In fact, I would encourage everyone gloomily contemplating “staying home, weeping and praying” not just to get out and vote, but to go a step further. Find a good candidate who truly shares your principles—whether it’s for Congress, governor, state legislature, or town council—and spend this cycle working hard to get that candidate elected. Give a donation. Organize a fundraiser. Volunteer to walk your neighborhood passing out literature.
If your candidate’s campaign is small enough, chances are he or she could use dedicated people to research issues, write articles, design flyers, organize volunteers, plan events, and the like. (Call them up and ask what they need!) Political cycles are far more bearable—not to mention far more constructive—when you have something to actively work toward.
My own experience bears this out. In 2012, after President Obama spent his first term ramming Obamacare down America’s throat, the GOP responded in demoralizing fashion by nominating the architect of Romneycare for president. It would have been a tempting year to stay home.
But here in West Virginia, a friend from county politics decided to run for state attorney general, challenging our entrenched five-term incumbent. It was an uphill battle, but our friend was full of energy and good ideas, so my husband and I got actively involved in his campaign. (Here I am appearing in a campaign commercial. Don’t fall all over yourselves with the contract offers, Hollywood!)
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