If you truly want Harry Reid to be demoted, it’s going to take more than just reading and sharing the horeserace articles. It’s going to take you actively getting involved, not just WATCHING change happen, but MAKING change happen.
Stop being a passive observer
Now it’s time to think about what YOU can do to change your world. How do you help a particular candidate?
I’ve walked you through what I suggest as the order of attack in the first four posts of this series. Links to the whole series are at the end of this article. Pick one of those races, and get involved.
The candidate’s campaign staff will actually know best what the candidate needs. Yes, there are other organizations helping, you and I both get their emails every day. But truly, your best investment at this point is, I think, at the candidate’s campaign site.
Go to the site, contribute a few dollars. If they have a way for you to make calls on the candidate’s behalf, do so.
Look for some issues highlighted on their site, the ones that interest you, and write a blog post about it.
Yes, write blog posts SELLING THE CANDIDATE. Not “reporting on”. Not “commenting on”. Not passively observing. GET INVOLVED. Promote the guy. Did he do or say something good? Share that story on social media – but in a way that is a SALES PITCH.
You know the difference.
When you read an article or a social media post, do you imagine the writer sitting back in his chair, Christopher Hitchens style, smoking his cigarette and making intelligent observations, sharing information, and giving his opinion? Great. That guy is passively reporting.
Or do you imagine the person standing up, talking to you, convincing you of something? Trying to get you to like a candidate, trying to get you to vote for a candidate, trying to inform you of a particular candidate’s unique suitability for the job? THAT is the advocate. THAT is a campaign worker, the operative, the passionate voter, the actively involved person trying to make the world better.
We are all both of those at different times. If you want things to change, now is the time to be that ACTIVE person far more than the passive person.
Arguments against becoming the active party shill:
- You’ll be called a party shill
- You’ll get phone calls from the party and the candidates
- Your mailbox will be full of requests for donations
- Your followers will KNOW that you are a conservative
- Some people may unfollow you
- You’re too busy
Wow, that’s some scary stuff right there. Seriously, if any of those arguments are persuasive to you, that’s fine, just keep being a passive reporter. Â Activism isn’t for everyone.
Let me just comment on the last argument, you’re too busy. You have no more or less time than anyone else. Time is one resource that we all get in precisely equal measure. If you are saying that the other things you are choosing to do with your time are more important, that’s fine. Be honest with yourself and us, and just accept that truth. If, instead, there are some things you can stop doing, and trade that time for activism time, please do so.
I do think you’ll be surprised at how much positive difference you can make with just a little time. As we discussed in The Refinery last week, in just a few minutes you can make a bunch of phone calls. That’s still the best way to drive people to the polls to go vote.
I’m Sold! How Do I Get Involved?
Go to My Entire Outline, all races monitored.
That link takes you to the list of candidates, links to their official sites, recent articles about them. It’s the live and most recent version of the info I’m tracking. If I’ve moded candidates from one section to another, it shows up here.