film showing and encourage discussion afterwards.
COST: 0! (unless driving from out-of-town, then it's only gas money)
2. General Literature Drops.
Make and distribute flyers that are aimed at persuading centrist and center-right voters. The extreme hard right may be immune to reason, but they are a small minority of Republican and right-wing voters. Make literature tailored to the majority of Republican & independent voters who are persuadable. And distribute it in communities that lean Republican. This is great for volunteers who aren't good talkers. They can place the flyers on doors of houses and apartments, and get some great exercise at the same time! You can even take your mp3 player along and listen to music or an audiobook while you're doing it.
General lit drops worked pretty well for our nation's revolutionary founders, didn't they? After all, this is Thomas Paine Strategy 101.
And don't worry about safety. I've been doing this for years and while I've been yelled at a few times, I've never been physically assaulted. (and I'm a small guy)
COST: Minimal. (paper and printing)
3. On nice weather days, set up tables in public squares in the heart of Republican country. Put a big sign above or in front of your table. And talk to people there! Have progressive literature to give them and answer their concerns and questions. You can write your own or use the wealth of informative material available online. This is a great opportunity to debunk the lies they've been told and show them that we're not the stupid/evil America-hating commies their talk radio tells them we are.
COST: Minimal. (gas, paper, and printing)
4. Right-wing talk radio is very powerful and influential. The longer we ignore it and let it go unchallenged, the harder it will be to defeat Republicans in elections. We should have teams of people relentlessly calling in, recording, emailing, and sometimes even showing up in person at their studios and radio station events to challenge and debunk the cavalcade of shameless lies and distortions.
I've written an Action Team proposal I call "Defeat the Disinfo" that attacks this problem on several fronts and addresses potential concerns/criticisms. PM me and I can send you the details.
It expands on and modernizes the ideas in a guide that FAIR.org created way back in 1996, "Challenging Hate Radio: A Guide for Activists",
http://fair.org/...
Unfortunately, nobody implemented FAIR's ideas and toxic right-wing talk has only grown more powerful and deadly since then.
I firmly believe that if enough progressives had simply put their energy into FAIR's 1996 action plan, we would have been spared 8 years of Bush, 2 deadly wars, and the 2010 Tea Party takeover. And we'd never have to be dealing with the partisan gridlock we have now.
COST: 0 to Minimal. (depending on your phone plan)
5. Nowadays the political debate is taking place online far more than it is in the streets. But progressives often think that debating politics on the internet is a waste of time. This is a deadly strategic error! The internet has become the place for these discussions. Millions of people who won't talk politics in person are preferring to discuss and learn about the issues online. The right-wingers know this and they’ve got armies of propagandists all over the web. In fact, right-wing campaigns and think tanks actually pay people just to join forum discussions and post right-wing arguments everywhere. On news websites, blogs, neutral message boards, and discussion forums.
And it works! They have successfully convinced majorities of people to vote against their own interests. Why aren't we fighting back? We can be very effective and influential if we just go to where the discussion already is. There are plenty of both neutral and right-wing websites that have open forums and comment sections. They need to hear some truth. And they won't get it unless we go there and tell them!
COST: 0! (unless you want to pay people to do this full-time, which, as the right-wing has proved, is a very smart and productive use of funds)
6. Address the disenchantment, disgust and cynicism with politics that most young people are feeling right now. Just asking them to vote isn’t enough. They feel betrayed and they don’t want to continue supporting spineless sell-out Democrats. So you must stress the fact that withholding their vote is the worst thing they could do. Make sure they understand that if they don’t vote, they are handing the controls to the right-wing Tea Party zealots who will be voting, and the problems they face will only get worse. Let them know that there are principled progressive alternatives to the sell-out Democrats they see nationally. (both within the Democratic Party and in 3rd parties)
The great progressive Democrat Russ Feingold lost his seat in 2010 not for anything he did, but because uninformed progressive voters who were mad at Obama & Washington gridlock in general stayed home.
So make sure they realize that apathy is not the answer. Apathy and cynicism only hurts the good guys and helps the bad guys.
COST: 0!