After spending the last two weeks literally dedicating most of my days and nights blogging for Doug Tudor's campaign, I took the big leap today. I went out and worked for the Obama campaign by placing Obama Vote Reminder Door Hangers at dozens of homes in a nearby precinct.
When I arrived at the Obama satellite office, I was a little nervous about going alone. Fortunately, right after I walked in a young 18-year-old lady walked in moments after me. So we teamed up. We took two folders containing lists of addresses, maps, and driving instructions, and quickly set to work. Our first stop was a mobile home retirement community.
The first woman we encountered was helping a gentleman wash his car, and seeing that we were there on behalf of the Obama campaign, said to us, "Don't put one of those on Number 29!" I asked her why, thinking she knew something about the person who lived at Number 29. Her response was, "because I will not vote for HIM!" Okay, I thought, like this piece of paper is really going to hurt you. Number 29 was on our list, but we respected her wishes and did not leave a door hanger at her home.
The next woman we encountered saw us coming through her window, and also told us we didn't need to leave one at her home. Her reason was quite different: "I already voted for Obama!" Once we finished with the mobile home community, we went on to addresses that were primarily individual homes. Except for one man who made a point of tearing up the door hanger so we could see him from the car as we were driving off, everybody we encountered was very supportive and positive.
The saddest thing I saw today was how many of the homes were empty with the grass growing up to my knees. The foreclosure rate in Florida is one of the highest in the country, and it was quite evident in the low-income neighborhoods we visited today.
The highlight of my day was when we returned to the Obama satellite office. I was explaining to the two woman managing today's efforts that this was the first time I had been out on behalf of a campaign, but that I felt like I was doing a lot of good working online for Doug Tudor's campaign. One of the woman said, "We love Doug Tudor." As I started to explain further what I had been doing here at DailyKos, the other woman chimed in, "Are you hungrycoyote?" When I confessed that I was, she said, "We've been wondering who you are." That just made my day.
It turns out that her husband and I have been exchanging comments supporting Doug Tudor and Barack Obama at our local newspaper's forum and here at DailyKos. Minutes later her husband walked in, and I was able to meet him, as well. Don't you just love small world stories?
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I only have one thing to report today about the FL-12 Race, and that is a quote I found by Adam Putnam talking about Sarah Palin in a McClatchy article, which to say the least, really infuriated me.
Her appeal is that she seems a lot like so many of the families in his own district, said Rep. Adam Putnam, who represents a deeply red part of Florida that must turn out en masse for McCain to win the state.
"She readily identifies with and connects with the kind of people who grew up and chose to raise their families" in his district, Putnam said. "The way she lives her life. Everything from her hobbies and hunting, to raising her kids, and her faith and everything. She's immediately identified as a conservative and embraced as a conservative."
What's the secret behind Palin's ability to draw a crowd?
Seriously? How arrogant can he get? To assume that the women in his district identify with Sarah "Got Pranked" Palin. He certainly hasn't been paying attention to what a lot of people, especially women, around here have to say about Sarah Palin.
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This is my last Please Vote for and Support Doug Tudor diary. I hope the next time I start writing diaries for FL-12, they will be along the lines of "Please Re-Elect Doug Tudor!" So this is my final plea asking you to contact any one you know in FL-12. Ask them to vote for Doug Tudor! If you live in FL-12, please vote for Doug Tudor!
Thank you to everyone has been so very supportive of my efforts in this race. Thank you for your donations to Doug Tudor's campaign when I pleaded for help. Thank you for your calls to the DCCC. Doug Tudor is a progressive candidate who will make a big difference. Hoping to report good news tomorrow night!
As a member of the Republican leadership in the House, Adam Putnam will be the obstructionist in chief to anything President Obama tries to accomplish. Putnam's role in the House doesn’t just impact FL-12, it impacts all working families throughout the nation. We need Doug Tudor as our representative in Congress to help President Obama get our country back on the right track!
Florida District 12 covers east Hillsborough (where Tampa is located), almost all of Polk County and a sliver of west Osceola County.