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Notes From Obama Voter Registration Drive in Dallas
We started off at 9:30 at Obama HQ in Dallas and then split up into groups of 30 - 40 people that were sent to various parts of the city. Turnout must have been strong since it ended up only being a half day effort; I had been told to allow all day. We then broke in teams of three and worked our route going door to door. Majority of people were happy to talk to us and were Obama supporters. We had a friendly conversation with a Republican who liked Obama, too. We also ran into a Clinton supporter who was friendly. One woman we caught in the driveway and started yelling at us before we could get past "Hi, we are volunteers...". She did not want to talk about voting. We assumed she was for Clinton and "bitter".
Obama's trust in people is well placed, and how he is running is campaign reflects that trust. Our instructions were all about being respectful and friendly - nothing negative. As a counterpoint, one of my co-canvasser started with Clinton but has been very disappointed by both Hillary and Bill and the descent in their campaign.
What I saw and heard today leaves me very optimistic about November. In our group of 30 - 40 that met in the parking lot before breaking into teams, there were black, white, hispanic, old, young, and middle age. All people that want their country back. All the pundit and Clinton campaign rhetoric about electability is just that. Like the story on Huffington Post, I think the only people who have to worry are the RNC and McCain. I do trust that people will see that McCain 2008 is not McCain pre-2000 and may in fact be worse than Bush, once the general election ramps up and the MSM wakes up, as it is starting to do.
Comments (24)
dream on.... how I remember when I was also idealistic - Do you really believe he'll change congress when the people behind him are all washington's elites rooted there for years? Do you think they will relegate their powers to him? You'll get your heart broken as we have all been in the past. You don't really listen to what he says. He has told you that he'll work across party lines which means he'll cave in to republicans who are against anything that involves helping the population by government. So when he'll vote with them as he did on tort reform and allowed credit card cos to charge more than 30% in interest and you scream, he'll just respond that he has told you all along that he's working across party lines because in his words "republicans do have better ideas at times" - please tell me one good idea that the republicans have come up in the past 14 years? Texas is strongly republican it was redistricted to remain so for a very long time - he has no chance in hell of winning Texas!
May 11, 2008 7:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
So much jaded bitterness from one so old...
May 11, 2008 8:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
...and thus in the name of preserving hope do we disdain it...
May 11, 2008 9:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
What is that body of water in the background?
May 11, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Suzie,
You sound indeed like a very unhappy person. Please spare us the attempt to drag us to your pitiful dungeon of broken hearts.
We are adults and our heart is ours to put wherever we want to at the risk of whatever we want to.
What we seem to be clear about is that those Washington ways would NEVER change with Hillary. Let us take our chances.
(You too can move on, if only you wanted to...)
May 11, 2008 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
You are right, of course, but don't expect any positive feedback on this board.
Idealists are often disappointed with reality. And anyone who thinks McConnell, Lott, Hastert and the boys are going to play nice when offered a figleaf, they're going to be sadly mistaken.
Bill Clinton ran as a centrist, but we always felt that he was really on our side. And we felt even more strongly that Hillary was with us. Nevertheless, the key moment of disillusionment for me was when Clinton backed his Drug Czar McCatherty on medical marijuana (pre-Lewinsky second term). As a social progressive, I wanted to say. "Look. You won reeelection. You don't have to play the political game anymore." I was thinking, "How could anyone with a conscious be against a doctor giving marijuana to help people with glaucoma or cancer patients mitigate the effects of chemo?"
May 11, 2008 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe you should shut your mouth until you're able to make an educated statement.
Hastert and Lott are out....shows how out of touch you are.
May 11, 2008 6:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're right. I forgot that Hastert and Lott resigned late last year. And both of them were more reasonable than other rethug leaders anyway.
Nevertheless, the point still is even more reinforced. The rethug house that Delay, Gingrich and McConnell built still stands. And whoever their leaders are, there isn't going to be any rapprochement, because the rethugs don't want it.
May 11, 2008 6:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Herzl once wrote "if you will it, it is no dream." It has now been sixty years since the foundation of Israel, and it's still going strong.
May 11, 2008 7:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, pay attention to the congressional races--the republican party is on record being extremely worried about losing seats that were once believed to be rock solid red/right wing.
The smear tactics haven't had much traction. If you sense the frustration of people with government, which clearly you do, you are faced with a choice. (it's not really an either or except in the immediate sense and in the first person singular). You can see the cause ofthe frustration as a corrupt destruction cesspool that can only dirty those who try to make government work, or, you can try to do something to change the calculus. Thomas Jefferson said a little revolution every now and again is a good thing in a democracy. It doesn't have to be military to be either effective or contagious. This country has remade itself and its politics countless times in its short history. Are you saying that this current generation isn't up to the task? The tyranny of numbers...not dollars...scares even the most corrupt politician.
You can sneer at the people who are at least trying to change the nature of our failed politics, but that's even worse than just sitting it out and whining about it. That's cheering on the very group of people you imply contempt for--power corrupted elected officials. There's something self-destructive about that. I think all the people out there working this weekend for voter registration deserve an attaboy for at least giving enough of a crap about the country to try.
May 11, 2008 8:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops I forgot, Dallas and Austin are the 2 democratic strongholds - so he might do well but he won't win the state and I'm from Texas, worked for atate and federal democratic candidates and lost time after time - With Pelosi and Reid caving in to Bush bill after bill why should they vote against what they are comfortable and familiar with?
May 11, 2008 7:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great post, wolf. I love hearing these stories.
May 11, 2008 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sure Obama is a saint, just as you say. It has nothing to do with your being totally naive.
May 11, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Suzie,
Perhaps not Texas in 2008, but Obama will win the general election in 2008. But to not try is to lose. By your logic, Obama would never had gotten in the race. I will continue to register every voter I can in Texas. Imagine, a million volunteers registering a few new voters each - we give ourself the opportunity to win any state. Clinton at least understood that, to her credit. And maybe Obama wins Texas in 2012. Some of the redistricting in Texas that the the Republicans set up have changing demographics and have gone Democratic. All is possible if you try - and yes I will. Too much is at stake not to.
May 11, 2008 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I admire what you're doing. I live in the red area of a red state, but I always volunteer and support our candidate even though it's hopeless.
Please don't become disillusioned. And the same goes for arleang and others.
Nevertheless, I've always wanted to know is where were these "new voters" in 00 and 04? Could they not see the difference between our candidates and the fascists? We came so close (actually won in 00, but had it stolen). Without Nader we definitely would have won in 00.
I think the reason older progressives supported Clinton was that they're wiser. And they've experienced the tragedy of defeat. Our two worst, most disappointing losses were when we nominated McGovern and Dukakis, ultra liberal candidates with a really strong, dedicated, faithful base (of which I was one in 72, though I wasn't old enough to vote).
I posted a few days ago showing the electoral map and explaining how we only needed one more state. By extension I noted that Missouri seemed like our best chance for a moderate state pickup, while New Mexico was a great chance for a small state pickup. Thus, by extension McCaskill, Richardson or Gephardt would be good VP pickups. Others argued for Kaine or Webb to give us a shot at Virginia. If Clinton had won the nomination, Graham (oh if only Kerry had picked Graham) or Nelson would be logical choices, but with Obama as the nominee Florida is now out of play.
You would be amazed though, that most posters wanted to go for a 45 or 50 state win. They wanted Sebelius or Clark. Idealism, especially pro-active idealism is great, and if you live in an extremely red state (or even an extremely) blue state, you should let pragmitism slow you down. However, for macro level decisions liking picking a VP and putting together a platform, we do need to be a little pragmatic.
Finally I would love to know (please, cherry please tell me) who you and arleang voted for in 00 and 04?
May 11, 2008 5:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
But can you imagine the morale advantage a good show in Texas during the run-up to the general would give us? It might get us a whole extra swing state!
May 11, 2008 7:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the post. You have my respect. Keep up the good work!
May 11, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Try not to breath in Dallas.
May 11, 2008 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I registered voters at a farmers' market in Salinas, California. I came away feeling good about the day. Talked with one guy who thought all the candidates were terrible but in the end said he thought he would vote for Obama. Talked with a grandma who told me her 8-year-old granddaughter has shamed mother into registering, will also vote for Obama. Changed some previous "decline to state" voters to democrats. All in all, time well spent.
May 11, 2008 4:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am extremely curious. Who did you vote for in 00 and 04?
May 11, 2008 6:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thought the "bitter" comment in the post was a cheap shot. Just makes Obama's faux pas resonate again.
May 11, 2008 5:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for doing that! I admire your good work.
As for the naysayers... I am truly sorry you feel that way, and I hope you can regain a sense of hope.
I hope. I hope very consciously. Because to allow hope in is to allow the world of the possible to expand. I am neither young nor naive. I know that the world will not change overnight.
But I also know that we must always strive for better. We must hope. We must risk disappointment and failure. Because the alternative is to guarantee disappointment and failure.
It is not unlike love. If we reach out and dare to love, we risk heartbreak, but we have a chance for something wonderful. If we simply say the risk is too great and don't even try, we guarantee a life of loneliness.
We can always change. We can always make our country better. Even if we don't achieve all we dream of, we can make things better. The journey itself is worthwhile.
May 11, 2008 6:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
This election isn't even about Obama or McCain. It's about the end of ultraconservative grab-n-go politics. That's not entirely McCain but he's too closely tied, he had to mortgage his campaign to just enough radical right-wing elements, that he must be defeated. And he's nutso.
Yeah, yeah, Obama's a nice story, but if America wasn't vomiting up what we've been fed since Reagan, neither Obama or Hillary would have had a chance in Hell. This is monumental backlash -- think of the worst rebound date you ever had.
That's where the electorate is.
May 11, 2008 8:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is true that the Presidency is only one position in the government.
But it does set the stage.
In my lifetime I can remember only twice when people were energize enough to get excited by an election:
a) Reagan in 1980
b) Clinton in 1992
I remember Clinton's first term and why you may feel the way you do: because a huge number of people were disappointed in him very quickly as he spent most political capital on "don't ask, don't tell" and the rest on Hillary's healthcare initiative.
In contrast, Reagan went on to change the political map of the country for a generation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsP17tin1tQ
May 11, 2008 8:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
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