Back when the primary process began, I read quite a few of the candidate diaries, commented on a few and even wrote one. I have not read one in some time and don’t plan to. Let’s look at a few basic facts:
Anyone who has gone to the trouble of getting a screen name on DailyKos is pretty politically engaged and aware.
Anyone who has written or commented on a political diary is pretty much politically obsessive.
Both of the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have long and deep records that have been widely reported and are well known to all of us.
While I can’t prove it, I strongly suspect that the percentage of people reading Bernie/Hillary diaries here who are undecided about which they support is in the very low single digits.
From the above, it follows that virtually none of us are likely to change the candidate we support based on something we read here. Arguing with the partisans of the other candidate is probably slightly less useful than masturbation. Masturbation, after all, will relax you, make you feel better and can help you to sleep at night. Arguing with supporters of the other candidate will do none of those.
I have to think that some of us are under the illusion that we are somehow helping our candidate by participating in these poo-flinging contests. Guess what: We aren’t!!
If you want to leave that illusion behind and actually help your candidate, here are a few of the things you might be able to do with the time you save by not reading candidate diaries:
Donate money. Perhaps find a way to work a few more hours so you can donate more money
Sign up to volunteer — go to your candidate’s website to find out how.
Seek out others in your community who feel as you do and self-organize activities in support of your candidate. Here where I live, people have been tabling at the farmers market, for one example.
Phone bank into an early primary state — there are online tools that make it pretty easy
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. And if you do, let me challenge you to this: Write what’s good about your candidate and compare them to the Republicans — don’t attack the other Dem candidate.
Organize a house party in support of your candidate.
Learn about and volunteer for local down-ballot Dems in your area whose values match yours
If your life situation allows, travel to volunteer in the early primary state nearest you.
There is an enormous world of low information, undecided voters out there who could be moved by something you say — get out and communicate with them rather than wasting your time here.
And finally, let’s remember that, when this is all done, there will be a Democratic nominee. At that point it will become vital that we all unify around that candidate and work to elect them. Adding to the net store of bitterness and negativity among Democrats is worse than useless.
Since I’m preaching at you all, some of you might ask what I’ve done in the real world. That’s a fair question. So far, I’ve helped organize a fund-raising concert and two house parties for my candidate (with more house parties in the pipeline), donated more than I can easily afford, gotten two letters to the editor published, done a little bit of tabling and will soon travel to an early primary state to canvass. I don’t say that to brag — I feel like I could and should have done more and know lots of others who have. And last of all, let’s remember to have fun doing whatever we do! This is too important to be taken seriously!