There's a Force Multiplier Zoom House Party tonight, Thursday, October 27th at 8pm ET. You’ll hear about a powerful strategic way to do something, even in these final days before the mid-terms. And it’s an information session - not a fundraiser.
Since its founding in 2017, Force Multiplier has raised over $14M with the generosity of more than 11,000 donors. Its focused research targets key candidates whose races are neither long shots nor sure bets.
With Force Multiplier’s recommendations, we can more easily target the key races and groups where our donations will have the most impact. And Force Multiplier shares “Do Something” volunteer opportunities for campaigns and actions across the country, from anywhere.
Here's the Zoom link for the Force Multiplier House Party tonight:
After registering, you'll receive an email with a meeting link that is UNIQUE to you. So if you want to forward a link to someone else, please send the original registration link, above.
On a related subject....I had an BIG eye-opening experience. I became a certified poll worker in Georgia this week. After 5 hours of live class time, one hour of online study/tests plus a two hour on-site orientation at my assigned poll location ... I am a poll worker in my county, Cobb.
Absolutely every American should do it....just once. It is a forensic level lesson in civics, specifically voting systems processes and purported integrity.
The level of security for the equipment and process is mind boggling. From three separate locks and three unique keys (regular, barrel and spider keys) just to open each voting machines to a remarkable system to verifying each voter as legal to vote, non-citizen, non-resident, felon etc ....is detailed and fair in part because a response (cure) is in place for every possible arrival and their situation. Everyone gets to vote ... if only provisionally for those in question.
Each voter votes on a touch pad that then produces a hard copy ballot for themselves to check for accuracy that they themselves then scan to make a copy that they then drop into a double locked (more unique keys) ballot box.
Can a touch pad machine change your vote selection by being controlled by an evil entity from the notorious Swamp? No. Not possible.
I also learned this same system and about 90% of the process was in place in our 2020 election. There are countless equipment and process security measures, station safety measures, worker integrity instructions, and awareness of observers on site of every stripe and representation. We are a public fish bowl. I learned how Georgia was able to so successfully verify our 2020 election via two electronic recounts and one manual/paper recount. Yes, each voter leaves an exact paper AND electronic trail to cross-check.
Just letting you know, contrary to purported conspiracies and lies, that Georgia at least, has a voting system we can each be proud of and trust.
Go become a poll worker in your state and give yourself some peace of mind before the doubters and law suits begin.
One last note: Georgia has allowed one voter to challenge the integrity of another for decades. However in our first week of voting here it is being reported the number of challenges have exceeded all prior voter challenges of the previous 18 years!
But hey, we have a quick and fair (and time consuming) cross check system to handle that too.
There’s only one poll that counts. And, as you say Robert, at this point polls—and horserace stories —are only a distraction from what we should be doing. OK, it’s not quite 3:00 am here on the East Coast; I’m going to try to go back to sleep.
Edit: Right now, I’m reading—for the fourth or fifth time—Larry Collins’ and Dominique LaPierre’ Is Paris Burning?, the story of the liberation and rescue of the city in August 1944. It’s a wonderful book, even if you don’t love Paris, even if you have never been to Paris. I also recommend Walter Lord’s epic Incredible Victory (which it really was) about the Battle of Midway, which changed the course of the Pacific war and perhaps (indirectly) all of WWII. Both are stories of how defenders or democracy shook off past defeats to triumph. Good reading in what may be dark days coming up.
Later edit: For those who don't like war or reading about it (who likes war, after all), and can take more politics right now, The Making of the President 1960 is still great. The opening paragraph--though outmoded in some respects--grabs you and doesn't let you go.
It’s probably too late but the geniuses at the DNC should forget about abortion for 10 days and run two or three simple full-page ads with data comparing changes in gas prices in the US and other countries. Inflation in the US and other countries, GDP growth in the US and other countries, violent crime (not just murder) in Red vs Blue states. KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Data, not rhetoric.
Polling is broken. It's not just political polling either, it's the actual nature of how it works.
Many people (most, in certain demographics) don't have land lines.
And many people with land lines no longer take calls from unknown numbers due to the tsunami of spam calls over the past five years or so.
Which means that even when people do pick up, they often assume the pollster is actually an offshore scammer looking to get information from them for nefarious purposes. So they either hang up or give misleading answers.
That is why polls have been so wrong and are only going to get worse.
Thank you for amplifying HCR voter protection recruitment. My husband and I are doing voter protection with Vote Pro Pros in Nevada - they need more people ! Come to VEGAS!
I am a follower of Dan Pfieffer and have been for a while. The article Robert mentioned and quoted is great. One important gem for me was his comments about “ margin of error” that all pollsters mentioned which is somewhere around 3% possible error. Think about what 3% of a million votes as an example means. It means that turnout is the factor that can significantly move the numbers and determine the winners. Democrats can and will win by outvoting the opposition.
The ads here in NC from multiple candidates focus on abortion and the “ big lie” and remind voters of what voting for Republicans will mean. Once again women will save our Democracy by coming out to vote and never before have they ever had a burning issue requiring their vote.
Just reading comments from subscribers I know many of you are engaged in activities to help get the vote out. There is a group I think we need to focus on which are young people between the ages of 18 and 25 many of whom have never voted. This group frankly is disgusted with both parties and candidates but it’s there future which is more at risk than any other generation. We need to make sure we focus on them too.
My wife’s letter which was sent in yesterday was just accepted by the The New York Times for tomorrow’s edition. After listening to Robert yesterday she simply got up, went to her PC and wrote the letter.
Dr. Mehmet Oz's unfitness for office is startling. He refused to accept that Joe Biden was fairly elected, joining the MAGA cult of election "deniers." even though he has recently started to deny his denial. Donald Trump, who has endorsed Dr. Oz, has already announced his intent to challenge an Oz loss in Pennsylvania. During the debate Dr. Oz made a breathtaking statement that ought to have been the headline — that abortion decisions rightfully belong to "women, doctors, local political leaders."
John Fetterman is successfully recovering from a stroke. His speech is impaired, but not his mind. What is wrong with Mehmet Oz cannot be cured.
I especially appreciate the advice about how reported polling results should be ignored. We need to go further, however, to the extent we can. Fundamentally, it is the false or misleading headlines and stories themselves, that fail to report the limitations and inherent biases in the polling process, that make them unreliable forecasters. We need to insist that the media we pay attention to, especially the NYT, Washington Post, NPR and PBC, “fact check” their poll reporting.
I am ignoring the polls. The last two presidential elections polls were SO wrong. The polls about Biden and Harris give me a tiny bit of hope, but are as substantial as fog. They are a moment's respite.
I'm stumped. How in Heaven's name can Herschel Walker be a candidate from the Family Values Party? The answer, at least in my view, is that morality and decency re so old world. In today's world, there's nothing so important as raw power. It's purely to enable Mitch McConnell to pull the country even further to the right? Guns in everybody's hands like in Texas? You bet. Let men control the bodies of their wives and girl friends? You bet. IMHO -the Abraham Lincoln is rolling in his grave.
I love the term 'mood-altering statistical drug.' In fact, I may borrow it for a book I'm working on with Todd Rose, the author of "Collective Illusions," which I urge you and your readers to check out. It's about the kind of emperor's-new-clothes, lemming-effect, bandwagon mindset in which people follow each other and conform to what they think other people think, even though they privately disagree with the norm. Here's Todd, talking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG6Nb43Our8
Are there any post-card, letter writing, door-knocking, canvassing, phone-banking Republican activists out there? And I don’t mean paid professional pollsters. Other than folks willing to stick a sign in the yard for a Republican candidate, is there any grass roots activism happening on their side at the level it is happening on ours? I honestly have no relatives, friends or acquaintances that are Republicans (or who would admit to being such), so I haven’t a clue what’s happening on the red side.
There's a Force Multiplier Zoom House Party tonight, Thursday, October 27th at 8pm ET. You’ll hear about a powerful strategic way to do something, even in these final days before the mid-terms. And it’s an information session - not a fundraiser.
Since its founding in 2017, Force Multiplier has raised over $14M with the generosity of more than 11,000 donors. Its focused research targets key candidates whose races are neither long shots nor sure bets.
With Force Multiplier’s recommendations, we can more easily target the key races and groups where our donations will have the most impact. And Force Multiplier shares “Do Something” volunteer opportunities for campaigns and actions across the country, from anywhere.
Here's the Zoom link for the Force Multiplier House Party tonight:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtcOigrzMrGN3o_c2W-Nqj1kuW5hynjJTl
After registering, you'll receive an email with a meeting link that is UNIQUE to you. So if you want to forward a link to someone else, please send the original registration link, above.
Hope you’ll join us.
And please spread the word.
I'm glad I no longer drink, because November 8 is going to be cause for an epic bender. Either way.
On a related subject....I had an BIG eye-opening experience. I became a certified poll worker in Georgia this week. After 5 hours of live class time, one hour of online study/tests plus a two hour on-site orientation at my assigned poll location ... I am a poll worker in my county, Cobb.
Absolutely every American should do it....just once. It is a forensic level lesson in civics, specifically voting systems processes and purported integrity.
The level of security for the equipment and process is mind boggling. From three separate locks and three unique keys (regular, barrel and spider keys) just to open each voting machines to a remarkable system to verifying each voter as legal to vote, non-citizen, non-resident, felon etc ....is detailed and fair in part because a response (cure) is in place for every possible arrival and their situation. Everyone gets to vote ... if only provisionally for those in question.
Each voter votes on a touch pad that then produces a hard copy ballot for themselves to check for accuracy that they themselves then scan to make a copy that they then drop into a double locked (more unique keys) ballot box.
Can a touch pad machine change your vote selection by being controlled by an evil entity from the notorious Swamp? No. Not possible.
I also learned this same system and about 90% of the process was in place in our 2020 election. There are countless equipment and process security measures, station safety measures, worker integrity instructions, and awareness of observers on site of every stripe and representation. We are a public fish bowl. I learned how Georgia was able to so successfully verify our 2020 election via two electronic recounts and one manual/paper recount. Yes, each voter leaves an exact paper AND electronic trail to cross-check.
Just letting you know, contrary to purported conspiracies and lies, that Georgia at least, has a voting system we can each be proud of and trust.
Go become a poll worker in your state and give yourself some peace of mind before the doubters and law suits begin.
One last note: Georgia has allowed one voter to challenge the integrity of another for decades. However in our first week of voting here it is being reported the number of challenges have exceeded all prior voter challenges of the previous 18 years!
But hey, we have a quick and fair (and time consuming) cross check system to handle that too.
Just fyi: I've unsubsidized the NYT. It's no longer worth the aggravation.
There’s only one poll that counts. And, as you say Robert, at this point polls—and horserace stories —are only a distraction from what we should be doing. OK, it’s not quite 3:00 am here on the East Coast; I’m going to try to go back to sleep.
Edit: Right now, I’m reading—for the fourth or fifth time—Larry Collins’ and Dominique LaPierre’ Is Paris Burning?, the story of the liberation and rescue of the city in August 1944. It’s a wonderful book, even if you don’t love Paris, even if you have never been to Paris. I also recommend Walter Lord’s epic Incredible Victory (which it really was) about the Battle of Midway, which changed the course of the Pacific war and perhaps (indirectly) all of WWII. Both are stories of how defenders or democracy shook off past defeats to triumph. Good reading in what may be dark days coming up.
Later edit: For those who don't like war or reading about it (who likes war, after all), and can take more politics right now, The Making of the President 1960 is still great. The opening paragraph--though outmoded in some respects--grabs you and doesn't let you go.
It’s probably too late but the geniuses at the DNC should forget about abortion for 10 days and run two or three simple full-page ads with data comparing changes in gas prices in the US and other countries. Inflation in the US and other countries, GDP growth in the US and other countries, violent crime (not just murder) in Red vs Blue states. KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Data, not rhetoric.
Polling is broken. It's not just political polling either, it's the actual nature of how it works.
Many people (most, in certain demographics) don't have land lines.
And many people with land lines no longer take calls from unknown numbers due to the tsunami of spam calls over the past five years or so.
Which means that even when people do pick up, they often assume the pollster is actually an offshore scammer looking to get information from them for nefarious purposes. So they either hang up or give misleading answers.
That is why polls have been so wrong and are only going to get worse.
Thank you for amplifying HCR voter protection recruitment. My husband and I are doing voter protection with Vote Pro Pros in Nevada - they need more people ! Come to VEGAS!
Laughing that I wrote "unsubsidized" instead of "unsubscribed." But actually it fits. I meant to do that!
I am a follower of Dan Pfieffer and have been for a while. The article Robert mentioned and quoted is great. One important gem for me was his comments about “ margin of error” that all pollsters mentioned which is somewhere around 3% possible error. Think about what 3% of a million votes as an example means. It means that turnout is the factor that can significantly move the numbers and determine the winners. Democrats can and will win by outvoting the opposition.
The ads here in NC from multiple candidates focus on abortion and the “ big lie” and remind voters of what voting for Republicans will mean. Once again women will save our Democracy by coming out to vote and never before have they ever had a burning issue requiring their vote.
Just reading comments from subscribers I know many of you are engaged in activities to help get the vote out. There is a group I think we need to focus on which are young people between the ages of 18 and 25 many of whom have never voted. This group frankly is disgusted with both parties and candidates but it’s there future which is more at risk than any other generation. We need to make sure we focus on them too.
My wife’s letter which was sent in yesterday was just accepted by the The New York Times for tomorrow’s edition. After listening to Robert yesterday she simply got up, went to her PC and wrote the letter.
Dr. Mehmet Oz's unfitness for office is startling. He refused to accept that Joe Biden was fairly elected, joining the MAGA cult of election "deniers." even though he has recently started to deny his denial. Donald Trump, who has endorsed Dr. Oz, has already announced his intent to challenge an Oz loss in Pennsylvania. During the debate Dr. Oz made a breathtaking statement that ought to have been the headline — that abortion decisions rightfully belong to "women, doctors, local political leaders."
John Fetterman is successfully recovering from a stroke. His speech is impaired, but not his mind. What is wrong with Mehmet Oz cannot be cured.
Patricia Goldsmith
Livingston, N.Y.
I especially appreciate the advice about how reported polling results should be ignored. We need to go further, however, to the extent we can. Fundamentally, it is the false or misleading headlines and stories themselves, that fail to report the limitations and inherent biases in the polling process, that make them unreliable forecasters. We need to insist that the media we pay attention to, especially the NYT, Washington Post, NPR and PBC, “fact check” their poll reporting.
I am ignoring the polls. The last two presidential elections polls were SO wrong. The polls about Biden and Harris give me a tiny bit of hope, but are as substantial as fog. They are a moment's respite.
I'm stumped. How in Heaven's name can Herschel Walker be a candidate from the Family Values Party? The answer, at least in my view, is that morality and decency re so old world. In today's world, there's nothing so important as raw power. It's purely to enable Mitch McConnell to pull the country even further to the right? Guns in everybody's hands like in Texas? You bet. Let men control the bodies of their wives and girl friends? You bet. IMHO -the Abraham Lincoln is rolling in his grave.
I love the term 'mood-altering statistical drug.' In fact, I may borrow it for a book I'm working on with Todd Rose, the author of "Collective Illusions," which I urge you and your readers to check out. It's about the kind of emperor's-new-clothes, lemming-effect, bandwagon mindset in which people follow each other and conform to what they think other people think, even though they privately disagree with the norm. Here's Todd, talking about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG6Nb43Our8
Are there any post-card, letter writing, door-knocking, canvassing, phone-banking Republican activists out there? And I don’t mean paid professional pollsters. Other than folks willing to stick a sign in the yard for a Republican candidate, is there any grass roots activism happening on their side at the level it is happening on ours? I honestly have no relatives, friends or acquaintances that are Republicans (or who would admit to being such), so I haven’t a clue what’s happening on the red side.