There is almost no limit to the massive power that Corporate America and its leading figures such as the Koch brothers wield by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on their selected candidates. But while that power appears to be invincible, it is nothing compared to the power that the people of this country possess if they are educated about the massive importance of this election and if they are motivated to turn out to vote like never before.
Democrats and their supporters need to get rid of the negative mindset that says that voter turnout can't be increased, that people want nothing to do with corrupted politicians, that they simply will not respond to calls for registration; that such a process will be an exercise in futility. That's exactly the attitude that keeps America stuck in this deep political rut from which it can't seem to extract itself. It is the primary reason why Republicans continue to win when so many people in this country strongly oppose their ideology. It's high time to put an end to that backward, totally unproductive thinking.
This democracy will not survive if the Democrats cannot find the ways to motivate at least 25 million of these currently inactive 100 million eligible voters to exercise their Constitutional right to cast their ballots. These Americans must be challenged to commit themselves to voting in this next crucial election, as well as the presidential election in 2016. This means that it will be necessary to raise the total turnout from the typically 118 million to 143 million or about 65% of the total eligible voters. That is certainly not an impossible task.
Republicans employ negative, destructive tactics to achieve their objective of suppressing voter turnout and they are getting away with it. Democrats must respond by using positive, constructive strategies to dramatically increase voter turnout. That's the only way to stop this bleeding and preserve this nation's increasingly fragile democracy.
As this important election gets closer we are going to see if the Democratic Party has the conviction and resolve to respond to the great threat that this Republican-fueled agenda of suppression poses to this nation and its democracy. If the Democrats do not do everything in their power to dramatically increase this voter turnout to defuse this threat, then corporate money and power will prevail over the power of the people and the American democracy will become no more than a hollow shell.
Michael Payne
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