I spent this afternoon walking in two neighborhoods in Middletown CT. This is CT-03, Rosa DeLauro country so it's safe on the national level, but the local state rep (CT State-100) is a Republican and his challenger, Matt Lesser, wants every registration he can get.
I had a good time, and met some fellow volunteers. I had some very nice conversations, and a few cold shoulders. My legs are tired and my feet are sore, and I feel great because every vote counts.
In that spirit, I wanted to share this diary of 6 registrations.
This is the first election where I have been politically active. I've talked a lot in the past, but I've never gotten involved because:
"The country's so big, what can I do"
"I'm too busy, isn't voting right enough?"
"My state is blue, so it doesn't really matter here."
Well, Barack Obama has inspired me to get off my butt and into the game:
"If we each do a little, together we can do a lot."
"Nobody is too busy to spend a little time helping."
"Even if your state is blue, there are good candidates who need your help"
So I went to Middletown Connecticut today, to Matt Lesser's campaign office, where I was given a little advice, a very short script, and a map. I partnered up with David, so he could take one side of the street and I could take the other, and we walked for 2 hours. He got 4 people to register, and I didn't get any. I know it works that way sometimes, and I did have some good conversations with people, so I was still fired up.
When we got back to the office, David had to leave for the day, but I wanted to do more, so I went to a different neighborhood on my own, and my luck changed.
Registration #1.
An apartment in a fairly run-down multi-family house. A woman came to the door smoking a cigarette. I introduced myself and asked if she was registered. She said she wasn't but maybe this time she should. As I was getting her information on the form, she asked me whether this meant she had to vote for Obama. I told her no, that I was a campaign volunteer, but she could vote for whoever she wanted.
In Connecticut, we have optional party registration, and she wanted no part of any party. After I left, and had turned the corner, she came running after me, wanting me to again confirm that she could vote for whoever she wanted. I assured her she could.
I'm still not sure what was going on in her mind. In the end, I don't think I really got an Obama voter, but I'll take it as a small win anyway.
Registration #2.
A new street, with slightly better kept houses. Mostly one family rentals. I knocked on a door and a guy answered, talking on a cell phone. He took one look at my Obama button and grinned and told his wife there was someone at the door. I gave his wife my intro, and she assured me they were already registered and planning to vote for Obama. She then told me that we had met at the Unity Event in June, which was my first campaign activity. I'm terrible at faces, so I would never have remembered.
She wished me luck, and I moved on to her neighbor, a 50-something Asian man, working in his backyard. He made it clear that he didn't trust me, and that his English wasn't very good; he also made it clear that he wasn't going to try very hard to understand me. As I was turning to leave, my friend from the Unity event came back on to her porch and yelled to him that this was something that he really should do. His attitude suddenly changed, and, despite his still limited english, we got the form filled out.
I trust that his neighbor will help him get to the polls, so, I'll chalk this up as a big win. A true first-time voter, with an assist from his neighbor and Barack's grass-roots philosophy.
Registration #3.
A little further down the same block. The doorbell ring and my intro were par for the course, but her reaction wasn't. "Oh Great. We're really for Obama, and I'm not registered. Come in please." The living room had the "starting out" look. Just enough furniture to make do, and a crib. Unsurprisingly, she had been registered in her former town, but hadn't had a chance to get registered here. The occupant of the crib and father were not around.
A definite vote for the full Democratic slate. Would she have made time in her busy life to get registered on time without me? Who knows, but if nothing else, I made her life easier.
Registration #4.
Short and simple. Of course I asked her if her husband needed to re-register also, and should I leave a form. She said yes.
I'm taking credit for this one. She seemed very motivated, and I bet he gets the form filled out.
Registration #5&$6
At this point, I'm starting to drag. One nice already registered Obama supporter did ask me if I wanted a glass of water, but at that point all I wanted to do was to finish the street and relax, so I pressed on until the second to last house on the street, where the door was answered by 2 twenty-something women. "I don't think I'm registered said one," and "I know I'm not" said the other. "And I know someone else who needs to register" said the first." At which point they went back inside and dragged out their mother.
"Mom, you have to register to vote." Well, despite some pushing, we couldn't convince her she said that she had never voted and didn't intend to. I left that as unfinished business for them, but I did get the two daughters signed up. While they were filling out their forms, their father came out and thanked me. He has aparently been working for years to get his wife to register, and is very happy that his daughters finally are.
2 wins here, with a final note of caution. As I was leaving, I glanced down at the form, which I had already double-checked, and one of the women had not put her birth year down. I had to re-knock and get her to fill it in, since it would have been invalid without it. Always tripple-check, especially at the end of a long day.
So, did I just win the state congressional seat for Matt Lesser? Probably not. He is unlikely to win with a margin of victory of fewer than 6 votes. But is is all about each of us doing our little bit. When I got back to the office, they had 60 or so registrations, and were still waiting for a crew that had gone to a community center.
It is even less probable that I won the national election for Barack Obama. CT will probably be very safe. While there is some hope that the people I talked to will talk to other people they know in other states, I know that I, personally, did not do enough to put him over the top.
So that's why I wrote this diary this way. 6 little individual stories. My six points of light will only matter when they are combined with the lights that others are creating. Together, we will brighten our country on November 4th, and beyond.
Yes! We! Can!