Everybody knows that this upcoming election is a big one for Texas. Despite the naysaying and the claims that statewide Democratic campaigns in this state are lost causes, progressives who have been on the ground making calls and knocking on doors all over the state with
Battleground Texas know that there is something different in the air this time. There is genuine enthusiasm for getting out the vote for
Wendy Davis, who has been indefatigable while campaigning all around the state, and whose
stand last summer has not been forgotten, especially not by Texas women.
There is too much at stake--for women's pay equality and choice, for education, for health care--to throw up our hands. Nobody ever thought it was going to be easy, though, and if we want to see Wendy Davis as Governor and Leticia Van de Putte as Lieutenant Governor, it will take the effort of everybody between now and Election Day. Every Texas Democrat and progressive is going to have to pitch in in some way if we want to keep Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick and the disastrous policies of Texas Republicans from wreaking havoc for another four years. If there is anyone reading in Texas who hasn't already done so, October is the month to go all in.
At the end of our most recent Houston Area Kossacks meet-up, some of us were having a conversation about how we, as a group, can go all in between now and November 4th. All of us, in one way or another, are contributing individually to Battleground Texas or to the Democratic Party. But we thought that there had to be a way our Daily Kos group could act as a conduit for encouraging others across Houston and across the state to put everything they can into this campaign. The TexKos Weekend of Action is what we came up with, and we'd like to give it a try.
The designated TexKos Weekend of Action will be the last weekend of the month: October 25-26. We chose that date both because it's close to the election and because October 25 is when the Houston Area Kossacks would have held our monthly meet-up. The conversation began with us deciding to cancel the meet-up and to encourage our own group members to do something for the Wendy campaign instead that day, and it turned into this: During the Weekend of Action, we strongly encourage every single Texas Kossack to do something with Battleground Texas, whether it is making phone calls or walking door to door. It doesn't have to be all weekend, although the more activism you can do the better. If it's only a few hours, it's still something toward prying Texas out of the grips of Republicans. Then, either nomandates or I will be posting a diary on Monday reporting on our Weekend of Action here in Houston and asking everybody else from around the state to report how it went in their neck of the woods.
Of course, this TexKos Weekend of Action should not be taken to mean that every weekend (and, indeed, every day) should not be action-filled. That's why, leading up to our big Weekend of Action, nomandates and I will be posting diaries every Monday in October asking Texas Kossacks to report back about how their weekends went. But we know people are busy. We know that not everybody can devote every weekend to this election. So we ask that, if you can't do anything the rest of the month, at least try to participate in whatever way you can in our Weekend of Action on October 25-26.
Now, I know from very personal experience how uncomfortable phonebanking and blockwalking can be. Frankly, I hate both of them. When I volunteer for any election, I'm a data entry kind of guy. And data entry is extremely important. But I also know that this election is too important not to try to overcome my fear of talking to other people about why we cannot let Texas Republicans stay at the helm for another four years. This month, I'll be stepping outside of my comfort zone along with many other Battleground Texas volunteers. The scripts and talking points are good, and you are not going to be thrown into the deep end without training. So even if your skin crawls at the idea of calling people or knocking on doors, give one or both a try at least on our Weekend of Action. You won't be the only one.
So, how do you volunteer? It's easy--just click here, enter your zip code and desired mile radius, and you'll see a list of current and upcoming Battleground Texas events, from canvasses to phone banks. From there, you can RSVP online. You don't have to wait for a volunteer to call you--you can find any Battleground Texas event with a computer and an Internet connection. Just be aware that most events are posted only 5-10 days in advance.
Be on the lookout for one of these diaries every Monday evening, and be sure to report what you've done. You can also use this diary to report what you did this past weekend or what you're planning on doing in upcoming weeks. We look forward to hearing about what Texas Kossacks are doing to get Wendy and Leticia elected!