Last night my wife and I arrived in the upper valley in New Hampshire. We drove up here from Boston to spend the weekend helping out with Get Out the Vote activities for Obama, Shaheen and Paul Hoades. We've spent the day working, and we stopped to take a short break so I thought I would provide an update.
This is my fourth or fifth time doing GOTV on a presidential campaign in a swing state. My first was in Michigan in 1992 when I worked as a Congressional District organizer for the Coordinated Campaign in Big John Dingell's district.
In some of my diary entries over the last few weeks, I've talked about how and why I think that the GOP could be headed toward an extended stay in the wilderness once this election is over. There are three or four key reasons for this - not the least of which is the way that technology and the net roots have completely changed the nature of Presidential politics across the country.
I can tell you that what I saw today only reinforced my opinion on this. This is the most sophisticated, best organized, and most enthusiastic GOTV effort I've ever been a part of.
This weekend, hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers are pouring into New Hampshire from out of state to help with GOTV efforts. A friend of mine is one of the directors for the upper valley region, and asked us to join him here for the final push.
The upper valley is in central New Hampshire along the border of Vermont. It encompasses the communities that surround White River Junction, Vermont - as well as Hanover New Hampshire (home to Dartmouth College).
Volunteers are literally pouring in to this state from all over the north east. Today we met a guy who drove here from upstate New York, and before we came up last night - we stopped at the airport to pick up another volunteer who flew in from NYC. Total strangers getting together and car-pooling to the big NH to help the cause.
What is particularly striking about all of this is the following:
- The level of targetting is just unbelievable. I won't bore you with the details, but every election cycle the targetting technology seems to get better and better. And this election is no exception.
- The now famous Obama model of training is an impressive thing to see up close and personal. Volunteers are being trained by the dozens and sent out to work.
- And this is the big one. The number of people who are showing up to canvass - which is the hardest job in all of volunteer politics - is mind boggling. In every other race I've ever been a part of, there are always a large number of people who show up on election day to drink coffee and hold signs. Maybe make phone calls or help do data entry or poll checking. A few like to do nothing but talk and bullshit.
The last thing anyone wants to do is canvass. It is, hands down, the most challenging and labor intensive kind of political work. But here in the upper valley (and the rest of NH as far as I can tell) the canvassing is top priority.
The canvassing here is happening in three waves - one in the morning, one around noon, and one late afternoon (which is just about to start).
Just today, literally hundreds (maybe as many as 300 or more) people showed up in the first two canvassing shifts at the regional office in Lebanon. And more than 60 people showed up to canvass in the tiny town of Enfield, which completed nearly all of its walking routes by the end of the second round.
Keep in mind that these are regional offices. This is not Portsmouth, or Manchester or Concord.
And the numbers expected for election day are astounding. Already, literally hundreds of people have signed up to work most if not all of election day here. And I heard/was told that Manchester and Concord are expecting as many as 500 volunteers on election day - each. Bus loads of people from all over.
In closing - don't take this story as an excuse that you don't have to do your part. If you haven't already, call your local GOTV headquarters and tell them that you want to work tomorrow, or monday, or election day. Or better yet, tell them that you want to work all three days.
Give, give, give....
Remember, this isn't just about winning. It is about building a commanding mandate that will allow Obama and the Dems to usher in an unprecedented level of reforms to help poor, working and middle class families.
Okay, my break is over. I am putting my shoes and jacket back on and I am headed out the door to go do more work.
What are you doing right now?