A useful comment from Michael Moore: “Friends, Tomorrow night, those who sent 2,800 of our soldiers to their deaths — all because of a lie the president concocted — will find out if America chooses to reward them — or remove them.
“As good as things look for the Democrats, do not pop the corks and start the partying yet. Do not believe for a second that the Republicans plan on losing. They will fight like dogs for the next 24 hours — relentless, unforgiving, nonstop action to squeeze every last conservative voter out of the house on election day. While the rest of us go about our day today, tens of thousands of Republican volunteers are knocking on doors, making phone calls, and lining up rides to the polls. They’re not sleeping, they’re not eating, they’re not even watching Fox News. A day without Fox News? That’s right, that’s how insanely dedicated they are.
“But the reason they have to work so hard is that, before they can get the vote out, they first have to completely turn around the massive public opinion against them. Almost 60% disapprove of Bush. Over 60% are opposed to the war. Those are landslide numbers. And the American people are not going to turn pro-war or into Bush-lovers by tomorrow morning. So it should be easy for us, right?
“Yup. Just like it was when we won the popular vote in 2000 and when we were ahead in the exit polls all day long in 2004. You know the deal — the other side takes no prisoners. And just when it seems like things are going our way, the Republicans suddenly, mysteriously win the election.
“Well, it’s not really that mysterious. They’re out there busting their asses this very minute, right down the street from you. What are YOU doing? You’re on a computer reading my cranky letter! Stop reading this! We have only a few hours left to wrestle control of the Congress away from these “representatives” who, if returned, will continue shipping our young men and women over there to die.
“Here’s what I’m imploring you to do right now:
1. Go through your address book on your cell phone and computer and call/e-mail everyone you know. Tell them how much it would mean to you if they vote on Tuesday. If they don’t know where to vote, help them find their polling place.
2. Contact MoveOn.org ASAP. They will connect you to the folks who need you to make calls.
3. Contact your local Democratic Party headquarters. There are close races in nearly every state. They’ll put you to work — on the ground or on the phones. Or go to the local HQ for the Dem candidate running for the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate and say, “Put me to work!”
“OK, turn off the computer — and I will, too. There’s serious work to do. The good news? There’s more of us than there are of them. Let’s prove that, once and for all.
“Is there anything more important that you have to do today? Nothing less than the rest of the world is depending on us.
Yours,
Michael Moore”
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All right, I got that off my chest. Like Ted Haggard, Mike seems to have learned a lesson the hard way.
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I heartily endorse Call For Change, via MoveOn.org (see CallForChange.org). I’ve already made several hundred calls,a and spoke to 70 or so voters (a lot of answering machines or hangups) in key Senate races like Virginia, Missouri, Rhode Island, and close House districts across the country.
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Sure, you reach your occassional republican, and get plenty of people who don’t want to talk to you. But you also reach that handful of people who were planning to vote Democratic, but always may stay home, or not both. The one on one contact lets them know their vote matters and makes them think about getting to the polls.
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And its so worth it when you speak to someone who thanks you for calling, or who says it made a difference for them. And everyone you have a nice conversation with is more likely to get out there and vote Dem.
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They’re already made over 450,000 voter contacts (and millions of calls) since Friday in just over 3 days, which was their goal for the entire 5 days pre-election period (Friday-Tuesday). If half of those contacts were favorable (probably an underestimate), that’s 225K. If those people were 80% likely to vote before, and are now 99%, that’s over 40,000 extra Democratic votes in various key races across the country.
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And a new goal is pending. Can we make 600K? 750K? 1M??
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Of course if you’re in an area with a close race, get out there and do more! But for those of us in Mass, who aren’t out doing the important work for Patrick, and who want to make a difference on the national scene, sign up!
It was great! The best part about Call for Change is that you can call from home too!
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I called Ohio last night and spoke with quite a few Republicans-many of whom were voting a “straight Democratic ticket”. I also talked to a delusional idiot that thought the country was doing great. When I asked her if she had any relatives in Iraq, of course she said no! I mentioned the Republicans voting against body armor for the troops, voting to cut Veterans’ benefits, etc. and she was unmoved. These people are so anti-American it seriously makes me nauseous.
fyi, while I don’t blame you, you’re not really supposed to talk to people who disagree. Just say “okay, thank you, have a nice day/evening”. The reason is mainly that your time is much better spent talking to Democratic voters, and trying to argue with someone may be likely to encourage them to go vote against you.
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You’re not even supposed to talk to undecided voters, it really is a pure ‘get out the vote’ effort, not a effort to win people over. Although when I do talk to an undecided voter, I frankly can’t help putting in a small plug, eg: “I hope you’ll consider voting for ___, to give our country a new direction and bring accountibility back to Washington. But thank you very much for your time and have a nice evening.”
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But don’t push it, you’re more likely to annoy them than accomplish anything helpful.
Therefore I think she’s fair game. đŸ™‚
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I called so many people that I really didn’t have time to get into in-depth conversations. You’re right that the aim is to get out the vote.
Making phone calls is mind numbingly boring punctuated by periods of stress and rejection. When the occasionally caller wants to get chatty, that’s uplifting and re-energizing for me. Taking 5 minutes to chat with someone who is willing can keep me plugging through another hour of the mind-numbing calls, so it is totally worth it.
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Right now I’m off to have a snack and recharge my cell phone and then I’m back on the phones. Woo-hoo!
I respectfully disagree with Seigneur Moore. Massachusetts is largely wrapped up. We should be an exporter state tomorrow.
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Go to NH-01 or -02, go to RI or CT for the Senate race. They need us more than we need us.