Greetings, all. Tonight’s diary was originally going to be pretty straightforward—I planned to extol the many virtues of my favorite local candidate, Dan Grant, who is running in Texas’ 10th Congressional district for the opportunity to unseat Republican Mike McCaul, aka "Congressman ClearChannel," in his Tom-DeLay-gerrymandered district. But first, Dan faces a primary challenger in the form of Larry Joe Doherty, the former host of "Texas Justice," a sort of Judge-Judy-in-Spurs type character. So I figured I’d tell you all about how great Dan is, how well the campaign is going, etc. etc. But then something happened. I had the strangest day I’ve ever had volunteering for any candidate, ever—through no fault of Dan’s! Let me make that abundantly clear.
Gory details on the flip.
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Dan Grant discusses campaign strategy with sccs.
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So this afternoon, fellow Kossack
sccs and I head over to HQ to do some phonebanking of strong Democrats here in Austin, of which there are many. We worked on our speech about Dan’s qualifications – his
impressive career in the foreign service, working in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, and other war-torn locations, his endorsement by
every major Democratic group between here and Houston, and his
great, progressive stances on the issues impacting the 10th district.
I start to call. Shortly into my list, I’m speaking with a woman in the district about Dan when she says, "Hang on, there’s a knock on the door." She opens the door, then says to me, "It’s a Ron Paul supporter!" I reply, "Oh, I heard he dropped out." She tells the Paul-bot, "She says he dropped out!" I can hear the Paul-bot getting angry: "Who is that? Why is she LYING?" So then the woman says to me, "He wants to talk to you!" as the Paul-bot wrests the phone away from this woman. "He did NOT drop out. You’re a LIAR!" the Paul-bot informs me. I explain that I read it on the internet. (Hey, if it’s good enough for them...) By this point all of the volunteers and Dan alike are staring at me, because this dude is so loud they can hear him clear across the room. The Paul-bot keeps berating me over the phone ("Why are you a LIAR? WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!") and all I can do is stifle my laughter and just keep repeating, "Please give the phone back to the homeowner. Please give the phone back to the homeowner!" He finally relents, and she agrees to look into Dan. I hope we get her vote—this volunteer sure earned it!
And seriously, Paul-bots? Isn’t illegal seizure of citizens’ phones something you are supposed to be against?!
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I got one!! Local Dem supports Dan and wants a sign.
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I continue, undaunted. Moving through the list, I suddenly realize I’ve called
one of my professors! Now that ended up being pretty cool, as I think I was able to sway that voter fairly easily. She was pleased I was doing my civic duty on a Sunday afternoon, to boot. Small world! I've rarely encountered anyone I know when phonebanking, so that was funny.
On I continue down the list. You know, it’s amazing how many people can’t spell "Grant." In one instance, a woman asks me to repeat it so many times again the rest of the staff is staring at me, and they start to giggle. And I start to giggle. And I’m literally biting my hand to stop laughing so I can spell G-R-A-N-T. Finally I give in and I say, "I’m sorry ma’am, I’m about to sneeze! I have the allergies." We laugh together, and I make some sniffling sounds while running away from my fellow team members to gain control and resume my script. She agreed, though—the cedar is really bad this time of year! And she likes Dan Grant, too—once I tell her who he is.
A few callers also got confused and thought I was running for Congress--"well, bless your heart!" Um, not quite. So I kept repeating "Dan Grant, Dan Grant!" and hope that something Pavlovian kicks in at the polls.
Last funny story...I hang up the phone after one of my calls and say, "Hey, that person really likes Dan! He says Dan’s been to his office three times!" They ask me the name... Turns out it’s a former Democratic
Lieutenant Governor of Texas! They’ve been courting his endorsement for quite some time, and lo and behold, he gets phonebanked all the same. He was a nice guy, and I think Dan has impressed him with his hard work. So that was funny – months of hard-core politicking, and it turns out all you need is some enthusiastic girl on the phone.
After we worked the phones, some of us set out to place a few signs for Dan around his district. This nice woman lives in a prime signage location, and we were happy to meet her. Dan came along too to personally thank her for her support, then had to dash away for an important meeting... His
birthday dinner! That’s right, our candidate worked this hard on his own birthday—that’s what it takes to win, and that’s why Dan is the best chance for a Democratic pick-up in Texas this cycle! So, Happy Birthday Dan! Maybe folks will leave you a
birthday present at ActBlue.
That about wraps up my day supporting a great local candidate. Things are sure busy down here as we prepare for the big March 4 primary! I’m confident that the good voters of TX-10 will make the right choice for Dan Grant.
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On to the comments!
From Crashing Vor:
An avant garde comment from revenant makes the top grade:
From Sidnora:
section29 on Kansas and Huckabee.
From Man in the Middle:
Christin makes poetry from a pig's ear.
From imisa:
cardinal proves that snark can be a lot of fun when it's well done.
From noweasels:
llbear reflects on the long-term effects of the Iraq occupation on the families of the two soldiers profiled in a girl in MI's lovely first IGTNT diary: IGTNT: this has broken our hearts
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TOP MOJO courtesy of BeninSC! Thank you!!
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars and first diary comments (top 30 of each plus ties):
1 Thank you. by Governor Chris Gregoire - 334
2 Watch Dean herd the superdelegates by Dallasdoc - 324
3 Anyone who can by Granny Doc - 253
4 It was a remarkable day. by Governor Chris Gregoire - 145
5 Dean by Natural Anthem - 127
6 as a 20 year old who has been interested by terra - 127
7 He'd be a fine replacement when Leahy retires by Dallasdoc - 118
8 I do hope he decides to run for president again.. by DawnG - 115
9 This isn't a big deal by cardinal - 98
10 YOU'RE ALL GOING TO LOVE ME by turnnoblindeye - 95
11 There's a ticket I hadn't heard by bmaples - 95
12 Can you make it to 2012? by nyceve - 93
13 It's one heck of a weekend by MLDB - 86
14 Clearly, she didn't think her REMARK would... by pat208 - 85
15 Nice endorsement by ShadowSD - 84
16 She was against MI before she was for it by dansac - 84
17 In other recent energy news by Jerome a Paris - 84
18 The students' coverage is at by David Domke - 83
19 as a michigander by njhoo - 82
20 Oh, please. by highfive - 80
21 I am so impressed with this guy by annetteboardman - 80
22 I see that now. There have been by jeff in nyc - 79
23 I fear by Steven D - 78
24 Just back from my caucus by Donna Z - 77
25 Welcome to the 2 Americas by FishOutofWater - 76
26 Penn advised her not to fire him. by citizenx - 75
27 Good diary by MadAsHellMaddie - 74
28 Great JJ Dinner Last Night by Warner in 08 - 74
29 Congrats again to Obama and his supporters by Trix - 74
30 Rachel Maddow = Rhodes Scholar by brjzn - 72
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 The more the talking heads by Granny Doc - 582
2 Tips by Eddie in ME - 550
3 Thank you. by Governor Chris Gregoire - 336
4 Watch Dean herd the superdelegates by Dallasdoc - 324
5 tips for your tired typist by teacherken - 297
6 Tips for Texas! by kath25 - 268
7 Tips, if Any by Nulwee - 259
8 tip jar by One Brave Kossack - 258
9 Anyone who can by Granny Doc - 253
10 Someone feel free to... by JeffLieber - 222
11 Houston for Obama by kubla000 - 218
12 Tip Jar - 10 February by Jerome a Paris - 200
13 tips welcome by zenbowl - 188
14 Empowering people works by Bill White - 152
15 It was a remarkable day. by Governor Chris Gregoire - 145
16 Dean by Natural Anthem - 127
17 as a 20 year old who has been interested by terra - 127
18 He'd be a fine replacement when Leahy retires by Dallasdoc - 118
19 I do hope he decides to run for president again.. by DawnG - 115
20 Tip Jar by davidsirota - 114
21 Tips/flames by scimitar - 107
22 Oh yeah, A Tip Jar by Jimmy Crackcorn - 102
23 Thank You! Recommended. by aimeeinkc - 99
24 This isn't a big deal by cardinal - 98
25 YOU'RE ALL GOING TO LOVE ME by turnnoblindeye - 95
26 There's a ticket I hadn't heard by bmaples - 95
27 Tips for helping.... by sarahlane - 95
28 Can you make it to 2012? by nyceve - 94
29 For a draw and winning 5.... by icebergslim - 91
30 Tips for another win for Obama by Jennifer Clare - 91
Send your Top Comments in to topcomments (at) gmail (dot) com or the Paul-bots will grab the phone and call you a LYING LIAR!! too.