Report from Columbus, OH - Looking good!

My wife and I (from Boston, MA) have been in Columbus, OH since Thursday, helping the Kerry campaign bring Ohio home.  The campaign calls us "Kerry Travelers," and there are a ton us us here in Columbus.  A surprizingly large number of people from California, as well as just about everywhere else:  Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Texas, etc.  So many volunteers that in Columbus alone they now have a main office and 7 satellite offices, as well as the Dem. Party HQ and the state Kerry HQ, and that's not counting ACT or the other allied groups.

Based on what I'd been seeing so far, I truly believe that Kerry is going to win Ohio solidly.

Thrusday and Friday we were canvassing poor neighborhoods on the south side of Columbus--one mostly white, the other about half black, half white.  Both neighborhoods are going overwhelmingly for Kerry--at least 8-1, maybe more.  Thank God for ACT!  I'd say that at least 2/3, maybe more, of these people are registered to vote, and many of them are really PUMPED!

Really pumped as in even though we had a targeted list of voters to talk to (ones we hadn't contacted recently), people on the street would come up to us, ask who we were for, and when we said Kerry, would say "Great!  Kerry all the way!" and stuff like that.  I still remember the poor 20-something white guy with the shell-shocked expression saying "Ohio used to be the best place in the whole country for jobs!  Now there's NOTHING!  We HAVE to get Bush out of there!"  Bush has ZERO "mystique" among poor folks here in Columbus.  

And a lot of them have family in Iraq and cite that as another reason why they're for Kerry.  (Funny how most of those who say their for Bush in order to "support the troops" obviously don't know any of these troops!)

A lot of these people have never voted before in their life, and I'd bet just about anything that the polls aren't picking these people up.

And a couple of other notes:

• The Columbus Dispatch may have endorsed Bush (They've endorsed the Republican every single time for 100 years.) but I'd bet just about anything that this was another case of the owner ramming the decision down the editorial board's collective throat.  They've been quite good lately.  First, by taking a very firm stand against these voter-suppression shenanigans that the Repukes want to pull (many of which have been disallowed by the courts), and even by their front page:  Friday's front page featured the Kerry-Springsteen rally here in Columbus (paper said 30,000+, though I've heard that 50,000 was more accurate).  The photo had Kerry smiling and waving to the crowd while the Boss looked at Kerry lovingly--about what you'd expect.  Then the next day featured an equal-size photo from the Bush-Schwarzeneger rally in Colubmus (paper said 20,000+  Ha!  Even in their world we outnumber them 3 to 2.).  But the photo had Arnold smiling and waving to the crowd while Bush gazed him lovingly.  Quick kids, let's play "spot the lightweight."

• The Columbus Dispatch poll showed Ohio exactly tied--this after showing Bush up by 7 a few weeks ago (which I don't believe).  And as I said above, I'd bet just about anything they aren't catching the tidal wave or poor Ohioans who are thoroughly sick of Bush's economy.  Looking good!

Yesterday was more of the same.  We did a middle class mixed race neighborhood yesterday.  Again, heavy for Kerry, though with a bit less virulence.  Today, tomorrow, and Tuesday are more of the same.  

Don't expect any more reports until after it's over.  I only have the time to write this because the campaign doesn't want us canvassing on Sunday morning.

Good luck everyone!

•  Oh thank you so much for going

  and for posting.  Go MAssachuesetts!

  aimai

  by aimai on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 06:28:46 AM PDT

•  Tip Jar

  All I want is a Kerry victory and some mojo, in that order.

  by Go Vegetarian on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 06:32:24 AM PDT

  •  A four for you

    for doing God's work.

    by emjaycue on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 07:03:29 AM PDT

  •  Here's a 4

    If I could, I'd give you an "8" just for "spot the lightweight."  Priceless.

    by Savage on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 08:11:39 AM PDT

•  Your wish will be granted in reverse order.

  Good diary. Would like to see more like it over the next 48 hours.

  by Tropicana on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 06:43:18 AM PDT

•  Thanks for your hard work!

  Go Mass!  Go Kerry!

  by dlender on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 06:54:39 AM PDT

•  Great Diary!

  Thanks for your hard work!!

  by Yosef 52 on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 07:00:47 AM PDT

•  Columbus, OH: on the ground and on the phones

  I live right here in Columbus and have been a phonebanking maniac through ACT.

  First - THANK YOU to all the "imports" - from California, Massachussets, NY, DC, wherever! - for giving up your regular lives temporarily to come here and help GOTV in Ohio.

  Second - a few gems I've heard from voters during my phonebanking experiences that should make you smile:

  1.  "I wouldn't vote for that beady-eyed monster (Shrub)if you paid me a million dollars."

  2.  "I wouldn't vote for a Republican if it were my mother running."

  3.  "The government needs a facelift."

  4.  Personal Favorite:
     

  "I think it's good we have a President who prays every day and talks to God.  The problem with this President is, I don't think he listens to what God is telling him."  (This from a
  92-year old devout Christian in rural Ohio - a Kerry supporter.)

  and this encouraging, but also sad, comment from another devout Christian woman in rural Ohio:

  5)  "They (her church) make you feel like if you're a Christian you HAVE to vote Republican and I just don't think I can support Bush this time."  She was genuinely distressed.  We chatted for a good 15 minutes and at the end she thanked me and said she doesn't usually talk to total strangers about this stuff but that it really helped.  I'd like to think she became a "Kerry convert."  :-)

  RALLIES:

  Saw KERRY and SPRINGSTEEN Thursday night at OSU.  Amazing.  People as far as the eye could see.

  Saw ELIZABETH EDWARDS speak at the Moms for Kerry rally Saturday morning.  She is an excellent speaker and such a cooooool human being.

  Saw MICHAEL MOORE Saturday night.  Michael was, as always, phenomenal.  He is a true American hero.  The rally was amazing.

  I'm going to miss all this attention after the election.  ;-)

  And now - off to the phonebanks!  It's a stunningly beautiful day here in central Ohio and I'm choosing to spend it in the basement of a union building calling total strangers rather than enjoying this glorious day with my precious two-year old daugther.  Time away from my little one is one damn high fucking hurdle for anything to clear - THAT'S how important this is to me.

  GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV GOTV!

  by jsaboley on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 07:04:59 AM PDT

  •  GOTV with Act Yesterday in Columbus

    Doing Act work yesterday with a literature drop and canvassing just north of Ohio State. A mostly student area of town.

    We were on the first shift beginning at 9am.  I introduced myself to 4 (of 20) other volunteers. Turns out 1 from Virginia, 1 from California, 1 from New York, and 1 from Columbus.  

    While walking and knocking, every one who was home said they had already voted absentee for Kerry.  We came across several houses where students were drinking beer and partying (at 10am) before the OSU game.  These groups shouted 4 More Years and Go Bush! at us.  I walked into these groups and told them that we weren't supporting any specific candidate rather we were there to hand out literature to make sure the neighborhood knew where their polling place was located.  

    In these 2 groups only a couple of kids were even registered (at their home location) and they hadn't taken the time to vote absentee.

    The best part was upon returning to the Columbus ACT Headquarters at around noon.  Cars were parked around the building and when we went inside to deliver our results from our canvassing the place was overflowing with people.  Every phone was taken . . . About 45 people were being trained to go out that afternoon in a repeat of what we had done that morning.  It was AWESOME!

    Driving home I went past the Elizabeth Edwards talk.  The parking lot was completely full and police were having to direct traffic to other areas to park.

    GOTV  Let's Roll!

    by progressivearlingtonian on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 07:21:46 AM PDT

    •  I've had similar experiences

      canvassing around OSU's campus with Students for Kerry. Some Bush supporters were sheepish, while the "frat boy" types were often downright rude. Every Kerry and undecided was eager to vote or had voted already.

      Canvassing in Clintonville with MoveOn, I saw many yards with homemade Kerry/Edwards signs to replace theirs which had been stolen (as my parents' had been).

      Michael Moore said at the MoveOn rally last night that he has been recruiting an army of cameras--people to document Republican sheenaigans at the polls--and that he himself will be back in Columbus on Tuesday to do the same. We won't let Ohio become the next Florida!!!

      by megs on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 08:49:07 AM PDT

•  You can feel it here...

  ..I live on the North Side of Columbus, in a mixed-raced neighborhood (plurality Af-Am but also Latino, White, Asian, and African immigrant) and the canvassers have hit this area HARD. I run a mail order business from my apartment and in the past week D or pro-D canvassers have stopped at my apartment FOUR times. Always great to talk to them, and when one of them say DKos open on my web browser he was ecstatic (said something along the lines of "Oh I can tell this place is already secured.")

  I haven't been able to do much GOTV myself because of the demands of owning my own business, coupled with a part-time job 3 nights/week but for what it is worth I made it a mission to try and get as many of my clubkid-DJ friends to vote Kerry this year as possible (most had never voted before, felt the whole system was rigged and their vote didn't matter.) Now for those of you who know much about clubbers or DJs, many of them have attention spans shorter than the average political commericial and tend to be very much out of the loop as regards what is going on in the world. As of today out 10 of the 12 people I targeted have registered (3 have already voted absentee) and all 10 of them can't wait to vote. Of the remaining two neither of them are planning to vote - can't win them all, but at least none are planning to support the dark side. You can feel the sense of younger voters just itching to push the button for Kerry.  Franklin County (metro Columbus) went for Gore by less than 2000 votes in 2000. Kerry's margin, I can almost guarantee you, will be much, much bigger.

  by DanceboyOH on Sun Oct 31, 2004 at 08:20:43 AM PDT