Its apparent that I am in the minority within today's Democratic party. I am in the "Millenial" generation, while most other Precinct chairs in my area are over 40 years old. I am not religious, while many of the African-American Democrats are not only Christian, but so fervent with their Christianity that they would file into the government center and speak out against LGBT rights. The majority-Democratic City Council in my city voted down a non-discrimination ordinance this year, and there were plenty of African-American Christians who said nasty things about my LGBT friends that night.
I really appreciate being called naive or foolish or being told that my candidate's positions don't matter because he is behind in the polls. I don't care about the "Socialist" label because labels don't matter to me. I'm voting for the best candidate based on the issues, NOT the labels. I don't care if my candidate was not a "official member of the Democratic party" because in my view my candidate is being a better Democrat on the issues than anyone else in the party.
Last but not least, I am not a fan of corporate control of our elections and am aware of the influence that lobbyists have on our politicians. It seems that most of the Democratic party leadership is OK with being in bed with corporate America.
It seems that I get to choose between a center-right party or a full-right party full of bullies and religious nuts. I am a proud liberal. What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? The Republican party has no place for me, and starting or joining a third party is an exercise in futility. I am sick and tired of having what I want constantly ignored and brushed aside just because someone is "inevitable." Apparently no one in either party cares about me...
And I'm not alone. There are lots of people who aren't participating in the political process at all because they haven't been given any reasons TO vote. This party has spent so much time trying to guilt people into voting against Republican candiates, but forgot that people want someone to support, not just someone to oppose. A large number of people in my age group that I interact with are in the "I don't vote/both parties are the same" camp. Most couldn't care less about politics at all, and why should they? The reality is that for the vast majority of us, our lives don't change based on who wins at the top of the ticket.
There's only one of the Presidential candidates that I want to vote FOR. This candidate is going to fight to reduce my student loan interest rates, which will put money in my pocket. This candidate is going to push for real healthcare reform, so that I never have to pay another fine or deal with medical bills and collections agencies again. This candidate is going to minimize our involvement in war, which means more of my friends will stay home and less will come home in body bags. This candidate is going to create jobs here through infrastructure spending, which means my friends in rural areas will be working again. These are reasons to vote FOR a candidate, not "he's not a Republican."
Don't try to shame me into voting against the Republicans. Don't try to convince me that I HAVE to "suck it up" and support the Democratic nominee just because they have a "D" next to their name. Don't assume that just because I am a Democrat and I vote that my vote should be taken for granted. Give me a reason to vote FOR someone.
Maybe you can convince some of those ~40% of Americans who don't vote to come out, if those people had a clear reason to vote FOR someone in our party. Maybe people need to see how their day-to-day lives would improve with Democrats in control. I think the party has failed to communicate this to voters.
Thom Tillis is now one of my U.S. Senators. Has my day-to-day life changed at all since he won? No. My life has changed slightly for the worse, thanks to local state legislators who added a new hurdle to voting with the ID requirement. My life is also a bit worse because of the Affordable Care Act that this POTUS signed into law. My health insurance is more expensive, and thanks to my employment situation where I may have gaps in insurance between contracts, I had to pay a fine last year. The COBRA for my health insurance was not affordable when I was looking for a new contract and my income dropped to $0.
I understand that elections are not all about me. My story would be different if I was a woman and affected by the attacks on Planned Parenthood, or if I had a different skin color and was confronted with racism every day, or if I worshipped Allah or another non-Christian deity. At least I vote in every election. Most of the people in my situation do not vote, and will not vote until they have a reason to vote.
The local races are more important to our day-to-day lives, but the local candidates fail to inform people who don't vote. I think that has a lot to do with local candidates having less experience and therefore not knowing how to reach voters effectively. I see candidates at the local level throw away all their money on signs and flyers, and then forget to do any canvasing. They would say the "right" things and be at all of the public events, but fail to actually reach out to voters in any of the critical precincts. The result is that the 10 or so percent of people who are already paying attention decide how a city of 800,000 people is run. The candidates with the most money tend to win because when nobody is actually talking to voters, the only thing voters have to go on are ads and newspapers, if the newpapers provide any coverage.
I'm afraid that the Democratic party will lose a new generation of young people who were excited about the political process if Hillary wins the nomination for President. We may win the Presidency (although history shows that our party has a tough time holding the White House for more than two terms in a row) but we will contine to lose down ballot as people keep staying home.
I think this year is going to be different. Why? Two words: Bernie Sanders.
When I found out about Bernie, I was skeptical at first. I didn't think Bernie would differ much from the other candidates, and would at best move Hillary to the left on a couple of issues. Then I started looking into his positions, experience, and actions. I have seen lots of candidates "talk the talk", but with Bernie I saw a candidate that walked the walk. I kept running into videos or old news coverage of Bernie marching for civil rights, or walking the picket line with unions, or debating Rand Paul on healthcare, or giving the same speeches in front of Congress in the 1980s that I was hearing from him today.
When tomato pickers in Florida were testifying in a Senate hearing about their working conditions, two Senators were there to listen. Do you know which two? Ted Kennedy, and Bernie Sanders. Showing up matters to me.
This guy lives his values. He is consistent and hasn't needed to "evolve" on his platform. He has supported liberal values like LGBT marriage equality and opposition to the Keystone pipeline since day 1. He owns the labels that his opponents give him and tells it like it is. Best of all, he can honest about his platform because he has no corporate interests funding his campaigns.
I have never seen a politician come close to this guy in terms of authenticity. This guy has been a better Democrat than most elected Democrats, even with an "I" next to his name. Other people are seeing the same qualities in this man and are getting excited.
I haven't seen this kind of excitement for other campaigns. People are busting their butts in the local campaign HQ to canvas in South Carolina and call voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. The people we are talking to in SC are either for Bernie or don't know about him, and we are talking to nearly all African-American families. Signs and bumper stickers are popping up every day. Phone banks are taking place every weeknight, and canvassing will take place every weekend until the primaries arrive.
What excites me the most about this campaign is that all of the people I am seeing are new to politics. These are fresh faces, and a completely different group than who I normally see at official party functions. Other people within the party are noticing that the Bernie campaign is out and about and exciting voters. None of these people are folks that would show up as "strong Democrats" in Votebuilder, if they were on Votebuilder at all. They are definitely NOT appearing in any polls' "Likely Voter" screens.
The "political revolution" has already been a success in this area. The campaign volunteers did a canvas for the Democratic Mayoral candidate in this city and helped push her over the edge. The normally heavily-Democratic city was at risk of going red due to low voter turnout and apathy about the last elected Democratic mayor being convicted on charges of Bribery. The campaign is also providing support for whoever will end up being our candidate for Senate against Richard Burr, candidates for Congress in the area, and more local candidates like County Commissioners and Judges.
The local campaign is even making an effort to organize the unorganized Precincts in this County. What Presidential campaign does that?!? On this site people mention "electing more and better Democrats," and Bernie's volunteers are making that a reality!
These folks would have stayed home if Bernie was not building his "political revolution." An election that was looking to be a boring "GOP vs. Clintion" snorefest has energized people that the Democratic party left behind. People that never voted before are coming out to volunteer in North Carolina for a Senator from Vermont, and that is exciting news regardless of what the polls say.
The bottom line for me is this:
If Hillary wins the nomination, all of the excitement will be gone. All of these fresh faces will go home again. We will have the same low turnout that we always have. You can kiss any chance of a blue wave election goodbye.
Let's make sure people have someone to vote for next November.
Wednesday, Nov 25, 2015 · 2:56:19 PM +00:00
·
AGuyFromCarolina
Wow! I didn't expect this kind of response. Thanks everyone for reading and leaving comments.
First off, I think a lot of commenters were confused and thought I was saying that I don't vote. I vote in every election, including local elections, primaries, and even runoff primaries. I vote in the elections where poll workers are happy to see you because you are the first voter they've seen this hour. I am not the problem.
Let's talk about the people who are NOT Precinct Chairs. Let's talk about the people you won't find on Votebuilder.
Was the point of this piece to let us know how awful you think African Americans are?
No.
"Loser."
"The diarist sounds like a spoiled brat[...]"
Is calling someone a "loser" an effective strategy for growing the voting base? Calling people (who are on your side) names is now part of the GOTV plan? How is that working out for you?
"Tell me what the Voter Participation rate was in YOUR county in the last election.
Mine? Here, this November, in a 100% Mail in Ballot state? UNDER 34%
Give us a reason to vote is NOT a loser whining. It’s a cry to look at what is staring us in the face — our Party has to energize the voters or the insane conservatives will put that batshit crazy Donald Trump in the goddamned White House!"
Angela gets it. The person/campaign that figures out how to change that number from 34% to 44% could change the politics of this nation for a generation. Something we are doing isn't working. BTW, I liked the diary you linked to. Let’s keep this debate about the issues. We’re all (supposedly) on the same team...
"40% of the voters in this country don’t fucking participate BECAUSE NOBODY GIVES THEM A REASON TO. These people should be our base. But they don’t see any reason to support Democrats, and that’s our problem to address, not theirs. "
Chuck gets it. I think negative campaigning works with some segments of the population, but the people in my group are numb to this. Maybe its because this is the "Internet generation" and we're exposed to endless political memes & ads online.
I remember sitting with a friend at a restaurant about a week before the 2014 general election, and on the TV the ads went:
Hagan Ad
Tillis Ad
Super PAC Hagan Ad
anti-Tillis Ad
Super PAC Tillis Ad
It was ridiculous! I think there were maybe two non-political ads in the entire commercial break. People tune out this stuff when they are oversaturated. Maybe we need to look at how we communicate with voters in a different light.
[Several comments] "Voting is a civic duty"
I understand that. Most people don't. I don't think shaming people in my generation is going to motivate them to go vote.
And Liberal values are not "bribes." I don't want free stuff, but I do want a government that uses my taxes to provide a better life for me and my friends.