I just got back from phone banking and thought I would share my experience. First, I'd like to describe myself: my typing fingers are fast and furious and my passion for politics runs deep, but I'm scared to death of cold-calling. My hubby's the one with the golden tongue. What a smooth talker he is! LOL, I guess that's how I got where I am today. But, no regrets! Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling dread about going, but figured that because my husband's such a talented salesman, at least one of us would do some good today. We met 4 other volunteers at the local coffee shop who were so happy to see us. We were given a script and a list of people to call and let loose.
I found a place to sit, made a few calls, but found the noise and music distracting, so I went to sit in my car. That was way better. Spread out and organized, I got to work. I called 4 sheets of names and most people didn't answer their phone. We were instructed not to leave a message. We were calling democrats only. When someone did answer, they were always polite. Our job today was to remind voters of the upcoming election and the importance of voting, even though it was a midterm election. No problemo! Everyone I reached was a "yes" on their commitment to vote. Then it was "thank you for your time" and on to the next. A few people thanked me back for volunteering and promised to vote straight democratic!
After the first few calls, my pounding heart calmed down and I got my groove! It was so easy, I'm now amazed that I was so nervous about it. We met 4 other good democrats who we will be working with until the election (hopefully more!) and I am sure will be friends for life. Living in a conservative area, with conservatives becoming more and more irrational, God knows we can use the friends!
Contrary to my fears, this was a very positive experience and I'm actually disappointed that since we are going out of town for 10 days, we'll miss the next two weeks of phonebanking.
If getting democrats out to vote is our goal for this election, there is no reason for everyone here not to do phonebanking. If I can do it, anybody can! Good luck!