Mobilizing the vote
October 11, 2024
The campaigns have moved from the persuasion phase to the mobilization phase. That dynamic was encapsulated in an email from a reader about Thursday’s newsletter. The reader wrote,
You are preaching to the choir. How are we going to convince Trumpers?
I responded:
In 2020, more people who were eligible to vote did not vote than voted for either candidate. Our job is to get more of the people who did not vote to show up at the polls in 2024.
My math was slightly off in my response to the reader, but my point remains correct. (Per the US Census Bureau, 77 million citizens did not vote in 2020. Trump received 74.2 million votes and Biden received 81.2 million. So, the number of citizens who did not vote was greater than Trump's popular vote total, but not Bidens.)
Early voting has begun in many states across America. Our energies should be directed to voter turnout—especially those who are undecided about voting and those who did not vote in 2020. A particularly fruitful source of votes for Kamala Harris and Democrats is younger voters, who tend to favor Democratic and progressive candidates. If there are any young voters in your lives, help them register and encourage them to vote. But don’t stop there! Be a nudge to everyone in your lives and remind them to vote!!
The Trump/Vance grotesquerie of lies is about turnout, not persuasion. Even in Ohio (and maybe especially in Ohio), a majority of voters do not believe the hateful rumors about Haitian immigrants. See Talking Points Memo, People Who Actually Live In Ohio Reject Trump/Vance’s Racist Dog-Eating Bait. (A “poll found that 24 percent think Trump’s comment that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets is “probably” or “definitely” true, while 57 percent say it is probably or definitely false.”)
Trump and Vance don’t care whether voters believe their outlandish lies. They care about scaring MAGA voters to show up at the polls.
While we should not emulate Trump's tactics, we should recognize that in his own pernicious way, Trump is focused on mobilizing Republican voters. We should be laser-focused on motivating Democrats, reluctant voters, and independents to show up at the polls. Voting is the only patriotic choice in 2024.
A busy day on the Harris-Walz campaign trail
The Democratic candidates and their surrogates spread out across the nation as Kamala Harris begins a sprint to the finish. Here is a recap:
Doug Emhoff, Kamala’s husband, appeared at a star-studded event in Athens, Georgia. A reader who attended the event wrote that Emhoff is “a star, so genuine, engaging everyone.” A video of the event is here: Atlanta News First, Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, actress Julia Roberts speak at Atlanta Pride kickoff event. Other speakers include Julia Roberts, Senator Raphael Warnock, and Stacey Abrams.
Tim Walz has been on a tour of the Southwest and spent Thursday at several stops in Nevada while his wife, Gwen, appeared in Philadelphia. Tim and Gwen are making campaign appearances tied to Ten Days of Action, which is focused on mobilizing voters who seek to protect LGBTQ rights. See The Advocate, Tim Walz joins HRC and Out for Harris to kick off 10-day LGBTQ+ voter battleground push.
In a marquee appearance, former president Barack Obama appeared in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and gave a barnburner of a speech. The full video is here: Rally Across America for Kamala Harris & Tim Walz with Barack Obama.
President Obama went after Trump hard—condemning his lies and ridiculing his insecurities. See, e.g., this segment, in which Obama broadsides Trump's narcissism and quest for power as a personal end. And this segment focuses on Trump's lies about the hurricane response—and is powerful.
President Obama also urged Black voters—especially men—to show up at the ballot box. See HuffPo, Barack Obama Makes Impassioned Plea To Black Voters To Support Kamala Harris. Although Black voters turn out at a rate higher than the average, polling indicates that the percentage of Black voters who say they are “certain” they will vote in 2024 is trailing where that metric stood in 2020.
Kamala Harris campaigned in Arizona to another packed house filled with enthusiastic supporters. Full video here: Vice President Kamala Harris holds rally in Arizona.
Kamala Harris is becoming more animated and relaxed in her speeches—even as she sharpens her attacks on Trump. See this segment, in which she attacks Trump for his plan to end the Affordable Care Act while mocking him for his debate claim that he has “concepts of a plan” for healthcare. And in this segment, Kamala Harris returns to her campaign theme of freedom—and focuses on reproductive rights. And in this segment, Kamala Harris says, “This isn’t 2016 or 2020. The stakes are even higher. If Donald Trump is elected, he is effectively immune from criminal prosecution.”
Kamala Harris also appeared at a live town hall on Univision with undecided Latino voters. The town hall is here: Live Town hall: Latinos Ask… Kamala Harris Responds. The town hall was in Spanish and English. Kamala Harris answered questions for ninety minutes to a subdued and respectful audience. I will share media commentary on the town hall—from a Spanish language source. (If you find such an analysis, I would be grateful if you send it to me. Thanks!) Notably, Trump will appear next week on Univision for an identical town hall. I can’t wait to see how that will go!
As the Harris campaign was relying on Kamala Harris, Doug Emhoff, Barack Obama, Tim Walz, Gwen Walz, Hillary Clinton, Raphael Warnock, Julia Roberts and others to campaign for the Democratic ticket, Trump is trying to carry his campaign solo. In a speech reminiscent of Fidel Castro, Trump gave a tortured, shambolic, two-hour speech that left everyone in the room confused and uncomfortable. See HuffPo, Trump, Speaking In Detroit, Trashes Detroit.
As the Huffington Post headline notes, Trump seemed to forget that he was speaking to the leading business figures in Detroit and proceeded to trash the city as an example of the social and civic decline that will occur if Kamala Harris wins. Of course, for those following the fortunes of Detroit, it is in a rebound. Trump's criticisms landed with a thud.
Trump's two-hour speech was followed by one hour of fawning questions from a leader of the Detroit Economic Club. Trump turned softball questions into lengthy word salads that left everyone scratching their heads.
For example, per Aaron Rupar of Public Notice, Trump was asked a softball question about his parenting style. (“How did you raise such smart and accomplished children?”) The resulting eight-minute rant meandered through the fentanyl epidemic, trade with China, an alleged handshake deal with President Xi agreeing to impose the death penalty on drug dealers in China, a call for the death penalty in the US for drug dealers, China’s policy of making the family of an executed prisoner pay for the bullet used to kill the prisoner, competition among poppy growers, and the acute sense of smell of German shepherds used as drug sniffing dogs.
So, here’s my takeaway from a day in which Kamala Harris and her surrogates conducted six major campaign events while Trump held one campaign event in which he insulted his host city of Detroit: Kamala Harris is conducting a serious campaign that is deserving of our hard work and faithful support. She is doing everything that can be expected of her—and more. And she is doing it exceptionally well!
Trump demands that CBS be stripped of its broadcasting license
Trump is unhappy that the CBS 60 Minute interview with Kamala Harris cut away from some of her answers and inserted a voiceover by Bill Whitaker—a common technique in the news magazine’s narrative style interviews. But Trump believes that the cut-aways were used to conceal Kamala Harris’s alleged inability to answer Whitaker’s questions. He believes those efforts constitute a conspiracy to defraud viewers in violation of CBS’s broadcasting license. So, Trump has threatened to revoke CBS’s broadcast license if he is reelected. Trump calls for CBS to lose broadcasting rights over Harris interview WaPo (Accessible to all).
Fascists and dictators everywhere have always controlled the press to suppress criticism and ensure coverage that is favorable to the dictator. Trump has told us he wants to be a dictator on the first day of his presidency. He is providing insight into how that dictatorship will look. We should believe him.
Opportunities for Reader engagement
Join me as I interview Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is running for US Senate for Florida, and Colin Allred, who is running for US Senate for Texas.
On October 11, 6:00 p.m. Eastern / 3:00 p.m. Pacific, I will be moderating an event sponsored by Senate Circle for Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL) and Colin Allred (TX). Both started as underdog challengers whose campaigns have greatly benefited from the burst of enthusiasm surrounding the nominations of Harris & Walz.
I will sign on 20 minutes early to chat with readers who join the call. Please RSVP or donate now on the ActBlue page. The minimum donation to participate in the Zoom is $100.
Concluding Thoughts
To my Jewish friends and readers, my wife and I wish you an easy fast and blessed day of reflection on Yom Kippur.
We are in the thick of the fight. We need to keep our heads down and our eyes on the prize. Do not be distracted by fake polls and false controversies. Get out the vote. That is what matters most. We have the team and the organization. We just need to execute on our plans. We can do that. We are doing that. Let’s keep doing it!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
NGC 1893 is a star cluster in the Tadpole Nebula, which is located 12,500 light-years from Earth.
Can't canvass door-to-door? Not comfortable making phone calls. You can still help Kamala and Democrats win in 2024. Use "Keyboards For Kamala" to mobilize the people you know online to vote and volunteer for Kamala. The app makes it simple for you to find and share pro-Kamala social media posts that have been proven to be effective, as well as Robert's blog. Their approach is ideal for supporters you aren't able to canvass by knocking on doors or feel comfortable making calls to mobilize voters.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/10/10/keyboards-for-kamala-mobilize-voters-from-home/
"We should be laser-focused on motivating Democrats, reluctant voters, and independents to show up at the polls. Voting is the only patriotic choice in 2024."
Thank you for today's laser focused newsletter, Robert. There are only 3 things that matter in this election:: Turnout, turnout and turnout and you are on it.