The Election Is Already Here

I was reminded today of an important truth: policy is enacted by those who win politically.  Who wins politically?  The ones who do the work.

Look, I know it’s not glamorous, making phone calls asking your neighbors to get out and vote.  And I know that as enjoyable as I find it, most people do not enjoy going door-to-door.  On election day, you might have other things to do than help bring voters in to the polls, or watch to make sure that ballots are counted correctly.

We must do it anyway.

And by we, I mean all of us.  The days of sitting out, making excuses as to why we’re too busy to get involved?  Those days are over.  There is no time.

The election is happening, right now.  Three days ago, I mailed in my advance ballot.  I already voted.  If you reached me today with a message about your candidate, you would be too late.  Across America, voters are walking into courthouses and election offices to vote early in-person.  Yes we have much work to do between now and November 2nd- but we must start now.  Because the election is already here and it is already happening.

In eleven days, a message will be sent.  Will it be that the tea party is astroturf after all?  That we were involved in the primaries but sat out the general because our chosen son or daughter didn’t make it through the primary?

Or will it be that we the people demand the government of our founders, ruled by law, governed by the constitution, based upon the laws of nature and of nature’s God?

That message, my friends, is up to you.  This is a rare opportunity.  You can not only shape an election- you can change a nation.

While many of the great friends who I have met at trainings throughout my state and around the nation are very actively involved in shaping the outcome of this election, it is my great regret that many are not.  Here are the excuses I hear most commonly:

–I’m too busy, I am working a lot of hours.  My dad works 14 hour days at the private practice he owns, where he commonly drops what he’s doing (ahem, my thirteenth birthday party) to take care of a patient who needs him.  He is an elder in our church, where he regularly meets with couples and families in need of help and reconciliation.  He bales hay, feeds cattle and mends fence on the family farm where I was raised.  And oh yeah, he has 10 kids at home to care for, discipline, educate.  Know what he spent last Saturday doing?  Walking door-to-door for a local candidate who he can’t even vote for.  If my dad can make time to volunteer for a liberty-minded candidate, anyone can.

–I have to take care of my kids.  Know why I’m involved in politics today?  Because I’ve been walking door-to-door with my dad since I was three years old.  Your children need to see you involved.  They need to know that being involved in elections and the political world is necessary to secure our freedom.  And your children’s future rests on you getting involved, right now.  So ask your mom to watch the baby while you take your older kids walking with you; bring your kids with you when you make phone calls encouraging people to vote.  I vividly remember walking door-to-door with my dad, asking voters to cast their vote for my candidate.  It shaped me into who I am today.

–Not this year but maybe next year.  What are you waiting for?  If the obscene spending and relentless government takeover of our rights and freedoms doesn’t get you off the couch and into the real world, what will?  Are you waiting for 2012?  Because whether we’re successful in restoring limited government in 2012 depends wholly upon our success in 2010.  There is no time to wait.

The election is already here.  It is happening, in people’s homes as they fill out their advance ballots, and in courthouses and election offices as voters cast their ballots early.  The importance of our involvement will only increase in these next eleven days.  Across this country, thousands of hardworking and dedicated activists are making phone calls, distributing yard signs, going door-to-door, and learning how to be good poll watchers to help ensure that this election is about restoring freedom and liberty to America.  Are you one of them?