A Plan Develops
Not Slowing Down
I’ve only come across a few undecided people and I haven’t been sure what to tell them other than I believe that Obama is the best choice otherwise I wouldn’t be out knocking on random people’s doors. I’ve sat talked a little about specific issues but I’m wary of coming across as a door-to-door salesman.
It’s gotten a lot easier talking to people about it though, and I imagine calling random people through the phone bank would be a piece of cake now, especially when they have the web page right in front of you giving you ideas of what to talk about. Anyway, I’m not slowing down just because Obama is up. I’ll be canvassing this Saturday and the next until it’s time. I’ll probably also start doing phone bank calling in the last week or so and maybe even offering to take people to the polls. Whatever it takes.
MoveOn sent me this list of reasons not to slow down and asked me to share them on my blog, so here it is:
TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN’T REST EASY
1. The polls may be wrong. This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.
2. Dirty tricks. Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They’re whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.
3. October surprise. In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.
4. Those who forget history… In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!
5. Landslide. Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.
If you agree that we shouldn’t rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31260&id=14523-5788186-qUYkhxx&t=1
It was a MoveOn person who called me and got me to go canvas, although I had definitely been thinking about it, they made it reality by giving me a time and place to be. I highly recommend actively participating. You’ll probably be scared, nervous that someone will ask you about something you don’t know, or that they’ll just unleash the hounds on you, but once you get out there it’s kind of fun. Sort of like adult trick-or-treating.
November 1st, 2008 at 10:30 am
Good work on your canvassing for Barack. I know it’s not easy. What I tell people is that if they believe in fair taxation, women’s rights and attempts at diplomacy before war, then the Democrats are the only choice. That seems to have some impact on people.