And maybe save democracy too?
I won’t bother you with the polls and prognostications, it looks bad. Neither will I waste time on some of the gawd awful strategy some of our Democratic campaigns and party has mis-deployed. At this point the goal is to hang on to enough seats in houses and senates and governor’s mansions to block the Neo-Confederate AKA Republican Party’s planned reign of terror.
It’s too late for major policy shifts which would only look inconsistent at best and pandering at worst. But last week campaign spurts are nothing new- Here in Minnesota in 1990 Paul Wellstone only polled within striking distance of incumbent Rudy Boschwitz in the last weeks of the campaign and a last minute “I’m more jewish that you” remark by Boschwitz probably tipped the election to Wellstone. In the same election the Republican candidate for governor resigned the nomination in scandal and after a court fight Arne Carlson replaced him on the ballot just weeks before the election. Arne put together a winning campaign on short notice and defeated incumbent democrat Rudy Perpich. Eight years later Independent candidate for governor Jesse Ventura was been behind by double digits all summer but after spending the week before the election on a ’round the state RV tour won the three way race by outworking his opponents from both major parties. I was on a democratic campaign tour through Minneapolis the weekend before the election and the last event was a Mexican Day of the Dead celebration, our Democratic candidate knocked off early while County Attorney candidate Amy Klobuchar stayed talking to voters until who knows when, she won a close race and started her unbroken winning streak a couple days later.
So yes, we can still turn close races around- Millions in ad buys can be shifted from saturated markets to races where our candidates are only trailing by low single digits- Iowa US Senate, IA 2&3, NE2, and SD Governor and a bunch of other “undercard” close races, I’m talking about you. And if you live in a competitive district and are able, please get out and campaign!
Sassy Democrat 