Our stalwart group of Central NJ volunteers has been crossing the river to register voters and now canvass in Bucks and Montgomery counties over the last 4 weeks. The welcome has been generally warm and enthusiastic, where many proclaim great excitement for Senator Obama. However, Mr. Tater and I had one rough experience, diaried here, that speaks to Obama’s greatest challenge – the white, low education, low information Reagan Democrat. If Obama is to win PA, he will do so by minimizing his losses amongst this demographic. Levittown is the prototypical tough-nut-to-crack PA town and the day we were at the Levittown Obama office, so was the New York Times. Follow me below the fold for snippets of this in depth article, my personal take and instructions on how you, yes YOU, can help.
The article begins with a description of the area and a memorable quote from the esteemed Governor:
Levittown is whiter, older and less educated than the rest of the nation — and Pennsylvania is made up of many Levittowns. The Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, said in February that some in his state were "probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate," a remark that many would accept as self-evident but that nonetheless earned him sharp criticism.
While this quote seems impolite, my brief personal experience indicated that it is true for some. At one home we were greeted by a young white man in a tank top, who after our brief introduction, "Hello, we’re volunteers with the Obama for America campaign..." said, "Waah? Who dat? You here for dat black man?" and then walked away leaving us standing on his doorstep looking through the screen door deflated. The Times gives a bit of background.
And on matters of race Levittown has a particularly shameful history. It was billed as "the most perfectly planned community in America," and part of the plan was for it to be whites-only: 5,500 acres, stretching across three Pennsylvania townships and one borough, closed off to blacks. The first development of mass-produced homes by Levitt & Sons, Levittown, N.Y., on Long Island, which dates from 1947, had the same exclusionary policies.
An Obama volunteer from Levittown describes his experiences with race growing up.
There were a few small black neighborhoods on the fringes of town, non-Levitt-built houses, and their children attended our schools, but not comfortably. Periodically, brawls broke out between white and black students, and I spent parts of my high-school years with police and police dogs stationed in our corridors to keep the races apart. The word "nigger" rolled off the tongues of many of my classmates, and sometimes I would object, which had no effect other than to give me an adolescent’s fleeting sense of superiority.
So you might ask, "Why bother?" We bother because it is inappropriate to dismiss these areas as impossible because these attitudes are not universal and we found that some people, especially younger people were paying attention and open to voting for Obama in the primaries. Obama has an office in Levittown "womaned" by a powerhouse named Rachel who got some nice press.
Rachel Levine, a recent college graduate and paid field organizer who had earlier worked for Obama in South Carolina and other primary states, stood in a corner of the room but said very little. In each new state, the campaign tries to build leadership from the ranks of volunteers, and it considers taking over from them to be "disempowering."
This is very much the Obama way - empower the people in the communities who know their communities best. The office is in Patrick Murphy’s election HQ. Murphy is Obama’s most important ally in this area that swings Dem and GOP with the breeze.
The Obama for President headquarters in Levittown, Pa., is set on a busy thoroughfare just to the east of where all the houses begin-
snip
About four miles north, along the Delaware River, is what Levittowners have always just called "the mill" — the mighty Fairless Works, a U.S. Steel plant that grew up alongside the town and at its peak employed some 10,000 workers.
The town has fallen on hard times and unemployment is high. Many of the houses are in disrepair and cars can be found parked on lawns. Levittown is the prototypical community bruised by the Bush Administration’s policies and NAFTA. Such people pose a challenge for Obama to speak in populist terms that translate to their experiences and interests.
Levittowners and other blue-collar voters, with their own pressing concerns — and their ear for the specific and concrete — are less easily romanced by an interesting life story. I remember my hometown as a place that craved the familiar. The normal. Its racism was hard-edged and overt. Like everywhere in America, it is more tolerant than it once was, but still, Obama’s differences probably do not help him in Levittown. The question that remains is how much they hurt him.
Hurt him, perhaps, but I have seen an opportunity for dedicated volunteers to make inroads and we have some time. These people can be swayed, but talk of hope and change is not enough. If you choose to phonebank, as I am about to ask you to, please brush up on your knowledge of his policies especially the economy and mortgage crisis. We need to reach out to as many as possible and Rachel and her crew are asking for your help.
To call from your lovely homes in your jammies and scuffy slippers, go to
http://pateams.barackobama.com/
There you can register as a new caller and enter as your home address the Obama Levittown HQ address for a list of people who really need to hear from you!
7500 Bristol Pike, Levittown, PA 19057
I challenge you, Kossacks, please help Obama win PA so we can move on to the next chapter of this improbable journey.
UPDATE: Thank you for this tremendous response! It is wonderful to learn that over 100 Kossacks are willing to make calls for Obama in Levittown, PA. With this huge show of support and even more expressing worries about phone banking to such a tough area, let me add another Obama HQ address that you can use as your "home address." This address is for Abington in Montgomery county and here we received a very positive response regarding Obama support.
1647 The Fairway, Abington, PA 19046
XOXOXOX to you all!