Here's what I've decided about 2014.

[MineralMan]

In my own district and generally in Minnesota, those who vote only for candidates who believe exactly as they do on every issue are very few. I've met some of them, here and there, mostly at DFL (Democrat/Farmer/Labor)Party conventions. They're usually caucusing for one of the state legislative candidates who is as progressive as possible, but who, for one reason or another, is almost certain not to be endorsed at the convention. Generally, when that candidate is not endorsed, and another is endorsed, they leave the convention abruptly and take no further part in what happens.

They are very few in number. Probably, they won't vote for the DFL-endorsed candidate in the general election. Instead, they'll cast their vote for the Green Party candidate or another third party candidate.

What I'm going to do in 2014 is to simply ignore that edge of the DFL party completely. I'm going to go out and campaign my heart out for the DFL candidates and work as hard as I can to get Democrats in my precinct to the polls. I'm going to help people understand why the DFL candidate will work for them on the issues that are important to them and why the Republican will not. I'm going to help them understand that our state's Democratic Governor won with only a few hundred votes in 2010 and in a recount and show them why every vote in our precinct matters in the Governor's re-election in 2014. I'm going to remind them that Al Franken also won in 2008 with a handful of votes in a recount and that he's running again, against a slimy Republican. Their votes could make the difference in that election, as well.

I'm going to let the edge Democrats do whatever they want and not stress out about their votes. Instead, I'm going to try to get every last Democratic voter in my precinct to go to the polls and vote for Democrats all down the ticket.

That's what I'm going to do. And that's what I hope everyone on DU does in their own districts and precincts. That's how we will win in 2014 and send a majority of Democrats to the House of Representatives and to our state legislatures. That's how change will happen, because it is in legislatures where bills are created to send to Governors and Presidents.

If some people refuse to support Democratic candidates because they disagree with them on a couple of issues, or want something to happen sooner than it is likely to happen, then that's fine. Let them do as they please. We can discuss those things on DU. But they won't make much difference in the 2014 election, and it's a crucial election. The disgruntled and narrow-issue voters are a tiny minority of Democratic voters. I'm going out to bring the rest of the voters to the polls. That's election activism. That's what works in the United States.

In Minnesota, in 2012, that strategy worked beautifully and got results. We took the state legislature back from the Republicans who won in 2010, despite redistricting. We won the Governor's race, too. We defeated a vile anti-marriage Amendment, as well. The next year, we made marriage equality happen. We not only balanced the state's budget, but ended up with a healthy surplus. That's what Democrats can do if they own the legislatures, and that's what they can do if they control Congress. I aim to see that is what happens, despite naysayers and disgruntled folks who can't see what good things can happen if Democrats are in power.

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

[steve2470]

1. can't be said enough, GOTV 2014 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks MM. 2016 can wait until after the 2014 elections, IMHO.

[MineralMan]

2. And thank you, Steve, for doing all you do, too. nt

[steve2470]

4. it isn't much but I'm trying

You do much more than I do. I give money and I preach the Democratic gospel on DU. My older brother pounds the pavement in Florida for all of us. Call me naive but I think DU helps the Democratic Party overall. It's a springboard for real world activism. I know many on DU don't agree with me.

[Bluenorthwest]

11. I agree with you on that, DU is very useful as a springborad and motivator

I am a big, big proponent of getting out the vote and also of making new voters, because there are always more people who don't vote at all than the number of votes that separate a win from a loss.

[steve2470]

12. we get a ton of lurkers

Also, DU comes up a lot in search engine results. It's my hope that some of those web surfers actually read us, learn, and become Democrats and go vote.

[sufrommich]

3. This is the best attitude to have. nt

[MineralMan]

5. I appreciate your saying that,

and I agree completely. We must gain as many seats in Congress and in our state legislatures as possible in every election. We can do this in 2014, if we really want to.

[oldandhappy]

6. Amen! Me too!

Just took the training to be a precinct worker. Find the Dems and get them out to vote. On it!! Best wishes to you.

[MineralMan]

7. Terrific. Every precinct needs people to knock on doors

and make those important phone calls. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure, too. I've met so many people in my own precinct, and enjoy the interaction.

Go for it!

[oldandhappy]

8. My secret hope

is to find a friend or two. I live in a senior mobile home park where they all watch FOX. I am on a hunt! There are Dems here, just have to find them. It will be good.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. I don't know any of these voters who don't vote over an issue or two.

Things are a bit different around here I guess. In 2008 we had a strong amount of support from Greens for Obama, for example. Our candidates are often 'cross nominated' by the Democratic Party and say the Working Families Party, Jeff Merkley's run for the Senate had such a cross nomination thing.
In terms of those who are committed to another Party, I don't see them as 'disgruntled' but as making another choice. It is easier to find non voters, register them and make fresh, lovely votes to make up for the Republicans and 'Independent Moderates' and other conservative or otherwise idiotic voters. Non voters grow like weeds. Harvest them, then glean the field after the harvest and win like mad.
Our elections tend to get good turn out. Last midterm in 2010 we set actual records, while apparently other States muddled about wondering where the excitement went.

[MineralMan]

13. Yes, registering new voters is a high priority.

And getting occasional voters to the polls is another important priority. Third party voters don't interest me much at all, unless I can get them to vote for Democrats in a particular election. They are a very small percentage of voters in my own precinct and district, anyhow.

[MineralMan]

15. I've met a few, but very few.

As I said, I don't bother with them. They've made up their minds. I'm interested in people who haven't. Your state has a great plan to turn out the vote. Voting by mail is a genius idea. I wish it were in place here. It would make my life easier. I have to get people to go to the polling place and that's more of a challenge.

[kickysnana]

10. The DFL no longer represents my family, priorities and values . Eventually

the tide will turn and we won't have to chose between bad for you and the country, or bat-shit crazy. History will not be kind to today's Democrats.

But then they murdered Wellstone, didn't they, and obviously you and your friends took that to heart and dutifully now only put up candidates that continue making things worse that the other side probably won't murder. But they ARE bat shit crazy so that is no guarantee that your chosen candidate won't be taken care of in 2014 America/Minnesota.

Want my families votes?, You are in power use it.

First you put all the criminals in jail not the protestors, whistleblowers and the poor. Then you revive statesmanship and diplomacy, we have seen none of that for over 20 years now only threats and economic violence that hurts the poor more than it hurts the target.. You have to admit that National Security is impossible without individual security. You have to clean up the election process, eliminate hackable voting. agree that money does not equal free speech, corporations are not persons, lying in an election should be a crime, transparency is job 1, that spying on everyone is insecuruty. America is not Wall Street or the Banks America is "We the People" and stop giving Welfare to corporations recently in the form of phony jobs programs they didn't work in the 80s and they will not work now because we still reward corporations for shitting on employees (Gates etal) and moving jobs out of the country. We live in a Corpstocracy. It was not what we were guaranteed at birth, and people who were not elected made the decision to change us into that with the help of elected people with no backbone, no vision. It is a ongoing horrible dead end for what could have been what Americans only believe in delusions today.

You are not selling hope you are selling death and yes you are going to have a hard time selling that delusion (and you should it the only power that can end this nightmare) this year despite your resolve and happy face.

Solidarity. Peace. Brotherhood. Integrity what the DFL used to be.

[MineralMan]

14. I don't believe you are a voter in my precinct or district, so

you're not really my concern, to be quite frank. We're doing fine here, and are electing progressives. The spirit of Wellstone is strong where I live. I'm just one guy, and one delegate in one district. You'll find me caucusing for the very best candidate I can find during the District conventions, and supporting the DFL-endorsed candidate after the convention. I do what I can, but if you aren't in my district, I probably won't be talking to you during this election cycle very much. I'll be here, and a little in CD-6 trying to flip that district for a Democrat.

I do hope you'll cast your vote for Al Franken and Governor Dayton, though. If not, then good luck to you, however you vote.

[kickysnana]

33. I will vote again for Dayton when he signs the Medical MJ bill.

Never have voted for Amy since she came out as a hawk after her first Primary and went downhill from there. Al?. I will have to check his voting record.

From your reply I found your ideal candidate: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024715853

[frazzled]

16. We just had a primary this past week

And the turnout was 16%. Let me spell that out: sixteen percent.

There's an incredible disinterest in lower-level races, and even state races. I live in a very Democratic city, and people get complacent. Dick Durbin will win his reelection to the Senate without much trouble, I should think. You couldn't dislodge Danny Davis from the US House in this district if you tried. But there's a governor's race that is critical (not to mention all the down-ticket races and judicial races).

It's really hard when you live in a large city to do the kind of precinct work that you can in other places. You can't canvass easily in high-rise buildings, there are no yard signs; there is only telephoning, and response to that is really low.

It's critical here in Illinois that people inside the city of Chicago, who take for granted that the vote will ensure their senator and representatives will be elected, still come out to offset the more conservative suburban and downstate vote in the governor's race. Not an easy job.

[MineralMan]

17. I live in St. Paul, MN. My precinct, though, is made up of

streets of single-family homes, almost entirely. Most were built in the 1930s-1965, and are owner occupied and of a lower than median home value. Sidewalks, alleys, and all of that stuff. It reminds me of the little town I grew up in. That's my venue. It's a working family's neighborhood, so I have to do all of my precinct work on weekends, mainly.

I agree that it's more difficult in precincts where people live in apartment buildings. That creates a more challenging canvassing environment, for sure. I'm lucky, but I chose my neighborhood because it is what it is.

[JDPriestly]

21. Get a friend who is a well informed Democrat.

Get some campaign brochures or information.

Stand on the sidewalk or an area that is public outside the most popular restaurants and grocery stores or shopping malls. Address people in a friendly way. Ask them to be sure to vote and tell them why. If someone argues about politics, just smile and tell them "isn't it great we live in a country where we can have different opinions and still live in peace"? Don't waste time trying to convince Republicans that they should vote Democratic. Talk to as many people as you can.

NEVER, NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO GET ANGRY OR BE RUDE. You never know whose vote you can win if you demonstrate patience and tolerance or whose you can lose if you act like a bully or an arrogant you-know-what.

[MineralMan]

26. Excellent advice.

Anyone can get involved with GOTV efforts. Everyone should. And it should be done with a smile and good information.

[JoePhilly]

18. K&R

[MineralMan]

19. Thanks, JoePhilly!

See you at the polls!

[JDPriestly]

20. K&R.

As I have said so many times, I am not more liberal than my parents were. If I seem to be to the left of the Democratic Party, it is the Party that has shifted, not me.

Nevertheless, I back Democrats. I work for Democrats even when I disagree with them on certain issues. And, no question, I vote for Democrats although I might have a problem voting for Hillary. She says it takes a village, but she mostly takes from Wall Street. And there are a lot of villages in the world that will suffer if she and her her pro-military policies situate themselves in the White House.

At the same time, I am very frustrated with friends who picket our congressman, one of the most liberal in Congress or refuse to participate in the Democratic Party events because they don't always get their way. They are very confused and unrealistic.

Nevertheless, I hope that we can organize candidates to challenge the party-line, conservative Democrats who run our party. That is the only way we can let people know that there are alternatives to the DLC and that our ideas are better than those sold to us by the DLC.

Thanks for your post. I think most very liberal DUers agree with you.

[MineralMan]

22. Thanks for your thoughtful post.

I agree with you in large part. One of the biggest problems we have, though, is momentum. The Democratic Party has been stalled for some time, in terms of Congress. Congress has terrible ratings from the public, mostly because it accomplishes nothing much. In my opinion, much of that is because it's so evenly divided between the two major parties. I believe, and am working toward, if Democrats can gain solid control of Congress, in 2014 and 2016, much more will be accomplished, giving the voters something to feel good about. That, in turn will lead to better Democrats in many districts, I'm sure. It's slow. Too slow, but I don't see any real way of speeding things up, frankly.

Still, if we can actually control Congress, more will happen, and the more that happens, the more things will accelerate, I believe. I've never believed that massive changes can happen in a single election cycle. It has happened, but very rarely. Instead, a party builds momentum by having control of Congress, and I think we can do that in the next two cycles.

It's not going to be easy, but it would move things in the right direction and generate momentum. It's hard to stop a moving train.

I'm impatient, but that's neither here nor there. I'm 68 years old right now, so I maybe have three more election cycles in which I'll be able to active in GOTV efforts on the ground. I'm really hopeful of seeing some results.

[bluestate10]

37. All of us must support Democrats and work to create

super majorities of Democrats in almost every state and certainly on the national level. We have the numbers, plus we have tens of millions of untapped votes. Republicans simply can't compete if our side avoid savaging each other. Once we have eliminated republicans then we can resolve our smaller differences with each other.

[uppityperson]

23. GOTV.

[MineralMan]

24. Thank you!

That's the call we should all be responding to this year, and in 2016.

[uppityperson]

25. And then pressing those we elected to represent us. But if we don't get them elected, they can't.

They may not anyway, but you have to try.

[MineralMan]

27. Yes, of course. And here's a thing to remember:

If you have worked on someone's campaign, distributed their campaign literature, have met them more than once, and have talked to them about issues, they're much more responsive when you contact them during their term. Much more. That's something I learned way back in the 1970s, and have been putting into practice ever since.

If a candidate holds a meet and greet, you'll find me there, if that candidate is in my district. And I'll make a point to introduce myself and have some conversation on some issue. When I do, I give the candidate a business card that identifies me as a precinct chair in that candidate's district.

I get answers to my communications, and often identifiably from the elected official personally. When I see one of my state legislators or local officials at a DFL convention, I get greeted by name. It works.

[uppityperson]

28. Very much so. I have not met mine but write them. Meeting would be great, but

you need to let them know directly how you feel, etc. GOTV is prime.

[bluestate10]

38. Once we have republicans out of the way, we can push representatives more to the

left, I think that transition is absolutely best for the country and the world. Once republicans have no legislative power focus can be put on rebuilding infrastructure, educating and feeding the young and rebuilding middle class wealth.

[johnnyrocket]

29. Simple: Maximize voting = Democratic landslide.

[MineralMan]

31. That's it, exactly.

[Number23]

30. "I'm going to let the edge Democrats do whatever they want and not stress out about their votes."

A very nice way of calling them the unhelpful fringe. And I believe this policy has been followed by the Dem rank and file for decades.

The insanity of the Repubs got even worse when they followed their fringe.

[bluestate10]

39. The Left fringe is vastly different from the right fringe. The Left fringe

wants what we as a society should work toward, it is just they want it fast and tend to ignore practical realities. The fringe right is pure fucking insane, their way would have us burning in hell.

[steve2470]

44. nailed it nt

[MineralMan]

32. That's true, but Republicans still hold

a House majority. We need to change that. If edge Democrats want to help, I'll cheer them. If not, we can win anyway.

[bluestate10]

40. I agree. nt

[Number23]

41. Was this supposed to be in response to my post?

[MineralMan]

43. Yes. My error. Sorry.

[okaawhatever]

34. Getting people to vote is THE campaign issue of 2014. We all must work our butts off to get people

to the polls. Policies only matter if the candidate is elected. The most progressive/liberal/Democratic loser has zero effect on the laws passed in Congress.

We can underestimate how important a Senate majority will be in the event a SCOTUS seat needs to be filled.

[MineralMan]

35. Yes. It is our main challenge. nt

[bluestate10]

36. In addition to true Democrats, work to get Democrat leaning Independents

to the polls. Independents saved our progressive Governor of Massachusetts from defeat during the 2010 election. The far left wasted their vote on a candidate named Jill Stein, who spent all of her time attacking the Democratic Governor for not being perfect, all the while ignoring the republican. The far left voted for the Green Candidate, Jill Stein, gave her 5% of the general vote. Coming into election day the margin between the Democrat and republican was less than 2%. The fortunate event for the Democratic Governor is that Independents came out big, giving him a 6% victory margin. So, if the far left want to blow things up, I too say fuck them, focus on balanced Democrats and Democratic leaning Independents.

[tblue37]

42. KnR. nt

[tabbycat31]

45. This

Another thing is to really get involved with the candidate selection process in your county and/or local party. If you (generic) don't think the candidate is progressive enough, then suggest someone else or put your own name on the ballot. So get involved in the nominating process (many counties have candidate screening committees, etc). Start by showing up at your local county party meetings (typically they're held monthly) and events.

In my state, they use a convention system for nominating candidates, and I've attended several conventions (I didn't attend this year because I'm leaving in a week and failed to see the point). Candidates who win the convention get 'the county line' (X County Democrats, X County Republicans, etc) and while you can win off the line, many drop out (more Democrats than Republicans). Primaries only get interesting when a district has more than one county and they do not agree.

But even with packed house conventions, there are still several seats (mostly at the local government and school board level) that the GOP runs unopposed. These local races are the minor leagues (I often compare politics to baseball in this regard) and the bench for higher offices. (I've personally been asked to run for mayor, but I'm gone half the year and would be unable to do the job) and when the candidate is running for say, state Assembly, it has more credibility to say Mayor Homer Simpson is running against Assemblyman Mickey Mouse than Homer Simpson is running against Assemblyman Mickey Mouse (this could vary, in 2010 Mayor Homer Simpson would have been painted as a career politician).

I'll do a separate post about GOTV because I could write a book on it.

[MineralMan]

46. Thanks for those valuable additions

to the thread.