CQ reader Alex N. wrote me last night with a passionate plea:

Despite the fact that I will be defending my PhD dissertation in the next 2 weeks, I will volunteer for the Bush/Cheney campaign in the days before the election. That's why I'm still at work at midnight on a Sunday. I have never been active in any political campaign before, but this one is just too important to lose. I think - barring a terrorist attack, an October surprise, and massive election fraud - this election and its aftermath will be decided by whoever wins the voter turnout battle. That's why I'm going to be volunteering in the 72 hours before the election.

As the Captain of this ship, you have the ability to influence your loyal crew. I certainly respect your opinion a lot. So, to get to the point: I was wondering if you could write a story pointing out the importance of conservative voter turnout, and encouraging people to do what I did, that's to say, donate some of their time despite the fact that we are all really busy? I, for one, would really appreciate it to see the results of my own efforts multiplied a thousand fold.

Alex nails this point. Folks, we have eight days to do whatever we can to deliver the vote for George Bush and whomever we support in our local races. We can donate more money, but at this point in the race, personal effort means more than cash. We need to start finding ways to get our fellow conservatives to get to the polls on November 2nd. On Saturday, after our radio show, Mitch, Saint Paul, The Elder, and I all went to our local Bush/Cheney HQ and made phone calls to get volunteers for the GOP's 96-hour push. Elder and I signed up fifteen people in two hours, and Mitch and Saint Paul did the same. We multiplied our effort by seven, and that's the kind of force multiplication we will need to get people to the polls on Election Day.

Here's the order -- find your local Republican campaign headquarters and volunteer your time for the 96-hour plan. You can deliver door hangers, make phone calls, drive people to the polls who can't get there on their own, or serve as poll watchers on Election Day. You can bet that our opponents have their ducks in a row for the final week, and if we want to compete we all need to sacrifice some of our time. I don't know about you, but I'd hate to wake up to find out that we lost the election and say to myself, "I could have done a couple of hours making calls instead of watching the Vikings last Sunday."

Work hard, get the vote out, participate -- that's how Republicans win elections. Good luck.

UPDATE: If you're not sure how to volunteer, start here. The campaign will then contact you to get you scheduled to help out in the final three days before the election.

UPDATE II: Via my good friend Patrick at Georgewbush.com, he suggests going here instead of the earlier link. It may take you to the same place. If it's not working, try doing a white pages search for your local GOP office, and call to volunteer.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Down The Stretch:

» Captain Takes on Vikings from Slant Point
Captain Ed has a great tale (one of thousands) about helping President Bush. The key line: I don't know about you, but I'd hate to wake up to find out that we lost the election and say to myself, "I could have done a couple... [Read More]

Tracked on October 25, 2004 8:24 AM

» We must do everything possible to win...winning is from The Pink Flamingo Bar Grill
Captains Quarters has a great post up from a PhD student who even though he is defending his PhD dissertation is still volunteering his time to help the BUSH/CHENEY Effort. We cannot, must not lose this election, we are not fighting a moderate, we al... [Read More]

Tracked on October 25, 2004 11:18 AM

» 96-Hour GOTV Effort from Stones Cry Out
As I've mentioned, I have a mid-term and a paper due the day after the election. Nevertheless, I took Monday and Tuesday of next week off and will be helping during the 96-hour GOTV effort. And I'm in California. Useless effort right? Wrong. [Read More]

Tracked on October 25, 2004 4:44 PM

» Listen to the Captain from Razorpike
Here's the order -- find your local Republican campaign headquarters and volunteer your time for the 96-hour plan. You can deliver door hangers, make phone calls, drive people to the polls who can't get there on their own, or serve... [Read More]

Tracked on October 25, 2004 6:49 PM

» Lost in Translation... from My Sandmen
Were that the presence of such weapons, in the hands of a mass-murdering Islamacist tyrant in command of massive oil reserves and one of the world’s largest armies, for distribution to terrorist networks was of equally grave concern to John Ker... [Read More]

Tracked on October 26, 2004 12:30 AM