CONGRATULATIONS! By clicking on this diary at this exact moment, you have become the WINNER of a trip to fabulous Omaha! To collect this prize, you first must find your way to Omaha (at your own expense, please) and report to one of the Obama Campaign for Change offices!
There you will be given an opportunity to MAKE HISTORY by helping to get out the vote and win the 2nd Congressional District's Electoral Vote for Barack Obama, while Nebraska's other electoral votes most likely (and unfortunately) will go to the opposing party. Although permitted by law, never before has Nebraska split its electoral vote. It is history in the making, and YOU are there!
Winning in Omaha not only could tip Obama into the White House (some scenarios show it could be that close), but will also help Scott Kleeb in his bid for the Senate seat vacated by Chuck Hagel, and could ensure a victory for Democrat Jim Esch in his close battle for Republican Lee Terry's seat in Congress.
Victory in this one town could be like the little marble that tips over and starts a whole cascade.
Read about MY trip to Omaha below...
Early on Saturday morning we loaded up our sticker-encrusted car with snacks and bottled water, and headed out for the hour and a half drive to Omaha. On the way, I gave mr. sillia a serious pep-talk; unlike me he hasn't done door-to-door canvassing before and he admitted to being nervous about it.
We arrived there in time for a half-hour training session that was clear and covered just about everything--instructions, tips, inspiration, etc. Since this canvassing was for data gathering, there was a fair amount of paperwork handed to us and at first we sillias were feeling a little befuddled. Once we got out to our assigned neighborhood though, it took just two or three tries and we both started feeling like we had a grip on it. We split up and did opposite sides of the street and I could tell from the sound of mr. sillia's voice wafting across that he was having fun, as was I. Some highlights from the day:
• We were encouraging people to fill out a vote-by-mail card in order to vote early, especially because the polls will be crowded on Nov. 4th. We each talked to families however who were planning to vote on Election Day anyway in order for their kids to come along and see the process.
• One young African American woman with two very bright kids turned down my vote-by-mail card as well--"No," she said, smiling "I want go there and WATCH it go in! I want it to count!" Her daughter (7 or 8 yrs old) looked at me shrewdly, and rather impishly, and asked if I thought McCain was a bad man. My answer was, I'd say I disagree with him a lot. She had more questions up her sleeve but her mother shooed her away. She will definitely be a force to be reckoned with some day! Watch out, Omaha Republicans!
• Mr. sillia found one of his contacts not at home but her door was answered by an elderly Russian man who didn't speak English. Using all four of the polite Russian words in his vocabulary, mr. s managed to pass along an Obama flyer and leave the gentleman apparently very pleased with the encounter.
• The visit that moved mr. sillia the most was a self-employed woman who couldn't afford health insurance. She came to the door with her arm in a cast--she'd had to pay all of the medical expenses out of pocket. He helped her fill out a vote-by-mail card and talked with her at length. Chalk up one for us!
• We ran into 2 or 3 male voters who said they would vote for McCain because of abortion and gun control. One rather stoned young man told me, "Obama? No, I don't like him!" Then as I was walking away, he called out, "But good luck anyway!" Nice to have good vibes, at least. A couple of people did close the door quickly when they heard it was about Obama. Only one man was actually rude--he said "Obama can kiss my *ss!" but he said this with his back to us as he was heading away into his garage. Not exactly confrontational.
• Undecided? I've always thought this was strange...how could a person possibly be undecided at this point? But sure enough, I did talk to several people who genuinely seemed uncertain who they would vote for, not just disguising real intent to vote Republican. A couple of these people were young mothers (one of them looked so young I could barely believe she'd be a registered voter!) and perhaps they are so caught up in daily baby care that everything else seems insignificant. One of these women told me, "I've been meaning to look into that." I hope I helped her along!
• Several times I rang doorbells where the parents were away but the children were home. I spoke to some astonishingly polite children. Some of them would have been eager to talk about Obama, I think--they seemed really curious. It didn't seem appropriate without their parents there so I just left a flyer for them, but it cheered me up.
• Many, many of the people I spoke to, even briefly, seemed just delighted to see me. The Obama supporters of course just beamed with enthusiasm. But I also had the feeling that the uncommitted were also pleased to be approached. (Somebody cares about their vote!) This gave me a strong sense that what I was doing was worth it.
Judging from just one afternoon's visit, there seemed to be quite a bit of excitement in Omaha about this race. We were walking around with Obama sweatshirts and buttons all over and got many friendly greetings. One African American gentleman we walked past in a parking lot greeted us (two crazed-looking middle-aged white people) like old friends. You rarely see a stranger looking at you with so much warmth! But of course, we're not strangers, we're fellow Obama supporters.
I am grateful to many previous diaries here about canvassing, which helped us to get off our rear ends and get involved. Yes, it's easy and fun. Yes, you'll enjoy it. I've written this in part to encourage others to go out there. At this point, the data-gathering in most places will be finished and from here on out, it's reaching out to known Obama voters to get out the vote. As we were told in the campaign office, GOTV is THE most important thing in Omaha--it will make the difference. Go to Omaha if you can, or if you are in a key state get out there and help Get Out the Vote!
It's time to crush them. Break their spirits. Demolish their hopes. Prepare the ground for some very lively new Democrats coming along in a decade or so, from what I can see in Omaha!