How did you get off the political sidelines?

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Looking for advice from those that have upped their involvement.  We've always voted but haven't given much financial support to candidates nor done any grassroots work. Now, we gotten off the sidelines and are hosting a fundraiser and incumbent state rep candidate in our home in a couple of weeks.  Female incumbent with a female focused group; I may be the only male around for it. We are living in the MidWest presently.

Advise from the other newbies that have gotten off the sidelines?

Edited September 10, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[RDCanecutter 26476]

I was inspired by 2 people: a student who helped run out the usual worthless mafia that had been running Birmingham, and by Judge Roy Moore, who would have George Wallace'd the state back another decade or so. Then I saw Bama Chick jump in, so I guess that's 5 (Holy Hand Grenade.)

I just walked in and volunteered as a foot soldier. There was stuff to be done.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Prepare your anus for daily calls from whoever your party affiliation is.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Doug Jones

Not only was he up against The Evil Roy Moore, he was the rarest of all politicians - he seems like just a flat decent guy.

So, I Googled the info for his local campaign office and called and said “I want to help. What can I do?”

I was there the next day getting trained on how to phone bank and go door to door and whatever else they might need.

Even brought my 16 year old daughter along a few times.

I’m SO glad I did it because I firmly believe women are what made the difference in that election.

Just find the address or phone number for the local campaign office in your area and just show up or call. They’ll put you to work.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Aw, thanks Canecutter!

I didn’t know that - that gives me the warm fuzzies on this dreary Monday morning!

[pyrohornIII 4823]

30 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Prepare your anus for daily calls from whoever your party affiliation is.

This is not true.  They send a text now and then, or an email every few days. but at least with the Beto bunch, it's not harassment.  And I started volunteering nearly 3 months ago.

 

I got off my complacent ass after i watched a few Beto vids on Youtube, which were linked from this very thread early on. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

This is not true.  They send a text now and then, or an email every few days. but at least with the Beto bunch, it's not harassment.  And I started volunteering nearly 3 months ago.

 

I got off my complacent ass after i watched a few Beto vids on Youtube, which were linked from this very thread early on. 

It is true form the local and state offices of the GOP in Va.  I could show you almost daily voice mail messages from our home phone. that doesn't bug me so much as it's a small price to pay for being involved.

[RDCanecutter 26476]

7 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

It is true form the local and state offices of the GOP in Va.  I could show you almost daily voice mail messages from our home phone. that doesn't bug me so much as it's a small price to pay for being involved.

I guess I got some, but it wasn't bad compared to the usual robocalls.

I have a strict "I-will-vote-against-you-if-you-robocall-me" policy. Cuts across party, helps sort out the side contests where I don't know either person.

[David Dennison 18951]

IMO, if you vote, you are very much in the game.

[Jiggy-Z 3437]

1 hour ago, David Dennison said:

IMO, if you vote, you are very much in the game.

This.  This is where I am starting.

Also, I am digging more into the substance of issues, so that I can have substantive discussions (if they are available to be had).

[High Plains Drifter 11052]

Married a radical. She drug me kicking and screaming into politics. I mostly just watch the kids (and post on The Surl) while she organizes, forms PACS, holds community meetings, gives speeches, and generally rabble rouses.

[TexArcher 38076]

I'm volunteering for Beto and encouraging friends to do the same.  It's the first political activism I've done, and I've gotta say, it feels pretty good.  Beto is awesome and his opponent is the devil, so it's like doing two good deeds at once.

I'm also engaging my conservative friends and trying to get them to see that Trump hijacked their party and may well be the death of it, so they need to bite the bullet and cross party lines in the midterm as a matter of self-defense of their party.  Feels like I've made a little progress with a couple of them.

[Guest]

I literally only talk politics on this website (which is why it seems like I don't know a lot about it, because you guys are teaching me most of it).

On principle, I don't vote and I am trying not to care about politics in real life, but something is pulling me to it. Maybe it's such absurd and entertaining theatre.

[TexArcher 38076]

3 minutes ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

I literally only talk politics on this website (which is why it seems like I don't know a lot about it, because you guys are teaching me most of it).

On principle, I don't vote and I am trying not to care about politics in real life, but something is pulling me to it. Maybe it's such absurd and entertaining theatre.

I get it, man.  I'm a cynic in general, and especially about politics.

But the Trump admin is doing damage that will take an awfully long time to undo.  And it can only get worse.  I can't sit on the sideline with a clear conscience anymore.  This has the potential to be a chapter in a history book that I need to be able to say I tried to stop.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I get it, man.  I'm a cynic in general, and especially about politics.

But the Trump admin is doing damage that will take an awfully long time to undo.  And it can only get worse.  I can't sit on the sideline with a clear conscience anymore.  This has the potential to be a chapter in a history book that I need to be able to say I tried to stop.

I thought the celeray man had an interesting point when he said he will forever look at people through a prism of what they did during this time, in the future. That sounds similar to what you are saying, I think, which is like the Dante's Inferno quote "The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."

[TexArcher 38076]

That's it exactly.  

[Guest Lobo]

Supporting him because I thought Frank Ward would make a pragmatic addition to an Austin City Council operating out there, without any sense of decency.  Beyond the pale...

[shnsajax 3592]

 

13 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Looking for advice from those that have upped their involvement.  We've always voted but haven't given much financial support to candidates nor done any grassroots work. Now, we gotten off the sidelines and are hosting a fundraiser and incumbent state rep candidate in our home in a couple of weeks.  Female incumbent with a female focused group; I may be the only male around for it. We are living in the MidWest presently.

Advise from the other newbies that have gotten off the sidelines?

My wife who is currently a stay at home mom for another 2 years does a lot of this. She serves as the counties communication manager and is a district vice-chair as well. Seeing what all she does now is pretty crazy when she knew nothing about any of this not too long ago. Look up your parties county website and you can hopefully start there to find what your counties needs and opportunities are. 

[austingirl 2192]

I took some time off between jobs and didn't work between April and July of this year. I was a Beto supporter early on and had half-heartedly looked for ways to support the DNC in general, but all I ever saw on their site was info about giving donations. However, for the first time in forever I actually had time to give, so I dug around on Beto's site and found a volunteer form with a bunch of ways I could use my time to help his campaign. I picked a few things I thought I could help with and filled out the form. The next day I hopped on a training call with a Beto staffer and the day after that I started sending texts for them. I think back to those early days and how SO many people I talked to had no idea who Beto was, and now he's neck and neck with Cruz. I haven't been able to do much since I went back to work, but I do think every little bit counts.

My general advice is that if you don't just want to donate money, go poke around on a specific candidate's site and see if they have volunteer opportunities that make the most of the time you have to give. They will always push donations first, but usually in-kind opportunities are there, especially if it's a grassroots campaign.

Edited September 11, 2018 by austingirl

[Dbeasy 15096]

Married a radical. She drug me kicking and screaming into politics. I mostly just watch the kids (and post on The Surl) while she organizes, forms PACS, holds community meetings, gives speeches, and generally rabble rouses.

Did you know she would be like that when you married her?

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Anyone hosted a fundraiser in their home? I'm trying to figure out food and beverages. This will be at 2pm on a Sunday. I have zero clue on headcount at this point. Anything beyond veg, fruit, and cheese platters? Mimosas and Bloody Marys or wine and bubbly at that time of day?

Edited September 11, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

On 9/10/2018 at 10:05 AM, Onboard 2.0 said:

Prepare your anus for daily calls from whoever your party affiliation is.

I have zero issues telling people, no.  Learned how to do it early in life thanks to dysfunctional family.

Edited September 11, 2018 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Longhorn_Fan68 33900]

On 9/10/2018 at 8:57 AM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Looking for advice from those that have upped their involvement.  We've always voted but haven't given much financial support to candidates nor done any grassroots work. Now, we gotten off the sidelines and are hosting a fundraiser and incumbent state rep candidate in our home in a couple of weeks.  Female incumbent with a female focused group; I may be the only male around for it. We are living in the MidWest presently.

Advise from the other newbies that have gotten off the sidelines?

My life through college was mostly apolitical. My parents never really talked politics at home and I grew up in a fairly insulated household. As time wore on I began  to feel restrained by the lack of information I had in the political realm and because of it I rarely engaged anyone because I was simply uniformed. That proceeded through the Bush years, and I still remained mostly on the political sidelines.

Honestly, it took a candidate like Obama* showing up. I ate up the rhetoric and as someone who voted for Bush the first time around, I was WAY more excited this candidate. I campaigned for him, as best as my schedule would allow. We voted in the primaries for the first time (it was only THEN I even learned what the primary process was all about). My ex even became a delegate and went to the state convention. 

I coasted through Obama's 8 years. Reading the old board and chuckling at what I thought was benign disdain and extremism against Obama. The message was there, in hindsight, it was just being VERY poorly delivered. 

Then came Bernie. And I was as or more excited about him as I was with Obama. I repeated the same process from 2008. Bernie lost. I got disinterested and that quickly moved to concern as I watched in horror as the current trainwreck started to unfold. I think I need a good showing this November. Even if the Dems don't get much movement, a strong showing at the polls will make me feel better. As long as the people make their voice heard, I believe in the system. When people sit on the sidelines and do nothing, well, that's how we get what we have now. I am as guilty as anyone.

I think like many of us, the events of the last two years or so have shaken me to my core. I am guilty of letting that make me complacent. I am pulling myself out of that mindset and trying to rally my enthusiasm behind candidates like Beto. If I'm being honest I am probably more excited about the prospect of voting against every R I can find. But that aside, I think this November will go a long way to dictating the future of this nation. We seem to be saying this a lot lately, but this is probably one of the more important elections in our lifetime. If not the most important.

If you have ever thought that your vote doesn't count, vote anyway. Try it. I was a longtime "what's the point" guy, but I learned it was really hard to have a legitimate bitch if I didn't participate. This image sticks with me:

*I voted for Obama four times. Both primaries and both generals. I think he was by and large the best president in my lifetime. I turn 40 this year, you do the math. Did I think he was perfect? Of course fucking not. There's a lot of things he could have done better. But he did a lot well, too. I felt the proudest to be an American during his tenure. Do with that what you will.

[High Plains Drifter 11052]

6 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

 

Did you know she would be like that when you married her?

Yes. She has taken it up a notch, but its all good. Nothing I don't agree with, we can afford the political donations. My friends think she is planning on running for local office. I hope not, she makes too much money.

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

This thread

[Larry T. Spider 1747]

7 hours ago, ernest_t_bass said:

This thread

I don’t do anything other than donate to Beto and MJ and talk to people I run into that are interested in politics.....and vote.

Only (mostly) voted in presidential election cycles before reading this thread. I don’t see myself sitting out any race in the future. Although I voted for HRC, that election served as a permanent reminder that politics belong to those that show up. 

One thing that keeps me motivated is the opportunity that Texas Democrats have right now. They have been irrelevant for most of my 35 years, but now they have possibly the most important mission of any state. If Texas goes purple, republicans will have to devote resources away from other typical battle ground states. If Texas goes blue, Dems will control the White House as long as it stays blue. That’s not even considering the increase in Texas congressional seats that would be held by Dems. 

All of those “irrelevant votes” over the years have shown that there is hope here and that things are changing quickly. We aren’t there yet but we wouldn’t be this close if it weren’t for those of you that have consistently shown up to the polls to vote for Democrats that had no chance.