samdorman's blog

Like a lot of people who work somewhere in the general orbit of politics, I often find myself playing the role of low-budget pundit with friends and acquaintances.

"How's the election looking?" they ask. "Who's going to be the running mate?" "What big October surprises do we have in store?"

Honestly I kind of suck at punditry. Answering damn near every question with "who the hell knows" probably won't get you invited back as a talking head on CNN, and a careful analysis of the possibilities doesn't really seem to thrill a party crowd gathered around the punch bowl.

I'm ok with that. Anyone who claims to have all the answers is probably as full of it as the TV pundits anyway.

But there is one question that I get asked that really ticks me off -- not because it's a bad question, but because I don't have a good answer.

That question: "What else can I do?"

I know tons of people, of all ages, who really care about the outcome of this election, and who want to "help." But they don't really know how.

For young people who can afford to do it, there are definitely some jump-in-with-both-feet options, like volunteering or working full time for a campaign, or hooking up with the League of Young Voters (where I work), or taking a trip with Swing Semester, or getting involved with one of the great "young progressive" organizations on the right column of this website.

But when it comes to young people who need to work full time, or people in my parents and grandparents generation, or even my peers in their 30's or 40's, the options thin out a little bit.

Everyone knows they can donate money. That's a good thing to do, and it's important. But it's only sorta satisfying, and reduces a person's potential talent and energy to all the creativity and skill of having a credit card.

Sure, I could tell people to volunteer at a local campaign office. That's definitely important. Sometimes that can even be fun or satisfying. And sometimes it stinks.

I could tell them to get out there and make phone calls or knock on doors. That can be enjoyable sometimes, when you're not feeling apologetic being the guy on the other end of those phone calls and front porch visits we all "love" so much. After trying it once, plenty of people have no interest in a return engagement.

Donating, stuffing envelopes, phone banking, or knocking doors. Are those really the best ways we can offer people to engage?

The truth is, the way most election work is done these days is shockingly inefficient. The amount of time and money that campaigns end up spending in ineffective ways is staggering. We have to play the game because it's the best option we've got right now. But if you step back and summon a little perspective about the way voters are identified and turned out, you quickly figure out that we're still just emerging from the prehistoric age here.

There has to be a better way. I've been thinking about it and I've got some ideas about how we might be able to step back a bit, think outside the box, and figure out how to use the massive well of talent and energy that's out there from people of all ages.

I hope other people are hard at work at the same task. There's a lot of powerful passion, energy, and skill out there to be tapped, and we're only just at the beginning of learning how to do it. Holler if you're down to help, and let's get to it.

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Sam Dorman is the Managing Director of the League of Young Voters

So I'm sure you heard. The good state of California is now performing same-sex marriages, after the state's Supreme Court struck down a state ban in May.

Well, I'm happy to report back to those around the world who might have been concerned about us here in California: So far as i can tell -- contrary to the dire predictions we may have heard -- the earth has not yet opened up and swallowed the whole state into a pit of eternal hellfire. Which is great, because honestly I'm not that into hellfire. Hellfire seems totally uncool.

In fact, as I look around, what strikes me the most is that the whole thing seems so.... so..... so normal.

Here's what appears to have been happening, and hold onto your hats while I say this.... It appears that couples who love each other -- people who have shared lives, families, and homes for years -- are now officially getting married.

Wild, I know.

I'm not sure exactly what I would have expected. Some sort of crazed marriage bonanza? A massive gay marriage stampede through the streets? Something else with the word bonanza in it?

Nope, not really. Pretty much it's just people who are happy to get the chance to say 'they do' to the one they love, and be recognized just like everyone else for it, with peace and dignity.

It makes me proud to be a Californian.

Maybe what gay marriage opponents have been missing for the last several years was a strong dose of who-the-hell-cares. You know what I mean? Relax, friends. Unclench. Look around. The world is still standing. More people who love each other are married. Sounds pretty good if you ask me.

Sure, it's possible that some coalition of concerned party poopers will stir up enough fear and ugliness to pass this constitutional amendment in November and shut down the festivities. (And certainly, we all need to step up and work against that. Definitely not into party poopers. Party poopers are way uncool.)

But I'll tell you what gives me a sense of peace about this issue.

It's inevitable. Like it or not, our country's attitudes are changing. It's unstoppable, and it's happening. And everyone, on all sides of the debate, knows it.

Just take a look at this. Right after the Supreme Court decision, a new Field Poll showed that for the first time since they started measuring back in the 70's, a majority of Californians now agree that "gay people have the right to marry" (51 to 42 percent.) And for voters under 30, the percent in support jumps to 68%. That's a blowout. Go us.

So yes, they might pass an amendment in california to outlaw same-sex marriage for a while. Sure, other states might go all reactionary and furrow their brows and bristle out their mustaches (yes, states can have mustaches, why not.) True, we could be in for a battery of reactionary laws and amendments and hyperventilating hand-wringing from the lock-your-doors brigade.

But progress will continue to steadily, inevitably, irreversibly march on. Those amendments will be overturned, laws will be fixed, and bristled mustaches will be soothed. And a few decades from now, we'll look back and wonder... what took us so damn long? And our kids will incredulously ask us how anyone thought such overt discrimination against our friends and neighbors was ever acceptable.

And one day, we will get to look back and tell our own stories about this time -- this time right now -- when we were truly proud to live in the state of California.

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Sam Dorman is the Managing Director of the League of Young Voters