On Saturday I woke up at 6 am to head from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan to canvass for Senator Barack Obama. When my alarm went off, I felt like complete crap. I could tell I was beginning to come down with something and desperately wanted to stay home. As I looked in the bathroom mirror I said to myself "Country First" and got ready. I've got some photos and stories for you under the fold.
This is the second time I have canvassed for Obama in Michigan. The first time back in late August I went with a group of maybe 15 people to Benton Harbor to register lower income voters. Here's what our motley crew looked that on that excursion:
As I walked to up the parking lot in Belmont yesterday at 7 am that was designated as our meeting place, I was expected a similar sight: two or three coordinators and maybe 15 or 20 volunteers. Instead, there was at least quadruple that number. I'm bad at estimating crowd sizes, but there had to be at least 80 volunteers. Probably more than one hundred because when I got there people were driving off and new people were showing up at a steady clip. I had only been there for maybe ten minutes before I was on the road.
Here's a view of the crowd. They were fairly dispersed, so this is only about 30% of them I'd say:
My team for this trip was myself, my girfriend, and two older women who were friends all the way back from college and rock-solid Democrats. One had been an Obama supporter for the start but the other was a former Clintonite, so it was good to see that some of HRC's supporters were hitting the pavement.
Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and did not take any pictures of our canvassing companions. Here, however, is a picture of the transport:
There was a disproportionate number of hybrids in the parking lot. Surprise, surprise, liberals care about the environment.
Three hours and a stop for lunch later, we were in Grand Rapids Michigan. The Obama office for Grand Rapids was one of the most active and well staffed offices I've been to thus far in this campaign:
While we were sitting around waiting to get our packets, the place was just overflowing. There were at least 8 volunteers staffing the place and people kept streaming in and out to pick up yard signs and stickers or drop off completed phone banking sheets. For a three block radius around the HQ, practically every house had an Obama yard side or flag or banner. This isn't just a campaign, it's a movement.
Unfortunately, I was not assigned to do voter registration which I love doing, but rather voter identification: identifying core Obama and McCain supporters and identifying undecideds, so the campaign would know who to call in the future to convince and/or get out the vote. Here's me about to set off with my packet of names and houses:
My route was 50 houses. It doesn't sound like a lot, but this was scattered throughout maybe 4 square blocks, so this took 2 and a half hours to do. Out of 50 doors knocked, I met 8 voters. Of those, one was undecided, two were for mccain, and the rest were for Obama. Huzzah!
Despite not being out there to register voters, on one street there was 3 young black guys in their early twenties playing basketball on their front lawn. The minute they saw me they walked up to me and asked to be registered. The youth vote will not let you down this election, I promise.
On the way back to the Office to drop off our canvass tallies, we bumped into another group of fellow Chigagoans in a 7-11. Unlike us, they had been assigned to a lower income area to register voters. In 2 hours they had registered over 30 voters.
Think about it. My team of four made in total 50 voter contacts, so in one neighborhood the campaign knows where 50 people stand. The team of 5 we bumped into registered 30+ voters. Over 50 people from Chicago went to Grand Rapids alone. Who knows how many people from Chicago went to Michigan yesterday.
This story has a little epilogue too. Yesterday I got an e-mail from the Obama campaign. The Fighting Fifth Obama Field Team contacted all of the volunteers who went out Saturday to tell them exactly how big an impact they made:
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
The trip to Michigan on September 20th produced...Amazing Results!!!
Because of you.... as a group...
You knocked on 2258 doors.
You talked to 865 Michigan citizens.
You registered 90 new voters.
You identified 451 Barack Obama supporters.
This was all possible because of your dedication, excitement,
commitment, fantastic energy and support of the Obama/Biden
Presidential ticket.
The Obama for America District 5 Team say THANKS!!!!
A few Chicogoans from a single IL district knocked on 2200 doors in towns two states away. This is being replicated all over the country on an unfathomable scale.
"The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice." We are going to take this country back. We are going to win.