BLUE BEGINNING
We need a landslide
Have you been encouraged by the president’s recent self-inflicted wounds—revelations that he lied through his teeth about the gravity of the pandemic and thinks our military cemeteries are filled with suckers and losers? No doubt, bad news for him is good news for us. But don’t get carried away. Here’s a snippet from a recent piece by Jesse Wegman, of the NY Times editorial board, citing analysis by the poll watcher Nate Silver:
“If Mr. Biden wins by five percentage points or more—if he beats Donald Trump by more than seven million votes—he’s a virtual shoo-in. If he wins 4.5 million more votes than the president? He’s still got a three-in-four chance to be president.
“Anything less, however, and Mr. Biden’s odds drop like a rock. A mere three million-vote Biden victory? A second Trump term suddenly becomes more likely than not. [Three million, you’ll recall, was Hillary Clinton’s margin in 2016.] If Mr. Biden’s margin drops to 1.5 million—about the populations of Rhode Island and Wyoming combined—forget about it. The chance of a Biden presidency in that scenario is less than one in 10.”
Add to that your knowledge of what Trump and his shameless enablers will do to cheat the system, suppress the vote, and cling to their power. We don’t need a win, we need a landslide. So keep doing what you’re doing and, if you can, do a little more. And bring some friends. Seven weeks to go.
- Here’s our schedule of upcoming phone banks.
- Here’s our lineup of phone bank training classes.
- And here’s a schedule of upcoming Texting Team events
Yo, Jon Langford: Got an idea for getting rid of Trump and his toadying racist scum?
Protect the vote
Democratic party officials in Wisconsin and Michigan are asking for help to ensure that everybody gets to vote and every vote gets counted. They need poll watchers and observers, staff for their voter protection hotlines, and phone bankers to recruit more volunteers. Learn more and sign up here for Michigan, here for Wisconsin. Or help our partners at Swing Left recruit people for Wisconsin.
Tonight is Blue Monday
Voter protection will be the subject of tonight’s Blue Monday happy hour at the virtual Hideout. Guest speakers will be former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti, now a CNN legal analyst; and the Reverend Greg Lewis, leader of Souls to the Polls, an impressive effort to mobilize the Black vote in Milwaukee. 8-9 pm at the Hideout Online. BYOB, and don’t forget to leave a tip for our Hideout comrades.
Visit us at bluebeginning.org. Email us at bluebeginning2017@gmail.com. Check in with our Facebook group for news, events, and action opportunities posted by our members.
