There comes a time when you forget what you are doing and the results are always a surprise. The other day when I was applying toothpaste to my legs, instead of sun block, was one of those times. Yes, it felt a little pasty but it was possible that the uv sun block could have been 1000 instead of 50. Forget it, it was a stupid mistake because I was not paying attention.
And speaking of not paying attention, sometimes it appears that the Democrats are not paying attention once again. The Trump people, who are not necessarily Republicans, have knocked on a million doors to boost votership in the campaign. We have not knocked on any. The reason is the pandemic, but surely it’s possible to knock on doors, wearing masks and standing six feet away. The excuse that they re trying to keep campaign workers safe misses the point that the only real way to keep them safe is to defeat Trump in November. People really appreciate a personal appeal. The Democrats are making phone calls, sending text messages (hoop dee do!) and mailing postcards.
The message on the post card is one of three. My message is supposed to be “Dear Whomever, thank you for being a previous voter (maybe). Who you vote for is a secret, but whether you vote is public information. After the election on Nov 3, local organizations may follow up with you on your voting record. My name (Iris)”
When I saw this supposedly ‘tested’ message, I was a little taken aback. My first thought was who would read this without thinking, “someone is following up with me? I don’t want people to contact me about my vote! Once the election is over, the last thing I want to do is talk about the election.”
We are supposed to write this on each postcard, I volunteered to do 200 of them. This was supposedly ‘tested.’ Here’s what I know after 40 years of involvement in political elections. Whatever you say or send has to be personal. For example, when I make calls for a House race, I always start with my name, and then I say “I’m a friend of the candidate, we are hoping you’ll vote for us, and [Insert name of …] whoever is running for President.” That works a whole lot better than, “I am a volunteer for the candidate….”
Here’s the other thing, and I have conducted an informal survey with 50 people. No one knows what “the Hatch Act” is. So you ask, what is the Hatch Act? It is a law that prohibits anything political to take place on government property by government employees. When the political appointees had a meeting at the White House to discuss something that was political rather than government business, it took place in a specially designated space - I think it was the Roosevelt room - that was designated for all political business. And this is why the President’s unmasked guests on the White House grounds, and the Secretary of State’s speech from Jerusalem were so outrageous. The President says he was going to reimburse the taxpayer for the millions of dollars that was spent on the Republican Convention, but you know that Trump never tells the truth, so why should he start now. And the fireworks, OH PLEEZE!
It’s hard to explain the violence, which is getting far more attention than the protests. While I don’t think it’s the same people who are doing both, it is possible that white supremacists, or anarchists are inciting the violence (Provocateurs!). The fact is that the violence is helping the Republicans. They are framing the conversation as, “we are the law and order people,” and those “radical Socialist Democrats” are just going to eliminate the police. I just pray, and I mean down on my knees, and everything, that we are not blowing it again. Joe biden was not my first choice, but he is a good choice, as is Kamala. But we need to get into action mode or the turkey in the White House will be roasting the country for Thanksgiving. We’re just sayin’… Iris