Hoosiers Fired Up and Ready to Go
Posted by Matt Ortega on October 6, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Check out this FiveThirtyEight.com field report from Indiana. Hoosiers are ready for change, and the bustling Obama field offices there are a testament to that energy.
Here in Lafayette, in Mia Lewis' "alternate universe," the volunteers have begun to run out of turf -- because it's already been canvassed. Although John McCain has only one field office open in the state, Barack Obama has two on the same block. One is a large phone bank office, and a few doors down on the corner is the canvass staging area. We heard stories from volunteers who sometimes canvass because the phone bank is so frequently packed to capacity that if they want to volunteer, knocking on doors is the only option. [emphasis added]
And one of Senator Barack Obama's strongest voices in the Hoosier state is former senator and civil rights champion, Birch Bayh.
Retired Senator Birch Bayh has been on a surrogate tour of Indiana, and spoke to approximately 40 volunteers here in the Lafayette office a short while ago. Bayh, legendary for his support of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the primary architect of both the 25th and 26th Amendments (not since the founders can one man claim that distinction), gave a moving speech to the assembled group. Bayh was the principal sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment and highly influential in getting Title IX passed. He is also the guy who pulled a seriously injured Ted Kennedy from the wreckage of a small engine plane crash in 1964. The guy has been around.
He talked about his own grassroots campaign that first elected him to the US Senate in 1962. What he's seen with Barack Obama's operation in the state of Indiana this time around reminds him of that grassroots surge that won him the Senate seat in this traditionally red state. After speaking about the value of an engaged citizenry, and the consequences of detaching from the public policy arena (the previous eight years being his primary example), Bayh made a prediction.
On the night of November 4, at that early six o' clock hour that is almost always an immediate blot of red in a largely empty map (Indiana reports early), America is going to see something different this time.
A dot of blue.
Comments (3) «
It's smelling like blue here in Indiana!
I'm seeing the same thing at my local field office here in Missouri. We didn't even have one four years ago. Two years ago the DNC made sure Claire McCaskill got one.
This year there is always someone holding the door as you go in or out. Curious people are just walking in to get info and others are dropping by to see how they can help that day. Volunteers who never canvassed are finding out how interesting and fun it can be.
We've also finished canvassing our key Democratic areas. For weeks now we've been going into Republican neighborhoods and been surprised by the reception. Why we assumed there were no Democrats in these GOP strongholds I'll never know. The Independents now outnumber the Republicans when you ask of Party affiliation.
I've met a lot of really great people from all walks of life both in the volunteer effort and at the doors when we knock. You'd really be surprised how welcoming most people are...even those who are going to vote Republican. People say things like, "Where have you been?" You have to laugh.
Then there are those who really need a Democrat in the White House...the elderly, young families, and single parents. They talk about their trying economic and medical circumstances and you feel honored to listen and offer them hope.
If you've never gotten involved in a grassroots effort before or it's been years since you did it for a local candidate or school bond issue, this is the election where you can make the most difference. You've find some of the best grassroots organizers and the most enthusiastic volunteers.
It's fun and great exercise walking at your own pace. You'll feel good after talking to people. No one expects more than two hours at a time unless you want to stay longer.
We are getting close to crunch time now. So take advantage of the good autumn weather and get out there. There are also lots of opportunities to staff tables at local community and sports events. We will be doing literature drops soon where you don't even have to knock on a door.
Ask a friend or one of your teenagers to join you. You can discuss what you hear from the voters as you go along. You'll get a real education of what life in America is like today and share memories that will last a lifetime.
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Kathy,
I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Indiana. It would be the cherry on top of my banana split if Obama/Biden won there.
Sandy - I'll provide the ice-cream - you provide the cherries.... we'll pig out... it'll give a whole different meaning to lip stick on a pig!
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