The last time I went door-to-door for a presidential candidate was for George McGovern in 1972. Since then, life intervened — grad school, jobs, marriage, parenthood, and caring for aging parents — and I voted and contributed, but never again took an active part in a campaign.
This year we Democrats are virtually certain to have as our nominee Hillary Clinton, whom I like, admire, identify with, and usually agree with. Even when I don’t agree, I can follow her thought process. (See the Congressional Record for the discussion prior to the vote on Iraq, where her words are on pages 56-58 of 110 at www.gpo.gov/… Her reasoning at the time was perfectly clear, even though she has since regretted her vote.) The Republicans are virtually certain to have as their nominee That Idiot.
So there’s absolutely no question that I’ve got to be politically active active this year. Last Saturday afternoon, I joined several canvassers and a dozen or more phone bankers and data specialists for a Get Out The Vote day here in Southern California. Three of us went door-to-door together to a targeted set of almost 50 Democratic households to encourage them to vote for Hillary. Absolutely everyone was warm and welcoming; most were strongly for Hillary; and even the Bernie Bro household assured us that if Hillary is the nominee, of course they will vote for her. Most of our households were either African-American or Latino, and this little sample of California certainly fits with the observation that minorities tend strongly toward Hillary.
Some highlights of the day:
— The woman whose opinion of Trump was, “That man is the Antichrist!”
— A Spanish-speaking registered voter who was for Hillary but had never voted and didn’t know how. We connected her with “he’s the Antichrist” above, who lives in the same complex, and she promised to take her Spanish-speaking neighbor to the polls with her on June 7. We also alerted our team leader that this new voter needs a Spanish-language sample ballot ASAP and needs a follow-up call.
— The woman who came running to the door wrapped in a towel. She was in the shower! But when her little daughter told her there were Hillary people at the door, she leapt out without even taking time to dress because she wanted to talk to us and assure us of her support.
— The woman who thanked us for giving our time to make sure her candidate Hillary is the nominee and then the President.
— All the Spanish-speaking voters with fairly limited English who lit up when I spoke to them in my adequate but hardly perfect Spanish. One was originally from Honduras, and was pleased when I recalled that I once had an office mate who was originally from Honduras.
— Everyone who offered water, drinks, and snacks. People are very kind to canvassers!
— The owners of the little café who hosted us on Saturday. I hadn’t been there before, although it’s only a mile from my home. I dropped by yesterday for morning coffee to thank them for hosting us, and was assured that “we’re all hugely for Hillary.” (Note to self: keep going back for coffee, and keep reminding them that I started going there because they supported the Hillary campaign.)
— My Fitbit Zip showed 16,608 steps at the end of the day!
Canvassing is really, really enjoyable, as I re-discovered. When we Democrats turn out, we win. We don’t need to try to persuade anyone; we just need to get our supporters to the polls. I’m busy Saturday, but I’ll be back out with the Get Out The Vote effort on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday for the June 7 California primary.