How to Lose in November

It’s great to have the wind at our backs for a change. The majority of Americans are motivated and desperately want a change. I work with several GOP’rs, conservative guys, but they will not be supporting the GOP ticket this November. They say they are tired of the out of control spending, scandal, and accountability issues –so why reward this behavior? (They may not vote Democrat since it’s encoded in their DNA, so don’t be surprised if you see a lot more votes for Libertarians than usual.)

Congress and this administration have ignored the Dems, Independents, and moderate GOPrs, and then abandoned their supposed conservative “core” principles. So who is left? Die-hards who refuse to face reality, but that won’t be enough to stop the shift. The Dems are rising, and by the way, there is no more exciting place to be a Dem than right here in Seminole.

You know the feeling of a picking a stock right before the boom? Guess what, that’s where we are: We have garnered national media attention the past few weeks for attracting the big names, several newspapers across the country have touted our growing muscle, our new technology is now available for all democratic candidates, and mood is turning here, in the heart of red county. The Democratic commissioner for my city told me how excited she was with our new organization--and even better: the right-wing nutjobs are furious! (Blog comments and emails--blah, blah, CLINTON!) We have the power to actually change minds, which beats being a Dem in a safe blue area any day!

But guess what, folks, we can still lose.

Dissatisfaction alone won’t let us win on the national and state level. As hard as it is on those levels, it will be ten times harder here in Seminole. We can’t be naïve—Seminole wasn’t turned red overnight, nor will it turn back to blue in one election. There was a time when we didn’t believe in organization, we just thought we had to be right. And we NEVER believed that the grand old party of privilege would be able to convince the middle class and rural voters here that they are on their side, but they did just that. Over time, Seminole turned red with a consistent and concentrated effort by a dedicated minority; and at the same time, we were arrogant enough to be complacent. Now it is the Republicans who are being complacent and ignoring their voters (again, read their blog comments—we are told they don’t have to do anything and people will just keep following them, no matter how much they screw up).

The question is, will we now be the dedicated minority willing to work to turn the tables?

There are 80,000 Democrats here in Seminole Co. All we need is a small percentage to be active participants in order to win back Seminole Co; and it doesn’t take that much to be active.

This Saturday, I joined my fellow SemDems in canvassing Democratic households to talk about issues and ask for help. The response was overwhelming. No one was negative, and every single household we visited was glad to see us. Many gave emails and phone numbers, and almost every household said “Thank you” , “God bless you for doing this”, or “It’s great the Dems are finally getting their act together!” We listened to their passionate stories when talking about their loved ones still in Iraq, trouble gaining healthcare, or the high gas prices: and they were furious when talking about how much the GOP has screwed things up. We know we motivated some to volunteer, and others to vote. One was just pleased we asked her opinion.

Folks, we need help in canvassing. It’s kind of like going to the gym: the hardest part is convincing yourself to go, but you are ALWAYS glad you did. It’s how the Republicans won, and you know what, unlike the GOP, when we canvass, our people are GLAD to see us! (How would like to canvass as a republican—“OK, we ignored you and we screwed everything up, but hey, things can’t get much worse?”)

GOOD NEWS: The math is in our favor. There are 108,000 Repbulicans, and 80,000 democrats. But there are 52,000 independents, who are strongly leaning democrat. There are tons of unregistered voters in heavily Democratic areas. But none of this means anything if we don’t communicate with the independents and disenfranchised republicans, and register the Democrats.

BAD NEWS: The GOP has the fundraising advantage, and the power of incumbency.

Unfortunately, we also have to contend with dirty politics. When I canvassed in 2004, some Sanford residents were told to vote in different places or even on a different day!

If you have read this far, then you are someone who is politically involved. And if you are a Dem, you are angry. It’s time to do something about it. We have NEVER HAD A BETTER OPPORTUNITY! This is our time—and we NEED YOUR HELP.

Sign-up to help us out! You can also get involved by volunteering to be a precinct captain, contribute, work a campaign, even run for office! Whatever you have been doing, promise yourself to do AT LEAST one step above what you normally do.

Don’t let this opportunity pass. If you have ever thought about getting involved, do it now!