The Happy Cannadate: Dress Rehearsal For November Elections

By Stu Zakim

As the Happy Munkey celebrates its third anniversary, all Munkey fans face a very important election this November. And, one of the bigger issues that impact a lot of our Munkey family is voter suppression.

I’d like to take you back to April’s disaster of a special election in Wisconsin, which is the subject of a new documentary short that I’m helping publicize, DRESS REHEARSAL.

DRESS REHEARSAL tells the messy, inspiring story of Wisconsin’s “ridiculous” pandemic primary. When the coronavirus shut down Wisconsin 26 days before a crucial state supreme court race that both parties saw as a proxy for the November’s Presidential Election, organizers on the ground had their best-laid canvassing plans turned upside down. Meanwhile, Republicans seized the opportunity to suppress the vote by weaponizing the pandemic. Embracing a wholesale pivot to online relational organizing, an inclusive group of progressive organizers across the state deepened relationships with voters that withstood rapidly changing information. By mounting a record-breaking mail-in voting effort, they overcame voter suppression tactics that went all the way to the Supreme Court and pulled off a stunning, emotional upset victory. For Democrats facing down similar conditions in battleground states across the country, this film captures a profoundly inspiring DRESS REHEARSAL for November, replete with the inside story of how to win it all.

Trump’s continued attacks on the USPS and mail in voting is the kind of new voter suppression that makes “Dress Rehearsal” more relevant than ever. For me, helping getting exposure for this important issue is my way of contributing to the Biden campaign; a major feature in “The Daily Beast” website and a long segment on “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams,” on MSNBC generating a lot of awareness for the GOP’s efforts to suppress voters, especially Black and Brown, and below are links to the trailer and if that gets you, I’m also including a link to the doc as well.

And if you do watch, please share it out with your friends on your own social media platforms. And, do not forget to register to vote!