The onslaught of negative and crazy-making news is enough to make many people want to stay in bed with the covers over their heads. Did you hear the latest nonsense about Taylor Swift? As reported in The Guardian, "Far-right influencers claim singer is ‘Pentagon asset’ conspiring to ‘manipulate’ voters after ‘rigged’ Super Bowl favors Chiefs." Just wow.
So what's our proposed solution at IndiMarin? Stop watching news on TV. Delete your phone's news app. Avoid as much as possible the time-suck of the unproductive mainstream media news cycle that is skewing reporting to maximize profits. THEN, spend all the time you'll save TAKING ACTION. Action is the antidote to anxiety and cultivates hope. And this hope will be well-placed since IF we all start investing our discretionary time on action, instead of consuming news, we WILL win back the House, keep control of the Senate and elect Joe Biden in November. SEE BELOW FOR A LIST OF WAYS TO TAKE ACTION.
As an extra bonus, after a day which includes some form of energizing action, you can treat yourself in the evening to some ENJOYABLE TV viewing. We recommend shows that are uplifting, funny and/or inspiring. A few recent recs on Netflix or Amazon Prime include Bank of Dave, A Million Miles Away, and Heather Booth: Changing the World.
Here's to staying hopeful and positive AND doing the work to turn hopefulness into reality.
PS - Be sure to buy a "Dems Make Live Better" t-shirt and spread positive messaging wherever you go! Click here to read more and to purchase.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
CALL VOTERS!
Having CONVERSATIONS with voters is the most impactful way to contribute. Thanks to Zoom, we can have those conversations from our living rooms. Currently, we are calling infrequent Democratic voters in California’s 13th Congressional District to ask them to vote for Adam Gray, provide voting information, and urge them to return their ballots ASAP. Contrary to the many false impressions people have about phonebanking, the following is true: 1) Many people DO answer their phones; 2) We are leaving voice messages and the automated transcriptions are a very cost-effective way to influence voters; and 3) Our calls are APPRECIATED by many of the people we talk to since we are calling with helpful voter information. If you've never called voters before, you can attend one of our phonebanks and just observe, and then decide if and when you are ready to give it a try. Sign up here for any/all of our upcoming Saturday morning phonebanks.
CANVASS VOTERS
IndiMarin is recruiting volunteers to canvass in CA -13 with two of our key partners, the California Democratic Party (CADEM) and Bay Area Coalition (BAC). Not only is CA-13 a tight toss-up district, it is only a 1.5 - 2 hour drive from Marin. We’ll help arrange carpools as desired! You will get a walking list that includes only likely Democratic voters. So you will be talking to friendly people who want to hear from you. This approach has been shown to significantly increase a voter’s likelihood of voting and also to increase the likelihood of people in their house or neighborhood voting. Click here for more details and a list of upcoming canvassing dates.
WRITE VOTERS
The focus of our postcard writing team is both the House and Senate. With six competitive seats in play, California is the road to regaining the House and we will be writing to voters in CA districts all year. The seven competitive Senate races are ours to defend as well. We are excited to be starting in the Nevada Senate race in support of Senator Jacky Rosen and in CA-22 where we are encouraging people to vote for Democrats in the primary with an additional reproductive freedom and democracy message. People who vote in primaries are more likely to vote in a general election. We want to build strong and early support for Dems. Both campaigns have a deadline of 2/21. Click here for further details and all links to get rolling.