People looking for it - this is today's DIDS (Damn I Did Something) Political but I wanted a catchy title today.
This is an opportunity for people to take a bow for their hard work helping get Democrats elected to every office from the school board to the Oval Office.
Yesterday was a political volunteer kind of day for the Kendrick casa. I went in the morning to do some data entry and wound up being a first-time phonebanker...and it wasn't even bad. W00t!
Naturally, my wife went above and beyond the call of duty. She went canvassing for Obama. :)
More below the break
CSKendrick's tale
In the morning I went in to the Larry Kissell for Congress office to encourage supporters to take advantage of Early Vote in North Carolina.
Important point - all of my callees were people who had indicated Kissell support but for one reason or another had not voted in 3 of the past 4 elections.
It was a big deal for me. First time phone caller. I didn't wanna screw it up.
My experience: Phonebanking is a percentage business. Lots of wrong numbers. Lots more messages. Two anecdotes from people actually answering the phone.
The first: An older woman (try mid 80s) who intended to drive herself and darn if she did not know all the particulars of where to go to vote early.
The second: A younger man who was answering in the affirmative on the part of his mother, who was slowing perishing from congestive heart failure, that his interest in politics had never been higher and that both he and his mother were very much looking forward to voting early for Barack Obama. I asked if he know the nearest location to do so. He said no. I told him. Useful transfer of knowledge ensued.
He said thank-you and added that he felt this was a historic election, that this was a chance to really change things, that is, unless the "idiots in charge now manage to hold on to power". I agreed with a chuckle, and added "I think if North Carolina is in play, that really says it all." He agreed, and thanked all of us who are doing our part to make this happen.
Me? I'm just the first-time phonebanker.
But it felt really really good to have contributed a little something more than data entry and writing notecards and depositing a check or two.
And yes, I teared up a bit. So there. :)
MKKendrick's tale - so far as I know (she might chime in later)
My wife left me in charge of the little ones for a couple of hours while she went over to what she described as a middle class neighborhood with a diverse demographic (lots of that in north Charlotte) where she was knocking on doors to encourage undecideds or leaners to vote for Obama.
Sometimes, the response was guarded. "Yes, we've decided who we're voting for." No volunteering as for whom.
Many times no one was home.
A couple of time, it turned out that a familiar name was the home of a former student of my wife's, one of which (I think this was the case) answered the door which was fairly cool.
There were a fair number of people out or at least observing the proceeding of a lone woman down the street, sizing her up as a possible salesperson or distributor of Watchtower literature (we get witnesses in our neighborhood, I cannot imagine the ones nearby are any different) or perhaps someone working for one of the campaigns.
Anyways, MKK walked up to one door and before she could even knock a smiling man welcomed her, laughing as he saw the well-marked Obama literature and gear. He had been noticing her passage down the street for a short while.
"I was just telling my wife: That's Obama on the ground right there!"
FYI: That house is voting early for Obama. :)
