The Buck’s County Courier-Times endorsed Barack Obama because of his ability to inspire voters. Hillary Clinton’s ability to attract a diverse coalition of volunteers remains unrecognized. I can report here that there was a coalition of gay men, lesbians, middle-aged heterosexual women, men and women of color, and middle and working-class white men volunteering for Hillary in Bucks County. The group working from the Bristol, PA office was incredibly diverse. I canvassed neighborhoods in Bucks County everyday for four days with a different partner each day. I canvassed in Newtown with Marguerite, a lesbian physician from Maysville, Kentucky, who drove to Bristol to volunteer. Marguerite, a daughter of immigrants from working-class background, has a B.A. from Cornell, a Ph.D. from Duke, and a M.D. from SUNY-Stony-Brook. Ellen Friedman, another “carpetbagger,” came in from Cambridge, MA to volunteer. Ellen, a retired professor and European historian, and I had a lot in common. On the other hand, I also volunteered with Bobbie and her husband Randy, Bucks County residents living on disability, who offered to drive canvassers to neighboring towns. I went to Bensalem with Bobbie one afternoon. Bobbie and Randy are very proud of the fact that both of their children are attending college in Pennsylvania; their daughter is attending Temple, and their son is at Drexel. I spent another afternoon canvassing in Bristol with Christine, an accountant from Brooklyn with two grown sons.
I met Ishmael, a gay man from Bensalem, in the Bristol office a couple of days before the primary. This soft-spoken guy never canvassed before but went out to talk to voters with Mickey. I met Chang, another fellow from the area, while doing visibility the day of the primary. Christine Samuelson, another volunteer from Newton, MA who has also campaigned in several states, and I were holding up a huge Hillary sign in front to a polling station on Mill Creek Rd. in Bristol. Chang came by to help and told us that he lived in a nearby town. When a man drove by and yelled, “gold-digging, carpet bagging bitch,” Chang looked at me and said, “I guess they are referring to me.”
I met Christine White in the Bristol office and went to the Clinton rally at the University of Pennsylvania with her the day before the primary. Christine spent quite a bit of time with our group from Newton. John and Jenny Doggett, veteran campaigners throughout New England, and I went out with Christine a couple of times at the end of long days of campaigning. Christine stopped by the volunteer for Hillary and quickly became an honorary Newtonian! Christine and I became fast friends, although our lives could not be more different. She had to drop out of high school when she became pregnant with her first child at 15 and is a 45 year old grandmother. Evangeline, an African-American mother of three, canvassed with Christine the day of the primary, and both Evangeline and Christine joined our Newton group at the Clinton victory party in Philadelphia.
Our Bristol group admitted to the Clinton victory party included Chang, a massage therapist from Bucks County; John and Jenny Doggett, a venture capitalist and pediatrician respectively; Evangeline and Christine, local volunteers; Anne, a lesbian venture capitalist from Jamaica Plain, MA; Christine, a former Newton alderman, and Emelia a retired attorney and former staff of the Department Labor Department. Christine and Emelia were able to volunteer in Bristol for three weeks because Laurie, another member of our group, and her partner were willing to share their home with out-of-state volunteers. Got grassroots?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Canvassing in Bucks County, PA
I spent several days campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Northeast Philadelphia and in Bucks County, from April 16 until the primary on April 22. Our group from Newton, MA worked from Clinton's campaign office for Bucks County in Bristol and also participated in visibility actions and attended rallies in Philadelphia, about 30 minutes away. Bristol is a picturesque town on the banks of the Delaware River, the place where Washington crossed the Delaware.
I talked with voters in primarily African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods in Bristol and the neighboring town of Bensalem, and I spent one afternoon in the more upscale area of Newtown. I knew after the first day of canvassing that Hillary Clinton would win Bucks County by a huge margin. In poorer neighborhoods people raised concerns about the economy and told me that they were either leaning toward Clinton or planning to vote for her. I was not surprised when Hispanic voters told me they voting for Hillary, but I also encountered African-American men and women in Bristol voting for Clinton. There were Obama strongholds here and there, but it was clear to me that he was not doing well in areas around Bristol among any group. What was stunning was the number of women on the voter lists. I visited many households throughout Bucks County where women were registered Democrats but other members of their households were registered Republicans. I canvassed between 30-50 households a day for four days--it is a small sample but an interesting one. Page after page of the voter lists given to me by the campaign were dominated by women.
I would love to find out how many women voted for Clinton in Bucks County. 79,000 voters switched their voter registration from Republican to Democrat in Bucks County in order to vote for either Obama or Clinton. From my experience it seemed clear the women were changing parties and voting for Clinton. The local paper, The Bucks County Courier-Times, endorsed Obama because "he is able to bring in new voters." Well, that did not turn out to be true. Clinton was the candidate who inspired voters in Bucks County. She won Bucks County by 24 points!
Canvassing is an interesting experience; you knock on doors armed with literature hoping that people will talk with you about the upcoming primary. It is a curious negotiation. The most common experience is a quick 30-second speech about Clinton's candidacy and a quick question that attempts to determine which way the household is leaning. Most voters do not want to talk. I canvassed in New England in the middle of winter, and, as you can imagine, people did not want to spend a great deal of time out in the cold talking about the primary. I also found that people in New Hampshire were genuinely undecided. Early in the process voters were still trying to become familiar with each candidate. I firmly believe that a significant number of voters in New Hampshire did not make decisions until the day before or the day of the election. Voters in later primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania had two candidates to consider and were far more willing to let me convince them that Clinton was the better choice.
The people in Ohio and Pennsylvania were very open to engaging in discussions, and many voters in both states asked very challenging questions. I spoke with Ohio voters on the phone while I was working at the reception desk at the main headquarters in Columbus and met with Pennsylvania voters at their doors, but the responses were about the same. In both cases I felt that I made a difference. Voters seemed to relish the attention and really made me work hard for their votes.
I loved talking with people in Pennsylvania. I learned so much from my conversations with voters, especially about their concerns about the economy and health care. Occasionally, someone would ask me to come in and talk. In Newtown, Dominic and Janet were very gracious and willing to spend time talking with me, even though they had just returned from shopping. Passionate Democrats, they expressed a concern that McCain would win in November. Janet was clearly supporting Clinton; her husband Dominic was for Obama. As retired members of the military, they had a unique and important perspective on the campaign. Their neighbor, Margaret, wanted me to explain Hillary's "mandatory" health care plan. I'm not sure I convinced her that Hillary's plan made the most sense, but I did my best! But Margaret took my literature and told me that she would review the plan on Hillary's website. Fair enough. Janet saw me talking to Margaret and yelled across the street, "Are you voting for Clinton?" Gee, I think people are engaged!
Nelson Hernandez in Bensalem asked me to explain the primary process in detail; he was a bit unsure about the purpose of the upcoming primary, although he let me know that he was considering voting for Clinton because, in his experience, "women take care of business." He, too, was very concerned about the economy, directing my attention to all of the houses for sale on his block. He implied that the houses with for sale signs in front yards were foreclosed properties.
I could go on with more stories from the campaign trail. It is very exciting that so many people are engaged in the Pennsylvania primary, many for the first time. Voters paid attention to both candidates and didn't seem to mind all of the attention.
I talked with voters in primarily African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods in Bristol and the neighboring town of Bensalem, and I spent one afternoon in the more upscale area of Newtown. I knew after the first day of canvassing that Hillary Clinton would win Bucks County by a huge margin. In poorer neighborhoods people raised concerns about the economy and told me that they were either leaning toward Clinton or planning to vote for her. I was not surprised when Hispanic voters told me they voting for Hillary, but I also encountered African-American men and women in Bristol voting for Clinton. There were Obama strongholds here and there, but it was clear to me that he was not doing well in areas around Bristol among any group. What was stunning was the number of women on the voter lists. I visited many households throughout Bucks County where women were registered Democrats but other members of their households were registered Republicans. I canvassed between 30-50 households a day for four days--it is a small sample but an interesting one. Page after page of the voter lists given to me by the campaign were dominated by women.
I would love to find out how many women voted for Clinton in Bucks County. 79,000 voters switched their voter registration from Republican to Democrat in Bucks County in order to vote for either Obama or Clinton. From my experience it seemed clear the women were changing parties and voting for Clinton. The local paper, The Bucks County Courier-Times, endorsed Obama because "he is able to bring in new voters." Well, that did not turn out to be true. Clinton was the candidate who inspired voters in Bucks County. She won Bucks County by 24 points!
Canvassing is an interesting experience; you knock on doors armed with literature hoping that people will talk with you about the upcoming primary. It is a curious negotiation. The most common experience is a quick 30-second speech about Clinton's candidacy and a quick question that attempts to determine which way the household is leaning. Most voters do not want to talk. I canvassed in New England in the middle of winter, and, as you can imagine, people did not want to spend a great deal of time out in the cold talking about the primary. I also found that people in New Hampshire were genuinely undecided. Early in the process voters were still trying to become familiar with each candidate. I firmly believe that a significant number of voters in New Hampshire did not make decisions until the day before or the day of the election. Voters in later primaries in Ohio and Pennsylvania had two candidates to consider and were far more willing to let me convince them that Clinton was the better choice.
The people in Ohio and Pennsylvania were very open to engaging in discussions, and many voters in both states asked very challenging questions. I spoke with Ohio voters on the phone while I was working at the reception desk at the main headquarters in Columbus and met with Pennsylvania voters at their doors, but the responses were about the same. In both cases I felt that I made a difference. Voters seemed to relish the attention and really made me work hard for their votes.
I loved talking with people in Pennsylvania. I learned so much from my conversations with voters, especially about their concerns about the economy and health care. Occasionally, someone would ask me to come in and talk. In Newtown, Dominic and Janet were very gracious and willing to spend time talking with me, even though they had just returned from shopping. Passionate Democrats, they expressed a concern that McCain would win in November. Janet was clearly supporting Clinton; her husband Dominic was for Obama. As retired members of the military, they had a unique and important perspective on the campaign. Their neighbor, Margaret, wanted me to explain Hillary's "mandatory" health care plan. I'm not sure I convinced her that Hillary's plan made the most sense, but I did my best! But Margaret took my literature and told me that she would review the plan on Hillary's website. Fair enough. Janet saw me talking to Margaret and yelled across the street, "Are you voting for Clinton?" Gee, I think people are engaged!
Nelson Hernandez in Bensalem asked me to explain the primary process in detail; he was a bit unsure about the purpose of the upcoming primary, although he let me know that he was considering voting for Clinton because, in his experience, "women take care of business." He, too, was very concerned about the economy, directing my attention to all of the houses for sale on his block. He implied that the houses with for sale signs in front yards were foreclosed properties.
I could go on with more stories from the campaign trail. It is very exciting that so many people are engaged in the Pennsylvania primary, many for the first time. Voters paid attention to both candidates and didn't seem to mind all of the attention.
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