I was reading Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight blog a few days ago, as most of us here do, and one particular comment from a reader (Obama supporter) struck me.
There was a comment thread about how, despite state polling in the battlegrounds looking up for Obama, some of those states are, at best, unpredictable (think New Hampshire) and aren't exactly in the bag.
With that in mind, there is a chance, however small it may seem from the state polls, that Romney could pull this off and get to 270. Of course even the thought of that being a possibility scares the living crap out of most of us here.
There's also a chance that Obama could win the electoral college without winning the popular vote, which is not a great scenario either. Can you even IMAGINE how that would play out on Faux news? We'd never hear the end of it.
That's when said comment came in from a reader of Nate's blog:
I'm so scared that Romney could win this thing. I don't know what I would do...
To which I replied....
SCARED IS NOT A STRATEGY.
I didn't put it in all caps, as I have here, but perhaps I should have because I think this is key to us ensuring that there's no way in hell that a Romney presidency could occur.
Better yet, while we're at, let's also ensure that there's no chance in hell that Romney could win the popular vote either.
And how are we going to do that? Well, not by sitting around reading polls and being scared, that's for damn sure. We're going to do it by getting off our asses and actually doing something about it!!!
Wait...I take that back....you CAN stay sitting on your ass and still do something about it. You know why? Because the Obama campaign has made it easy as pie to do your part to help. You can sit in front of your computer, as you may be doing now, and pick up the phone and call someone -- right there from your own home, in your PJs. It's as simple as that.
It's as easy as going to barackobama.com and volunteering -- in whatever capacity you see fit. It takes about a minute to sign up. You can help out in an office, knock on doors, make calls, etc. There are a whole host of opportunities -- and SURELY, you -- yes, you -- can do one of them.
Many thousands of volunteers across America are already doing that very thing -- and God bless all of you who are already helping. But this diary is intended for those who haven't pitched in yet, for whatever reason they came up with for why they can't pitch in and do their part.
It's those people that I want to speak to here and here's what I want to say to them:
What's your excuse for not making a couple calls or knocking on a few doors?
Is it because...
1. You're afraid you'll run into a right-wing zealot who will go off on you?
Well, so f'n what!!!!!! If you think that's bad, imagine having people like that running the country if, God forbid, Romney does squeak in and win. Or imagine having to listen to the vitriol about how the socialist/nazi/dictator Obama stole the election should, God Forbid, he lose the popular vote.
(Besides, the truth is that most people, even fanatics, do NOT go off on you when you're speaking with them live, either on the phone or in person. People can be emboldened on the internet where they can be anonymous, but most aren't so bold in person as they are on the web. The vast majority of the bully types turn into big wimps if anyone actually stands up to them).
2. Is your excuse that you don't have time? Or you have too much on your plate?
I understand that completely -- believe me when I say that -- because I'm in the same boat. I work 17-18 hours a day/7 days a week (no joke!) trying to get my new business up. I share my car with two other people in my household.
But guess what? I'm still finding an hour here and there to pitch in to help. You know why? Because as much as I can't afford to help out right now...neither can I afford even a REMOTE possibility of ANY KIND of Romney victory -- real or perceived.
Fact is, if I think things are tough now, they would be much worse if Romney was able to pull this off. Then I'd never be able to afford that other car that we desperately need. My taxes would go up and I couldn't afford the employees I need to grow my business. Then there's healthcare, women's issues...and about 1,000 other things that would be a heck of a lot worse than me losing an hour or two of my day.
3. Is your excuse that Obama already has this in the bag and your help isn't needed?
If that's it, you know the old adage "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"? Yes, Obama is likely to be the winner at this point -- but likely is the operative word. Some of the swing states have been, well, swinging! Go figure!
And I've stated a couple times above, we MUST ensure that we not only win, but that we win the popular vote as well. The wingnuts will have a field day if we don't do that so that's imperative.
Bottom line is this: If a bad poll comes out, do something about it. If you see or hear something you don't like, do something about it.
Being scared doesn't help. Action does. Scared is not strategy.
Let's do this! Who's in?