I know, I wasn't going to post a diary until November 3, but I'd forgotten something I'd done to great effect in previous campaigns: FEED THE WORKERS! Napoleon said it best, an army marches on it's stomach. A few years later, the Germans invented staff command, and what turns out to be the most important department is logistics. That's the department that makes sure you have food, water and ammo.
Previously, I was the guy that made sure there was fresh coffee, every hour on the half hour. I also went out and brought food back if it was needed. (It's a "contribution in kind", depending on what state you're in, you may have to report it.) But for the 2008 Obama campaign, I developed something new. Find out what after the break.
It's all a matter of making sure that your people are getting fed. The idea is simple, I'll start a diary at approximately 7AM PST, and if your campaign office needs food/drink/whatever, you post that in the comments, along with your address and a confirming phone number. It should be someones personal cell number, since I'm guessing that all the office phones will be doing outcalls. If there's a pizza/Chinese/whatever delivery place that you like and you know they take credit cards, put that in your comment as well. If you don't have a favorite place, just post the address of your office, and someone can google or yelp what you're looking for. I won't be able to monitor this live, since the website I used last has gone dark, and I'll have to work this election day. OTOH, the Big Orange is a much wider audience, so I expect things will go better than they did before. (Yes, I'll be at work, so I'll expect that this will be more self-managing than it was in 2008.)
Anyone that wants to make a last minute "in-kind" donation to a campaign, calls said delivery place and places an order for food/drink/whatever. A confirmation comment is posted in the diary, so you know you weren't ripped off. This keeps volunteers fed, which is more important than many people think. (Know what porn producers make sure they have enough of? Catering! A good shoot is one where there's real food, and someone thinks to accommodate the vegans. Well fed girls and boys are happy girls and boys, and that applies to your volunteers as well!)
IIRC, Starbucks takes credit card orders, and I think many will deliver those cardboard coffee-cartons to where you are. Pizza starts at noon-ish, along with Chinese. Breakfast for volunteers is a bitch, but I've been on many campaigns where petty cash pays for three dozen donuts, and there's always a coffee pot somewhere.
So, that's the deal. A diary up early Tuesday morning, any campaign office that needs to fuel their volunteers posts a comment, and a responding comment sends food. I surely wish there was an Internet in the 1976 campaign. We most starved to death, then the victory party was an open bar but no food. Say what you will, Jack in the Box is not a bad fellow...