We have just 30 days to the general election; 11 days until One-Stop Early Voting begins here in North Carolina.
Have you seen the latest polls? North Carolina is considered a toss-up state. John McCain has pulled his campaign staff out of Michigan and opened up new campaign efforts here in North Carolina. The McCain/Palin team conducted their first voter-canvasses in our state yesterday.
This is good news and bad news. It means we can win North Carolina. But it also means we haven't won it yet, and that the McCain team is set to fight us for it. And with just 30 days to go, we have a lot of work to do.
So get out your phone and Make. Some. Calls.
Today's code for the Cary, North Carolina, Virtual Phone Bank: [email MsSpentyouth for details on how you can get involved in phone banking for North Carolina -- and get the secret code at no additional charge! Call now! Operators are standing by!]
You may find it difficult and little frustrating to find time to make these calls. Not every one of us has to make them every day -- but if you want to win North Carolina for Obama/Biden, make a few calls a few times a week. Here's why: Most voters have already made their decision about whom they'll vote for, and those votes are evenly split between McCain and Obama. Where is the margin for victory then? It's in those undecided and/or unaffiliated voters, the very ones we have been calling when we make "persuasion" calls. Each and every one of our persuasion call lists is the difference between a Democratic victory in North Carolina and a defeat for our state and our nation.
That may sound a little melodramatic. But we've all been part of many, many conversations over the past several months in which people confess that a loss of this election will have dire impact on all factors of life in the U.S. and around the world. You know that. Melodrama's not a literary device when it's factually correct.
We cannot afford to lose this election.
Enough with those conversations! Barack Obama and John McCain have another conversation with the American people coming up on Tuesday (if you're in the Cary area, join us for a debate watch party at Galaxy Cinema by registering here for free tickets -- due to high demand, seating is limited!)
But 30 days before November 4, the only debate you and I need to have about the issues is what we're going to do about them. Are we going to make quality connections with unaffiliated voters, and are we going to make enough of them by the time we start our Get Out the Vote efforts next week?
Today we have a sweet bubblegum machine of calls to make. First are the vital persuasion calls: "The margin of victory for North Carolina." Don't leave messages for these calls; these are the people who need person-to-person contact.
Our next list is known as "sporadic Dems." These are folks who are registered Democrats but don't vote regularly in all elections. We're reminding them to vote and telling them a bit about One-Stop Early Voting. We can leave messages for these folks if they're not home.
Our next two lists are for volunteers -- active volunteers and those who have indicated an interest in volunteering in the past few days and whom we need to follow up with and get scheduled. We'll let them know about upcoming events, remind them briefly about OSEV, and encourage them to give a time and day they can come to the office to pitch in. We can leave messages for these folks, too.
If you aren't sure how to schedule a volunteer, give me a call and I'll talk you through it. Or stop by the Cary campaign HQ at 215 E. Chatham Street and we can schedule a few together until you've picked up the technique.
So make these calls proudly. We've got just over a month to invite as many people as possible to join this brilliant Democratic movement and change the direction of our country. There won't be another chance.
Can we do it? Yes, we can!
- Go to our Virtual Phone Bank site and log in.
- IMPORTANT!! Before you begin calling, take out a piece of paper and prepare your tally sheet for the day. Your tally sheet should include: The VPB Code (listed above); total phone numbers you dialed; total contacts you made with real people; total 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, 6's, and Decline to States; total who asked to be taken off the list; and volunteer prospects for our upcoming activities.
- Make sure you're in the proper tab at the top righthand side of the page (check the call lists du jour).
- Click on Virtual Phone Bank on the lower righthand corner.
- Enter today's Virtual Phone Bank Code.
- Click NEXT and click NEXT again when that screen opens. Remember that the script you see on the computer screen below the contact information may not match the script you're given in our daily emails. Our apologies for not being able to change that. Please play a little jazz with your script so that you capture the information on the screen.
- Let the games begin!
- If people wish to contact the Cary HQ, they can call us at 919-467-2749 or 467-2706. Our office is located smackdab in downtown Cary at 215 E. Chatham St.
- Send me your tallies and any special notes about your calls by replying to this email before 9 p.m. This allows me to get the data to Cary HQ in time to refresh the database for the next day's calls.
That's how simple it is to win North Carolina, neighborhood by neighborhood. Not even ten steps! If you'd like to be part of MsSpentyouth's neighborhood call movement, e me and I'll get you started today.
Yours for a more perfect union (and unlimited calling plans),
Kim