I don't know what it is with our luck. Two weeks ago, TomP and I got caught in an ice storm when we canvassed in Iowa. On Saturday, it was the snow. It started snowing Friday night, it snowed all morning, and it snowed all day in Burlington. Join me below the jump for our little adventure. Bring your mittens, a scarf, and a thermos of hot chocolate!
About 6:30 in the morning, TomP rolled up to my house in St. Louis. The snow had already blanketed everything and had just started up again. Against my wife's pleadings and my own good sense, I decided it wasn't going to be a big deal to head up to Iowa again. After all, TomP and I had made it through an ice storm. How was a little snow going to stop us?
And we were right. Snow wasn't going to stop us at all. The snow plows had already been out, and semis were on the road to beat down tracks through the rest of the snow. We picked up the third member of our party, Dave, a communications professional (not in politics however) and first time canvasser, and were on our way out of town. Neither of us had met Dave before, but he was a really friendly guy, someone who had been around politics for awhile (he actually met Bill Clinton before he became president) but had never felt the need to knock on doors for a candidate. Now he was sitting shotgun for a 4 hour ride in the snow to do just that! He also told us about telling some of the people in his office what he was doing this weekend, people like the receptionist, the janitor, some of the administrative assistants. They universally approved of him going up for John Edwards. "He's for the working man, isn't he?" one of them said.
We did run into one obstacle along the way, a 3 inch boxcutter blade that punched right through the tire. It happened around the time we passed a salt truck, so we guessed that someone (probably a Republican!) had accidentally dropped the blade into the truck when they were cutting open bags of salt, and we just happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time. Ironically, the blade probably wouldn't have done any damage without the snow - the slush must have held the blade up at the right angle to slash our tire.
After a short delay at a mechanic (open in a snowstorm in a small town - miracles do happen!), we were back on the road and on our way to Iowa. Reminder: if you have a flat tire, make sure it's near Bowling Green, MO. It only cost us $20 for the tire and the labor!!!
IOWA
The Burlington field office was decked out for the season, as you can tell by the decorations. The staffers were all in good spirits, too. While a month ago, the steely determination was showing through the good cheer, now they seemed to feel the wind at their backs. Back then, they rationally knew that anything could happen, but now they were experiencing it. Recent visits by John Edwards himself to the area had brought out a ton of interested Iowans, and from these came a lot of signed supporter cards and verbal commitments. Local labor leaders had noted Edwards' stance on the Peru FTA as opposed to some of his rivals. All in all, they felt good about where they were at and were ready to close the deal.
So I was sent out on canvas through the snow to identify supporters and non-supporters, and to persuade those who were undecided. My partner this time was one of the field organizers, Anthony, as TomP and Dave were partnered up. Anthony is from California, and wasn't particularly fond of the snow. He told me that early on, he looked at who he might support for the presidential race, and the only choice for him was Edwards. He worked at a welfare office, and seeing all the poverty in this country that goes ignored, with the "solution" generally being "cut those people off welfare", a candidate with bold proposals to end poverty in America was really the only choice for him.
In Anthony's hometown, it has only snowed once since the Great Depression. Now he's up to his ankles on a daily basis! We set out through the snow-covered streets (one was ironically named "Summer Street"), each taking a side. Hillary signs were evident everywhere, but as the head field organizer told me, the Clinton campaign was giving away yard signs left and right. They apparently asked people if they wanted one, and unless the answer was a flat NO! the residents found one planted in their yards. I saw some evidence for this, as several houses had them leaned against the side of the house, as if they had a sign they really didn't want. I also saw an Obama sign or two, but the one person I talked to with an Obama sign was only leaning his way, not a committed. And I did see two Dodd signs - one giant Dodd sign was stowed away in a garage. Maybe it belonged to a firefighter...
So how did the canvas go? First off, everyone was pretty polite. Most people appreciated that I was out walking in the cold for a good cause, even if they weren't 100% behind Edwards. In my own unscientific survey, I didn't see much of a surge for Obama - most people I talked to were either for Edwards or Clinton. I was slightly surprised by this, as I had seen in other Iowa canvasses much more support for Obama, both visible and verbal. The only candidates mentioned were Edwards, Clinton, and Obama, other than one couple who were for Huckabee. Back at the office, they explained to me that it wasn't strange to find a few Republicans, as many Republicans registered as Democrats in order to vote in local elections, which the GOP often didn't contest. The thing that disappointed me most was to hear, again, from several people that Obama organizers were spreading rumors about Elizabeth Edwards being near death and about to force John from the race. Needlessly to say, that is BS - she's campaigning with him right now. Pretty sorry stuff from a campaign that's supposed to be positive.
I'll close this off by ignoring the long, slow trudge home in the snow and slush. Instead I want to give a shout-out to the field organizers who work day in and day out in a place that's not their home, doing work that can be incredibly boring, all for a candidate who will change America. Here's to Mike, Lara, Anthony, Greg, and Ben!