I went out canvassing today. In the morning I got a list from the Obama office in Boulder and hit a boatload of houses in a middle class part of Boulder. Then in the afternoon I went with New Era/Democrats Work and hit a blue collar part of Longmont.
It is exhausting work, both physically & mentally. And you need to be on top of your game to handle any response. It's brutal - and it's also wonderful. If you haven't volunteered yet - go do so tomorrow, next weekend, and the Monday/Tuesday after. You will feel so good after you have done so - I promise. (Republicans too - it's a bi-partisian feel good effect.)
I get to the Obama office around 9:30 and have to wait about 10 minutes for a training "class." They appear to be giving one every 20 - 30 minutes. There were 7 in my class, 3 pairs (I think husband & wife each) and me (Mrs. Blog is not politically active).
The class was all of 5 minutes long and gave the basics on how to hit the houses, how to fill out the forms, and what to do for questions we could not answer. It was very sensible in that it did not give us 40 things to remember as people can only remember 3 - 7 things. So they kept it short & sweet.
The people managing the office were very impressive. People came in wanting to do all kinds of different volunteer work (I walked in and asked what they wanted me to do). And in each case they talked up going door to door and in a very nice way got everyone who walked in set to canvass.
During the class there was an only in Boulder moment when a woman came in dressed sort-of goth/witch/??? - full white facepaint and a very weird outfit. She just wanted yard signs and then flew away on her broom with them.
Ok, so out hitting the streets. A bit over ½ the people were not home. The remaining ones were 100% Obama except one house where the residents were not home, but the cleaning person is a McCain supporter. Another only in Boulder moment - the rich homeowner is Obama, the working stiff housekeeper is McCain.
But the ground game does matter now - a lot of these people are Obama supporters, but I did not hear the comments that make one think they will cast that ballot no matter what. A supporter who doesn't vote hurts half as much as an independent on the fence who votes for McCain. Getting those supporters to cast their ballot is the main job of canvassers in Boulder.
The list was solid, I think there were 2 people that no longer lived there. So they're working with good data.
I would also ask about Udall and Polis. And the vast majority of those who have not voted said "don't know" (for Udall vs Schaffer) and "who?" for Polis. Polis I understand as he hasn't really been campaigning (and why on earth waste time asking about him) but Udall is interesting as this is his House district and he's been advertising like crazy. The polls tend to be accurate but the people I hit are still officially undecided.
I also met one woman with an excellent reason to wait for election day. She's taking her 4 year old daughter with her to show her voting the old way. I thought that was neat.
Ok, then off to Longmont to meet up with the New Era/Democrats Work group. Basically they bused up a bunch of students in matching New Era t-shirts from CU to hit part of North Longmont. It looked like an Up With People band.
Got my list and hit the street. They were pushing a number of amendments (58 at the top!!!) and asking how people are voting on Brandon Shaffer, Betsy Markey, & Barak Obama. They gave us 2 flyers, one with Brandon Shaffer on one side and the amendments on the other and a second for Betsy Markey.
Over half were not home and had a number where the person was no longer there (and one house which I think had been foreclosed on and the people evicted). Also one address that didn't exist (or at least I couldn't find it).
I talked to one person who is "51% McCain, 49% Obama." Her big worry is that Obama might take away her right to carry a gun. I told her that my personal opinion is that the Dems aren't going to touch gun control - but didn't push. Hopefully I moved her 2% to "Obama 51%, McCain 49%."
I also talked to a very nice older woman who told me she has already voted and that I wouldn't like the answer. So a vote for McCain (damn!). But when I asked her about Markey/Musgrave she said that Musgrave was so awful that she left it blank. I think this is a major indicator for Betsy Markey - this woman bleeds Republican blood, she would never vote for a Dem. But she can, and did, leave the vote blank. And that helps Betsy. So Betsy not only pulls independents, but also gets Republicans to leave their vote blank.
So get out there and hit the street tomorrow. The walk list they give you will look a little imposing but it is about a 2 hour effort each. You'll be a little slower at first. Once you get good at it, you can do them in 1½ hours each (that's my speed). You plan your route carefully, walk fast between houses, and when talking keep it short & sweet as most people don't want to spend even 2 minutes on this.
Some people clearly didn't want to be bothered by me (including one C.U. student who I clearly woke up at the ungodly early hour of 12:05), some were ok about it, and a number were quite friendly & talkative. But no one was rude or mean.
Go do it, you'll feel really good about it afterwards.
