Canvassing in Carolina—The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (and the just plain Weird)

The Ugly.

Hearing the yelling coming from the other side of the condominium, I prayed it didn’t involve my intrepid volunteer who had devoted so many hours helping me deliver my political brochures in the sweltering Carolina heat of late August.

Unfortunately, it did.  It would be a good hour later before I knew exactly what happened. All I knew, was that I was winning a vote at one side of the building, talking to a woman who was glad I was a Democrat, when I heard yelling. I wanted to leave her to make sure everything was all right, but I couldn’t get away without being rude. Then my phone rang, I used that as an excuse to leave and said I had to go. It was my partner.

“I just got attacked! I’m leaving.”

I didn’t know exactly what happened.  I headed to my car, figuring he was already there. On the way, a bitchy older woman rolled down her window of her car and holding my brochure demanded, “Did you put this brochure on my door?” I said I did, or at least the volunteer helping me did. “Don’t you know there is a “No Soliciting” ordinance in this neighborhood!” she demanded. It was more condemnation than question. I replied I wasn’t soliciting. I said we weren’t selling encyclopedias or vacuum cleaners; we were exercising our right to inform voters about the election. I refrained from saying what I really thought of her.

She then said she reported me to the management and they said I had to leave immediately.  I didn’t argue further (nor did I let her know we were already done.) All I wanted to do was get back to my car and check on my friend. He wasn’t at the car. I called him on my cell phone. He said he was walking home—over a mile away.

I drove to pick him up, and saw him about half way to his house.  He said he didn’t want to ride with me. He wanted to walk. He said he’d talk about it with me later after he got home. I quickly surmised he was so upset he needed to walk at least a mile just to calm down.

An hour later he told me what happened. I didn’t witness the altercation. I only heard shouting.  He had gone to the back side of the condo, to get to the front door. Because of the unusual design of these fancy duplexes, the main entrance, decorated with welcome mats and doorbells, often appeared to be in the back.

My friend simply left a brochure at each door.  On the other hand, I rang the doorbell and hoped to speak to the homeowner. Apparently he had met up with an intoxicated vicious homeowner who, seeing my masked comrade, accused him of invading his private back-yard. The guy not only yelled. He swung his fist attacking my partner. Fortunately he missed. My friend beat a hasty retreat.

Hearing the tale an hour later, I could tell he was still shaken.  He begged off volunteering for the remainder of the day. I told him I wouldn’t blame him if he never volunteered again. He had already done far more than anyone else. I decided I would wait until he asked me to help again, as I feel it would be improper to ask him after all he had been through.

Working together, we had already distributed 2000 brochures out of 5000 in a week.  He was able to do two houses in the same time it took me to do one. He didn’t mind. He knew it was a good idea for me to meet as many voters as possible face-to-face.

I wear a transparent plastic face shield.  Covid-19 runs rampant in South Carolina, one of the worst states in our country, which is the worst country in the world. I place my brochure in the door, ring the door-bell, and retreat ten to twelve feet away. Most of the time no one comes to the door, but time spent waiting really isn’t wasted; it forces me to rest a while in the 90 degree heat. It’s even hotter wearing a face shield.

If someone answers, I go into my spiel:

Good morning! My name is Stephen Dreyfus.  I left my political brochure on your door as I am running for the South Carolina House of Representatives here in District 20. I hope you will take time to look at my brochure, and if you like what you see, perhaps you will consider voting for me in November. Thank you and have a good day.

Yet on this particular day, everything was going exceptionally well.  This community of condos seemed to be mostly retired people, meaning most were at home and answered the door. The vast majority were polite and appreciative, many giving warm smiles and wishing me luck in my campaign. Most of the time I couldn’t tell if they were Republican or Democrat. They seemed to be impressed with me, simply because I came to their door. Of course, how they react when they find out I am for gun-control and the legalization of marijuana is another question. But at least I was usually able to make a favorable good impression.

Yet one shouldn’t have to risk one’s life just because a candidate is committed to meeting the voters face-to-face, by canvassing door-to-door.

My mom decided to run for office the same year Jimmy Carter ran for President.  She ran for House District 22 as Democrat. The South was far more conservative back then. The ultra-fundamentalist Bob Jones University was in the middle of the District. Plus my mom was a liberal Jewish Yankee from New York. She won.

Myriad factors explain a political upset.  The Republicans were having a bad year, since Nixon resigned in disgrace and Ford pardoned him. Moreover, Jimmy Carter was from the South and was an evangelical Christian. By then most segregationist white voters (and most white voters were segregationist) followed the lead of Strom Thurmond, and switched over to the Republican Party. Yet many people in the South loyally cling to the party name, regardless of party platform or candidates.

I found this out going door to door.  At most homes I went into my spiel, received smiles and thank-yous, and was on my way—never having stated anything partisan nor controversial. I planned to abandon Vote Builder, at least for now, and instead of concentrating only on Democratic voters, tried to reach everyone—even if they never voted.

Yet invariably, once in a while someone asked me directly if I was a Democrat or Republican.  I said Democrat. Four out of five times they informed me they always vote Republican, and handed back my brochure unwilling to even look at it. One guy threw it at me in disgust.

Another factor that helped my mom win was that she did canvass the entire district door-to-door handing out her campaign literature.  One day back IN THE 70’S when I was canvassing with her, I confronted an aggressive bulldog who emerged from the driveway at the side of the house. I started to stare it down, when a second, even-meaner bulldog appeared. I took flight and raced down the hill, ran across the street, and grabbed a low-hanging limb from a tree. I never even got nipped. Ever since, I have been leery of vicious dogs, but not vicious people.

The next morning my friend called.  He said he was ready to go out canvassing with me again. Now that’s courage!

The Bad

America has a new demographic: choice of media.  In the same neighborhood, just a few houses apart, I got reactions from voters so different, you would have thought they lived in two different countries, or in two different eras.

I walked up to one suburban home, and seeing the elderly owner mowing the lawn, wondered if it would be rude to try to talk to him over the roar of the mower.  I walked up the driveway, and problem solved: the husband was sitting in the shade of his carport, allowing me to hand him my brochure. Then the wife (who I first thought was a man) came over to confront me.

“Where do you stand on murdering babies in the womb?”  

When I tried to politely indicate I was pro-choice she went into a rabid diatribe.  To say she was a one-issue voter would be an understatement. She was obsessed to the point of delirium in her fervor to protect the unborn. There was nothing I could say to subdue her emotional tirade. I just wanted to get away. Then she hit a nerve by saying not protecting the unborn in America was the same as the Nazis killing the Jews in Germany. I could not abide this gross false equivalency. I told her I was Jewish and I objected to her claim that the extermination of six million Jews was equivalent to allowing woman to have safe legal abortions. She then let me know, that the day I meet my maker, I would have to answer for my failure to protect the unborn.

The Good

Just a few houses over, an elderly gentleman opened the door.  I gave him my spiel. He welcomed me with open arms, and since I refrained from shaking his hand, gave me a fist-bump. He asked a few questions and seemed more impressed with each answer. He indicated he would love to vote for me and was so grateful I was running. He invited me to come in to meet his wife. I politely declined. Then I boldly asked if I could put my yard sign in his front yard, knowing his street was the most trafficked in the neighborhood. He said he would be delighted. Then he asked me to wait a minute as he went inside. He came back and handed me four dollars, apologizing saying it was all the money he had in his wallet. When I returned with the yard sign, he wanted me to pose for a picture behind it, and insisted we take a couple of selfies with his cell phone, to get pictures of both of us together. Although I had on my face-shield, he didn’t have a mask and seemed oblivious to social-distancing. He was like a teenager, only with a mild case of Alzheimer’s. He couldn’t have been nicer.

Another time I left my brochure at the door and, when no one answered, headed to the next house up the street.  Then I heard a woman at the previous house call out my name. “Hey, Dreyfus!” I didn’t know if she was angry or pleased, but came back to see what she wanted. She said she was the Democratic Precinct Captain of this neighborhood and was delighted I was running as a Democrat. She also said she participated in our weekly Tell Them Tuesday Anti-Trump Protests, and remembered seeing someone hold up my yard sign saying “Dreyfus 20-20 Vision.”

At one small apartment a young black woman was so thrilled I was running as a Democrat, she video-taped me for a brief impromptu interview, for her followers on the The Jazzy Report.  She asked me to do an even longer interview next Thursday.

But the best thing that happened wasn’t necessarily finding out someone was in complete agreement that Trump and the rest of the Republicans are repugnant.  The best thing was when people told me that sometimes they vote Republican, but this time they intend to only vote for Democrats. We can’t persuade the Trump cult-worshipping deplorables; but we can persuade independent-minded voters.

The Weird.

At one house a short guy standing shirtless in his driveway told me he always voted Republican.  Somehow we got into an amiable discussion. Rather than argue with those whose minds you’d like to change, it’s often better to ask questions and listen. So when he mentioned term-limits I asked if he thought term limits were a good idea.

“Sure,” he replied, “If we didn’t have term limits Obama would still be President and we would all have to be Muslims living under Sharia Law!”  I told him to have a nice day and was on my way.

On one street I got into a conversation with a Republican who seemed impressed with me. He asked me if I supported Democracy or a Republic.  I answered I saw no conflict between the two. He said, “Then how do we prevent mob rule? What if the vast majority wants to get rid of freedom of speech?” I answered that the will of the majority should never over-rule the rights of the minority, such as freedom of speech. Later that night, watching Rachael Maddow’s montage of the Republican convention, I realized where his fear came from. Trump is instilling fear that mobs in the street are taking over the country.

Another man asked if I wasn’t concerned about all the violence and cities in flames.  I am not sure which disturbs me more, the fact Trump and his Trumptorian minions spout lies fomenting fear and hatred, or the fact that it is working on so many Republicans.

Another day, a jogger with a Trump T-shirt ran up the street holding my brochure. He handed it back to me with a friendly smile and said they didn’t need it, and he apparently wanted to help me out by making sure I didn’t waste any brochures. I thanked him.

One lady answered the door and claimed her neighborhood had a no soliciting policy.  I told her I was simply exercising democracy by giving voters information they need to vote. She informed me the reason they had a no soliciting policy, was so homeowners didn’t have to open the door to strangers. I didn’t remind her she looked through her window beside her door, saw I was a stranger, and opened it anyway. Some people like laws controlling other’s behavior, so they don’t have to control their own behavior. No one forced her to open the door.

One of the weirder moments occurred when a car pulled up beside me.  The windows were down. Seeing me, the driver asked, “Dreyfus, what are you doing here?”

I immediately recognized this friend from Asheville and replied, “What am I doing here?  What are you doing here?” He is one of the best Table Tennis players in Asheville, North Carolina. I knew him because I am one of the best Table Tennis players in Greenville, South Carolina. He told me he came to Greenville, because he was interested in buying the red Lexus in the driveway of the people whose house I just finished canvassing. When we parted after chatting a while, I said, “Tell them I told you to buy their car; that way I’ll get their vote.”

Then there was the guy who was astute enough to be fearful that if Trump wins again, our Democracy will dissolve into dictatorship.  He bragged he personally met Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and not only met John McCain; but was the Navy officer who de-briefed McCain after he was released from the POW camp in North Vietnam. We both agreed McCain was a true hero. I didn’t share his enthusiasm for Ronald Reagan.

Another weird conversation transpired with another gentleman who also answered his door without a shirt.  At first he said he was a Republican. Then he admitted the Republican Party was hopelessly corrupt. Then, using false equivalency, he said the Democrats were just as corrupt, wasting millions of dollars trying to impeach Trump. I replied I read dozens of books about impeachment, and was in the middle of reading another one. I said Trump broke the law, violated the Constitution, and needed to be impeached. Rather than dispute my claim, he asked, “Then why didn’t they impeach Hillary Clinton for her emails?” Did I win his vote? Probably not, but I had the feeling I convinced him it was better not to vote at all, than to vote Republican. A half vote (not voting Republican) is better than none (voting Republican.)

On my campaign brochure, I included my campaign web page, www.stephendreyfus.com, where I list my email address. Apparently a couple of constituents took the time to read both the brochure and went to my web page. Here is what one guy wrote:

Mr. Dreyfus,

Unfortunately I can't allow myself to vote for you. You're a liberal to the point of leaving God out of your 20-20 visions which make you blind, however I do like your Honesty statement which is the first principle in spiritual principles. Without stressing law & order & God as your compass to get direction from then you only have man made secular ideas & knowledge to draw from. A ship without a compass is lost at sea...

Here is another email I received:

I will not be voting for you. Eliminate the electoral college?? You call George W. Bush unintelligent with no experience? There’s true compassion and morality. Trump the only one who lies? (Biden / Obama) You lack humility. Real Solicitation Running for office is a labor of love.  The main reason I am canvassing voters face-to-face is a matter of simple math. My goal is to disburse 8000 brochures. If I mail them, the postage alone will be close to $4000—$4000 I haven’t got. But I do have time and determination, and so far have spent up to six hours a day walking from house to house. Every hour I work saves the campaign about $25. Many have already given generously to my campaign. I want to do whatever I can to deliver my message to the most voters for the least amount of money. So here’s the pitch.  Usually at the end of my diaries I ask for donations. I am doing so here but with a twist. Instead of asking for a contribution of $25 just for my campaign, I am asking that you send me a check to the Dreyfus Election Fund for $10, and also write a check for $20 to whichever Democrat in your district is running for your state’s House of Representatives. State Representatives are the ones who write voting laws and draw voting districts. This is why electing State Representatives who are Democrats is so important. Republicans have shown they will shamelessly Gerrymander voting districts to give them an unfair advantage. Those at the top of the ticket, like Biden, and in South Carolina Jaime Harrison, (who is opposing Lindsey Graham) get millions of dollars. But those down-ballot candidates like myself who lack name recognition, are lucky to get any money at all. Thank you for your support. Dreyfus Election Fund Arthur State Bank 1410 N. Pleasantburg Drive Greenville, SC 29607