Sweat for Change

This past weekend, Bell Curve and I, along with another friend, went to Nevada to spend a day working on the Obama campaign. We drove to Las Vegas and began work at 9am. There were several hundred Californians assigned all over Las Vegas this weekend for this day in the "Drive for Change" campaign. We three went to some obscure neighborhoods in South Henderson and each walked alone on individual beats for several hours in the hot, hot sun. We had lists of Democrats and undecided voters whom we were to try to contact by knocking on their doors. We then tried to encourage the Democrats to vote early, giving them information, and to persuade undecided voters. I had a 20-minute talk with an undecided voter who concluded by saying he was mighty impressed that the Obama campaign had called him and come to his door. "McCain must just take us for granted," he said. While wearing my campaign gear eating a burrito at a Chipotle, I was accosted by a young man who told me he had just moved from Pennsylvania and wanted to know how to vote absentee there. I told him there was still a week to register in Nevada, got the paperwork, and signed him up. Then gave him the list of all the places (at supermarkets etc.) where you can vote early in Las Vegas starting on October 14th. Another voter in the bag.

The Obama campaign believes (we heard this repeatedly) that every 12 door knocks will result in, on average, another voter going to the polls for Obama. How this number was arrived at, I cannot say. But it was a good day for us. I knocked on 80 doors. If each Californian was responsible for turning out just three or four more votes, that would be a couple thousand votes gained that day. With Kerry and Gore losing Nevada by about 20,000 votes each, we know it matters to be a tiny cog in the wheel for a day.

And the Nevada organizers were gleeful at the crowds. All these people drove five hours to canvass voters, each spending at least $100 each for the trip, food, etc., not to mention two days of their lives. I understand our subgroup in S. Henderson of about 16 volunteers did more work in a day than they had accomplished in the prior few weeks with the 2-3 volunteers they can normally get. This is what the "ground game" is about. Our sweat. McCain doesn't even seem to have such a program, nor is he likely to find that level of enthusiasm. The hope also is that the tight cognressional and assembly races in Clark County, Nevada, will also swing on these GOTV efforts. A similar campaign is organized for Northern Californians to drive out to Reno and Washoe county in the North.

I felt like I have finally been able to do something more than just donate money. Beer tasted really good Saturday night.