Last Weekend (Prior to the Month of the Recount)

Another weekend spent with the Kerry/Edwards campaign in Wisconsin. I feel bad for the people who live in swing states, as they must have gotten inundated with phone calls, doorbells/knocks, and tv ads from both campaigns. The people I've spoken to say it hasn't been too bad, but I tend to think they're just numb to it all now, as they've all described much more than I've experienced here in Illinois. And snaps to everyone I met in Wisconsin during this campaign - they've all been so helpful and pleasant, carting me around to the different places we had to canvass etc. We're all working towards a common cause, I know, but it's so much better when everyone's friendly and gracious.

Anyway, all day Saturday I was out doing "knock-and-drops" - knocking on people's doors and leaving Kerry/Edwards fliers. Most people weren't home, and after a while I just started leaving the fliers, as I know I wouldn't want to be bothered by yet another knock on the door. There was a fierce wind blowing and occasional rain which didn't help, and as I was pounding the pavement from 9am - 4:30pm, I had some serious blisters on my feet at day's end. One incident I found funny - even though we were not stopping by houses that had Bush yard signs out, while I was walking up and down one street, a Bush supporter felt the need to come out and straighten (or perhaps more firmly entrench) her Bush/Cheney sign. Three times.

Sunday morning I got Visibility duty instead, which entailed standing on a (relatively) busy street corner, holding a giant Kerry/Edwards sign and passing out yard signs/stickers to any who wanted them. This was considerably easier in my opinion than phonebanking or canvassing, as I don't feel I'm invading people's lives. The responses I got from passing vehicles went as follows:

1 guy flipped me the bird
1 yelled "KERRY SUCKS"
1 woman yelled "GEORGE BUSH"
And a few thumbs down from people, one of whom in his sheer concentration to give me a vehement thumbs down, nearly drove into the curb. Oops.

I smiled and waved at all of them. They've got a right to their own opinion too.

I did get considerably more beeps and waves, thumbs up, big smiles, and one guy cruising past on his motorcycle, who could easily have passed for one of John Stillman's uncles, held up his fist in a salute of support. Several people stopped and asked for yard signs (of which I didn't have many since the campaign is running out up there) and stickers. One lady hopped out of her van to stash the signs in her trunk, and as I gave her husband the stickers, he said "I've never seen her this excited about anything like this!!!" So there was much to be encouraged about. Still, in my effort to present a pleasant Democratic face, I have not smiled so much since sorority rush in college. I couldn't move my facial muscles afterward - that must be what Botox feels like.

Through all of this I've remained puzzled about the sheer will of Bush supporters to defend Bush and refuse to listen to anything bad about him. You have to be a different kind of person to be a politician, and more often than not, politicians make mistakes and don't live up to their promises. (Of course there's sometimes extenuating circumstances, but you have to admit the general trend is to not trust politicians.)

So I am bewildered by this blind trust and resolute loyalty in defense of Bush. It nearly smacks of religious fervor, and to exhibit that kind of faith in a politician is not only foolish, but dangerous in my opinion. Kerry supporters generally seem to have a more rational view of things, that being that Bush has done the country a lot of wrong, and a person like that does not deserve another 4 years as our President.

Anyway, we're almost to the end, and hopefully by Christmas, we'll have a new President. One bit of potentially good news - the Redskins lost their home game before the election (Thank you Green Bay!!!) and if that incumbent statistic holds up, we'll be planting a Bush back in Texas real soon.

Cheers,
Donna

Face Paint and Fox Trucks (or: How I Made an Ass Out of Myself in Front of John Kerry)

For those of you who don't know, I've been volunteering in Wisconsin for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. A few weeks ago I got to help get ready for a Milwaukee visit from Senator Edwards - as volunteers however, we were kept away from all the real action by Secret Service - we did hear Edwards' son running through the hall of the hotel. Sounded like a nice kid. The main object lesson I took home from this experience is that Democrats, probably due to their all-inclusive, warm and fuzzy nature, are disorganized.

Anyway, this is the story of my making another trip up to Milwaukee, this time to help with a small rally to herald the arrival of Senator Kerry.

I get to the hangar, and it takes a good half hour before the campaign staff knows what's going on and where we should all be - which turned out to be a dank hallway inside the hangar. Apparently, Laura Bush was ALSO arriving last night, prior to Senator Kerry, so her Secret Service wasn't about to let 30 or so strange people have free reign of the hangar.

So we're in the hallway for what seems like forever, and then we finally get moving - metal detection by Secret Service, then we got to help corral the people arriving for the rally (about 200). At this point, I discover that I have neglected to put the storage card back in my digital camera after the party I was at last weekend. But I think, big whup, I won't get to see Kerry anyway I bet.

Then I got roped into painting signs for Friday's rally, which would have been a lot more fun if we didn't have to go outside to do it. Brrrr. Keep in mind for later in the story that this paint did not dry particularly fast. After this, I got to do crowd traffic control to get the ralliers from the hangar out to the holding pen to greet Senator Kerry.

Ah here it is, the Kerry-Edwards plane has landed. Now, I get pulled out of the rally holding pen and was given a large sign with which to direct traveling press to the busses. I'm a little bummed that I don't have a very good view of the Kerry festivities at this point. Then, another campaign staff member grabbed me and asked me to take a videotape (presumably of Kerry shaking hands and waving) over to the Fox satellite truck. Swallowing my distaste for Fox, I say ok sure.

So I'm by myself basically, away from the rally crowd, and about 20 feet away from me, 30 max, I see Senator Kerry smiling and waving from his giant Escalade or whatever car it was. I take my opportunity to really shine, and start waving and jumping up and down like a complete asshole. There was no way he missed me, as I was alone and carrying a huge sign for "TRAVELING PRESS". We make eye contact, and he smiles, waves, and gives me a thumbs up. And of course the whole time my camera is completely useless to me.

The videotape destined for Fox gets shoved at me at this point. But as soon as I try to leave the perimeter of the crowd, Secret Service stops me and I can't go any further. I find the staff member who asked me to direct press traffic, tell him the deal, and he took the tape over for me.

Rally's over, we all walk back into the building and one of the other volunteers turns to me and says "Oh, you got paint all over your face!" WhatwhatWHAT? My insides shrivel as I realize there's no way to know how long it was there, and it was highly likely that I had been jumping up and down like a maniac in front of John Kerry, with paint all over my face. (For those of you wanting to know color, quantity, and location of the paint - red, enough, and on my nose and right cheek)

Then I get home, and see 5 missed calls on my cell phone - remember the Fox videotape? Evidently it never got to where it was supposed to go. Before I can call back, they call me again, I explain what happened and (not in so many words however) that I wasn't about to try and mow down Secret Service to get to a Fox truck.

So, that was my adventure last night, and how I made an ass out of myself in front of Senator John Kerry. But hey, I guess I really don't mind, and here's to Kerry kicking Bush's ass on November 2nd!

Cheers,
Donna