In these last hours before the polls close, it's understandable that even the most confident supporters of democracy, decency, and Vice President Kamala Harris would feel apprehensive. The shock and horror of 2016 are still all too sharp in our minds.
Though there are plenty of good indicators out there in the last-minute polling and early voting reports, it's hard to ignore the mainstream media's insistence that the race remains "razor close" – or reports that Trump-supporting militia are warming up for post-election violence. The stakes of this election are so high, that even those who think Ann Selzer is underestimating the coming Blue Wave will surely be holding on for dear life.
No one can make promises about the numbers that will start to appear in a few hours. But here's one thing to cling to: No one could have done a better job on this campaign than Kamala Harris.
Given four years to prepare for this day, Donald Trump ended up with a laughable campaign more focused on channeling money into his bottomless pockets than mounting an effective ground game. It was left up to Elon Musk to use his nigh-on limitless resources to put together a GOTV effort for Trump, and that effort turned out to be laughably chaotic.
But Harris ... here. Take some comfort from this thread posted by a former Republican turned turned Harris volunteer.
My wife, a passionate Harris supporter, volunteered to canvas for Harris on Sunday, and I decided to join her. This ONE (many across the city) office was unlike anything I’ve ever seen or could have imagined. Jam packed with maybe 100 volunteers for the noon shift.
All volunteers got their materials / instructions, were adequately trained, assigned “turf,” and set loose within 30 minutes. It was evident to me that they have more volunteers than they need to hit every Dem in the city.
In a matter of weeks, Harris organized a campaign that spent every penny — from ads, to social media, to the ground game — encouraging, informing, and mobilizing every possible vote. If that effort was aided by the mechanisms already put in place by Biden, that doesn't diminish Harris' effectiveness in carrying those plans forward.
God knows, she got no assistance from a media that was more interested in seeing a horse race than distributing facts, much less saving democracy. But she shouldered this thing, and she has carried it, and no one could have done it better.
Now we wait. Together. Hopeful, and fearful, and as prepared as we can be for what comes next.
Kamala Harris did everything she could for this nation in the short time she had to prepare for this evening. Now it's up to the rest of us.
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