We Are Family
I attended my first Democratic National convention this past week. And it did not fail to disappoint me. Now that the speeches, caucuses and parties are over, it’s time to get to work to re-elect President Barack Obama. And the Democratic Convention helped to solidify the spirit of family within the party. During the past 4 years, the Democratic Party has been at times much like an extended family. From ultra -progressives, progressives, liberals, centrists and Blue Dogs all with their own separate interests, there has at times been discontent among the party. You don’t always like or agree with your family but a true family loves each other and sticks with each other–in spite of their differences.
The Democratic convention helped to show us our strength—our fighting spirit and love of this country. I left with a feeling of renewed hope and recharged energy. And yes, I am fired up and ready to go. In the words of singer Al Green, we need to stay together, whether times are good or bad or happy or sad. And let’s get our President re-elected.
The Democratic convention was not much different from attending my family reunions where many different members of my extended family come together to meet, greet and share our common interests—of family. And I always left my family reunions feeling energized with a renewed feeling of love and purpose.
Many members of the Democratic Party still have separate issues but we came together to fight for our future and democracy. This election is about our future for the world we want to leave behind for our children and their children. And we left knowing what we need to do to knock this ball out of the ball park and win this election. And we left in love and unity.
What We Need to Do and How to Do it
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the African American and Women’s caucus. She is President Obama’s biggest asset. And she gave us our marching orders. She reminded us that here in America, we all have an equal voice in voting issues. She reminded us that we came together as grass roots to move this country forward. And she made it clear that we don’t have one minute to lose. Every single day from now until November 6, we must work.
Working smart doesn’t have to mean working hard. We can get our friends to text #62262 to donate $10 to the campaign. This election is about the battle ground states and victory there. Everyone can make phone calls to voters in battle ground states. Or go to BarackObama.com if you don’t know what to do.
Elections are always close. This election could come down to several thousand votes in battleground states. In 2008, Pres. Obama won Florida with 200,000 votes which is an average of 36 votes per precinct. And in North Carolina, the slimmest victory was won with 14,000 votes—or five votes per precinct. The close victory in 2008 makes it clear that every voice and vote will make a difference.
We all know five people that we can get to the polls, register to vote and/or get to give a donation. And when we get those five people, we need to go get five more until we get to everyone we know until November 6.
Washington, DC based Debbie Hines is a former prosecutor and founder of LegalSpeaks, a progressive blog on women and race in law and politics. As a legal and political commentator she has appeared in national and local media including the Michael Eric Dyson Show, NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates, RT TV, CBC- Canadian TV, NPR, XM Sirius radio, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Black Enterprise among others. She also writes for the Huffington Post.