"So you're being socialistic?" - RNC canvasser in Western PA
I try not to dicuss politics at work --- for two reasons. Number one, since I work in the computer software industry but outside of Silicon Valley, most of my colleagues tend to be very conservative, libertarian focused people. So, I give up what could probably be a lot of heated and stimulating conversation in favor of keeping the peace. Number two, not bringing politics into discussions is often the kind of thing that's necessary when you manage people and are trying to keep the focus on the work at hand.
Today, though, I thought I would share a quick story that says a lot about a) this election and b) the motivation of the RNC and the McCain campaign. In fact, I'm more convinced after hearing about what happened just today that we're looking at an Obama landslide or near-landslide tomorrow.
First, to set the stage a bit more: Much of my current company is very left-leaning, progressive in nature. Although I do not, as I mentioned, discuss politics at work, some people make their views clear without the need for debates over progressive taxation around the lunch table. I was sure that one member of my team was a conservative Republican however, just based on his views on business, talking with him from time to time about his leadership within his church, his love of hunting, and so on.
This afternoon he sent me a text message that said, simply:
What's being socialistic?
Before I could reply (wondering the whole time if he was sharing a new joke), he said that he was just called at home that day by a woman from the RNC. He had told her he was "voting Democrat" this year. The RNC lady said:
So, you are being socialistic!
and hung up on him. He tried calling the number back, which was coming from the Pittsburgh, PA area code, but got no answer.
That's the kind of thing that will be sure to get out the vote.. for Obama!
So I learned today that I a) probably should find a way to discuss politics a bit more to make an impact and b) that I make too many assumptions about the people I work with, and that the movement for a change is more potent than I thought!
I should add to this episode that my father-in-law said this weekend that he'd rather "wear a towel on his head than vote for big oil", and he would vote for Obama. My weekend was just one surprise after another. My wife did her best to convince him that Obama was not a Muslim (and that it wouldn't matter anyway), but just to hear that he would not be voting for McCain let alone actually voting for Obama was a huge satisfaction compared to 2004.