Dude, Where's My Country_ - Michael Moore [91]
7. I need each person who reads this book to pledge to give up their four Saturdays in October 2004 to go out and work for the candidates who are going to put an end to the Bush regime in D.C. Just four Saturday afternoons for your country. I know this is more than the ten minutes I asked of you—but you’re in too deep now to quit! There are a number of things you can do: Go door to door for a congressional candidate, hand out literature on the street, make phone calls from a candidate’s headquarters to get out the vote, put up yard signs, lick stamps, send e-mails, call in to talk shows, hound the opponents, hold rallies, host neighborhood potlucks. This election will be about one thing—Getting Out the Vote.
8. For the more committed among you, why not travel to a congressional district that is one of the swing districts where there’s a chance to boot a Republican out? Many of us think nothing of getting on a bus and traveling a thousand miles to Washington, D.C., for a demonstration. Why not travel to Paducah, Kentucky, to work for a week or a weekend for a candidate who has a shot at winning? Your presence could make the difference. It’s a little more work than carrying a sign and chanting slogans, but the results may be worth it. (You can go to my Web site to find out those districts I’ve targeted where they need our help.)
9. Election Day: Take a Nonvoter to Lunch—and to Vote! What if each one of you who plans to vote in 2004 convinced just one person who isn’t planning to vote to go with you to the polls? Do not try to convince someone who has completely checked out of voting to check back in; it doesn’t work that way. People don’t usually remarry their first spouse and they usually don’t go to the same movie twice. So skip the moral argument or the good citizen speech and just say to Bob—who has been bitching about everything from Bush to his 401(k)—”Hey, I’m heading over to vote. Let’s get the hell outta here!” When you get to the polls, ask him to come on in with you, it’ll only take ten minutes. Trust me, he’ll go along. It’s just like when someone says, “Here-have-a-beer.” You often aren’t in the mood for one but you don’t want to turn your friend down, and, besides, what can it hurt? Your job, between now and next election day, is to identify one friend, family member, co-worker or fellow student who has views similar to yours but will probably not bother to vote unless you actually go with him or her to the polling place. In many congressional races, the outcome is decided by only a few thousand votes. If I’m lucky, there are over a million of you reading this book right now. All it would take to switch the balance of power is for just 10 percent of you to take one or two of your non-voting friends to the polls with you. It really is that simple.
10. Finally, here’s an idea to get even more nonvoters out to the polls. We used to do this back home in Flint. Everyone who votes (in most states) is given a receipt with a number on it when their ballot is deposited in the ballot box (some states also hand out little “I Voted” stickers). Hold a big concert or party in your town on election night where the admission ticket is simply the voter receipt stub or sticker. Announce that you are going to hold a raffle with these voter stubs and the winner will receive whatever prize you and your cohorts are able to give (we used to give out $1,000, though one year someone donated a car to give away). This was especially effective in getting young people out to vote, and I’ve seen black and Hispanic communities have a lot of success in getting people who otherwise feel disenfranchised to give it one last chance. Make sure you follow your local election and raffle laws, but if you try it, you may be surprised how well it works. Sure, it would be nice if people voted just because it is their sacred