Impressions from Canvassing
Oct. 4th, 2008 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nekosenseiI got back a little before eight today after canvassing in Racine. Fortunately, there were a lot of people with cars at the meeting place and I didn't have to drive. I went with three other ladies instead. That was really a blessing because I had a hard time sleeping last night. I woke up for no reason at 4:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I'm sure I would have been thoroughly exhausted if I had driven.
At the Racine office, I bought an Obama yard sign. I have one coming in the mail from the campaign website, but I decided to give that to my mother-in-law because she wanted me to order one for her anyway. (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
doomsey was also balking about how much it would cost with the shipping and everything). This makes everybody happy. I have a yard sign now and, hopefully, my mother-in-law will get one soon. Oh...and I also had an "it's a small world" moment. I ran into one of my adult students from two years ago. I talked to her for a few minutes, and it turns out that she's still taking Spanish classes. She's currently taking a conversation class. Cool beans! She's also been on a couple of canvassing trips already too...one of which she did in Waukesha.
And once again, I had a very pleasant day. I enjoyed the company of the other ladies I was with and got to meet people from the area...and hopefully persuaded two people who were still undecided. One of the undecideds hadn't considered who they were going to vote for or what issues were important to them at all. It sounds like they had their heads stuck in the sand. We handed him a pamphlet hoping that maybe the name would stick. It's kind of cynical, but I figured that maybe the name recognition could do something if, by chance, he did decide to vote. Another undecided had given a lot of thought to the issues and was still on the fence. His main concern was taxes and big government. We talked to him a bit. (We skirted around the cost of universal health care, but we did point out that, by getting out of Iraq, we might have more funds to dedicate to stuff at home). By the time we were done with him, he seemed to be leaning more towards Obama. His mom was also there (he had kids) and she told us that she was voting for McCain. She said that Obama is the perfect candidate, but she couldn't bring herself to vote for him because of his position on abortion. It sounds like she was basing her decision on a single issue. I got the impression that a lot of people did that during the 2004 elections, but up until now, I haven't come across that many during this election. Hmm...
I was very happy to discover that there were a lot more Obama supporters in Racine than there were in Waukesha. I think I managed to get one supporter interested in volunteering. Yay!
One more observation. I noticed that, in both Waukesha and Racine, there weren't as many for sale signs as there are in the Chicago area. Anybody know why that is? My thought was because housing prices weren't as exorbitant there and most homeowners didn't mortgage themselves to the hilt like they do here.
Well...it's bed time for me. I'm over-tired and getting a bit punchy. About half-an-hour or so ago, I ended up giggling my ass off over a comment I made in someone else's journal. It probably wasn't THAT funny, but for some reason, I was amused nonetheless.
At the Racine office, I bought an Obama yard sign. I have one coming in the mail from the campaign website, but I decided to give that to my mother-in-law because she wanted me to order one for her anyway. (
doomsey was also balking about how much it would cost with the shipping and everything). This makes everybody happy. I have a yard sign now and, hopefully, my mother-in-law will get one soon. Oh...and I also had an "it's a small world" moment. I ran into one of my adult students from two years ago. I talked to her for a few minutes, and it turns out that she's still taking Spanish classes. She's currently taking a conversation class. Cool beans! She's also been on a couple of canvassing trips already too...one of which she did in Waukesha. And once again, I had a very pleasant day. I enjoyed the company of the other ladies I was with and got to meet people from the area...and hopefully persuaded two people who were still undecided. One of the undecideds hadn't considered who they were going to vote for or what issues were important to them at all. It sounds like they had their heads stuck in the sand. We handed him a pamphlet hoping that maybe the name would stick. It's kind of cynical, but I figured that maybe the name recognition could do something if, by chance, he did decide to vote. Another undecided had given a lot of thought to the issues and was still on the fence. His main concern was taxes and big government. We talked to him a bit. (We skirted around the cost of universal health care, but we did point out that, by getting out of Iraq, we might have more funds to dedicate to stuff at home). By the time we were done with him, he seemed to be leaning more towards Obama. His mom was also there (he had kids) and she told us that she was voting for McCain. She said that Obama is the perfect candidate, but she couldn't bring herself to vote for him because of his position on abortion. It sounds like she was basing her decision on a single issue. I got the impression that a lot of people did that during the 2004 elections, but up until now, I haven't come across that many during this election. Hmm...
I was very happy to discover that there were a lot more Obama supporters in Racine than there were in Waukesha. I think I managed to get one supporter interested in volunteering. Yay!
One more observation. I noticed that, in both Waukesha and Racine, there weren't as many for sale signs as there are in the Chicago area. Anybody know why that is? My thought was because housing prices weren't as exorbitant there and most homeowners didn't mortgage themselves to the hilt like they do here.
Well...it's bed time for me. I'm over-tired and getting a bit punchy. About half-an-hour or so ago, I ended up giggling my ass off over a comment I made in someone else's journal. It probably wasn't THAT funny, but for some reason, I was amused nonetheless.
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-05 01:23 pm (UTC)Regarding the for sale thing, I can't answer for Waukesha but there are a *lot* of for sale signs here. It might just have been the area that you went to. There's a lot of homes for sale that have had signs up for the past several months. There's a growing number of abandoned homes too. I think it has to do with both the economy and the fact that gang violence has been rising over the past few months.
I not only see a lot of homes for sale, but a lot of business properties as well. There are a lot of tiny local businesses that have gone under. (There's at least 15 vacant, for sale gas stations on the trek from K-Town to Racine where A. works)
no subject
Date: 2008-10-05 04:39 pm (UTC)I am glad to hear you made an impression on that guy and that he may well turn out to vote after all. Here's hoping he votes Dem - but you know, I gotta say this: I think it is so important, in a representative democracy, for electors to turn out, that I'd rather they vote for the opposition than not at all. Heinlein summed it up very well, in my opinion, in his book Double Star: "Take sides! Always take sides! You may be wrong - but the man who refuses to take a side must always be wrong. Heaven save us from poltroons who fear to make a choice." The apathy of the electorate is what did in the Roman republic and led it to becoming the Roman empire. I really don't want to see that happen to the US.