...for Obama supporters I've ever seen.
PLEASE UNRECOMMEND THIS DIARY and recommend Seneca Doane's phonebanking diary. Let's keep the liveblog going.
You sit here and just hit F5, again and again, over and over. You post a pootie pic, or make a relevant point, or HR someone, and think you've done your part. You sit on your asses and think that by posting in this big orange echo chamber you've made a difference in this election.*
You know how I know that? Because I do it too.
I'm committed to change. Are you?
Since the voting started in January, I've talked a big game, but done very little. Went to NH for a couple of days, went to OH for a couple of days, pounded pavement here in Maryland (perhaps the most Obama-friendly place not called the District of Columbia) and spent a grand total of about ten hours in PA. What can I say, I was busy.
But there have been countless weekends between January and today. (Well, not technically countless, given that the number is in fact 17.) Weekends where I have free cell-phone service. Weekends where a lot of what I did was sit around on my ass and hit F5 a few hundred times. Weekends where I let other people call states like Texas, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio and pick up my slack.
Why? Because, quite frankly, I'm scared shitless of calling strangers on the phone. In 2004, I made a grand total of two - count 'em, two - calls on Election Day to Ohio voters through MoveOn. Both people were rude to me. So I gave up - and haven't phonebanked from home since.
Today, that changes. I'm going to log into the online phonebanking tool, whip out my cellphone and my headset, and get on the horn for Barack. My fears aren't going to get in my way this time; it's time for me to make a difference. Time for me to be a part of ending this primary once and for all.
And you can too. In fact, you should. And to provide the kind of cameraderie and community that only the Internet or real live contact with human beings can provide, this is going to be a LIVEBLOG. Post the number of calls you've made. Post about great calls. Post about assholes. Post about the number of voicemail messages you hear. Ring a bell if you call an Obama supporter. Throw a shoe across the room if you get a Clinton supporter.
Here are some helpful phonebanking tools, courtesy of a previous action blog from Elise:
Here are some tips for first-time phonebankers.
Worried about what you'll talk about? Click here and download the Blueprint for Change. All the links and talking points are incredibly helpful, not to mention the fact that it lists Obama's accomplishments on all the issues.
And, of course, Elise's wonderful diary series, "How to (Ba)Rock a Phone Bank." Part I and Part II.
So what are you waiting for? Time to get on the phone. Time to liveblog your experiences as an Obama phonebanker. Time to make a difference.
I am.
* I'm not talking to those of you who are doing things on the ground or on the phones for Barack - but then, the weekend before IN and NC, those of you who are doing things are probably out doing things, not reading this diary. Thanks for your hard work. Sorry I'm such a lazy-ass.
Update: Mythbusting about phonebanking, thanks to newyorknewyork. Keep those calls going, people!