Media Manipulation and Political Strategies

This week, Matt and Brian discuss the merits and drawbacks of field organizing, and why it’s worth knocking on doors or making calls if you care about the outcome of the election. They tackle questions including:

* Can feel your own contribution to turnout, even if canvassing operations are expensive for the campaign? (Spoiler: Yes.)

* Where to volunteer depending on your demographic traits.

* How talking to real, marginal voters who don’t live and breathe politics will humble even the most self-assured ideologue.

Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian muse about what they hope and expect to see from the campaigns in the closing days of election. Will Donald Trump fill more news holes with Arnold Palmer’s fleshy hog (to avoid more discourse about January 6 and his dictatorial ambitions)? What can Kamala Harris do to keep national attention where it belongs? How can everyone from lowly issue advocates to retired four-star generals do to make sure the campaign ends on a helpful note?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

* Brian’s reflections on his first canvassing experience.

* Matt on why Democrats should talk about their good issues.

* A right-leaning think tank concludes Trump’s fiscal agenda will dramatically hasten Social Security insolvency and the severity of the automatic benefit cuts seniors will experience if we reach that point.