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Oct 31, 2018 By Erika Spring Au Revoir Simone

In the 2014 midterm elections just 37% of eligible voters turned out, making it the lowest midterm turnout in 70 years. After months of campaigning, the 2018 midterms are finally next Tuesday (November 6). For those who stand against President Trump, this is a crucial election (equally so for those who stand with him). It could be the most important midterm elections in a generation or more. To help motivate our American readers to get out to the voting booth next week, we’ve asked some musicians to share words of encouragement. In this piece, Erika Spring of Au Revoir Simone (and Nice As Fuck, with Jenny Lewis) writes about Bronx congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Spring released a new solo EP, Scars, earlier this month via Cascine.

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Last winter I was home with my one-year-old son during one of those blizzards where people on the radio tell everyone to stay indoors if at all possible. We got a knock at our apartment door, which is always a bit weird, but was especially considering the weather. I looked through the peephole and called out and it was a man knocking on doors canvassing. I canvassed for Bernie Sanders in 2016 when I was pregnant and I know how strange it can feel and how meaningful it is to be greeted by a friendly face so I answered and we talked for a bit. He told me about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was running for the House seat in my district. She was running on the platform of a peace economy, medicare for all, gun control, a green new deal, mobilizing against climate change, abolishing ICE, among other things and she took a public pledge to refuse any corporate PAC money. Wow, I was hooked.

Fast forward to the primary, she won! And now pretty much everyone knows who she is:-) She has created a blueprint for being a successful politician whose opinions and beliefs cannot be bought. She speaks with clarity and confidence because she’s being led by her values and is raising her voice on behalf of a movement.

She has spoken about “not operating in other people’s frames.” To me this is radical in the best way. Whatever is going on in America is obviously not working, so envisioning a new way forward is an absolute necessity.

Ocasio-Cortez had this to say in her appearance on The Daily Show: “A lot of what we need to do is reprioritize what we want to accomplish as a nation. Really what this is about is saying healthcare is important enough for us to put first. Education is important enough for us to put first. And that is a decision that requires political and moral courage, from both parts of the aisle.” YES! More of this please!

I’ll be volunteering in my neighborhood on November 6th to help encourage people to vote. A list of other Justice Democrat candidates is here: www.justicedemocrats.com/candidates.

Find your polling place here.

www.ocasio2018.com

www.facebook.com/erikaspringmusic/

www.twitter.com/erika_spring

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