I was calling people for Move-on and I had a really funny call. I'd like to tell you about it but first I am asking you to please recommend this diary. We are just three days from a MAJOR election and all of us can do more than we are already doing.
There have been some really silly diaries on the rec list, all kinds of rants and hyperbole and even some that border on tin foil hattery. I think there was an I/P argument there for a few hours today.
Most of the time I do not care what appears on the rec list. But I have to think that at this late date we can have ONE that encourages people to do phone banking. It doesn't have to be mine. I have tried to get other people's diaries on this topic recommended over the last few days. If someone wants to do another diary on this topic, go ahead and we will try to get yours recommended instead.
So enter and read my story and the latest pleas from various groups and my personal plea.
Hey, even if you are bored with the topic or have no intention of signing up to call, hit the rec button anyway, other eyes will see the diary and might sign up and in that way, even if you hate the idea of calling you have done your part to get other people to do it which should assuage your guilt at least a bit.
So I was calling for Carter the other night. I of course called somewhere in Nevada. The person answered the phone and I asked for his wife. She came to the phone and I identified myself as calling for Jack Carter for Senate. Well she starts right off "oh no, I am so sick of politicians, they are all shysters. Why do they even want to be politicians? Can you tell me?" and I could tell she is trying to bait me. I can hear it in her voice. I used to call businesses to pump them for their credit information I am used to people getting mad and trying to pick a fight to get a rise from me.
So I am agreeing with her about bush and trying to get her to understand that I agree with her and that I am calling for Carter. But she can't hear anything I am saying because she is on the war path and trying to get my goat so I will argue back and she can let me have it.
Then she mentions two politicians that I have no clue who they are, and she tells me they are the only ones she trusts and I am guessing they are democrats, but she is so furious with Bush that she won't let me talk. So I thanked her for her time and hung up. I clicked the little radio buttons on the computer screen to indicate the results of the call. As I was getting out of the call and off that call page on the computer I cracked up because I realized she was pissed at me because she thought I was a republican and I figured she was going to vote for Carter anyway. So my bad call wasn't even bad at all.
I have also been calling for Move-on and that is what I suggest you all join me in doing.
Here is the email I got from Move-on today.
Hi Teresa,
I have some really important news--please take a moment to read this email carefully.
As of 7:36 p.m. last night, we've made 3 million calls together. 3 MILLION CALLS! It's an enormous accomplishment--we've identified enough progressive voters in close races to tip the whole election.
We've staked our whole program on calling back the people we've identified over the next 4 days. You read that right: We have 96 hours to call 450,000 voters, let them know where they can vote, and remind them what's at stake. Research shows this weekend is when our calls matter most.
It's hugely ambitious but Teresa, we can do this if you can personally contact 90 voters by Tuesday night. This is the moment we've been working towards. Now it's all hands on deck. Click here to tell us when you can call between now and Election Day, then get started right away:
MoveOn.Org
It sounds crazy, but I've been watching the electoral landscape shift, and I really believe this: The next 72 hours will decide our nation's future, and if we can rise to the challenge, we can change history.
We've worked hard to get here. Hundreds of thousands of us have organized rallies, held vigils, signed and delivered petitions, wrote letters to the editor, pooled our hard-earned cash--and yes, we've called a LOT of voters.
Some of us just pitched in 30 minutes starting yesterday. For others, it's been a full-time job for months. But together, we did what the pundits said couldn't be done--created a national wave of anger at right-wing Republicans and brought the country to the verge of a new era. I helped plan this campaign, and honestly, I never thought we'd make it this far.
But it's not over yet, and standing between us and our future is the most effective voter turnout machine ever created--Karl Rove's 72-hour program.
We've got momentum on our side, and we can beat them. But to do it, we need to reach 450,000 people in the closest districts, tell them their polling place, and remind them why this election is so important.
Click here to tell us when you'll make calls between now and the Election, and then get started:
MoveOn.Org
I don't have the words to say how blown away I am but what we've done so far. But the real work starts tonight.
Thank you.
-Ben Brandzel, MoveOn.org Political Action
Friday, November 3rd, 2006
Sign up and call. We are now on the phase where we are generally calling people who we know are voting for democrats and we are just getting them to get to the polls. They are easy calls and we can get them done with your help or your spouses help or our your teenagers or your aunt Sue.
Why am I calling for Carter because I can and I don't care if he is not ahead in the polls. I feel it is the right thing to do. The script is very easy. Go to their web site and sign up if there if you don't want to call for move-on. Or do both like I have been.
The great thing is that you can do this for half and hour when you are in between other activities. You can do it in your jammies. You can do it with a glass of wine (as long as you aren't drunk). You can do it with chocolate bon-bons next to your computer. You can even do it while baking a cake and smoking.
It is really a pleasure, a way to help and not make a big commitment and it doesn't cost you anything, not even gas.
Disclaimer: Don't hate me but I posted this diary last might very late and it scrolled off the page in about 5 minutes. I am posting it again because I know there are lurkers and new visitors who might read and respond.