With the election next week, there's a few things to remember:

1) If the Dems win, you have to ride their asses like a cheap truck. Call them - don't email or tweet - CALL THEM about every single issue every other day. Make sure they know it's you when you call.

(cont... )

2) You need to vote every 2 years. This is the opening salvo in a war that'll last until we're dead in the ground. You have to fight; vote for everything, even if it's dog catcher. IDGAF who you vote for, you just need to get to the polls every election.

That's how we all win.

3) Remember that the Presidency isn't the biggest prize, it's just the shiniest. The real victory comes downballot, where real changes are made at the state level.

4) Remind yourself that politicians aren't "people"; they're tools to be used to execute their constituents' will.

For #4, I mean that we can't be blinded by how likeable a person is; we need to judge our politicians by how effective they are... the moment they stop being effective, we treat them as broken and trade for the new model.

Basically, we have to treat voting like the Republicans do. We need to be there, like clockwork, every single election, every single time; we need to drag this country forward inch by inch by horrific inch.

It'll be ugly, discouraging, and genuinely brutal, but we can persevere.