All Gas, No Brakes

Action plus enthusiasm may help Harris win the White House

Credit: Getty Images

Choose your overused cliche: It’s pedal to the metal time, put it all on the line, all hands on deck. I abhor a cliche, but here, it’s a necessary evil (cliche intended). Many Americans are saying they’ll do whatever it takes to help defeat Donald Trump, so long as it’s legal. We are less than four weeks from Election Day.

As Trump and his MAGA followers have upended just about every campaign norm, many friends, neighbors, and followers here on Substack have written or said some version of, “What the hell can I do?” or, “I feel helpless to fight back.” It is frustrating, if not impossible, to combat the flurry of lies coming daily from the Trump campaign. Spewing disinformation has become a tactic. Lies have become the standard, and it’s not just so people buy into the nonsense; it’s also effective as a distraction. It keeps the spotlight on Trump and forces his opponents to play defense.

During a normal race, i.e. pre-Trump, rational candidates had debates and discussions about issues affecting voters. This year, rational is in the rearview mirror. With only one presidential debate between Harris and Trump, during which the latter lied more than he spoke the truth, substantive talk has been scarce.

In the face of so much disinformation, grievance politics, and redirection, many voters yearn to feel empowered, to do something — anything — to counter the MAGA manipulation machine. This is a big reason why the Harris-Walz campaign has seen a surge in engagement since they became the nominees. It has been phenomenal. But will it be enough to win? 

The polling outfit Gallup has tracked voter enthusiasm for decades. The latest on the 2024 race shows the Democrats are more enthusiastic about voting for Harris than they were even to vote for Barack Obama in 2008. Seventy-eight percent are very enthusiastic to vote for Harris. That is a steep increase from March, when just 55% were enthusiastic about Joe Biden. In a horse race, enthusiasm for Harris far outpaces that for Trump, by 14 points. 

Another measure of voter enthusiasm is cold, hard cash. Today, The New York Times reported that the Harris campaign has raised a record $1 billion in three months. No campaign has raised that much money that quickly. Trump hasn’t raised nearly that much during the entire election cycle.

All votes, enthusiastic or not, count the same. But enthusiasm is contagious and motivating. 

With enthusiasm for the candidate at an all-time high and dislike of her opponent through the roof, a good portion of the electorate is itching to do something. Here are some good ways to scratch that itch.  

A friend mentioned that she had been invited to a get-together in her town in New England to hand write postcards to voters. Turns out the place was packed with locals spending a couple of hours penning, literally, notes for votes.

Several national nonprofits, like the Progressive Turnout Project and Vote Forward, have been working for months on letter-writing campaigns whose collective goal is to reach 36 million “inconsistent” Democrats in swing states.

It turns out that letter-writing works. Data shows that handwritten letters and postcards can boost voter turnout by an average of 1 percent. That may not sound like much, but let’s do that math: 1 percent of 36 million is 360,000 votes. Biden won in 2020 by just 44,000 votes across four swing states. 

Hope is still very much alive for those who seek to prevent another Trump presidency. But only if enough people care enough to connect hope with hard work. 

Other low-tech opportunities, like door-knocking and phone-banking, are available to anyone who has some time to spare. Not surprisingly, given the stakes of this election, hundreds of thousands of people have already volunteered. Organizations like Vote Save America will connect you with volunteer opportunities in your area.

Please leave a comment below if you’re helping to get out the vote or know of places where help is needed. We have less than a month, and the race for the White House is too close for anyone’s comfort.

Besides potentially helping to elect your candidates of choice, knocking on doors or writing postcards is empowering. At a time when things feel crazy, volunteering might just give you a sense of control over your destiny and the destiny of our country. It’s good work.

As Governor Walz said, “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.” 

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Stay Steady,
Dan