I spent a couple of hours walking through a neighborhood making contact with likely voters for Tim Bishop, my Congressman. He has been representing the East End of Long Island for a decade, and I like him. But the majority of the people in the neighborhood I canvassed today don't.
When I volunteered to come to the campaign office on Monday, I expected to make phone calls. Instead, I was asked to walk a neighborhood not far from my home on the North Shore. Thundershowers were in the forecast, but I was able to knock on 34 doors, about half the electoral district, before the skies opened. But before they did, I got to speak with a few homeowners. They may be living large, but they are not a happy lot, and many blame Obama and the Democrats for their woes. One "unaligned voter" was upset because Bishop was doing nothing to impeach Obama. Another wanted to repeal Obamacare, apparently so his surgeon son could charge even more for his handiwork. Some houses had the soothing voices of Bill O'Rielly and Sean Hannity drifting in from the family room. It was a not so subtle reminder I was in unfamiliar territory.
I was following a list of likely voters who may or may not be swing voters. I did have a few friendly encounters. A college grad married to an attorney, happy to have landed a custodial job with a school district. He was sickened by what was happening at the border, and was well aware it was the House leadership (Boehner, et.al.) was holding up things. A retired couple wanted Bishop to work on tax breaks for seniors. One woman was aware of Bishop's success in getting funding for environmental projects on the East End, and one 64 year-old woman (I knew she was 64 when I went to the door; the voter's age is on the voter info sheet we use) was looking forward to Medicare coverage, even if she had to pay 50%of her Medicare plus premium. Any Dems I met were of the blue dog variety, and no fans of Bishop, who sides with Democratic leadership (Pelosi, et.al) more often than not. It was an interesting experience.