Time to Get Off of Your Asses - Democratic Underground

The Donkey

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Fri Aug-05-05 11:53 AM
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Time to Get Off of Your Asses

This week we saw the first election for a federal office since November of 2004. Speaking of 2004, it appears a lot has changed since then. Perhaps the most important difference is that since that time, we’ve seen Howard Dean take the reigns of the Democratic Party to much fanfare. Despite attempts to malign him as unstable in the mainstream press, Dean’s primary message has been that from now on, Democrats will contest every available seat in the country, leaving no office unchallenged. Prior to this, the Democrats have been content to pick and choose their battles, distributing dollars to seats in which they thought they could contend and leaving everything else pretty much vacant.

If anything, this new strategy has gotten off to a pretty good start. In Ohio, Marine Major (and Iraq war veteran) Paul Hackett fell just about 3% shy of the votes needed to win an open House seat in a district that generally votes about 70% Republican. If John Kerry had gotten these kind of numbers in this district alone, he would have taken Ohio in a cakewalk, regardless of the shenanigans that went on there.

There are several things we can take away from this week’s election. While there is rarely ever a real “moral victory” to glean from any loss, it looks as though we have the blueprint for really taking our country back in the 2006 mid-year elections.

Now That We Know How To Win,
Let's get To It

First – we have to follow the Dean strategy of contesting every available seat – even the ones we have no logical business shooting for. If Paul Hackett’s campaign has shown us anything – you might get lucky and steal some of these offices away from the GOP. What’s the sports adage? “Every shot you don’t take misses”. Even if the Dems lose every one of these seats that would have gone uncontested, they’ll force the GOP to use resources in keeping them that will drain away efforts from some of their other races.

Second – boy, them internets sure are good! When running for president, Dean raised most of his campaign cash through small online donations. Before long, he had made more money online than any other Democratic candidate had ever seen prior to winning the nomination. The other campaigns soon followed, and now the same strategy is even being used by the GOP. However, this strategy works much better for Democrats, as it makes it easier for all of us to send a few bucks to any campaign in the country that tickles our fancy. It also lets you give a little bit when you can’t afford to fork over the big bucks for those swanky fundraising dinners that none of us have ever been invited to. Hackett’s campaign was making so much money in the waning days of the campaign that he finally said that he didn’t need any more. When was the last time you heard a campaign say that, baby?

Third - Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts have gotten a lot more organized in the past few years. Many of us (myself included) have gone from merely being interested in politics to becoming actual activists to help our candidates win. Use of computerized databases of voter registrations by party, as well as willing lists of volunteers have created a grassroots network of people that could not have been imagined even a few years ago. One good thing to come out of getting crushed in national elections the past few years is that it has forced us to do what the Republicans did when they were banished to the political fringes: regroup, organize, get hungry, and come out fighting like never before.

Fourth – get more candidates like Hackett to run for office. It’s impossible that the next crop of political aspirants will have all of the qualities that this guy had. But if you run for office, follow his path. Think before you speak, but then speak from the heart. Don’t get too caught up in trying to sound like a politician – it’s what makes the “elitist” label stick. Hackett called our president a “Chickenhawk” and a “Son of a Bitch”. On the day of the election, he was on a nationally syndicated radio show telling voters in his district to “get up off their asses” to get out and vote for him. He spoke clearly, articulately, and aggressively. He made no nuance in his speech – and for once, everyone knew where a Democrat stood. I found it refreshing, and it seems that this strategy won over a lot of votes in a heavily Republican district.

Not that you need to have a giant potty-mouth to win – although I think if Kerry had used the word “ass” more in his campaign instead of trying to split hairs on his Iraq vote, he’d be president now. And let’s be honest – those people who are legitimately offended by the word “ass” aren’t likely to vote for us anyway – but you’ll steal some of the NASCAR and Middle America votes by letting people see that you have a pulse, and that you’re probably more like them than the fakers who run the country now. I’ve used the word “ass” four times in this article already, and I feel that I’m closer to holding office than I was twenty minutes ago.

Fifth – quit the bellyaching and infighting and start putting ALL of your efforts into winning. One of the joys of being a Democrat is that you can listen to a broad array of ideas and apply your own judgment to them, as opposed to merely ingesting the latest talking points being spoon-fed to you like some kind of zombie. However, if candidate X doesn’t neatly fit into your exact world outlook, suppress the urge to tear him or her down publicly. Do it behind the scenes if you have to, but at least show a united front. If you don’t love the candidate in your district, go volunteer for a nearby candidate that you like a bit more. But volunteer somewhere! Remember, even if the guy you’re lukewarm about loses – would you prefer the alternative?

Sixth - this is the most important one by far - get active! How many of you have volunteered for a campaign? How many of you have recently written a letter to the editor? How many of you have called in to voice your opinion on a radio talk show? How many of you are still reading this crummy essay? Wow, you’re still here – maybe I’ve won over a few converts after all.

Let’s face it - the Democrats are in their current position of being irrelevant because they let themselves get defined by the opposition. Due mainly to complacency, they've also allowed themselves to become increasingly outspent, out-organized, and quite frankly, out-worked. But recent events have clearly illustrated that we have the ability to take it all back if we want to. Sure there are obstacles – paperless voting machines, bad press, smear campaigns – but they’re just that - obstacles.

And obstacles can be overcome.

We have the issues on our side. We have the apparatus in place. We have the ability to raise obscene amounts of money. We have endless lists of volunteers (lists that will soon include you I hope). We’re even getting better quality candidates than the opposition. All we have to do now is get to work – and stay committed to the final goal even after it’s reached. Make no bones about it – we have to do this now if we ever want to see our country get moving in the right direction again. Because if we wait too long, the damage may be irreversable.

In 2006, we have to engage in an all-out offensive to take our country back. The only way to win is to stay on the offensive. After all – it’s nearly impossible for your opponent to take a swing at you when you already have a fist firmly embedded in their face. Last Tuesday was the opening bell to what will be one of the biggest political prize fights in American history. I don’t know about you, but I’m leaving my gloves at home and stepping into the ring with bare knuckles.