All On the Line

33 Days to the Midterms

This week, my new podcast, Living Through It with ECM: A Podcast for Interesting Times, launched. It’s been several months in the making, and I’ve spent hours and hours in conversation with our guests about the state of American democracy.

And while hope is a foundational principle of my new podcast, the conversations I’ve had for it that you’ll all be hearing soon have made it absolutely plain how close we sit right now to the end of America.

Folks like Elie Mystal and Sarah Kendzior, Malcolm Kenyatta and Minda Harts, have told me over and over again about how much voting matters, how much mobilizing within our own communities and across identities and movements is the linchpin to saving this nation.

Not to be too dire about it, but if Democrats don’t increase our majority in the Senate by at least two seats, and hold our majority in the House, the Biden agenda will be dead in the water.

And that means 2024 could be all she wrote.

Meanwhile, we see the GOP doubling down on fascist talking points, and endorsing the most reprehensible candidates to seize power in the Senate.

Meanwhile, the GOP has introduced legislation for a nationwide abortion ban and to discriminate against trans kids in education.

Meanwhile, it feels like we’re all hanging on by a thread.

But I have some good news: tomorrow, we are 33 days from the midterms.

33 has historically been my lucky number. Throughout my life, the number emerges from time to time in addresses, in account numbers, in day to day life, and it is constantly a reminder to pay attention.

If we are not paying attention by now, we must start. It’s not too late. We must get to work, right now, to save the nation.

---

---

Around the country, I am hearing from some activists and organizers that they are tired, that constituencies and communities seem tapped out, and it’s a hard slog to keep going right now.

But I’m also hearing a lot of hope. Voter registrations are up in many red states, with women making up the majority of new registrations. Some polls show that we are up in a few key Senate races.

All that said, it’s not done until it’s done, and the other side is counting on our exhaustion and depletion and adrenal fatigue to end our efforts.

But in the words of the great LaTosha Brown, “Can’t stop, won’t stop.” We must keep going and we must fight for a better future.

So let’s talk about what we all can do now to make a difference. Here’s my list.

• Set aside time every week for voter mobilization. How much time can you donate? An hour a week? Five? A whole day on the weekends between now and November 8th? Know what you can do and pencil it in to your calendar.

• Align with an organization, a campaign or a cause that matters to you. The Frontline is doing text/phone banking weekly for great progressive candidates. Indivisible is mobilizing everywhere. Black Voters Matter is touring the south and needs donations. And key Senate and House races need your support, whether through canvassing, text/phone banking or flyering.

• Invite neighbors and friends to join you. It’s always more fun to engage in GOTV work in a group (but follow Covid safety protocols too!).

• If you can, register to be a Precinct Captain or Monitor, or a poll worker. Having democrats on deck to monitor and support local elections is more important now than ever.

• Talk to your neighbors and friends. Engage in these conversations from a deep canvassing perspective: what are the issues that matter to the person you’re speaking to? Listen and then respond with how your candidate will make an impact if they win their election. Talk about how this election will impact the daily lives of your friends and neighbors, and why it’s important to vote.

• Make your efforts personal and one on one if possible. Did you know that one on one engagement has been proven to increase voter turnout by as much as 4%? That’s way more than tweeting into the void.

• Combat disinformation. Know what you’re talking about online, and only refer to reliable sources. Do not share information that you haven’t back-checked. Do not engage in conspiracy theories or doomsday scenarios on social media.

• Participate in voter registration campaigns, and check your own voter registration. Mobilizing means making sure folks are registered!

• Volunteer to drive people to the polls, and/or ask folks what their voting plan might be. Make sure you provide those around you with accurate information on how to vote.

• Bring joy and hope to all of it! Folks are more likely to get engaged if it’s fun, if it’s rewarding, and when they see results from the effort. Even one conversation or new voter registration can carry us forward for days.

It’s time to get serious about what’s on the line. It’s time to mobilize ourselves and those we love. The stakes are high but the power lies with us. This is a participatory democracy. Your participation is not optional.

And assuming that we all do this, across movements and identities and within our own communities, we could end up with an absolute mandate for Democrats come November 8th.

I know what I’m doing between now and then, and most importantly I know why. My kids deserve a future. They deserve a country that represents them and all those they love. They deserve to grow up in a nation that continues to try to form a more perfect union.

Now it matters more than ever. Now may be our last chance. Now, we must fight to win like our lives depend on it.

Let’s get it done.

---

Want to listen in on ECM’s new podcast, Living Through It with ECM: A Podcast for Interesting Times? Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher, or join us over on Patreon to get all episodes ad-free and/or a day early.

---