[Cross-posted at THE GOGGLES, THEY DO NOTHING!]
Volunteer for the Obama campaign, they said. Drive for Change to Reno, they said.
And then the call comes from the trip coordinator to inform me that we’re going to Fernley, Nevada. And, oh yeah, the trip leader has to stay home, so I’m the point man now.
Sure, I work well in leadership situations, and on one level, I recognize how critically important organizing rural Nevada is.
But the last time I canvassed in rural Nevada, I got chased off a front lawn with a revolver.
As in, a six shooter, of the type you usually only see in old Westerns.
Then again, the last time I was in rural Nevada, we pulled off a resounding victory for the Obama campaign at my caucus, and we managed to balance out Hillary’s rout in Vegas all the way to a delegate victory.
But that was Verdi, just 2 minutes from the California border, and probably home to a lot of transplanted Californians. Fernley is right smack in the middle of Nevada, past the Reno suburbs, and in to heavy enemy territory.
This is rural survivalist\bunker mentality territory. Ron Paul’s turf. Or at least it seems like it.
I should avoid passing judgment, but from what I hear, when the Sacramento for Obama folks were making calls to Fernley, they were the most hostile of neighborhoods we called. Firmly in the Obama-is-a-Muslim-and-will-start-a-race-war category.
I also can’t ignore the fact that in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia, there have been three incidents of liberal and Democratic activists being murdered (or committing suicide, depending on who you believe) this year, with at least one for explicitly political reasons.
So, yeah, I’m a little nervous about this. I won’t lie. And even more nervous because my girlfriend is finally coming with me to volunteer. She doesn’t know much about Obama's positions and policies, she’s just scared to death of Sarah Palin. Which, I suppose, is enough.
Who knows. Maybe we’ll end up with the same situation the Obama campaign ended up with in some of the smaller states in the primaries- the small act of actually showing up and spending time in heavy Republican territory might end up paying big dividends on November 4th.
We’ll see.
::
10:48 PM
I made it safely into Nevada.
So far, everything is going well. Thanks to an incredibly lucky set of circumstances, I got to drive a borrowed Mustang convertible, a car I normally wouldn’t even be able to think about with the insurance costs alone (single young man and all).
But on to the part you actually care about.
I’m in Fernley, which is the county seat of Lyon County. We’re working out of the Lyon County Democrats office, which is a whole lot smaller than the big Campaign for Change office in Reno. Also, no couches. Major bummer.
The place is about the size of a small portable classroom, maybe, and just like in Reno, nearly every Democratic campaign has some kind of presence here along with Obama.
An incredibly energetic young field organizer, probably not even old enough to drink, and a guy in his 50s were staffing the office. There was also a transplant from Reno, who told me that carpetbaggers from California changed the smoking laws in Reno so that he can’t smoke in restaurants anymore.
That’s not really something I’m proud of, actually. Part of the fun of Nevada is all the places I get to smoke.
Every neighborhood we drove through was full of McCain yard signs, and signs for other Republican candidates, like Representative Dean Heller. I haven’t seen a single Obama sign yet, not even outside of the houses of the people our volunteers are staying with.
This town is definitely Republican territory. It’s going to be an uphill climb.
Stay tuned for pictures and more news from the front tomorrow.