This is a quick update from the frontlines in Montana. Pictures below of canvassing in Bozeman, including Senator Tester.
It is definitely fall here in Bozeman, Montana. A few weeks ago my wife and I canvassed on a beautiful sunny Indian Summer day -- we even biked out into our rural target neighborhoods.
Today, well, it's Montana. We're two days into our first winter storm of the season. They're predicting up to 3 feet of snow in the mountains, but only a few inches in town. Mostly it's just windy, wet, chilly...and kind of nasty. But it was homecoming at Montana State University (Go Bobcats!), and the parade is held, snow or shine. The MSU Students for Obama marched in the`parade and I'm told it went well. During the parade I was busy at the Obama office, getting ready to canvass. We had a meeting with lots of experienced canvassers, asking questions about voter suppression, techniques to persuade undecideds, how to GET OUT THE VOTE, etc. The Obama campaign is still investing paid staff in Montana, and has also recently increased the number of "voter protection" lawyers in the state (5, I think). After the GOP convention Montana was largely written off because of the Palin bounce (I think it was McCain +13 at one point), but now we're down to only McCain +5. With our GOTV, strength on the reservations (Obama was made an honorary member of the Crow Nation this spring, and given the name "Barack Black Eagle"), it's possible we can pull Montana over to blue.
FYI, for those in Montana you can register and vote all in one stop on the same day at your local county courthouse from now up to and including election day. If you already have an absentee ballot, it's better to fill out your ballot at home and hand-deliver it to the courthouse (if you try to vote there when they've already sent you an absentee you'll be given a provisional ballot at the courthouse).
Senator Tester was in town for the homecoming parade, and also stopped by the offices to rally the troops. He really is a great guy...seemed much more at home in his beat-up leather jacket with jeans than he did in his suit when I briefly met him at his D.C. offices.
I thanked him for his courage in voting against the massive economic bailout bill, and harrassed him about whether we're going to get a climate change bill next session (he dodged and talked about there being "a lot of priorities" now.)
I went solo door-to-door canvassing in a snowy college neighborhood during the homecoming football game.
There were 31 names on my list. Not many people home, but nearly everyone I did talk to was an enthuasiastic Obama supporter. One guy wearing an ARMY sweatshirt (and he looked like the real deal) wasn't registered, wasn't voting. End of story. I don't get those "Nope, not voting" guys, and don't know how to convince them. Any ideas?
That's it for this update...always good to hear motivational stories, I think.
-Mountain Pirate
Check out my nature photography at www.mountainpiratephoto.com