By Bendix Anderson
Some Democrats I know aren’t worried about the Presidential election next week. Why
volunteer or donate to Democrat candidates when President Obama seems almost certain
to win the Electoral College?
Worry. This election is not over... and victory depends on you.
Even poll-watcher Nate Silver has not called the race for President Obama. Silver,
whose 538.com column appears in the New York Times, now gives Obama a roughly 85
percent chance of winning a second term. That means Mitt Romney has a one-in-six
chance of becoming President. Those are unacceptable odds. It’s the same risk you
would face if you took a six-shot revolver, loaded a single bullet and fired the gun at
your own head. You wouldn’t take that risk – and you should not be comfortable with a
one-in-six chance of a Romney Presidency either.
The harder you look at the numbers, the scarier it gets. Every pollster agrees that there
are more registered Democrats than Republicans. Republicans say that advantage
doesn’t matter because many registered Democrats won’t show up on Election Day.
Republicans say young people, minorities and lower-income workers are less likely to
vote, and they adjust their polling accordingly.
Republicans aren’t just hoping that turnout will be low for Democrats in this election.
Republican governors in swing states are doing everything in their power to keep
Democratic turnout low by restricting early voting hours, cutting same-day voter
registration and passing restrictive voter identification laws. Republicans are counting on
these measures and the tough economic times the wear Democrats out and depress
turnout.
Prove them wrong. Now is the time to volunteer to help get out the vote for Election
Day. Prove the 2008 election was not a fluke.
