Douglas County, Colorado is about 15 miles south of Denver, and it is one of the more red counties in the state. The total population of the county is about 290 thousand. The three largest cities in the county are Highlands Ranch, Parker and Castle Rock, which have all tended to be pretty conservative in the past. Evidence of this is the fact that looney Tom Tancredo is our Congress critter (unfortunately).
Back in 2004, I did a few days of GOTV canvassing for the Kerry campaign, mostly in Castle Rock and in south Parker. Unfortunately, it was part of a disorganized and under-manned effort. Things look somewhat better, this time around...
This year, there are at least four Obama Campaign For Change offices in Douglas County (that I know of), in Parker, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, and Elizabeth. Since I live in Parker, I decided to get off my butt and do some canvassing today, out of the Parker Obama office.
The Parker Obama office is in a small storefront in a strip mall between a Safeway supermarket and a Big Lots discount store. Next to the Big Lots is a Hobby Lobby (which is wingnut central, probably because the Hobby Lobby chain is owned by a fundie from Oklahoma).
I make this judgement because of the high number of McSame/Palin bumper stickers in the parking lot, with a high percentage of purple "Respect Life" Colorado license plates. These are special license plates that were initially issued after the Columbine High School shootings in 1999. They were meant to memorialize that terrible event, but over the years, they have become very popular as a "dog whistle" for anti-choice Republicans.
At any rate, since the Parker Obama office is usually packed full of volunteers, they have taken to staging canvassers in the homes of volunteers in the area. I went to my staging location and got a thorough briefing, along with my walk packet and a supply of literature. I had a large appartment complex (which is rare in Parker, since it is mostly single-family detached homes here). My list was unaffiliated voters, so I was a little concerned...
It was a very warm, beautiful, sunny day today. As I walked through the complex, knocking on doors, I was increasingly happy with the response I was getting. About half the people on the list were not home, but of the people I actually talked to, it was running about four to one in Obama's favor! This was among unaffiliated voters!
On top of those encouraging numbers, was the very warm response I got from the Obama supporters, with many thanking me enthuisastically for contacting them. None of the McCain supporters that I talked to were nasty or even very energetic. They seem almost resigned. Even though I was hot and thirsty after a couple of hours of walking around this big complex, I felt very energized by the results!
After I completed my packet, I went back to the staging area to report my results and fill out a tally sheet. While I was there, several other volunteers returned, and they all had similar results, which was very encouraging. Many of our volunteers are people who have come up from Texas for an extended period, which is incredible. The level of organization in the Obama ground effort just blows me away.
More small evidence I see of change this time around is the number of Obama vs McCain yard signs that I see in my immediate neighborhood, which are running about equal. This is pretty amazing compared to 2004, when Bush signs outnumbered Kerry signs by about three to one.
I am also encouraged by the number of positive comments I get when I go into local stores like Best Buy, Target, King Soopers, etc. when I am wearing one of my many Obama/Biden shirts. I sometimes get a hard or dirty look from a few people, but so far none of them have said anything to me. Maybe the fact that I like to lift weights has something to do with that, or maybe it is because many Republicans are chickenhawks.
I have been having a great time during this election season. I got to hear Hillary's speech in person at the Pepsi Center during the DNC, and I also got to see Obama's acceptance speech in person at Invesco Field, (which was incredible).
Please everyone, keep on pushing for the next seventeen days! We are so close to our goal. I really think Colorado will be blue this year. As Kos says "leave it all on the road"!