2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumI can believe good news AND GOTV at the same time
Why do so many people fear that even daring to believe that things are looking good for Obama will produce complacency?
First of all, even if I were "complacent" about Obama winning, we all know winning back the House is going to be hard work, and keeping the Senate, though looking good, isn't quite so likely, and every extra Senate seat counts (to offset some of the annoying Blue Dogs), so that's more than enough reason to be donating more, pounding the pavement, doing what you can to win across the board in this election. I've been out canvassing once already, and I'll be out again this weekend.
Obama winning merely saves us from a Romney disaster. Our hopes for progress will only limp along without the House in Democratic hands. GOTV is for the whole ticket, not just the presidential race.
Besides, a lot of people love participating in voting for a winner, feeling like they are part of a victory. For myself, I always vote no matter what. For those not so dedicated to voting, I don't really know that there are all that many people who simply don't bother just because they think an election is "in the bag".
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)and enthusiasm going. Even Gallup's polling finds that enthusiasm among Democrats is up 59% from 46%. We cannot afford to lose that momentum due to defeatism.
Yes, realize that things could change. Yes, realize that the election could be stolen. Yes, realize that people are likely to be disenfranchised. But work our asses off to make sure that it doesn't happen to the extent that we can control destiny. We have to keep working hard and fight like Obama is 10 points behind! I don't care what these polls say. We have to keep energy up and working!!
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)It's as if people really believe we're all just going to decide to pass on this election because a poll shows our guy up by 10 in Ohio! No. That actually makes me want to work harder to preserve that lead ... I am energetic and ready to go out and fight for this campaign now that we're in the final stretch of it. I feel confident and excited and happy and those are all emotions you want your supporters to feel.
LOOK at the Republicans. Look at their body language. Look at Morning Joe facepalm himself because of Romney and how depressing Romney supporters look at his rallies ... there is no energy or excitement or passion there. They're starting to give up...concede this election is over and THAT is when you worry if you're a campaign - when your supporters become so defeatist that they might not vote.
We want good news. We want the polls telling us we're going to win because it just pummels the opposition that much more ... it dispirits them and gives us a kick in the butt we need. We want a narrative to form that Romney is losing.
Our voters will get out to the polls because we're sensing victory. Their voters just may stay home because they're sensing defeat.
TDale313
(7,820 posts)I get the "don't get complacent" concern, but seriously, it's almost like some people think we'll jinx it if we allow ourselves to feel good about the fact that things are looking pretty darn good. Don't worry, I'm still planning on voting, donating, volunteering when I can. And yes, well aware that things can change and that Repubs will steal it if they can. That said, I'm enjoying this election cycle.