October 8, 2024 • 24 mins
In this episode of the Keystone Reckoning Podcast, we dive into one of the most controversial and misunderstood aspects of political campaigns: yard signs. Sure, yard signs don’t vote—but they just might save democracy this time around. We break down why these small, seemingly insignificant pieces of plastic carry much more weight than they’re given credit for, especially in the chaotic and high-stakes 2024 election.
We explore the psychology behind why yard signs matter, from tacit endorsements in your neighborhood to standing up against the aggressive intimidation tactics of Trump supporters. It’s not just about showing support; it’s about sending a clear message that we’re not backing down. With voter suppression, threats of violence, and a Republican Party that refuses to play by the rules, yard signs have become a frontline defense in this unprecedented battle for the soul of our democracy.
So, should you put up that Harris-Walz sign? We think so, and we’ll tell you why. Tune in as we unpack the power of yard signs, the hidden psychology of political visibility, and why 2024 is the year these signs could do more than just decorate your lawn—they could help save our democracy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
While it may be true that yard signs do not vote,
they do matter, especially inthis election, and especially in
ways we may not quiteunderstand yet.
Hi, welcome to the KeystoneReckoning Podcast.
It is Tuesday, october 8th 2024.
We are exactly five weeks awayfrom the 2024 election, so
things are starting to get realelection.
(00:23):
So things are starting to getreal and, as we start to look at
making a plan to vote, some ofus have already voted.
I actually got my ballotyesterday and of course, I would
encourage everyone who can tovote by mail for a lot of
different reasons that we'll getinto.
But the thing I want to talkabout today has to do with yard
signs and, as anybody that'sever worked on a campaign on the
(00:43):
staff and volunteer side knows,yard signs are a blessing and a
curse, but more like 90% curse,10% blessing, because they
disproportionately suck up thetime and energy of a campaign,
because people tend to thinkthey're the end all be all of an
election, and it can be reallyfrustrating to those of us that
are you know who spent weeks andmonths election, and it can be
(01:05):
really frustrating to those ofus that are you know who spent
weeks and months you know, insome cases maybe a year, working
towards election day, doing allof the groundwork, doing all
the hard work, and everybodyjust kind of rolls in two weeks
out and says, ok, give me a yardsign, I've done what I need to
do, and oh, I guess it's almostelection day.
It can get really, reallyfrustrating, and especially when
there's always that person or acouple of people on a campaign
(01:27):
that are just so yard signobsessed that you know, oh, my
goodness, so-and-so has a signfor our opponent in their yard
so we need to go put 15 up in aneighbor's yard.
The worst part is when thatperson is the candidate, and I
get it.
There's a psychologicalcomponent because you see your
(01:48):
opponent's name all over theplace and you don't see yours,
and that freaks you out.
So you tend to get verydefensive and you know you're
going out there yourself andputting signs up at two in the
morning instead of sleeping soyou could do the things you need
to do during the day.
I will be honest, I maybe havebeen a little guilty of that in
(02:12):
the past, but I can tell youfrom being on the management
side it is absolutely maddeningto watch a candidate go down
that road.
However, yard signs aren'tgoing anywhere.
It's just a mainstay ofAmerican politics.
Fine, they are what they areand the general thought is you
know, yard signs don't vote.
That's the axiom that getspassed through campaigns as a
way to kind of talk those peopleoff the ledge that are obsessed
with yard signs.
(02:32):
But there is definitely apsychological component to it
and to me it's always been.
Yard signs in public placesdon't matter.
Yard signs in people's yards domatter, because it's a tacit
endorsement of the candidatethat someone is willing to make.
Yes, I'll put a sign in my yardthat's saying I am letting the
(02:53):
world know and my neighbors know, the people that see me every
day that I am supporting you.
And as a former candidate andelected official, that's a
pretty cool feeling.
And as a former candidate andelected official, that's a
pretty cool feeling.
You know, you go, you knock onsomeone's door, you talk to them
.
They didn't know you or didn'tknow much about you when you
knocked and by the time you'redone, they're like yeah, I'll
take a sign.
That's a good feeling thattells you you're doing something
(03:16):
right as a candidate.
So that's all great.
No-transcript he's a good guy,she's a good, good woman.
Yeah Cool, all right, I'll votefor him.
You know, and that typicallytend to know.
(03:49):
So then, why do signs matterfor the presidential election?
I would put out there that, aswe've discussed and everybody's
talked about, this is a uniqueelection in American political
history.
I think history will come backand tell us later exactly how
unique it was, and God, I hopeit was unique because we can't
do this every four years I Iknow I can.
This is exhausting andmind-numbing.
(04:10):
So it's.
It's definitely unlike anyelection we've ever seen in
modern american politicalhistory, and one of the big
things to me is I'm looking nowalmost past the election.
Let's say I'm looking past it,but in terms of what is a win,
right?
How do we make sure that KamalaHarris actually takes the oath
(04:31):
of office on January 20th 2025?
Winning of the election is onething, but getting there and
doing everything the right wayto get what we need is something
entirely different.
So one of the big components ofthat is voter intimidation, and
we're going to talk more aboutthis in the coming weeks,
(04:52):
because I really do believe inlooking at all of this, we are
heading for a situation wherethe Republicans are not going to
concede even if they lose.
There is ample evidence of it.
It's everywhere.
Concede even if they lose.
There is ample evidence of it.
It's everywhere.
And, most importantly to me andmost alarmingly to me, it's
coming from states and electedofficials, where they actually
(05:14):
have the power to mess things upand make things very difficult
Again discussion for another day.
But it's really becoming to mekind of the filter that I'm
looking at this election throughas we head into the home
stretch.
So the thing about that is isthat this is why yard signs
matter, because a lot of theright wingers, I believe, are
(05:37):
emboldened by the fact that theythink everybody agrees with
them because nobody challengesthem.
And I mean it's exhausting tochallenge a Trumper because you
know it's like spitting into thewind.
There's just, for most of thesepeople, there's just nothing
that can be said to get them offof the insanity.
(05:57):
They believe it's a cult.
I'm sorry, it's a cult.
You people are in an effingcult, plain and simple.
You might not see it, but youknow how many people that are in
a cult know they're in a cult?
None, that's why it's a cult.
There's a difference between aclub and a cult.
You're in a cult Anyhow.
So we are inclined to not engagewith them in a lot of ways
(06:17):
because it's exhausting, becausewe don't want the pushback.
There's also that mentality ofOK, they're going to do what
they're going to do.
Instead of worrying about them,we need to focus on what we
need to do, and that's go outand knock on doors and do the
things we need to do to winelections.
Nobody's ever won an electionon Facebook.
I say that all the time andthat's all true.
All of that is true.
(06:39):
But there's also another pieceof this, which is if someone on
your street has Trump signs upand there are no Harris signs
and there is nobody out therepushing back, it furthers their
belief that they are right andeverybody agrees at them.
(07:02):
And the reason I bring all thisup, the impetus behind this
entire podcast, is that this wasa discussion that was had in my
house, in my family.
We live in a townhousedevelopment we rent, we don't
own, and we are subject to HOArules, and one of the HOA rules
that they've made very clear isthat you cannot have campaign
(07:23):
signs out until 21 days beforethe election and you're allowed
to have one sign.
As someone who's familiar withthe law.
I don't believe any of that.
I've had numerous instanceswhere it's been litigated and
you can see that the FirstAmendment right to
self-expression is fairly clearand where this has been
(07:44):
litigated it generally says thatyou can put up signs when you
want at your discretion, withthe only exception to me that
makes any sense being a signthat would be so big, for
example, as to block traffic orcreate a safety hazard.
But if I want to put a thousandTrump signs in my yard and it's
not bothering anybody and I ownmy property, I have a really
(08:06):
hard time arguing with that.
From a First Amendment point ofview, ok.
But in this HOA, which isnotorious apparently for a lot
of reasons, at different partsof the development you're not
allowed to have window clings insome places and all sorts of
craziness.
So we have these rules aboutpolitical signs from our HOA.
(08:27):
They are what they are.
The question inside our housebecame do we put up a Harris
Wall sign in our yard?
Our yard is right by thecommunity mailboxes for our
street.
It's not a cul-de-sac but it'skind of a turnaround and we've
had good relationships with ourneighbors over the years, never
had any problems.
(08:47):
It's a nice little area andwe've been there for five years.
We really enjoy everythingabout it and it prompted this
discussion about whether or notwe should put up a sign and
whether and why or why not.
I respect the fact that mypolitics can be not for
everybody.
In terms of how I feel aboutthings and my lived experiences,
(09:10):
I go out of my way.
As someone who has beenpolitical my entire life and
have worked in politics invarious capacities, I go out of
my way to not take my politicsto anybody for the most part.
I know that may seem counter towhat a lot of people might
expect, but to me anybody thatknows me knows how I feel and
(09:32):
what I'm about and where myexpertise and things lies and if
they want to talk to me aboutit I'm more than happy to have
that discussion.
Whether they agree with me ornot, I'm one of those people.
I can disagree without beingdisagreeable.
Yeah, I'm going to try topersuade you, but I know what my
limits are and I know how thepsychology of how this works and
I'm not going to get into ascreaming match over something
(09:53):
that's pointless.
So I tend to not put mypolitics out there kind of
aggressively in people's faceand especially being mindful of
having moved to a new communityon 200, some miles from where we
used to live five years ago.
It's not the same thing.
I've enjoyed to some extent,this anonymity, especially
(10:13):
politically, and you know, beingjust kind of suburban dad at
home and then doing my politicswhere I do my politics.
There's also the concern thatyou know my wife voice, and
she's not wrong, by the way.
I want to make it clear I'm nothaving a spousal argument on a
podcast.
My wife's politics very closelyfollow mine in terms of issues
(10:35):
and passion, and which is one ofthe things I love about her and
we had this discussion, though,about what happens if we put
that sign up in our yard, and wetalked about a little bit and
we put a pin in it, and Iactually intend to revisit it
shortly with her and I.
We have a few days becausebefore our 21 day sign period
(10:58):
starts, so I wanted to reallythink it through, and in
thinking it through, I thought,well, this might be a discussion
other people are having yada,yada, yada if you're on a
podcast.
So here are my thoughts andthis is the argument that I plan
to make as to why it isimportant in this election,
especially, to put up a yardsign if you have the ability to
do so.
First of all, it is superimportant to me to do so.
(11:23):
First of all, it is superimportant to me, as I alluded to
earlier, to let people knowthat there are other people in
your community, on your street,that have political beliefs that
probably align with yours.
This is a huge problem in areaswhere it is perceived to be a
very Republican area, and youwould be out knocking on doors
(11:45):
and obviously you have voterdata in front of you and you're
knocking on doors and someonewould say, oh yes, I support you
, I'm a Democrat, which we wouldknow from looking at their,
looking at their voterinformation, looking at their
voter information, and they'dsay I'm a Democrat, but I don't
put a sign up or I don't doanything because I know I'm the
only Democrat in thisneighborhood, I'm the only one
(12:07):
on my street, and I would say,well, actually, no, that's not
true.
I'm looking at this informationright now and there are, of
these 15 houses, there are sevenother Democrats and the voter
and I wouldn't necessarily saywho they are, but the voter
would be like what?
No, that can't be accurate.
I'm like no, I just talked tothree of your neighbors and and
(12:27):
they, you know they all tend tothink the same thing, because
there's this kind of isolationthat goes on where you think
you're the only one, so you keepthat to yourself and you don't
reach out and make thoseconnections.
It's why it's hard in a lot ofplaces that are emerging from
like red to blue, like here inCumberland County where I live,
it's hard to really build apolitical infrastructure through
(12:50):
local committees, countyparties, things like that,
because everybody gets in theirmind this conventional wisdom
that they live in a red area andspeaking out is kind of
pointless and it's just not true.
And the only way to reallybuild an organization and build
momentum at the ground level isfor people to step out and say
(13:13):
no, I'm a Democrat, this is whatI believe, these are the people
I support, and then that helpsbring other people out of their
shell and it starts to makethose connections.
So for that reason those thingsare important, especially in
more local elections, because itallows people to again inform
about candidates and have thosekind of conversations.
This presidential election isobviously different, but to me
(13:34):
it is important to let peopleknow that, yes, I do support
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz andother Democrats on the ballot,
because that then allows forthose conversations to take
place.
It lets people, I think, knowwhat our values are.
Frankly, we saw this a lotduring COVID and I see it a lot
more now in terms of the way Ilook at the world, which is, if
(13:56):
you're an anti-vaxxer, that kindof forever changes the way I
look at you.
If you are a hardcore trumpsupporter and this is a hard
thing to say because it getspersonal right but if you are a
hardcore trump supporter, afterall of this, it changes the way
I look at you and I'm sorry, butI don't know if I'll ever be
(14:17):
able to unsee it, because wehave reached such an extreme
point in our politics that ifyou can look at all this and if
you have kids, if you havedaughters, and be okay with it,
be okay with this being the kindof world that you want your
kids to grow up in, or grandkidsor anybody, that means you're
(14:40):
maybe not the person I thoughtyou were, where you've become
somebody I didn't think you wereand that's tough.
That's a really tough place tobe and it took me a long time to
get there and I'm still not100% there, but it's getting
harder and harder to think anyother way, and I'm sure they
probably think that about me.
(15:00):
But, sorry, I've got facts onmy side.
I'm not in a cult and this isnot a whataboutism.
Both sides are equal, it's justa difference of perspective.
No, this isn't that.
This is something totallydifferent.
So to me, putting that sign outis a value statement.
This is who I am, this is whatI believe Good, bad, ugly and I
(15:22):
don't mind letting people knowthat I'm not ashamed of what I
believe, because one thing theTrumpers are not.
They are not ashamed, right,they are shameless.
So to me, that is an importantvalue statement, just like when
someone puts a Trump sign up andthis happened.
There was somebody in ourneighborhood that we didn't know
all that well.
They put a Trump sign up early.
They were forced to take itdown by the HOA, but I couldn't
(15:44):
unsee it.
And when I walk the dog and Iwalk past their house and that
person is out there with theirdog, I don't want to engage with
them because it tells mesomething about them and maybe
that's close-minded on my part.
I don't know, but I have to behonest with myself, right?
So the other part of that is isto me, if the inverse, I guess,
(16:10):
being true, if you see a signin my yard saying I support a
candidate and you were going touse that as a way to judge me or
to say something to me, and Ithink that's the fear, right,
that you just want to get outand go to your car and take the
kids to their sports and walkthe dog.
You don't want anybody to eversay something to you about.
You know, challenge youpolitically.
(16:31):
If you're like to me, I don'tmind, but I get why you know my
wife wouldn't want that.
I get why people wouldn't wantthat.
Because, again, the Trumpersare aggressive and this kind of
goes back to the big, the biggerpicture.
They're very aggressive and youjust don't want that.
So I get it.
And to me, if you're going tobe that kind of a person, I kind
(16:54):
of want to know that in advance, because then that way I know
to steer clear of you from thebeginning.
And again, it is what it is.
So it's a value statement bothways.
It's a way of not being afraidto let people know how you feel,
because this gets to now thebig picture.
(17:17):
I talked about voterintimidation.
This election is not going tobe over on November 5th.
This election is, quite frankly, just going to be getting
started on November 5th.
And if you look at the rhetoric,just yesterday I think it was
Trump made a statement.
It was over the weekend.
Trump made a statement.
It was over the weekend.
Trump made a statement that ifyou put a Kamala Harris and Tim
(17:37):
Walz sign in your yard, youcould get hurt.
Like that's not a oh yeah,we're both sides.
No, he actually said that.
Like the Republican candidatefor president said, if you have
a sign for my opponent in youryard, bad things could happen to
you, you could get hurt.
And so for anybody that comesback with oh, democrats and
(17:58):
political rhetoric are gettingpeople hurt and we have to tone
it down.
Bullshit.
That's the rhetoric and that'scoming exactly from the top.
You can't explain it away.
You know there were a lot ofother things.
You know Elon Musk saying well,why has anybody trying to kill
Kamala Harris?
And they say these things thenlike laugh them off.
But the problem is, when thosethings get said, the guy at the
(18:19):
end of the street with the Trumpsign up, who doesn't see any
Harris signs up?
Who thinks that they have thatreinforcement, that they are
right unequivocally and no one'schallenging them on it.
So they get bolder and bolderas they go, bolder and bolder as
they go as we start to getpost-election and all of these
conflicts are going to arise ofvarious legal and other kinds.
(18:40):
And I say that in a way where itsounds insane to even say it
out loud, as someone who has apolitical science degree, a law
degree and has spent his entirelife working in law, government
and politics, to say that thiscould easily become violent in
ways beyond January 6th.
It could and I think it might.
I hope I'm wrong, I pray I'mwrong, but it's almost hard to
(19:04):
see in some ways how it doesn't.
And that you have all of thesepeople that are just all in on
being told right up front thatif they lose, they were cheated,
it was rigged and they areright and everybody's out to get
them.
They're trying to steal theirelection, they're trying to take
away their freedom and all thethings that they love to say.
That is a call to action tothose people and the desperation
(19:28):
is so obvious from Trumpbecause the stakes for him are
so much higher than they werefour years ago that it really is
starting to feel like insteadof a call to action, it's
becoming a call to arms, andthey view it that way.
It doesn't take much to see howpeople view this stuff.
So, being a, I think that oneof the important things is, I
(19:50):
think that a lot of these, theseRepublicans from the top down
and locally, I think they'reusing this period and I'm not
saying it's even knowingly, butI think psychologically they're
trying to figure out theboundaries here right.
Like if none of their neighborsare standing up for the other
(20:10):
side, then nobody's standing upfor the other side and it's all
the deep state, it's all GeorgeSoros and all the insanity.
But if they see a neighbor,someone they know and see every
day, and they see they'resupporting another candidate,
maybe it gives them a little bitof pause.
Maybe, instead of being akeyboard warrior and promoting
all this hate and disinformationand misinformation and sowing a
(20:34):
lot of these problems that arekind of reaching a boiling point
by all these different littlepieces, if we could find a way
to kind of temper that and put aface on some of it, I think
there could actually be atangible benefit here.
So for that reason alone Ithink it's important.
I'd rather have an uncomfortablediscussion now than a much more
(20:55):
uncomfortable confrontationafter November 5th.
Do I think one will prevent theother?
Probably not, but I don't know.
Can't hurt to try.
Finally, and to me maybe thisis the easiest argument to make,
but it's a little more of the,as my kids would say, the big
brain argument.
But it's a little more of the,as my kids would say, the big
brain argument is this election,at the end of the day, is about
(21:16):
our rights Now everybody canperceive those a different way
and protecting our rights andprotecting the country that we
have or that we want to live in,and what that looks like going
forward.
And to me, the First Amendmentof the Constitution is a
fundamental right, and I thinkit's.
I know that that is so oftenmiscited, misunderstood by
(21:37):
people who just want it to bewhat they want it to be.
They think it gives them theright to say or do anything with
no consequences.
And that's not what the FirstAmendment says.
It says the government shallpass no law infringing on those
things.
Big difference, big difference.
But to me, if you look atthere's freedom of speech,
freedom of religion, and thenthere's that other one, which is
the freedom of expression,which is an offshoot of those
(22:00):
You're allowed to express, thethings that we value, then we
(22:23):
cannot be afraid to exercisethose freedoms and those values
in order to preserve them.
Let me put it another way thearchitects of our democracy, or
our democratic republic, gave usa set of rights and freedoms,
which was a precious gift thatwas, at the time, unique in the
world.
They gave us the right, and Iwould say the responsibility, to
speak up and defend the thingswe value, and I don't know, I
(22:44):
kind of think this is the kindof thing they had in mind when
they did it.
This has been the KeystoneReckoning podcast.
Thank you for listening.
We'll be back again soon.
No-transcript.
While it may be true that yard signs do not vote,
they do matter, especially inthis election, and especially in
ways we may not quiteunderstand yet.
Hi, welcome to the KeystoneReckoning Podcast.
It is Tuesday, october 8th 2024.
We are exactly five weeks awayfrom the 2024 election, so
things are starting to get realelection.
(00:23):
So things are starting to getreal and, as we start to look at
making a plan to vote, some ofus have already voted.
I actually got my ballotyesterday and of course, I would
encourage everyone who can tovote by mail for a lot of
different reasons that we'll getinto.
But the thing I want to talkabout today has to do with yard
signs and, as anybody that'sever worked on a campaign on the
(00:43):
staff and volunteer side knows,yard signs are a blessing and a
curse, but more like 90% curse,10% blessing, because they
disproportionately suck up thetime and energy of a campaign,
because people tend to thinkthey're the end all be all of an
election, and it can be reallyfrustrating to those of us that
are you know who spent weeks andmonths election, and it can be
(01:05):
really frustrating to those ofus that are you know who spent
weeks and months you know, insome cases maybe a year, working
towards election day, doing allof the groundwork, doing all
the hard work, and everybodyjust kind of rolls in two weeks
out and says, ok, give me a yardsign, I've done what I need to
do, and oh, I guess it's almostelection day.
It can get really, reallyfrustrating, and especially when
there's always that person or acouple of people on a campaign
(01:27):
that are just so yard signobsessed that you know, oh, my
goodness, so-and-so has a signfor our opponent in their yard
so we need to go put 15 up in aneighbor's yard.
The worst part is when thatperson is the candidate, and I
get it.
There's a psychologicalcomponent because you see your
(01:48):
opponent's name all over theplace and you don't see yours,
and that freaks you out.
So you tend to get verydefensive and you know you're
going out there yourself andputting signs up at two in the
morning instead of sleeping soyou could do the things you need
to do during the day.
I will be honest, I maybe havebeen a little guilty of that in
(02:12):
the past, but I can tell youfrom being on the management
side it is absolutely maddeningto watch a candidate go down
that road.
However, yard signs aren'tgoing anywhere.
It's just a mainstay ofAmerican politics.
Fine, they are what they areand the general thought is you
know, yard signs don't vote.
That's the axiom that getspassed through campaigns as a
way to kind of talk those peopleoff the ledge that are obsessed
with yard signs.
(02:32):
But there is definitely apsychological component to it
and to me it's always been.
Yard signs in public placesdon't matter.
Yard signs in people's yards domatter, because it's a tacit
endorsement of the candidatethat someone is willing to make.
Yes, I'll put a sign in my yardthat's saying I am letting the
(02:53):
world know and my neighbors know, the people that see me every
day that I am supporting you.
And as a former candidate andelected official, that's a
pretty cool feeling.
And as a former candidate andelected official, that's a
pretty cool feeling.
You know, you go, you knock onsomeone's door, you talk to them
.
They didn't know you or didn'tknow much about you when you
knocked and by the time you'redone, they're like yeah, I'll
take a sign.
That's a good feeling thattells you you're doing something
(03:16):
right as a candidate.
So that's all great.
No-transcript he's a good guy,she's a good, good woman.
Yeah Cool, all right, I'll votefor him.
You know, and that typicallytend to know.
(03:49):
So then, why do signs matterfor the presidential election?
I would put out there that, aswe've discussed and everybody's
talked about, this is a uniqueelection in American political
history.
I think history will come backand tell us later exactly how
unique it was, and God, I hopeit was unique because we can't
do this every four years I Iknow I can.
This is exhausting andmind-numbing.
(04:10):
So it's.
It's definitely unlike anyelection we've ever seen in
modern american politicalhistory, and one of the big
things to me is I'm looking nowalmost past the election.
Let's say I'm looking past it,but in terms of what is a win,
right?
How do we make sure that KamalaHarris actually takes the oath
(04:31):
of office on January 20th 2025?
Winning of the election is onething, but getting there and
doing everything the right wayto get what we need is something
entirely different.
So one of the big components ofthat is voter intimidation, and
we're going to talk more aboutthis in the coming weeks,
(04:52):
because I really do believe inlooking at all of this, we are
heading for a situation wherethe Republicans are not going to
concede even if they lose.
There is ample evidence of it.
It's everywhere.
Concede even if they lose.
There is ample evidence of it.
It's everywhere.
And, most importantly to me andmost alarmingly to me, it's
coming from states and electedofficials, where they actually
(05:14):
have the power to mess things upand make things very difficult
Again discussion for another day.
But it's really becoming to mekind of the filter that I'm
looking at this election throughas we head into the home
stretch.
So the thing about that is isthat this is why yard signs
matter, because a lot of theright wingers, I believe, are
(05:37):
emboldened by the fact that theythink everybody agrees with
them because nobody challengesthem.
And I mean it's exhausting tochallenge a Trumper because you
know it's like spitting into thewind.
There's just, for most of thesepeople, there's just nothing
that can be said to get them offof the insanity.
(05:57):
They believe it's a cult.
I'm sorry, it's a cult.
You people are in an effingcult, plain and simple.
You might not see it, but youknow how many people that are in
a cult know they're in a cult?
None, that's why it's a cult.
There's a difference between aclub and a cult.
You're in a cult Anyhow.
So we are inclined to not engagewith them in a lot of ways
(06:17):
because it's exhausting, becausewe don't want the pushback.
There's also that mentality ofOK, they're going to do what
they're going to do.
Instead of worrying about them,we need to focus on what we
need to do, and that's go outand knock on doors and do the
things we need to do to winelections.
Nobody's ever won an electionon Facebook.
I say that all the time andthat's all true.
All of that is true.
(06:39):
But there's also another pieceof this, which is if someone on
your street has Trump signs upand there are no Harris signs
and there is nobody out therepushing back, it furthers their
belief that they are right andeverybody agrees at them.
(07:02):
And the reason I bring all thisup, the impetus behind this
entire podcast, is that this wasa discussion that was had in my
house, in my family.
We live in a townhousedevelopment we rent, we don't
own, and we are subject to HOArules, and one of the HOA rules
that they've made very clear isthat you cannot have campaign
(07:23):
signs out until 21 days beforethe election and you're allowed
to have one sign.
As someone who's familiar withthe law.
I don't believe any of that.
I've had numerous instanceswhere it's been litigated and
you can see that the FirstAmendment right to
self-expression is fairly clearand where this has been
(07:44):
litigated it generally says thatyou can put up signs when you
want at your discretion, withthe only exception to me that
makes any sense being a signthat would be so big, for
example, as to block traffic orcreate a safety hazard.
But if I want to put a thousandTrump signs in my yard and it's
not bothering anybody and I ownmy property, I have a really
(08:06):
hard time arguing with that.
From a First Amendment point ofview, ok.
But in this HOA, which isnotorious apparently for a lot
of reasons, at different partsof the development you're not
allowed to have window clings insome places and all sorts of
craziness.
So we have these rules aboutpolitical signs from our HOA.
(08:27):
They are what they are.
The question inside our housebecame do we put up a Harris
Wall sign in our yard?
Our yard is right by thecommunity mailboxes for our
street.
It's not a cul-de-sac but it'skind of a turnaround and we've
had good relationships with ourneighbors over the years, never
had any problems.
(08:47):
It's a nice little area andwe've been there for five years.
We really enjoy everythingabout it and it prompted this
discussion about whether or notwe should put up a sign and
whether and why or why not.
I respect the fact that mypolitics can be not for
everybody.
In terms of how I feel aboutthings and my lived experiences,
(09:10):
I go out of my way.
As someone who has beenpolitical my entire life and
have worked in politics invarious capacities, I go out of
my way to not take my politicsto anybody for the most part.
I know that may seem counter towhat a lot of people might
expect, but to me anybody thatknows me knows how I feel and
(09:32):
what I'm about and where myexpertise and things lies and if
they want to talk to me aboutit I'm more than happy to have
that discussion.
Whether they agree with me ornot, I'm one of those people.
I can disagree without beingdisagreeable.
Yeah, I'm going to try topersuade you, but I know what my
limits are and I know how thepsychology of how this works and
I'm not going to get into ascreaming match over something
(09:53):
that's pointless.
So I tend to not put mypolitics out there kind of
aggressively in people's faceand especially being mindful of
having moved to a new communityon 200, some miles from where we
used to live five years ago.
It's not the same thing.
I've enjoyed to some extent,this anonymity, especially
(10:13):
politically, and you know, beingjust kind of suburban dad at
home and then doing my politicswhere I do my politics.
There's also the concern thatyou know my wife voice, and
she's not wrong, by the way.
I want to make it clear I'm nothaving a spousal argument on a
podcast.
My wife's politics very closelyfollow mine in terms of issues
(10:35):
and passion, and which is one ofthe things I love about her and
we had this discussion, though,about what happens if we put
that sign up in our yard, and wetalked about a little bit and
we put a pin in it, and Iactually intend to revisit it
shortly with her and I.
We have a few days becausebefore our 21 day sign period
(10:58):
starts, so I wanted to reallythink it through, and in
thinking it through, I thought,well, this might be a discussion
other people are having yada,yada, yada if you're on a
podcast.
So here are my thoughts andthis is the argument that I plan
to make as to why it isimportant in this election,
especially, to put up a yardsign if you have the ability to
do so.
First of all, it is superimportant to me to do so.
(11:23):
First of all, it is superimportant to me, as I alluded to
earlier, to let people knowthat there are other people in
your community, on your street,that have political beliefs that
probably align with yours.
This is a huge problem in areaswhere it is perceived to be a
very Republican area, and youwould be out knocking on doors
(11:45):
and obviously you have voterdata in front of you and you're
knocking on doors and someonewould say, oh yes, I support you
, I'm a Democrat, which we wouldknow from looking at their,
looking at their voterinformation, looking at their
voter information, and they'dsay I'm a Democrat, but I don't
put a sign up or I don't doanything because I know I'm the
only Democrat in thisneighborhood, I'm the only one
(12:07):
on my street, and I would say,well, actually, no, that's not
true.
I'm looking at this informationright now and there are, of
these 15 houses, there are sevenother Democrats and the voter
and I wouldn't necessarily saywho they are, but the voter
would be like what?
No, that can't be accurate.
I'm like no, I just talked tothree of your neighbors and and
(12:27):
they, you know they all tend tothink the same thing, because
there's this kind of isolationthat goes on where you think
you're the only one, so you keepthat to yourself and you don't
reach out and make thoseconnections.
It's why it's hard in a lot ofplaces that are emerging from
like red to blue, like here inCumberland County where I live,
it's hard to really build apolitical infrastructure through
(12:50):
local committees, countyparties, things like that,
because everybody gets in theirmind this conventional wisdom
that they live in a red area andspeaking out is kind of
pointless and it's just not true.
And the only way to reallybuild an organization and build
momentum at the ground level isfor people to step out and say
(13:13):
no, I'm a Democrat, this is whatI believe, these are the people
I support, and then that helpsbring other people out of their
shell and it starts to makethose connections.
So for that reason those thingsare important, especially in
more local elections, because itallows people to again inform
about candidates and have thosekind of conversations.
This presidential election isobviously different, but to me
(13:34):
it is important to let peopleknow that, yes, I do support
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz andother Democrats on the ballot,
because that then allows forthose conversations to take
place.
It lets people, I think, knowwhat our values are.
Frankly, we saw this a lotduring COVID and I see it a lot
more now in terms of the way Ilook at the world, which is, if
(13:56):
you're an anti-vaxxer, that kindof forever changes the way I
look at you.
If you are a hardcore trumpsupporter and this is a hard
thing to say because it getspersonal right but if you are a
hardcore trump supporter, afterall of this, it changes the way
I look at you and I'm sorry, butI don't know if I'll ever be
(14:17):
able to unsee it, because wehave reached such an extreme
point in our politics that ifyou can look at all this and if
you have kids, if you havedaughters, and be okay with it,
be okay with this being the kindof world that you want your
kids to grow up in, or grandkidsor anybody, that means you're
(14:40):
maybe not the person I thoughtyou were, where you've become
somebody I didn't think you wereand that's tough.
That's a really tough place tobe and it took me a long time to
get there and I'm still not100% there, but it's getting
harder and harder to think anyother way, and I'm sure they
probably think that about me.
(15:00):
But, sorry, I've got facts onmy side.
I'm not in a cult and this isnot a whataboutism.
Both sides are equal, it's justa difference of perspective.
No, this isn't that.
This is something totallydifferent.
So to me, putting that sign outis a value statement.
This is who I am, this is whatI believe Good, bad, ugly and I
(15:22):
don't mind letting people knowthat I'm not ashamed of what I
believe, because one thing theTrumpers are not.
They are not ashamed, right,they are shameless.
So to me, that is an importantvalue statement, just like when
someone puts a Trump sign up andthis happened.
There was somebody in ourneighborhood that we didn't know
all that well.
They put a Trump sign up early.
They were forced to take itdown by the HOA, but I couldn't
(15:44):
unsee it.
And when I walk the dog and Iwalk past their house and that
person is out there with theirdog, I don't want to engage with
them because it tells mesomething about them and maybe
that's close-minded on my part.
I don't know, but I have to behonest with myself, right?
So the other part of that is isto me, if the inverse, I guess,
(16:10):
being true, if you see a signin my yard saying I support a
candidate and you were going touse that as a way to judge me or
to say something to me, and Ithink that's the fear, right,
that you just want to get outand go to your car and take the
kids to their sports and walkthe dog.
You don't want anybody to eversay something to you about.
You know, challenge youpolitically.
(16:31):
If you're like to me, I don'tmind, but I get why you know my
wife wouldn't want that.
I get why people wouldn't wantthat.
Because, again, the Trumpersare aggressive and this kind of
goes back to the big, the biggerpicture.
They're very aggressive and youjust don't want that.
So I get it.
And to me, if you're going tobe that kind of a person, I kind
(16:54):
of want to know that in advance, because then that way I know
to steer clear of you from thebeginning.
And again, it is what it is.
So it's a value statement bothways.
It's a way of not being afraidto let people know how you feel,
because this gets to now thebig picture.
(17:17):
I talked about voterintimidation.
This election is not going tobe over on November 5th.
This election is, quite frankly, just going to be getting
started on November 5th.
And if you look at the rhetoric,just yesterday I think it was
Trump made a statement.
It was over the weekend.
Trump made a statement.
It was over the weekend.
Trump made a statement that ifyou put a Kamala Harris and Tim
(17:37):
Walz sign in your yard, youcould get hurt.
Like that's not a oh yeah,we're both sides.
No, he actually said that.
Like the Republican candidatefor president said, if you have
a sign for my opponent in youryard, bad things could happen to
you, you could get hurt.
And so for anybody that comesback with oh, democrats and
(17:58):
political rhetoric are gettingpeople hurt and we have to tone
it down.
Bullshit.
That's the rhetoric and that'scoming exactly from the top.
You can't explain it away.
You know there were a lot ofother things.
You know Elon Musk saying well,why has anybody trying to kill
Kamala Harris?
And they say these things thenlike laugh them off.
But the problem is, when thosethings get said, the guy at the
(18:19):
end of the street with the Trumpsign up, who doesn't see any
Harris signs up?
Who thinks that they have thatreinforcement, that they are
right unequivocally and no one'schallenging them on it.
So they get bolder and bolderas they go, bolder and bolder as
they go as we start to getpost-election and all of these
conflicts are going to arise ofvarious legal and other kinds.
(18:40):
And I say that in a way where itsounds insane to even say it
out loud, as someone who has apolitical science degree, a law
degree and has spent his entirelife working in law, government
and politics, to say that thiscould easily become violent in
ways beyond January 6th.
It could and I think it might.
I hope I'm wrong, I pray I'mwrong, but it's almost hard to
(19:04):
see in some ways how it doesn't.
And that you have all of thesepeople that are just all in on
being told right up front thatif they lose, they were cheated,
it was rigged and they areright and everybody's out to get
them.
They're trying to steal theirelection, they're trying to take
away their freedom and all thethings that they love to say.
That is a call to action tothose people and the desperation
(19:28):
is so obvious from Trumpbecause the stakes for him are
so much higher than they werefour years ago that it really is
starting to feel like insteadof a call to action, it's
becoming a call to arms, andthey view it that way.
It doesn't take much to see howpeople view this stuff.
So, being a, I think that oneof the important things is, I
(19:50):
think that a lot of these, theseRepublicans from the top down
and locally, I think they'reusing this period and I'm not
saying it's even knowingly, butI think psychologically they're
trying to figure out theboundaries here right.
Like if none of their neighborsare standing up for the other
(20:10):
side, then nobody's standing upfor the other side and it's all
the deep state, it's all GeorgeSoros and all the insanity.
But if they see a neighbor,someone they know and see every
day, and they see they'resupporting another candidate,
maybe it gives them a little bitof pause.
Maybe, instead of being akeyboard warrior and promoting
all this hate and disinformationand misinformation and sowing a
(20:34):
lot of these problems that arekind of reaching a boiling point
by all these different littlepieces, if we could find a way
to kind of temper that and put aface on some of it, I think
there could actually be atangible benefit here.
So for that reason alone Ithink it's important.
I'd rather have an uncomfortablediscussion now than a much more
(20:55):
uncomfortable confrontationafter November 5th.
Do I think one will prevent theother?
Probably not, but I don't know.
Can't hurt to try.
Finally, and to me maybe thisis the easiest argument to make,
but it's a little more of the,as my kids would say, the big
brain argument.
But it's a little more of the,as my kids would say, the big
brain argument is this election,at the end of the day, is about
(21:16):
our rights Now everybody canperceive those a different way
and protecting our rights andprotecting the country that we
have or that we want to live in,and what that looks like going
forward.
And to me, the First Amendmentof the Constitution is a
fundamental right, and I thinkit's.
I know that that is so oftenmiscited, misunderstood by
(21:37):
people who just want it to bewhat they want it to be.
They think it gives them theright to say or do anything with
no consequences.
And that's not what the FirstAmendment says.
It says the government shallpass no law infringing on those
things.
Big difference, big difference.
But to me, if you look atthere's freedom of speech,
freedom of religion, and thenthere's that other one, which is
the freedom of expression,which is an offshoot of those
(22:00):
You're allowed to express, thethings that we value, then we
(22:23):
cannot be afraid to exercisethose freedoms and those values
in order to preserve them.
Let me put it another way thearchitects of our democracy, or
our democratic republic, gave usa set of rights and freedoms,
which was a precious gift thatwas, at the time, unique in the
world.
They gave us the right, and Iwould say the responsibility, to
speak up and defend the thingswe value, and I don't know, I
(22:44):
kind of think this is the kindof thing they had in mind when
they did it.
This has been the KeystoneReckoning podcast.
Thank you for listening.
We'll be back again soon.
No-transcript.
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