So I don't have any classes on Fridays, and when I realized that I told myself I'd use that time to go volunteer at the Obama office near my school. Until today, I'd always not gone to do it because I was too lazy to leave the house, and I would get caught up on Kos and reading/writing about what's going on. Today is the first time in MONTHS that I did not see one single Obama event online.
So anyway, I had a meeting downtown to get some information for one of my classes, and I told myself that instead of just coming back home, I'd walk over to the office and volunteer for a while. I was a bit nervous since I was by myself (I'm taking a friend next time), and I wasn't sure what was going to be expected of me.
So I walk into the office and there's an older woman behind a desk talking on the phone, and another older woman sitting in front of the desk filling out a volunteer form. Listening to the woman on the phone I heard a lot of people calling for yard signs. Seriously, the Obama campaign NEEDS to get more yard signs out. Right now there's a limited quantity, and the only way you can get one is if you knock on 100 doors or make 100 phone calls. I'm sure the streets would be blanketed with yard signs if people could get their hands on them. I joked with one of the other volunteers that the only thing I see in front of houses around here are "for sale" signs and Obama signs.
But I digress.
So when the woman got off of the phone and finished talking to the woman filling out the form, she looked at me and asked what I needed. I told her I'd come in to volunteer at the office for a while. So she asked me to fill out a form. Now I don't know if I've ever said this on Kos before, but I HATE HATE HATE filling out forms. So I asked her if I HAD to fill out a form because I was already signed up online. She told me that I did HAVE to fill out a form. So I sucked it up and filled out a form.
As I was sitting there after filling out my form waiting for a volunteer to come out and steer me in the direction I needed to go. I actually met a man that graduated from my school in the 70s! I mentioned the name of the school I go to (someone asked me), and the man asked me if one of the professors was still there. I never had this particular professor, but I knew who he was. Eventually I ended up having a very nice conversation with him about the legal profession. He told me that everyone he knows that actually decided to practice is now sick. He's apparently not sick because he went to work for the government instead. LOL.
So anywhoo, my precint captain wasn't in the office at the time, so I got to work with another volunteer. They took me to the back and gave me a little bit of an introduction to what was going on in the office, and told me I was going to be phone banking. Now here's where I get into what I thought I'd never do.
I actually tried to phonebank from my house before during the primaries, and I was scared to death for those 2 calls I actually made. The first person I called didn't answer the phone, and the second lady was really rude when she told me she wasn't going to tell me who she was supporting. After that I just couldn't work up the courage to call anyone else, so I stuck with blogging and donating. My biggest fears about phonebanking were:
- Calling random people I don't know, some of whom may not be particularly thrilled ot be getting a call from me
- Using my own phone number. Like I said, I don't know these people from Adam, so I don't want them calling me back on my phone.
I expressed these concerns to the volunteer who was. . . I guess the word is "inducting". . . me to the process when he mentioned that I'd be phonebanking. The big plus for me was that they gave me a cell phone to use, that way I wouldn't have to use my own. Apparently, people DO call those phones back, so they end up turning them off at night. LOL
Allow me to digress for a moment about the phone :o) Now, I have a BlackBerry (thanks John McCain for that miracale!) so I'm not used to holding a phone to my ear (I use a Bluetooth headset), so it was a bit strange going back to a flip phone kind of like the one I used in undergrad. LOL. But I digress.
So I got my list of names, a phone to use, and a sheet to fill out when I finished the calls. Deciding I didn't want to be by myself when I was making the calls, I went into the room where there were other people phonebanking. I was actually surprised at how busy the office was since it was the middle of the day on a Friday.
So there I was, scared out of my wits, about to do something I never thought I'd be able to do.
The first call didn't go so well. I was calling a bunch of elderly people, and the first man I called told me to take his name off of the call list after I identified that I was calling on behalf of the Obama campaign. The second call went unaswered I believe. After a couple of disappoiting calls (I just knew I was going to be calling a bunch of supporters), I had a call that really made me smile.
The call was to an older woman. When she answered the phone she sounded a bit suspicious. But when I identified that I was with the Obama campaign and asked her how she was doing, she instantly sounded really excited. I mean, you would have thought I was someone calling to offer her free money or gas. She proudly told me that she was an Obama supporter, and proceeded to tell me how great he is and how we really need change in the White House. She also told me she doesn't like Sarah Palin, and she loves Michelle because she just seems so smart and she seems like someone who doesn't take any mess from anyone. In fact, in the people that actually talked to me, I don't think any of them liked Palin. At this point I'm smiling ear to ear like I won the lottery. So I asked her if she would be willing to volunteer for the campaign. She asked me what that meant, and I told her canvassing or making phone calls. She then told me that she was actually in a wheelchair/walker, but would be more than happy to make phone calls because she loves to talk on the phone. Honestly, that call made me feel really good. Oh, and it also made her feel really good, she told me it was the first time she was called, and it really made her happy to be called :o)
So after I hung up from that wonderful woman, I went back to my list. I got more "no answers" and then I ran into an undecided voter. I asked her what issue was most important to her, and she said the economy. So I marked down that the campaign should mail her information about the economy and asked her if she had any questions for me. She said she didn't, and I didn't want to seem pushy, so I thanked her for her time and hung up the phone.
Then there were more non-answers.
Then I called a Hillary supporter. She said she was undecided but leaning towards "the Democrat." She also doesn't like Sarah Palin. Actually, I think Sarah Palin scared the mess out of her. She kept talking about how she didn't know much about John McCain other than he's a war vet, and she said that didn't mean much to her because her husband is one too. LOL. She also mentioned that she was disappointed that Obama didn't choose Hillary to be his running mate. She really believes that had he chosen Hillary it would have been a landslide for the Democratic ticket. I didn't want to burst her bubble, so I just listened to her thoughts and asked her how she felt about Biden. She told me that she didn't really know much about him, but he seemed alright. She just REALLY wanted Hillary.
So, since she was a leaner, I asked her what issues were most important to her. The first thing out of her mouth was Healthcare (makes sense, since she was a Hillary supporter), followed by social security, the economy, and gas prices. Her story sounded much like what my Grandmother talks about. THere isn't enough money. Prices for EVERYTHING are going up, and social security isn't enough to cover those expenses. Both she and her husband are on SS and are barely getting by. I told her about Barack's plan to give a $1000 tax cut to middle class families, and she (correctly) stated that that was only a short term fix. I talked to her for about 5 minutes. Actually, I just listened to her. I think she just wanted someone to listen. The entire time she was talking, I was just hearing my Grandmother's voice talking about how hard it is to pay the bills. That woman is probably going to vote Democratic, she's strongly leaning in that direction. Hopefully, Obama will take more time to talk about issues directly affecting the elderly in a way so they KNOW he's talking about their issues. I think if he did that, he'd pull a lot of voters.
That was the last person I talked to. I managed to make 16 calls today! I was really proud of myself. I would have gotten another list after I finished the one they gave me (it was partially finished when I got it), but it was like 1 PM and I literally hadn't eaten (or really drank anything either) all day, so I needed to go get something to eat.
I will definitely be going back, and next time I'm taking a friend! Hopefully I'll have time to do some canvassing before the election is over.
Remember, if you are in Ohio you can vote early starting September 30th. If you are in Columbus, you can vote in person at Vets Memorial which is located on West Broad Street. I thought the early voting was going to be at the Board of Elections again, but it's not
Oh, and since I'm telling you all about my day. I also got a couple of free buttons from the campaign office :o) It's always good to get free stuff. After I left the office, I went to the mall (to get some food and to do some shopping). There's a kiosk I got to for room oil (you burn it for a nice scent), and the guy that owns the kiosk is also a huge Obama supporter, so everytime I go to the mall I end up talking to him. He' s a great guy with a great wife and the cutest little baby girl. Well anyway, he's an Olbermann fan and he thinks it's great that Rachel got her own show. He told his wife that I'm his go to person to talk about Obama. LOL. He asked me how he could get some voter registration forms so he could sign people up to vote right there in the mall. I told him about the 1.866.MYVOTE1 number, and that he could get some from any local library.
I listen to the Tom Joyner Morning Show every morning, and I can't remember a voter registration drive like this. I mean all over the country people are using their businesses to get people registered, they are having events where the only way you can get in to participate in the fun is if you have a voter registration card. I really think everyone is taking pride in this election, but it's really a wonderful feeling for me to see so many African Americans get so involved in the process. And it's not just African Americans, I saw all sorts of different ethnicities when I went to the office today, and all ranges of ages. It was really great. I can't wait to go back!
So this is what I've been doing to day and why I havent' been around. I hope you enjoyed reading about me getting over my fear of phonebanking!
I don't have any pictures, but here's a video of Obama today in Miami!
UPDATE I know you guys normally like me to have pics, since I didn't see any particularly great photos from today, I just compiled a show with some of my fav pics. Enjoy: