Two simple things to do before the election

plus, Bea's C-Rex and an easy Halloween costume

Dear Frog Troublers, how are you? We have so far spent the weekend canvassing for Public School Strong at the delightful Pittsboro Street Fair, and celebrating our wonderful school community at the Perry Harrison Fall Festival. And guess what, we did it! We met our fundraising goal and appreciate your support SO much!) It’s also Grandpa Allen’s birthday this weekend and we are sending him so much love (and Richard, who is visiting.)

Even in the midst of these really great moments, everyone I know is very stressed. Understandably. It feels extremely wrong and confusing that we have a significant portion of the electorate prepared to say, on November 5, that a Black Nazi is unacceptable, but a white Nazi probably didn’t mean it. (To be clear, all kinds of Nazis need kicking to the curb.)

I have been doing my best to shore up the confidence of my friends, so in this edition of the FTT, written from the swing state of North Carolina, I’m going to tell you some reasons I’m feeling more than hopeful.

I’m feeling good. I’m feeling confident.

1. Every Democratic organizer and canvasser I’ve talked to in North Carolina says the same thing: it’s different this year. Better than in 2016 or 2020. I did a lot of Siler City canvassing before I had kids, in 2012, and canvassing there last weekend felt a lot more hopeful than 2012 too. Democrats are informed, determined, and they feel like there is a reason to vote for Kamala Harris (even as our reasons may differ).

2. Here’s what I’ve seen in NC from Republican “organizers.” Mailers wastefully sent to my entirely Democratic-voting household, sometimes two a day, for about two weeks in August, that abruptly stopped. More recently, a Falun Gong newspaper. A bunch of goofy “Commies for Kamala” etc. signs in road medians. Met quickly by signs saying Vote for Healthcare! Vote for Good Jobs! Vote Democrat!

It’s true that I live in a Democratic area, but I also drive all over creation, and I’m not seeing the level of Trump signs we saw in 2020. And in those rural and Republican spots, I see Harris-Walz signs. This tells me that Democrats are doing a good job of lowering the margins in Republican districts.

3. In 2022, when everyone expected the red wave that didn’t come, my friends and I worked super hard on a school board race fighting against a well-funded, Moms for Liberty-endorsed school board candidate. She had signs everywhere, and she campaigned hard. She lost. And this was in a year when most people expected Republicans to sweep every race.

This year, our county has another school board candidate (Jody Cleven) who is also conservative and challenging a long-serving Democrat. (Chatham folks, please vote for public school advocate David Hamm!) Unless I’m missing something, Cleven has done almost nothing, even though on the surface her candidacy looks more legit than the 2022 Republican candidate. Few signs, hasn’t shown up at school board meetings or held any events that I can see. To me, that speaks volumes about the energy and momentum Republicans have—which is to say, not very much once you get past Trump rallies. Even those, as Harris pointed out, are boring and confusing events that people leave early. Is it possible that Trump is demoralizing some of these folks by leaving them out in the cold or boring them to sleep, so much so that they won’t vote, or won’t be motivated to get their families to vote? Of course it is!

4. On the other side of things, people I know who are not that into politics have registered and are voting. I don’t truck with Republicans, so you can trust these are all Harris voters.

5. Did you hear this awesome NPR/All Things Considered story about Down Home NC? Do you know how hard it is, as an organization powered by working-class and poor rural people, to make national frickin news? This speaks not just to the great work Down Home is doing on the ground but to their ability to get the word out about what they’re doing. Crucial stuff.

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Michael Moore (his newsletter, which predicted no red wave in 2022, is just as useful and confidence-building this year) has said that to win, we need to take three people with us when we vote. My friend Elaine (of Stranger and Stranger) did exactly this, and she and her three friends wore their “I Voted” stickers on their foreheads as they walked back home. They are Western NC voters who are determined to vote against climate change deniers, and you can bet they’re not alone.

Here are two other things to do:

1. Write or text your people. Tell them why you are voting. If you are an elder/teacher/mom/dad I think it’s fair to tell them you expect them to vote too. Richard’s Uncle Alan did just that, and I wrote about it for Cardinal and Pine.

Here’s a template you can use:

Hi there family, 

I’m writing a quick email because [give reason why voting this year is so important—lots to choose from!] I voted early, and it was [Fun! Quick! Insert description here after voting!].

Here’s why I voted the way that I did:

-Point one 

-Point two

-Point three

Hope to see you soon! 

Love,

Me

2. Talk to everyone you encounter, and ask them if they’ve voted. I talked to a freindly young checkout person at Lowe’s yesterday (in the Chicken Bridge Road line!), and asked him if he’d voted. He doesn’t turn 18 for a few months, and said he was sorry he couldn’t because “things could be really different, depending on the outcome.” He said he felt bad because it would be four years before he could vote. I reassured them that he can vote every year there’s an election—local elections, congressional and midterm elections, and so on, and that in those elections, especially the local ones, his vote will have a big impact. He was happy to hear it.

A good conversation starter, of course, is your Halloween costume. This year I’m going as a childless cat lady, a super easy costume to make if you have access to kitty stuffies. I would love to see more childless cat ladies out there.

Here’s how to make this costume:

1. Put on a Harris-Walz shirt/button/hat if you have one.

2. Put some cat suffies in a basket and tie them to your shoulders/waist/etc.

Done! An easy, cozy costume that will let other people outraged by the ignorant and insulting remarks of that weasel JD Vance, that they are surrounded by like-minded women.

Finally, Bea has been crocheting up a storm and has invented a new kind of stuffie, the Cute-osaurus Rex, or C-Rex:

She promises to write up the pattern for next week, when we’ll also share the girls’ costumes, plus some final election thoughts and ways to help in the home stretch.

How are you feeling, Frog Troublers? Are you having a good weekend? Enjoying the beautiful leaves? Carving a pumpkin?

Lots of love from us at the FTT.