Yesterday I rode out with three other kossacks to do GOTV in Tracy California on behalf of
Jerry McNerney.
This was significant to me not simply because I had a chance to help Martha Gamez, great grandmother and organizer extraordinaire, in her quest to defeat Congressman Richard Pombo. This trip was also significant to me because two of my canvassing companions, DemandCaring and highacidity, had never canvassed before.
Both of these two kossacks had responded to an open invitation made here on dailyKos the day before. All together, four of us kossacks covered one large, cul-de-sac-laden precinct in Tracy, CA. We were among about 50 other volunteers helping Martha in Tracy yesterday.
We were also a part of something much bigger than ourselves...
I want to make a point that every last Democrat should take to heart regarding this election:
We Democrats are locked in a battle for governance of the United States.
That battle is for control of Congress, of the Judiciary, of all fifty State Houses and the Governor's desks of this land. The 2006 mid-term elections are just one part of that battle. We are locked in a two-year struggle over which party will emerge as the majority party in the United States.
The outcome of this election alone, however, will not determine the victor of this battle. That would be misunderstanding this moment. In fact, given the hand-wringing and poll-wrangling we've seen online the last few days, it's critically important to understand the true location and significance of this battle for governance.
The focus of this battle for governance is not the halls of Congress or the desk in the Oval Office. It's not the conference room of the Supreme Court or the chambers of the various State Capitals. It's easy to get distracted and think that's true. But it isn't.
We Democrats are fighting for the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens. No more and no less. That's the real terrain of this battle field. And that's what we do when we GOTV. That's the point.
Let me tell a story in that regard.
::
Pamela and Bill
At the tail end of our precinct walk, as the sun was setting over the Central Valley and Tracy began to light up with a fog-laden glow that is pretty much only found between the California Coastal Hills and the Sierra Nevada...Pamela and I rang one last door bell.
A child answered the door. Behind him, a labrador with a sock in its mouth stuck its head out. Pamela looked at me and said, "Any house with a dog with a sock in its mouth can't be all bad."
The home was listed as undecided. The kid called out for his dad. The man who emerged...a caucasian working-man named "Bill"...took one look at our Jerry McNerney buttons and gave us a look mixed between dismissal and regret.
"You're at the wrong house," Bill said, "I've made up my mind for the other guy."
Pamela paused. "Okay" she said, "Do you mind if I ask you why?"
"Well" Bill said. "There's some things about your guy I don't like. Taxes. For one."
Pamela paused again. "What have you heard? There's alot of misinformation out there."
Bill paused and smiled. "I'm a small businessman. Here in California our wages are more because our houses cost more. A couple like us can make $80,000 a year, and they tax us like we're rich. But we're not."
Pamela wasted no time. "Democrats aren't talking about raising taxes on middle class people. $80,000 is middle class. We're talking about people making over $200,000 a year paying their fair share."
Bill smiled. He hadn't heard that number before. "You have a point," he said.
Pamela then moved in for the kill. "Bill, you say you want to vote for Richard Pombo. If you're happy with the job he's done here in Tracy, {Pamela paused here...to let that sink in.}...then you should do just that. But I can tell you that Jerry McNerney is a good man who is worth your vote. What you've heard about him is probably not true."
Bill smiled again. He LIKED that someone was challenging him. He LIKED having a bit of a political debate. He respected us.
"Well, I'm an independent-minded voter," Bill said "I'm open-minded. I don't think we should just keep burning and buying oil without another plan. That's why you see that car in the driveway."
Behind him was a four-door Honda sedan. Not a small car by any means, but hardly the SUV that more typically occupied the driveway of his Tracy neighbors.
"Bill" Pamela said, "Every generation there's a new technology. For awhile it was cars, then it was computers. Now it's clean energy. Jerry is about investing in clean energy and building jobs in that industry right here in the Central Valley."
"I can see that," Bill said. "It's not worth going to war in Iraq for oil."
Bill went from a Karl Rove talking point to anti-war rhetoric in five minutes. Think about that, friends. Both sides were present in Bill. We just helped bring out one side over the other. Hope over hate, if you will.
We talked with Bill some more. And at the end of the conversation Bill said he would give Jerry a look. We gave him the url of Jerry's website and said goodbye.
When Pamela and highacidity and DemandCaring and I got back to Martha's, Jerry McNerney himself was in the driveway. I pulled out the voter sheet for Bill and handed it to Jerry. "Jerry, if you call Bill, I guarantee you he will vote for you and not Dick Pombo."
Jerry smiled. "I'll do that," he said.
I introduced Jerry to highacidity and DemandCaring. I told him they were netroots activists from dailykos.
"You know what." Jerry said, "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for our netroots strategy. We knew early on that we needed the netroots and we are grateful for you energy and support."
That, of course, made everybody happy. But you know my point. Bill, and people like him, are ground zero of the battle ground for governance. Our job over the next two years is to get the message to folks like Bill and to get them to switch sides. All we Democrats want is a chance to compete honestly for every last vote in the United States. All we want is an honest shot to change minds.
Yesterday two kossacks learned how to precinct walk. It's not the last time they will do so. Yesterday a guy named Bill took a pause on his intended path of voting for corrupt businessman Richard Pombo and gave some thought to our side of the debate. That pause was long enough for him to listen. That pause was long enough for Pamela and I to listen to him.
That's the battle for governance. Right there.
And friends, if it's worth doing, it's worth fighting that fight in all 50 states...period, end of sentence. If the polls tells us we might not win a particular race...so what? Our battle is for hearts and minds. Our battle is for the long haul. Yes, we will pick our battles and be strategic. I've always said that. But let's keep our focus on the core.
Our battle involves BOTH people like Martha Gamez and newly minted GOTV activists like highacidity and DemandCaring. Critically, it also involves standing on the doorstep and engaging folks like Bill.
There are so many lessons learned in this election cycle. Our job is to apply them going forward. Our job is to reach out with our core message to every last American citizen.
The folks who vote for the other side "aren't all bad". Not in the least. Our job is to communicate with them. To reach out to them. To enlist them in our effort to win back Congress, the Presidency, State Houses and the Judiciary. Our job is help bring them to vote Democrat.
I'll never forget what Pamela said yesterday. It's something that expresses the core of citizen-to-citizen activism and participatory democracy in its own goofy way: "Any house with a dog with a sock in its mouth can't be all bad."
We're all Americans. All we Democrats want is a fair shake to get our message out. We are willing to listen and hope to be heard in return. Yesterday in Tracy California we took some small steps in that direction. On Tuesday we will collectively take some larger ones.
The point is that democracy isn't easy. It's not for the faint of heart. It's not for those who would give up and turn tail at the first sign of difficulty.
I admire Martha. I admire Pamela. I admire highacidity who overcame her shyness to door knock and DemandCaring who took action on the spur of the moment. I'm proud to be a part of this battle alongside all of you. If it's worth doing, it's worth fighting for. But victory in the battle for hearts and minds will not come for the faint of heart or those who throw our allies from the train when things get tough.
You could say that democracy is about politicians. You could say it's expressed in votes and laws. You could say it's about power and what goes on behind the scenes. But you'd be wrong.
Democracy is what happened between Pamela and Bill yesterday on a cul-de-sac in Tracy, California. That's something to think about.
That's something to spur you on...