Beers for Votes?

"Vote like your beer depends on it."

I am not making this up.

Yesterday while I was trying to relax after a really busy week, I got a text, one that I thought would be another of the texts without number asking me to participate in a poll. I always say no. I do not want to play the game.

This one was different. Click here for the full text: https://www.mobilize.us/ml-volunteer-hq/event/706102/?share_medium=native_share&share_context=event_detail_page&force_banner=tru

“Beers and Ballots: Saving Democracy One Beer at a Time.”

The idea of this event is that people will show up at local bars, of which Philly has a plenty, talk to strangers, ask them to text five friends in swing states and tell them to vote for Harris, and if the strangers will do so, these campaign volunteers can buy the texting stranger a beer.

Here’s the text:

Beers & Ballots - Saving Democracy One Beer at a Time! 😎🍺🗳️

Want to help win the election, stop Trump, and have fun in the process? Volunteer with Beers & Ballots!

Not sure when you can come? Fill out our General Interest form and we'll get in touch! -> bit.ly/beersandballots

Event Highlights

• What: We’re buying beers for people who help us increase voter turnout for Kamala and other dems by texting their friends to make sure they vote.

• Where: Bars all over Philly!

• Who: Anyone passionate about making an impact on the election —no prior experience needed.

• Why: Relational organizing like this is proven to be super effective, and canvassing bars is a super fun way to reach folks.

Why Attend?

• Meet awesome like-minded people who care about saving democracy!

• Make a direct impact in delivering PA for Kamala and other democrats!

• Enjoy a cold beer and fun conversations with strangers!

• Be part of the first wave of an innovative new approach to civic engagement!

Details:

• Date & Time: A busy bar night of your choosing [NOTE - Feel free to fill out a few times you know you're free and try it out. We bet you'll want to come back!]

• Location: A Philly bar near you

• How it Works: Show up, chat with patrons, offer them a drink in exchange for mobilizing their friends to vote. It's as simple as that!

  Anything to stop the Orange Man right?

  To my knowledge, Trump has threatened to take away quite a few things, but not anyone’s beer. Though it is known that Trump is a non-drinker, taking away AA’s occasional implied claim that people with alcohol problems have a corner on the market of being selfish jerks.

  I am a strong supporter of everyone’s right to consume what they wish, vote for whom they choose, and organize others to vote or otherwise be politically active. So I have no problem with people drinking alcohol or texting others with suggestions as to how they should vote. Their right as Americans, both of those. If you want to live in a country where alcohol is outlawed and democracy is not a thing, then I suggest you visit some of the countries my keffiyeh wearing neighbors idolize… while they drink beer on their porches.

  But I digress. I can not help but be disgusted by this initiative, which sounds to me like buying votes with alcohol.

  Is anyone going to ask if the people they are buying drinks for have a designated driver or are taking transit home? I would not want to be responsible for a person getting behind the wheel after even one drink, which is when impairment begins.

  Are people in their right frame of mind to make an important decision when drinking on the weekend at a bar? While as all know, I am a strong proponent of cat adoption, I argue against cat cafes serving alcohol because I do not think one should make the life-altering decision to adopt a cat when under the influence. Certainly voting is an important decision too?

  I’m sure the anti-Orange forces will screech, “But the Republicans do much worse!” I am sure they do, and I know some of the things that they do that I disagree with. That’s not the point (though it is the way Democrats constantly shut down any sort of criticism, even when it is friendly criticism aimed at making them more palatable to many American voters.)

  American elections have turned into a spectator sport, but they have serious, long reaching consequences. Could we maybe pretend that there are adults in the room and treat this election with some respect? Discuss policy, not get people drunk?

  This sort of event gives further credibility to the idea that supporters of the Vice President are privileged airheads who know nothing about what she may actually do or has actually done and are voting based on the fashion of the day. This is not true, I suspect, overall, but it is not a good look.

  And I personally would not want to have bought the drink that pushes someone over the legal limit when that person is about to get in a car.

  A few days ago, a young friend of mine was hit by a drunk driver in a head on collision. Miraculously, and due to her quick thinking in stopping her car completely so that the other vehicle hit a car that was not moving, rather than combining the force of two moving cars, she and her husband and her dog survived. She is hoping to get pregnant soon. That drunk driver, going the wrong way down a one way street, almost took out two adults, a dog, and the possibility of a new human to be born into a loving family that wants a child. She has no malice toward the driver, rather seeing them as a person with a problem who she hopes will get help.

  Do the Democrats really need to contribute to drunk driving, or to anyone consuming a chemical that is a neurotoxin and impairs one’s judgement at best?

  Surely we can do better as a Party and as a society. Why not just cover the adoption fees at cat shelters from now until election day, if you want to buy votes?

  It would probably be cheaper and not lead to deaths on the road, plus more cats might get homes!

  Perhaps my future is as the founder of the Democat Party. I would prefer that to the party that brings the party to the voters, unwise though that may be.