Although as individuals, most of us try hard to stand against fascism, racism, and the GOP, we cannot fight alone. Now is the time to look around you and strategically ally yourself. You matter. Whether or not you are a dyed-in-the-wool, lifetime Democrat, in the election of 2018 you’ll be working for Democratic candidates to fight the Trump/GOP regime. As a Democratic/progressive resource, are you being used properly? What is the most effective thing you can do with your time and efforts?
To start with, you should ally with at least one of the large resistance groups. Sign up and get their emails. Most of them have state and regional organizations, and you can join groups of people who go out and talk with neighbors, among other things. Look for opportunities to meet other volunteers, and support voter registrations and voting. It is time that we all get out from behind our keyboards and work together.
Some of the most effective resistance organizations are:
Indivisible, which was created by Congressional staffers who watched and learned from Tea Party techniques back in 2009/2010. Indivisible wrote the book on resistance in 2016, and their organization is well-organized and energetic. You can find a local Indivisible group in almost every American city, and in many towns.
Sister District Project lets you select a red “sister district” to volunteer in. They have identified 21 state legislative candidates in 5 states and would love your support.
Adopt-a-State lets you adopt a state. Once you do so, you’ll receive regular updates on polling, election news, and opportunities to take action. In addition, adopt-a-state organizes happy hours and meetups to funnel more donations to red states that need it.
Flippable gives you a state-by-state rundown of progressive candidates in your in-box, and you can volunteer to mobilize in your state.
Swing Left is focusing on swing districts, or districts which have the possibility of swinging. They have identified 64 seats in the House of Representatives and are focusing on them.
Code Blue focuses on the 9 flippable Congressional districts in California through canvassing, voter registrations, phone banking, and texting. They run activities in coordination with the California Democratic party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
VoteRunLead trains women to run for office and win.
As Morris Meyer says: “Clear your calendar.” We’re all going to have to roll our sleeves up and work hard until November. And the way to be most effective is to make sure that you join up with one of these organizations, and do the work that they identify as being strategic.
We’ll give you more information on the organizations in other posts.
