Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I Voted Yesterday!!
It's a done deal, people. I went to vote at 2pm Chicago time at the Election Board office in downtown Chicago. The whole process took about 37 minutes. Lickety split! (almost)
I got 'er done. Your turn.
I got 'er done. Your turn.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
It's Ugly Out There. . .
Per Andrew Sullivan:
21 Oct 2008 04:46 pm
A Sign Of The Battle
In Virginia, an African-American finds his Obama sign removed and replaced with a confederate flag. Yes, the man is a veteran. And this is how he responded:
Ya know, conservatives like Andrew Sullivan have made me realize that there is a different between Conservative principles and the BS that the Republican wingnuts are spouting. Some Conservative principles make sense to me. The idiocy that the modern GOP has become makes no sense to me.
21 Oct 2008 04:46 pm
A Sign Of The Battle
In Virginia, an African-American finds his Obama sign removed and replaced with a confederate flag. Yes, the man is a veteran. And this is how he responded:
"I've been praying for them, because we're all going to be charged with what weAs I said: it's now a battle between hope and fear. There is no neutral ground any more. Do what you can.
do," he said. "It's sad that we've grown and we want to keep fighting with
something and can't be peaceful and thankful."
Ya know, conservatives like Andrew Sullivan have made me realize that there is a different between Conservative principles and the BS that the Republican wingnuts are spouting. Some Conservative principles make sense to me. The idiocy that the modern GOP has become makes no sense to me.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Canvassing in Wisconsin
Yesterday I went to southern Wisconsin with 3 other volunteers to canvass for the Obama-Biden campaign. I had originally signed up to go to Michigan but was redeployed to Wisconsin.
I arrived at Obama Headquarters in Chicago at 7:35 am. The coordinators asked who can drive and who needs passengers. I was paired with a driver and two other women. We received directions to the headquarters in Menomonee Falls, WI and off we went.
Now, I walk fairly fast. But these ladies were doing double time to the car. You would have thought we were an hour behind schedule. Fortunately, the driver (a litigator raised in Mississippi) was agressive and fast but not unsafe.
The Menomonee Falls headquarters is based at the IBEW union office there. Nice place. Much nicer than the union office (I forget which union) in Chicago where I attended Camp Obama last month. We arrived at 9:20am. A few volunteers had already arrived, but the organizer wasn't there yet. Apparently, because of the redeployment, there was miscommunication regarding start time. The WI organizer wasn't expecting us to get started until 10:00am. Since I was hungry, I was very happy for the delay. [You know me; my campaign slogan is Food First.] We went to the McDonald's up the street for take-out breakfast. Trust me, we needed it.
Back at the office, we were briefed. The organizer, Clay, grew up in the area: Republican, 71% vote, not very diverse. (Other than volunteers, I saw exactly 3 black people, all men, the entire day; I'm not exaggerating.) The campaign is at the point of micro-targeting, so our lists were compiled of specific addresses as opposed to general neighborhoods. We got our packets (2 for the 4 of us) and off we went. The goal here was to 1) find out if voters had made a decision or were still undecided, 2) listen to them and get a sense of their issues, and 3) provide them with any information that would be helpful to them. We were not attempting to convince people or change their minds if they had decided to vote for McCain-Palin.
Overall, it was a good day. When we started, very few people were home. After lunch, we caught more people at home, and then early evening there were more not at home.
My longest conversation was with a woman who normally votes Republican but hadn't made a decision yet. She said she was open to Obama, but surprised me by saying that she had some "ethical" concerns about Joe Biden regarding statements he's made about the driver of the tractor-trailer that killed his wife and daughter in 1972, shortly after he was first elected to the Senate. She felt that Senator Biden was wrong to accuse the driver of being drunk when alcohol was not a factor in the accident. (See story here and here) Since I had never heard this blame game story, I didn't know how to respond other than to say that grief makes us say and do things that we might not otherwise. I hope that this side story is not a deciding factor for her. We directed her to the Obama website and to the Obama tax calculator for more information on the issues. The birth certicate and Muslim rumors came up with her. I pointed out that as a senator, Barack Obama has had a background check by the FBI, CIA, NSA, Jet magazine, and all of the other spy organizations out there. I don't know if she was satisfied, but. . .what can you do?
The scariest thing that happened was that one house was down a very long lane that started as a steep incline. We didn't want to chance the car getting stuck down the hill, so I walked to the house with one of the other women - a good block away. No one was home, but as we were waiting on the porch we heard gunshots from a hunting rifle. Time to go! Don't want anybody getting confused.
Overall, it was a very productive day. We finished the first packet and got half-way through the second packet. The most difficult part of the day was that it took anywhere from 5-10 minutes to find the addresses. These were not neighborhoods where you could park the car on one block and then walk the next 3-4 blocks. This was a very rural area. Dairy farm country. We had to drive to each house, unless there were 2 within a rock's throw of each other, then we were able to park and two would go to one house and two to the other. Needless to say, we were very tired at the end of the day. But it was a good tired, the kind you get from feeling that your day was spent doing something worthwhile.
Some observations:
I arrived at Obama Headquarters in Chicago at 7:35 am. The coordinators asked who can drive and who needs passengers. I was paired with a driver and two other women. We received directions to the headquarters in Menomonee Falls, WI and off we went.
Now, I walk fairly fast. But these ladies were doing double time to the car. You would have thought we were an hour behind schedule. Fortunately, the driver (a litigator raised in Mississippi) was agressive and fast but not unsafe.
The Menomonee Falls headquarters is based at the IBEW union office there. Nice place. Much nicer than the union office (I forget which union) in Chicago where I attended Camp Obama last month. We arrived at 9:20am. A few volunteers had already arrived, but the organizer wasn't there yet. Apparently, because of the redeployment, there was miscommunication regarding start time. The WI organizer wasn't expecting us to get started until 10:00am. Since I was hungry, I was very happy for the delay. [You know me; my campaign slogan is Food First.] We went to the McDonald's up the street for take-out breakfast. Trust me, we needed it.
Back at the office, we were briefed. The organizer, Clay, grew up in the area: Republican, 71% vote, not very diverse. (Other than volunteers, I saw exactly 3 black people, all men, the entire day; I'm not exaggerating.) The campaign is at the point of micro-targeting, so our lists were compiled of specific addresses as opposed to general neighborhoods. We got our packets (2 for the 4 of us) and off we went. The goal here was to 1) find out if voters had made a decision or were still undecided, 2) listen to them and get a sense of their issues, and 3) provide them with any information that would be helpful to them. We were not attempting to convince people or change their minds if they had decided to vote for McCain-Palin.
Overall, it was a good day. When we started, very few people were home. After lunch, we caught more people at home, and then early evening there were more not at home.
My longest conversation was with a woman who normally votes Republican but hadn't made a decision yet. She said she was open to Obama, but surprised me by saying that she had some "ethical" concerns about Joe Biden regarding statements he's made about the driver of the tractor-trailer that killed his wife and daughter in 1972, shortly after he was first elected to the Senate. She felt that Senator Biden was wrong to accuse the driver of being drunk when alcohol was not a factor in the accident. (See story here and here) Since I had never heard this blame game story, I didn't know how to respond other than to say that grief makes us say and do things that we might not otherwise. I hope that this side story is not a deciding factor for her. We directed her to the Obama website and to the Obama tax calculator for more information on the issues. The birth certicate and Muslim rumors came up with her. I pointed out that as a senator, Barack Obama has had a background check by the FBI, CIA, NSA, Jet magazine, and all of the other spy organizations out there. I don't know if she was satisfied, but. . .what can you do?
The scariest thing that happened was that one house was down a very long lane that started as a steep incline. We didn't want to chance the car getting stuck down the hill, so I walked to the house with one of the other women - a good block away. No one was home, but as we were waiting on the porch we heard gunshots from a hunting rifle. Time to go! Don't want anybody getting confused.
Overall, it was a very productive day. We finished the first packet and got half-way through the second packet. The most difficult part of the day was that it took anywhere from 5-10 minutes to find the addresses. These were not neighborhoods where you could park the car on one block and then walk the next 3-4 blocks. This was a very rural area. Dairy farm country. We had to drive to each house, unless there were 2 within a rock's throw of each other, then we were able to park and two would go to one house and two to the other. Needless to say, we were very tired at the end of the day. But it was a good tired, the kind you get from feeling that your day was spent doing something worthwhile.
Some observations:
- We first started out in noveau riche neighborhoods. The people we spoke to here were polite, even if they were voting for McCain. The responses where somewhat rougher in less affluent neighborhoods. I think the rudest comment one volunteer experienced was "I'm voting for McCain. You can leave now."
- Very few voting for McCain actually said his name. They would say something generic like "I'm going the other way" or "the other guy". I found this amusing. Either they were avoiding confrontation or didn't want to hurt our feelings, which made those who said "not with you" seem mean.
- Households are definitely divided. One volunteer walked up to a woman, her husband and a male friend who was visiting them. The woman pointed to her husband and said "Here, you need to talk to him" and walked away. Apparently, she and the friend are Obama supporters and are trying to convince the husband. More than one person told us that they were for McCain, but their children were for Obama. They seem to be good natured about it. One grandmother said her daughter was for Obama, and the 8-year old granddaughter piped up "And me!"
- The pundits are full of it. I keep hearing "Will Obama get the white male vote?", "Will Obama get the white woman vote? Duh. He wouldn't be leading in the polls without white men and women. As for older white voters, let me tell you something. There was a couple who came in at the end of the day - I'd say they were in their late 50s, early 60s. They had been out for Obama, doing what I don't know because the man was wearing a full leg brace. Full. Leg. Brace. That's how serious this election is.
- Obama volunteers are energetic and happy. I wear an Obama-Biden button on my jacket, and people just start talking to me. People call out "Like that button!" [the IL State Treasurer said this to me in Corner Bakery] The couple I met at Camp Obama in September sent me an Obama t-shirt. I have never been a part of such a widespread, common purpose. Frankly, it has me a little giddy.
- I'm going to go through withdrawal after November 5th. This election has been like a drug.
16 days. Let's do this.
ps. Next time I'm in Wisconsin, I may pick the 'fro all the way out.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
A Very Good Weekend
Senator Obama picked up 15 newspaper endorsements over the weekend, including one from the Toledo Blade. Regarding John McCain, here's the money quote:
Firmly rooted in the failed politics and policies of the past, he cannot
guide us on a path he does not see.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Ayers Heads
If Senator Obama's association with Bill Ayers qualifies him as a terrorist, then - LOGICALLY - all of Bill Ayers'students and associates are terrorists. This includes many prominent civil and business leaders in Illinois, Republican and Democrat.
Hell, I may even be a terrorist, since I'm sure I know someone who knows Ayers.
And I try to be so good. Sigh.
Hell, I may even be a terrorist, since I'm sure I know someone who knows Ayers.
And I try to be so good. Sigh.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Prima Donna
Check out this wonderful video of Donna Brazile saying that she is NOT going to the back of the bus.
Let the church say "Amen".
Let the church say "Amen".
Petraeus in line with Obama
Yeah. John McCain's having a bad week. No one likes him. People are questioning what they ever saw in him. His legacy is being seriously damaged.
Check out TPM.
Check out TPM.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
That One and the Other One
Check out Rolling Stone magazine this month
The October 16th Rolling Stone has a couple of great articles on John McCain - one dealing with his use of Karl Rove acolytes and the one dealing with his image as a maverick. Pretty harsh.
I've been telling people that John McCain seemed like an OK guy to me, not that I thought we shared many views or had anything in common. But he didn't seem like a hateful man. At least not back in 2000 when he was running for the Republican nomination.
Has he always been the jerk we're seeing now? Or does he want the presidency so bad that he's willing to sacrifice his principles and make amends later?
Check out Rolling Stone www.rollingstone.com
I've been telling people that John McCain seemed like an OK guy to me, not that I thought we shared many views or had anything in common. But he didn't seem like a hateful man. At least not back in 2000 when he was running for the Republican nomination.
Has he always been the jerk we're seeing now? Or does he want the presidency so bad that he's willing to sacrifice his principles and make amends later?
Check out Rolling Stone www.rollingstone.com
The VP Debate
Yea, I know. I'm a little late on this one. Been working like a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest. Blah, blah, blah.
One word sums up my reaction to the Biden-Palin "debate": Ugh.
I mean, really. Really, John McCain? Out of the 299,999,997 remaining Americans you could have chosen to be your VP and you choose "that one"? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!
Actually, it's not funny. He's lost his mind. And she babbles. Thank goodness conservatives and decent Republicans recognize it and are calling her out.
Destiny is speaking. Game over.
One word sums up my reaction to the Biden-Palin "debate": Ugh.
I mean, really. Really, John McCain? Out of the 299,999,997 remaining Americans you could have chosen to be your VP and you choose "that one"? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!
Actually, it's not funny. He's lost his mind. And she babbles. Thank goodness conservatives and decent Republicans recognize it and are calling her out.
Destiny is speaking. Game over.
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