[Oe List ...] A day of canvassing

[facilitationfla at aol.com]

Bob is registering new voters (turns out that 2-1 are Dems!)
  am making calls from  Dem headquarters to encourage absentee balloting ("The turn out is going to be huge, with long lines and a long ballot in  Sarasota County -- perhaps  you'd like to vote from the comfort  of your home").
I also joined MoveOn last night for their tele rally of volunteers to help at the 4 new offices that Obama opened in Fla 2 weeks ago.

Still  have my fingers crossed for Fla.  It'll be close
Cynthia


-----Original Message-----
From: ed feldmanis <edfeldmanis at gmail.com>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 8:46 am
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] A day of canvassing



Marsha,

Thank you for your work.  The MoveOn.org people also had working events around the country including a calling campaign on behalf of Barack Obama.

Here at Keystone this weekend we hosted another group of MoveOn members who were building a support network inside of MoveOn so that they could campaign more effectively.  They were doing training for what they call their "councils".  

I think there were about 9 who stayed with us in the community and 25 to 30 who were hosted in work day sessions on the 6th floor by the new ICA.

Thanks again for your work.

Ed


On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 10:00 PM, Paula Philbrook <paula.philbrook at gmail.com> wrote:


Thank you Marsha and Pat.
Paula






On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 8:01 PM, Marsha Hahn <mhahn013 at sbcglobal.net>
 wrote:










A preface to all of you non-Americans: Thank you for your forbearance as we gnash our teeth over the mess we have made.

 

Pat and I took a three hour drive to Davenport, Iowa yesterday to volunteer with the Obama campaign.  We were responding to a request for Illinois residents to help in the "battleground" states that surround us.

We arrived to join about 40-50 others, some from Illinois and some who were local.  Pat and I were given a packet with a map and list of 80 addresses, along with literature.  It was very organized.  Each address had the names of the resident with whom we were to speak, the person's age, gender, and whether or not they identified as a Democrat, Republican, or claimed no party affiliation.  We had very specific instructions about whether to try to "persuade" or to give information about "early voting."  As a rule, we were talking only with Democrats or unaffiliated people.

What a day:

·         One woman greeted us with "I'm for Obama.  How can I get a yard sign?"  Then she told us she had voted for Bush the last two elections as she pounded her forehead with the palm of her hand (as in, "how could I have been so stupid!")  She said, "If I put out an Obama yard sign my neighbors will KNOW it's okay for them to vote for him."  She told us she had been trying to persuade her brother, who had staunchly held out for McCain until Sarah Pal
in was chosen.  "Then he called me and said, 'That's it.  I'm on your side now!'"

·         One elderly Korean-American woman came to her door and smiled broadly.  "Forty-two years I've voted Democrat!  Just like my husband did!"

·         One man, retired, told us he was "on the fence."  But he stepped outside and started talking.  He didn't have a lot of education – spoke like a good blue-collar guy.  He told us how appalled he was at the Palin pick, how she clearly wasn't up to the task – this while continually looking back at me to emphasize that it wasn't that he was against a woman being VP, just not this woman.

·         One guy saw our Obama buttons and yelled at us, saying he didn't want any Communists or Socialists.  So I smiled and said, "So I guess you're voting McCain?"  "No, I can't stand him either!"  He was the only person who was belligerent.

Lots of people weren't home, but we figure we helped a few who were undecided move a little closer to Obama.  And we cheered on those who were already there.  We wished the few McCain supporters well.

Doris and I were talking and she was saying how silly our election process is here.  It's kind of true.  Think of all the time and treasure that is spent on this.  But it's what we have right now, and there's no changing it this year.

Our testimo
ny is: there are a hundred ways you can do something to make a real difference right now.  Volunteer locally, phone battleground states from home, contribute what you can.

We were hot and tired when we finished and started our 3-hour trek home.  But we felt great.

Marsha Hahn





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-- 
Paula


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