Welcome to the second postcard writing party and music thread of the new year!
I’m not sure who/what folks are writing for with #PostcardsToVoters, but I’m sure you guys will tell us in the comments.
If you are just getting started with postcard writing, MazeDancer can show you the ropes when her Postcard Patriots group is involved in a race, and folks like Mousebumples and H.E. Wolf (if they are here) can help show you the ropes with Postcards to Voters.
MazeDancer (Postcard Patriots) has addressees for postcards for the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
For music, in honor of the 15th (!) anniversary of Barack Obama’s inauguration, here is the song that captures all the joy and hope and love we felt on that day.
We should find out tomorrow whether we can get addresses from Voces de la Frontera; if that’s a go, we will have some finely-tuned addresses to work with!
Postcard writing & music posts, when we have them, will generally be on Tuesdays at 8 pm. And possibly be on Saturdays if we really get going with an important race.
If you’re writing postcards, chime in to let us know you’re here, and if you’re here to encourage the writers or share some music, jump right in!
Open thread.
prostratedragon
Oh gee! Well, I happen to be listening to this: “Elfentanz,” Florence Price; violinist and pianist from UT-Knoxville.
Mousebumples
Wisconsin hiccup – I’ll double check my ballot, but I believe we can only vote for ONE candidate for the Supreme Court primary. Might need to adjust that wording. (in previous years, there have been 3 candidates, and I’ve only voted for 1 of the the 3)
SpaceUnit
I was listening to some Camera Obscura earlier today so I’ll share. . .
Honey in the Sun
MazeDancer
The PostCards above are available free for the download at the site https://www.postcardpatriots.com/free-postcards
There are some others tailored for Special Elections as well.
As noted last week, WI doesn’t track party affiliation. So, I ordered addresses from the bluest district I could find. Which means possibly 10-20% of the names could be GOP.
But even GOP living in downtown Milwaukee could be pro-rights.
And all the voters are active.
Also have addresses for the Feb 21 Special Congressional Election in VA-4.
No way the GOP could make a dent in the Blueness of VA-4. But Jennifer McClellan will be the first Black Woman to represent VA in the House, if you would like to help move history along.
Mousebumples
@Mousebumples: Can’t prove anything, but I’m about 95% sure that Wisconsin voters will have to pick ONE Judicial candidate since there’s only 1 spot up for election. (eg last year, we had 4 open spots on our local school board, so the 9 candidate field had us vote for 4, rather than the 8 that would be advancing) And I know I was only able to vote for 1 of 3 judges the last time there was a Supreme Court race on the ballot. I personally lean towards Janet (she’s been raising money like crazy and I like supporting women on the Court) but I’m open to encouraging a vote for either. I’m not sure which would be more likely to get people to the polls.
Do we know if MazeDancer’s addresses are from the open State Senate seat district?
I’m going to think through some language for postcarding, if anyone else is here and wants to brainstorm.
MazeDancer
@Mousebumples: There are 4 candidates, two will advance to the General.
Two are right wingers. Two are Dems.
But the risk is both GOP win the slots.
ETA: Not from the open district. Wasn’t blue enough. If Voces send addresses, we will switch.
prostratedragon
@SpaceUnit:
Music-making: it’s what people do. This is from a bunch of years ago, has 7-figure views, they’re good, and I never heard a wink of them till now. Quincy Jones was right, there’s just too much music.
Dangerman
For some reason, Pete and Bruce and mystery Dude reminded me of:
https://youtu.be/J4FT-JihkUA
MazeDancer
@Mousebumples:
Here’s where I’ve gotten so far on reducing a complicated story to PostCard size:
On Feb 21, the future of WI will be decided. The Supreme Court primary. Top 2 advance to the general.
If GOP wins both slots, our rights are over. Please vote for Janet Protasiewicz & Everett Mitchell. Save our rights!
Mousebumples
@MazeDancer: Yup, fully aware of all of that. But I think we in Wisconsin can only vote for 1 candidate, even though 2 will advance. In past Wisconsin non partisan primaries, we’ve only been able to vote for the same number of candidates as there are open seats. I don’t think I will be able to vote for both Janet AND Everett, even though I’d like to do so.
SpaceUnit
@prostratedragon:
Yeah. Sadly they’re not together anymore. They lost their keyboard player Carey to a terrible illness and the band just never really recovered from it. They made some great music for a number of years though.
The singer Tracyanne still makes music and performs with her husband Danny.
MazeDancer
@Mousebumples:
Cannot find the answer. All articles, including Ballotpedia do not make it clear how the voting works. Just that the top 2 advance.
If you’re right, it’s easy to change “and” to “or”.
I will phone the Election Commission tomorrow.
Found this, though:
““The New York Times” calls the race for Wisconsin’s high court arguably the most important election in America in 2023”
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: I expect to hear from Voces tomorrow about whether they can share addresses with us. If the Executive Director allows us to have addresses, we will have various sets of addresses.
Even thought Wisconsin voter rolls don’t list party affiliation, Voces has built an algorithm that does a good job of sorting by party, race, voting history, e tc.
I am hopeful that we will get permission, and I hoped to know the decision by tonight’s post, but we have to wait until tomorrow.
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: I believe you are correct, but we need a definitive answer. Is there a sample ballot available online?
That will give us the most definitive answer, I think.
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: I am game for brainstorming messages for the Supreme Court race and the state senator for District 8.
Mousebumples
@MazeDancer: Since it’s a non partisan race (“officially”), I am not sure that calling out GOP is the right approach – especially since we don’t know the lean of these particular voters. We may be able to persuade some to support Janet or Everett, but I’m not sure that calling out a party is the way to go.
How about –
Vote for Janet Protasiewicz (*or Everett) in the state Supreme Court primary on February 21. Janet knows that justice matters for everyone. She will protect women’s rights, voting rights, and freedoms for all Wisconsinites.
Thank you for being a voter!
I don’t love all the language, but I think that’s more likely to be successful with a more general list of voter addresses.
@WaterGirl: i checked my sample ballot online and it doesn’t specify. My absentee ballot is “being processed” but not sure when that will be mailed or arrive.
Appreciate the teamwork, both of you! 😊
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: What do you mean it doesn’t specify?
In Illinois, it always says “vote for one candidate” or “vote for up to 4 candidates” if there are 4 open seats..
cckids
@Dangerman: Don’t they say that Mystery Dude is Seeger’s grandson?
Mousebumples
@WaterGirl: I’m sure it’ll say that on my actual ballot, but myvote.wi.gov Sample Ballot doesn’t include that language. Might be a less address specific sample ballot out there though.
Old School
Looked online and found that the ballot for state and local elections in Wisconsin come out 21 days before the election. So probably about a week from now.
prostratedragon
@SpaceUnit: Well … but they did have a good moment together.
prostratedragon
Two piano pieces by Florence Price: “Summer Moon” and “Nimble Feet,” Elizabeth G. Hill, piano
Mousebumples
@Old School: I did find sample ballot templates (see link below) that indicate its a Vote For 1 on the primary.
@WaterGirl – Do you know if Voces has a preferred candidate? I’m not sure if it’s better to try to concentrate our efforts behind 1 liberal Judge (eg add a few dozen or more votes on their side) versus potentially splitting the benefit between the two.
https://elections.wi.gov/wec-form/2023-spring-primary-paper-and-optical-scan-ballots-el-20
Also, per Twitter, Marquette Law School is not polling on this race. (https://twitter.com/PollsAndVotes/status/1616490773322530823?t=Lo6IkTF26shL73v7u_Lj4Q&s=19)
MazeDancer
@Mousebumples:
Well done. Was trying to make the Election Commission site cough up something.
Makes more sense in a way. Because it makes it more likely a right winger will make the cut.
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: It’s my understanding that that very question is being discussed now.
I have heard that of the two candidates that Dems would tend to vote for, one is outraging the other by a factor of 10. But I haven’t read that anywhere, I have only heard it.
As soon as they have made a decision about that, I will let everyone here know the plan.
The worst possible outcome would be all 4 candidates getting close to 25% of the vote, and the two (essentially) conservative candidates make it to the general election in April because they got something like 25.5% and our two got 24.5%.
MazeDancer
@WaterGirl:
Janet has the most money:
https://apnews.com/article/politics-wisconsin-103f773d2480c244ef04b093943c810a
But as an outsider, don’t care. Both Everett and Janet look good.
Guessing the GOP focus on the man. He’s a former Supreme Court Justice, too.
WaterGirl
@MazeDancer: Yeah, that looks like the 10:1 fundraising ratio I had heard about. thanks.
Mousebumples
@MazeDancer: Yup, I’ve seen the same thing. She also has the endorsement of a sitting (liberal) Supreme Court Justice. I don’t know that she officially has a hashtag, but #JanetForJustice could work – and that’s her website. (https://www.janetforjustice.com/)
Almost Retired
@Mousebumples: What are you seeing on the ground in Wisconsin in terms of campaigning for the primary? TV or print ads? Mailers? Internet stuff? I wonder if Janet is going to spend some of her vast cash lead in the primary, or conserve the lion’s share for the general? While she’s vastly out-raising the Republicans now, I’m sure in the general election the evil Darth Vader money will pour in.
What few Wisconsinians I know IRL are about equally split between Janet, Everett and Huh? Doing my part to turn out my super small Badger circle that falls into the Huh? camp.
prostratedragon
A short visual for those needing to rest their writing fingers: the sequence “Juba Dance” from Symphony No. 1, Florence Price, Colorado Symphony Virtual Youth Concert. I’ll bet this is what some people mean by teaching CRT to their children.
Mousebumples
@Almost Retired: Haven’t seen much yet, but I don’t watch much TV or listen to the radio. No mailers yet either – though ballots haven’t gone out yet, for those that are doing absentee voting.
I have seen that the Pro Forced Birth wing is planning to support Dan Kelly, I think. But if he doesn’t advance in the primary, I’m sure they’d support the other conservative candidate without reservation.
I also have a lot of Huh? people in my circle, so turning them out is one thing I’m working on. I know my in laws basically said “tell me who to vote for” – which is why I’m leaning towards encouraging people to vote for Janet vs giving an set options. I worry that a Huh? voter would just not vote if given a choice. Small sample size, granted, but those like us that are tuned in to politics won’t need the reminder, probably.
raven
@Dangerman:
Tao Rodríguez-Seeger
Almost Retired
@Mousebumples: It seems like it would be incredibly hard to campaign for a State Supreme Court position and retain some dignity and decorum. You can’t afford to have any mockable “Demon Sheep” commercials, run any super negative ads, or spam and text the shit out of the State’s voters and retain any credibility as a jurist. At least I would think that to be the case. I’m curious how they will use the money they raise.
Mousebumples
@Almost Retired: if they have a likely voter model, I think GOTV might be the best avenue? I think Janet has made some ads, though I haven’t seen them in the wild, so to speak.
https://ballotpedia.org/Janet_Claire_Protasiewicz
If I’m reading that right (bottom of the page), they’ve been posted on Facebook.
H.E.Wolf
Hello from “catching up on household chore backlog” land. Three cheers for everyone who is writing (or about to write) GOTV postcards for Wisconsin!
Postcards To Voters does not currently have addresses for any campaigns, but I expect that they will in February.
For anyone who likes pre-written talking points, small batches of postcards (4 is their minimum), and 3 days in which to write them, PTV is your kind of organization.
To sign up:
1. Text JOIN to Abby The Address Bot at 484-275-2229
-or-
2. Email [email protected]
You’ll be walked through the sign-up steps, including 1 sample postcard, and then you’ll be able to request addresses whenever you wish.
In the meantime, MazeDancer’s PostcardPatriots has us covered! And maybe Voces de la Frontera also. :)
ETA: Not forgetting Mousebumples, the moving force behind the Tuesday night postcard nights; and WaterGirl, our impressario of grassroots activism!
Mousebumples
@H.E.Wolf: Glad to see you here! I haven’t gotten any postcards done tonight, but I think we’ve made some progress on messaging and the finer points of Wisconsin primary idiosyncrasies. 😅
I have my nephew’s 2nd birthday party this weekend, but if we get Voces addresses, maybe others will be up for postcarding this weekend? Otherwise, I hope to see you all next week Tuesday when I’ll be looking for returns on that Pennsylvania race I wrote postcards for last week!
BlueGuitarist
Hurray for postcard writers!
kudos to MazeDancer, H.E. Wolf, Mousebumples, WaterGirl, all juicers,
and everybody working to bend the moral arc of the universe toward justice
Bruce mention’s Pete and the inaugural, talking about Pete at his 90th birthday
(5:35 video)
https://youtu.be/B4i8ziSHkNA
includes
WaterGirl
FYI, I took down the postcard that says to vote for them both – with 60,000 unique people a month seeing the blog, I didn’t want to cause any confusion for Wisconsin!
H.E.Wolf
In case we need some music: Dolly Parton singing “Milwaukee Here I Come” with Porter Wagoner. Song starts around the 0:40 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiTpqo3N9yU
…and for the traditionalists: the Wisconsin state ballad, lyrics and music by a grandmother-granddaughter duo: “Oh Wisconsin, Land of My Dreams”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MZyeh7n5D0
H.E.Wolf
Life goals! :)
[ETA: corrected] And thank you for the link. Pete Seeger always lifts my spirits.
Further ETA: Brooooce lifts ’em, too.
“Still, at the end of every hard-earned day
People find some reason to believe”
Steeplejack
@H.E.Wolf:
Your Wisconsin song is some bullshit thing a woman wrote in the ’90s based on an old poem by her grandmother. The actual state song is “On, Wisconsin.” Apologize to Omnes and/or delete your account!
Mousebumples
@Steeplejack: I’m partial to Teach Me How To Bucky, myself, though it’s obvious that’s not actually the state song.
Steeplejack
@Mousebumples:
😹 Delete your account!
Jacel
@WaterGirl: With that number of unique monthly visitors, is Balloon Juice still an “almost top 10000 blog”?
Doug
“You sing it with us, we’ll give you the words!”
WaterGirl
@Doug: I love Pete Seeger. Sharp as a tack, even at that age!