Greetings from the millions of the forgotten ones!

[DFW]

The Democrats Abroad, Düsseldorf chapter, had a little meetup at the Unterbacher See south of Düsseldorf on September 8th.

Most politicians tend to forget we exist (after all, there are "only" NINE MILLION Americans Abroad). They remember our addresses at election time when they want money, but otherwise, we vanish into the haze until next campaign season.

Full disclosure--not everyone in the pic is a Democrat Abroad. My wife is there with us, and as a German Citizen, she can't vote in U.S. elections.

[brush]

1. Go, Dems. We're all over. No way we can let trump win again.

[DFW]

4. No way. Our words as well!

We are out in every town that will let us set up, registering any American citizen living anywhere near us. It's amazing (and disheartening) to find so many unregistered Democrats living abroad, but one by one, the Democrats Abroad are setting up on sidewalks around the world, trying to register every last one, giving them cards with numbers to call if they have any difficulties, either registering or obtaining their absentee ballots. One of those women even went on German TV recently, giving an interview in fluent German, explaining the why, how, and what we are up to.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Sounds like you had a very productive meetup!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219468753

[Kid Berwyn]

3. They ALL are nice people.

Friends of DFW are Friends of DU.

Another example, Ms. Helen Thomas:



What made Helen the ‘Dean of the White House Press Corps’ was not just the length of her tenure, but her fierce belief that our democracy works best when we ask tough questions and hold our leaders to account.

https://npg.si.edu/blog/helen-thomas-1920-2013

[DFW]

5. Helen has been gone for over ten years now

I still can't believe it. My "fantastic four" eighty-something--and then ninety-something--friends are all now history. One was even a Republican (Ruth Westheimer), but the other three (Helen, Theo Bikel and Stan Lee) were all solid Democrats.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Thanks for keeping us aware of just how many Democrats Abroad there are, my dear DFW!

It must feel like a small taste of home.

Love the photo! You both look great as always!

[DFW]

10. Thanks, Peggy!

Obviously, not all Americans Abroad are Democrats, but since to move abroad in the first place, it involves getting out of your skin and living in another culture, most of us ARE Democrats. We're open-minded, and we dare. Of 9 million Americans abroad, probably 5 million or more are of voting age, and of them, I figure maybe three million must be Democrats. And we are not just any Democrats. We are mostly people who are educated, aware, involved, and LIBERAL--in that we are open to other cultures, languages, ways of living, even some which cause us to live in adversity.

I keep telling those Senators and Congressmen who keep calling for money--look, you guys, with your reluctance to right the injustice of double taxation, and willingness to ignore the overflowing wealth of talent and information at your disposal, how can you act as if we just weren't there in years when there is no election? Do you want to continue to sound like fools, telling Americans that things are "free" in certain countries where they are not? Are you willing to have people that the USA wants as allies remain exotic and distant? Will the USA continue to ignore the chance to make use of the wealth of its citizens who are America's eyes and ears on the ground in countries who might have something to teach us, even if they are worse off than we are? At three million strong, and mostly in jobs that make us potential donors, are our politicians going to brush off the billion or more dollars in potential contributions just because we don't make enough noise?

The ignorance is deafening. When Ohio's Sherrod Brown called me, I asked him if he even knew how many Americans Abroad there were. He guessed 250,000 to 300,000. Off by a FACTOR OF THIRTY!!!! No wonder we're on no one's radar. I keep pounding it into the ears of the few Senators and Congresspeople I know. I get feedback explaining how many other dire issues they have to deal with, and they are immense, huge. I understand why we are no top priority.

And nonetheless, we give them what money we can, and we go out and register Americans Abroad to vote, campaign for our Democrats in the USA, and do what we can to elect people we believe in--people that we KNOW will ignore us until the next time they need money. We keep hoping they'll listen someday.

[et tu]

15. ditto

lookslike a very friendly bunch!

love all the smiles~

[niyad]

7. Thank you for this wonderful reminder. An thank you for the great photo!

I am a bit surprised that the brilliant Harris-Walz comms and media people are not doing outreach.

[DFW]

11. We are totally invisible.

Many, if not most, vote in their "home" states. After all, I vote in Texas. But, for example, when Colin Allred calls me, he calls on my US number, although I have told him repeatedly to call my EU number if he wants to get me on the phone. Too many Americans think the world ends at the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, or the borders of Canada and Mexico.Harris and Walz are professional politicians, not geo-political strategists. I don't blame them. I think only Pete Buttigieg would have figured all this out on his own.

[rubbersole]

8. How wonderful.

Please don't let JD find out you're registering Dems abroad. His constituents will call and tell him you're eating unicorns.

[DFW]

12. His constituents wouldn't even know how to call a German telephone number without help.

Those that even know where Germany is, for that matter.

I'm not overly concerned.

[fierywoman]

9. Bravo to you for doing this work!

[DFW]

13. I'm just a tiny, tiny part.

It's the women who go about it full throttle. I still have my day job, I'm afraid.

[NBachers]

14. Spotted your wife as soon as I saw the group. She stands out in any crowd.

[DFW]

17. Yes, she does tend to do that.

And she's the only one who doesn't know it. I still can't figure it out, but that she has stuck with me for fifty years is something I can't figure out, either, so I'm probably too dense for my own good. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.......

[NBachers]

19. If I see her, I always know that I'll find you somewhere nearby.

[DFW]

20. That sounds ominous.

I had better invest in some serious disguises!

[Old Crank]

16. We are with the Munich

Dems Abroad.

[DFW]

18. Our southern cousins! n/t

[GoneOffShore]

21. We are members of Democrats Abroad, Marseille chapter.

[DFW]

22. Yes, we are in lots of places. The only Democrats that DON'T know that

Those are the ones at 430 S. Capitol Street in Washington.

“Give us your money, not your location.”