Election Protection For National Resurrection

Disclaimer: This post may not reflect the views of all the 36 employees/22 owners of South Mountain. It is not the formal position of the company; these words are my own.

I’ll keep it short.

In just over three months the 2020 election will sweep across this pandemic-laced land for one fateful day.

But the ballots open even sooner – some states allow early voting as many as 45 days prior. That’s September 19th, just around the corner.

With our country crippled and enraged by the “social arsonist” (as commentator Mike Barnicle calls him) in the White House, we need to assure an absolute full pivot to a new day by convincingly banishing Trump. As former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich says, “we need to beat Trump by such an enormous margin that his entire toxic approach to politics is discredited forever”.

The electoral turning of our political fortunes that began in 2018 must become a tidal wave of support for Democrats – up and down the ballot – to replace Republicans who have fully abdicated their responsibility to govern. We need to maintain Democratic control of the House, achieve Democratic control of the Senate, and make more state legislatures Democratic to overturn the re-districting travesties which have occurred in recent years.

This is a transcendent moment – Black Lives Matter has inspired a worldwide consciousness-raising. Can it be sustained? Maybe, if we can provoke a political tailwind to augment and institutionalize our anti-racist awakening.

Can we overcome the Covid-19 pandemic? Yes, with federal leadership which can only come from a compassionate White House whose occupants believe in science. (As author John Barry says, “When you mix politics and science, you get politics.”)

And can we, once and for all, tackle climate change for real? (Columnist Tom Friedman recently said “And remember, as bad as this pandemic is, it’s just training wheels for the big, irreversible atmospheric pandemic: climate change.) We can, but not without three branches of government all on the same page, or at least the two that we can bring home on November 3rd.

We need to protect the election in two ways: by maximizing the new voters who are registered to vote and getting them out, and by exercising vigilance to guarantee that those who are hell-bent on election disruption and manipulation are not given the chance.

Joe Biden was never the Democratic candidate I hoped for, but I am heartened by the steps he has taken to include diverse views in his campaign. His commitment to choose a woman for vice-president was a good start. Now the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force has developed a strong progressive agenda. His $2 trillion climate change plan is the first significant plan ever by a major party presidential nominee. We can expect that he will surround himself with a cast of characters who could effectively govern in a way that we have become unaccustomed to.

My support for his candidacy has solidified. Those who are raising their voices need him to win and win big. Those who have no voice – or have not yet found it – need him to win and win big. This matters. A Biden presidency and democratic congress will not end structural racism or reverse climate change, but they can help.

But what can we do to aid this effort? Many wonder. I’ve been wondering too. Friends have led me to three organizations that appear to be doing a stellar job working to get out the vote and ensure a fair election: Movement Voter Project, Swing Left, and Adopt-a-State.

I have donated to all three. I encourage you to do the same. Next I will commit time. I encourage you to do the same. In Adopt-a-state I have chosen Arizona, because it’s a swing state that also has an essential tight senate race.

I remember saying, when George W. Bush was running for re-election, “This is the most important election of my lifetime.” I was so wrong. There has never been an electoral moment like this one, with an incumbent president who might lose the election and refuse to surrender power. Let’s never say that again. Let’s summon a landslide. A national resurrection is at stake. The clock ticks. The time is now.

Donate. Work. Vote.