I’ve long held the conviction that mobilization is a key ingredient of success. While talking to your Representative’s constituent affairs person might not sway that legislator’s vote, hash tags have a vastly lower chance of making any difference whatsoever. (Worse, posturing gives people enough “sterile excitation” that they get distracted from actually doing something.) Other forms of political action — registering people to vote, knocking on doors to engage in actual political dialogue, and organizing mass protests such as the ones inspired by George Floyd’s death by police — also can have varying degrees of political impact. Political action can influence the actions of elected and appointed officials, add items to the public agenda, increase support for particular policies, and sway election results.
The opposite of mobilization is the fundraising request. So I give money to a particular candidate…And then what? Ad buys in a key district may have some marginal effect, but of course, we live in an age when there are fewer undecided voters. Even if you believe in the the efficacy of political contributions, they should not be the only way to engage with politics. And yet, that’s not how campaigns, PACs, and political parties act. Fund-raising is the largest, and often seemingly the exclusive, interface between political actors and their constituents.
Flash back to 20 years ago, when I used to get endless fundraising calls from the Democratic Party. Because of my concern about the lack of political mobilization, I used to tell the telemarketer (that’s what they were) that I would not contribute $1 until the party asked me to do something other than give money. Letter writing, voter registration, interpretive political dance — anything else but giving money. Over time, I grew more and more frustrated with the recurring calls, since every time I said, “Take me off your call list until you ask me to do something other than give you money.” And then I’d get the next call, and the next… I reached a level of sulfurous irritation that my family new, from the tone of my voice, that I was getting one of those calls again.
Flash forward to last night, during the debacle debate. A half an hour into watching Biden completely fail at his one critical job (making the case that he is a competent, energetic, inspirational leader who can and will fight for the things you care about), I received the following fundraising text:
Imagine my reaction, which was even more allergic than when I got one of those calls in the 2000s. The statement, We are facing an existential threat to American democracy and the American ideal, is not an exaggeration. There are lots of efforts to defeat Trump in particular, and MAGA in general, but at least in my tiny corner of the United States, I’m finding them, instead of them finding me. Your experience may be different, and I dearly hope that it is. Unfortunately, I expect that, right after the debate scared the bejeesus out of millions of Americans, the phone is not ringing off the hook. Except, of course, for more requests for money.
This blog has frequently pointed out the weakness of American political parties. The stress on fundraising is both cause and effect of that weakness. If you have less and less influence over candidates or their agendas, you at least can raise money for them. But the more you rely on fundraising, the less you do to build political organizations that can mobilize people, as needed, at the federal, state, county, or local level. You hollow out the very networks you will need to tap at critical moments like these. Sure, you can buy ads saying, Biden isn’t really going to keel over at any moment, or, Remember Kamala Harris? She actually did a lot, though you may not have seen it, or, The person who replaced Biden on the ticket is really a great person whom you should support. However, ad spots with this “messaging” will be far less effective on their own than having someone engage you in a conversation on the topic for more than 30 seconds to allay your concerns. Or seeing excited supporters turn out for a rally. Or joining that rally. Or anything else that demonstrates, yes, we are tap-dancing on the edge of the political abyss, but also yes, there’s something that you can do to keep us taking a national swan-dive into the anti-democratic void.
If the answer to the question that most, if not all, of us are asking today, What the hell do we do now? is, Just give us more money, then we may have already lost. Democracy in crisis needs inspiration, dedication, conversation, and action. People in despair need something to do. And boy howdy, there will be a lot to do in the coming months, whether Biden stays at the top of the Democratic ticket, or not.
