I'll be honest: I voted for Hillary in the primary. I believed in her, I liked her, and I liked her message of taking back our America and reestablishing our place in the world as true leaders, not bulldozers. Of course, Obama's message was almost identical, just wrapped up in a different package. But his packaging was my concern--say what you will, but racism is still very much alive in this country, and I felt like too many people weren't ready to see an African-American man as President. But the people spoke and clearly his message of change, his charisma, his pragmatic thinking, convinced all of us that he is the best possible choice to be our leader.
What I've always felt though is that the only way he can win is if people actually get out there and vote for him. Sounds simple enough, but people don't vote. Period. They participate in polls, tell you they like this candidate or that one, and when it comes time to cast that vote, they're at work, at home, just don't have the time. Sometimes the lines are long, sometimes registering feels like more trouble than it's worth, and sometimes people feel like, "Why the hell should I? It's not like my vote counts." But as the last two presidential elections have proven, every single freaking vote counts, especially in the battleground states like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania. And rather than sit around with my fingers crossed, hoping that Obama can rally the troops, mobilize the young voters and African-American community to support their leader and hero, I decided I wanted to be part of that effort. I also think that if anyone can inspire people, it's Obama.
So, I signed up for Camp Obama, a two-day "seminar" designed to teach volunteers how to be effective members of the campaign. At first, I was excited, not only to get involved and to do my part, but to meet like-minded people. Having never worked on a campaign, I assumed they'd all be passionate political peeps, empathetic and fair-minded, educated and intellectual men and women who understood that to win this election, we'd have to be able to reach out to those outside of our socio-economic and cultural sphere, and relate to them.
But what became clear after just two hours, is that this was just a group of people who loved hearing themselves speak. Older, liberal, NYC-types who wore crocs and regaled us with stories of how they marched for civil rights and protested the Vietnam War. They'd stand up to ask a question, and rather than actually ask a question, they'd instead take that opportunity to talk about what effective volunteers they were. "Oh well, when I worked on the Kerry campaign, I did phone banking, and I was so very good at it. The other volunteers gathered around me to hear just how good I was, and I was an inspiration to them. So, my question, will you be assigning people like me to train those who are not as experienced?" Um, okay. Or how about this one? "When I did neighborhood canvassing, I managed to convince a large number of people to get out and vote, which I attribute to my background in sales. So, my question is, how can you best utilize me?" Really, I was wondering if CAA had a division of agents to represent the talented phone bankers and canvassers of the world.
So thanks to all of these Chatty Cathys and self-congratulatory pains in my asses, what could have been an educational and informative couple of days turned into slow, painful torture. Every person was more annoying and irritating than the next. Not one question was relevant or necessary, or had any bearing on what we were doing there. It was just a bunch of self-congratulatory folks, patting themselves on the back for being experienced volunteers.
The most irritating thing for me though, was realizing that these people just weren't listening. Sure, I've done my fair share of tuning out in class, but I found a lot of what they were talking about to be very interesting. I mean, come on, if I'm going to spend my weekend doing this, I wanted to at least take something away from it. So, we'd listen and then a handful of shmos would stand up and ask questions that one of the campaign staffers had already referenced. Pay attention, people!
The staffers made two main points to us as volunteers, which both alleviated some of our concerns and reminded us of why we were so damn important. First off, on day one, they told us that we did not have to be policy experts. We aren't there to convince people to vote for Obama over McCain--we're there to encourage people who are already leaning towards Obama to take the plunge. And to do that, they emphasized telling our "Story of Self," making our own vote and support of Obama personal, relatable, so that a voter can see in our own story why Obama might be the right candidate for them.
The second thing they reiterated is the idea of GOTV: Get Out The Vote. The fundamental problem for most Democratic campaigns is that too many people stay home and don't vote. We've stopped believing that our vote counts, we've stopped caring about a government that clearly doesn't care about us. You can have 75% of the country rooting for Obama, but if only half of those people actually get into the voting booth on election day, he has lost. THAT is what the volunteers are for, that is the point they made strongly, that is why I'm even doing this to begin with.
But, of course, on the last day, when they asked small groups to get together and discuss what they've learned, what they will take away from all of this, I once again was ready to take my volunteer pamphlet and smack them all across the face. One woman kept talking about Obama's tax policy, and how important it is that we were all up on that. Then, with her "financial background" she decided to enlighten all of us on how exactly his tax policies work. Yeah, no one asked.
Another woman talked about leadership and how she has exhibited leadership in the past in other campaigns. But really, it was 8 people all talking over each other, to the point I couldn't even get a word in. That was another thing they had taught us: to listen to voters. How could they possibly convince ANYONE to hit the voting booth on election day when they clearly aren't capable of hearing where other people are coming from?
Finally, the man sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, I'm listening, go ahead." So I explained that I had never worked on a campaign, but that what I was hearing over and over the last two days was that it didn't matter what we knew about Obama's policies, it didn't matter how much we knew about politics. Our roles were to talk to voters and convince them that their vote counts, that it's their America, that it's their right and their privilege to be part of the political process and be heard. To assure them that if they vote for Obama, they will be one step closer to the American dream they've always wanted for themselves and for their children. But, we can't get there without each and every vote. When I was done, most of them kind of like "yeah, yeah"-d me. As we were getting up to leave though, the man who had been sitting next to me said, "I really appreciated and enjoyed your comments. You were so right."
So, I will go where I am asked, and I will listen to voters, and I will try to help them understand how necessary their one vote is, that their voice can be heard. All I can do is my part, and hope that I can convince people of just how important they really are to the process.
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