GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV

Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do, and I personally endorse Issue 2. Some folks cynically believe that Issue 2 is the left-wing response to 2004's Issue 1, widely seen as a Get Out The Vote tool for the right wing. Even if that is true, that's not what's going to carry OH-12, SS-3, or SH-20. It's a base issue in a swing region.

In 2004 I helped one of the independent progressive groups do Get Out The Vote work in the days immediately leading up to the election. If nothing else, my trip to the Driving Park Rec Ctr. well after the polls had scheduled to close will always be with me, chirping on my shoulder.

In 2004, the Dem precincts in Columbus had extremely good turnout. This shouldn't be a surprise, as every Dem-leaning precinct had four or five volunteers walking it from four or five different volunteer outfits. I know that there is only so much coordination that can legally go on, but we had overkill in the city limits and not a whole lot of folks elsewhere, at least from what I heard.
And we lost.

We are not going to get Emily Kreider or Bob Shamansky or Bev Campbell elected without Dems and Independents in the suburbs coming out to vote. I'm not so worried about Bexley, as I've met people who are working very hard to do thorough GOTV in a relatively small area since I've started this blog. So please, find out what you can do in *your* hometown. There are Dems in Gahanna, there are Dems in Westerville, there are people fed up and looking for a change in Reynoldsburg, in Delaware, in Worthington. I'm not saying that getting out the vote in Columbus, Bexley, Whitehall, etc. isn't important. I'm just saying that if you want your town to be involved, that starts with you.

I'll be watching the exciting stuff from afar. I have to fly to Minneapolis for work early on the afternoon of the 7th, meaning any volunteer work I do on election day will have to be done by 10am, and I will miss out on all of the victory parties that evening. So please, one of y'all, take my place helping out on election day. Click on one of the candidate links, or contact your County's Dem party, and if all else fails, email me and I'll find someone who could use your help. You'll have an absolute blast, you'll feel ownership in the victories, and I'll be jealous of you.

Of course, you don't have to wait until election day. This weekend's a good time to start. I know for a fact that the Kreider campaign is going out and walking neighborhoods on Saturday. I'm sure they'd love to have you.