With less than fifty days to go until the General Election, things are getting serious. We've spent months obsessing over a potential national "red wave" and worrying about whatever the media tells us we should be worrying about.
The reality is that this is a marathon, not a sprint.
The reality is that as California voters we should be focusing on the candidates who will be on our ballot. (Yes, talking about Pennsylvania is fun, but we should be talking about Brian Dahle, Mark Meuser, Nathan Hochman, Gene Yoon, Doug Brower and all of the other candidates who will be on our ballots.)
The other reality is that we --as Republican voters-- have been too passive for years. We've fit too neatly into whatever box the media tells us we should fit into. We've complained when we aren't treated "fairly" by the press --hey, at this point we should all know life isn't fair, and the media isn't particularly relevant anyway. And we've wasted too much time fighting with other Republicans rather than demanding that the New Left debate us. (So far this election cycle only one one state-wide incumbent Democrat in California has had the guts to agree to a public debate with his Republican challenger.)
Well, things change! And we've made a list of ways we can all help change this state by chipping away at the near one-party rule in Sacramento.
We can't depend on other people to do our jobs for us. This is what we're doing, will you join us?
1) Vote! Make a Voting Plan! Although election day is NOT a holiday, many voters --especially voters who have a few presidential election cycles under their belts-- have a tendency to take a "traditionalist" approach to voting. They assume that their polling places haven't changed in 2 to 4 years and they assume they'll get an "I Voted" sticker from the nice lady who sits at the table with the pens and pencils. Voting is different these days. If you assume your polling place will be the same as it was was a decade ago you may, with the best of intentions, fail to vote on election day because you don't know where to go. (Or you haven't done your homework and studied all the ballot initiatives so you may fail to vote the whole ballot.) So we think we should all make it a priority to make a voting plan. If you have moved recently --or didn't vote in the primary-- make sure your voter registration data is up to date. If you need to register to vote do it now! If you want to change your party affiliation do it now! (Hey, we know some of the people reading this email aren't registered Republicans.) Figure out where and when you are going to vote. Are you going to be a Vote-By-Mail voter? If you are, make sure your ballot is postmarked early. Are you going to go into the county Civic Center and vote in person early? This can be a practical choice for people with work commitments, family commitments, or health considerations which may keep them from voting on a specific day. If you want to learn more about the voting process this fall, the Marin Registrar of Voters is holding a public educational zoom on September 29th. You can register for the zoom in advance by clicking here. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GDH2VVIaSJaxTWxi63Yj4A
2) Get Your Friends to Vote! Hey, if you are reading this we assume you are an engaged voter. You probably vote in midterms and primaries. But, you probably have friends who skip the votes (and the races) they don't think are important. We have news, every election is important. And if we, as voters, were as passionate about schoolboard races as we are about presidential races maybe we wouldn't have some of the problems we have today. So... don't assume all of your "conservative" friends are as passionate about voting as you are. We need voters! We need every vote for every race! Get Your Friends to Vote!
3) Share the Message! This is where 10+10 really matters. We want you to share the message. Yes, we want you to vote. But you should also get 10 of your friends to vote! Elections are a team effort, we can't be passive and just leave it all up to the media anymore! We need to share our OWN message. Share this email with your friends. Cut and past on Facebook. Check out our website, check out our candidates and share our candidates with your friends. An interactive list of our top of the ticket candidates is accessible by clicking here. (Move your mouse over the picture and you can click on Mark Meuser to go directly to the Meuser campaign website.) Advocate for 10 candidates, make 10 social media posts, make 10 phone calls, send 10 texts, bring 10 of you friends to the polls with you!
4) Get to Know Your Candidates! Do you know your candidates? If you are a Marin voter you will have a dozen --maybe more-- Republicans on your ballot. If you live in Marin you will have everyone from Brian Dahle to Gene Yoon on your ballot. They are all good Republicans and all deserve your vote. But we also have 8 local candidates running for different local office. Do you know your candidates? Do you know Nathan Hochman's strong background as a prosecutor? Do you know that Doug Brower has been counseling people with addiction issues for years? Do you know Peter Verbica was endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC?
5) Focus on Your Down-Ballot & Local Candidates! Do you know that the only Republican who currently holds statewide audience in California is on the Board of Equalization? Yes, we can win if we vote from the bottom of the ticket up. Voter "roll-off" is real. If we take EVERY race seriously we can get more Republicans in Sacramento, and more in local government. We have 8 Republicans running for local office in Marin. More than half will be making an in-person presentation at the the next MarinGOP meeting. We urge you to attend and get to know your local candidates!
6) Volunteer! Hey... it takes a lot of work to get elected. We need all hands on deck. All of our candidates need volunteers. Want to help get out the vote? Knock on doors? Make phone calls? Post signs? Precinct walking is fun and a great way to get involved.
7) Have a Vote Party! Hey, voting has changed the last few years. We used to plan election night "watch parties" but wouldn't it be MORE relevant to have a get out the vote party a week or two BEFORE the election? Invite 10 (or 20) friends over and talk through your ballot. Stress that the plan is to vote the WHOLE ballot. Talk about the ballot initiatives. Talk about the candidates. Commit to voting instead of just waiting to see the results.
8) Wear Your Buttons! If you are reading this you are probably a Republican --or a fellow traveller, or a media type who should be more concerned with the falling subscriber rates at the local paper. But how many of your friends know you are a Republican? The Left in Marin is pretty good at convincing Marin Republicans that we are alone. That is not the case. Yes, we are outnumbered. But we are not alone. Even at the county fair, although we had a few spectacularly negative interactions with howling, hissing and cursing elitist trustafarian types who were "triggered" by the sight of Republicans, in general we had far more positive interactions than negative interactions. We owe it to our fellow Republicans to wear our buttons. Really, we aren't just trying to sell buttons, we've actually found, in the last few months, that wearing our buttons in public around town is the best way to strike up easy, friendly conversations with people who lean our way. Stick Abraham Lincoln on your baseball hat, pick up a schoolboard button for your lapel. Maybe one of our VERY popular "Republican Women" buttons. The link to our Campaign Button Store is here.
9) Post Some Signs! We're looking for a few good lawns. Yes, our candidates need lawns to post their signs in. A lot of people live in condos, townhomes and HOAs with "no sign" clauses. But, if you have a lawn, this is your opportunity to let your lawn work for you. Yes, our candidates have signs. If you want a sign contact us and we'll make sure you get one. (Unless we run out first. The Dahle signs are somewhere on a FedEx truck at the moment.)
10) Bring a Friend to an Event! Any good outreach campaign starts with one person talking to another. We've become far too addicted to television ads in recent years. Conservatives tell other conservatives that they want to see more candidate ads. Hmmm.... shouldn't we be talking to our moderate friends more? Our decline to state neighbors? Our relatives who maybe don't fit into a traditional political box? Bring a friend to an event. Loads of conservatives like to go to events because they want to meet like minded people. We have an idea, come to one of our events and bring a friend. The next MarinGOP meeting will be the evening of September 29th.
Good advice!