At work, in your professional or avocational circles, on your block there's probably more than a few Republicans or Republican-leaning independents.
People like you who are disgusted with the Iraq War, the denials of this Administration about global warming, the trend toward the appointment of judges who will tear down the wall of church-state separation.
I have something to tell you about these people. The Republican persuasion machine knows who they are. The rest of this week and most certainly this weekend, GOP registrants and "undecided" Independents are going to get barrages of recorded phone calls, emails, and perhaps even in-person visits from eager, well-dressed and reasonably articulate Republican field workers.
Their task: to bring the waverers home.
And you know what they are going to say. I hear your concerns, but a vote for (Dem candidate X) is a vote for higher taxes. Did you know that he/she voted for higher taxes 74 times when they were a state legislator/Congress member, county commissioner, etc.)
OK, that's the Republican get-out-the-vote machine's task.
Your task is to stop these persuaders from getting in to the heads of people you know.
If you are friendly with any self-described Republican or Independent, engage them at a convenient moment and stick to the talking points you know would work best with these people.
I fully realize these folks are probably not subject to persuasion from the furnace of your deepest political passions.
You may want to try something more benign, such as "don't you think the branches of the Federal Government should have checks and balances against each other?
But it's not my place to tell you how or what to say to your Republican or Independent-registered people you know, and feel comfortable having this type of conversations with.
It is, however, my place to tell you to have these conversations.
And don't underestimate your powers of persuasion. The friends and colleagues you deign to speak with don't know the party volunteer over their phone wire, or the earnest GOP volunteer at your door.
But they do know you. They've shaken your hand, borrowed your yard tools or kitchen implements, shared coffee, perhaps stronger drink. Their cars are next to yours in the employee parking lot. Their kids may know your kids. You may have run into them in the mall recently.
So what I am saying here is take a moment of their time and convince them not to go back to the GOP out of force of habit.
How you say it, and to whom you say it, is up to you.