I've gotten kind of used to him and his pals sending me emails, but I was a bit surprised to find his voice on my answering machine when I got home from work this evening. It might not be the first time he's called me, but it is definitely the first time since he was inaugurated.
In a way, though, it's a bad sign. It probably has something to do with this, the Suffolk University poll released today that has Nekkid Scottie Brown up four points in the race for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. The press reporting on the poll is careful to note, as was the press release accompanying the announcement, that the results fell within the poll's 4.38% margin of error, but nevertheless this is a significant and substantial development in a race that most of us just a week ago thought was safely in Democratic hands.
That the president himself is making robocalls four days before the election shows just how desperate the situation is. On top of that, he is now planning to make a last minute visit to the state on Sunday, to rally support and get out the vote.
We were talking about the election in the teachers' room this afternoon, after school had ended and the kids had gone home. To my everlasting surprise, a couple of my colleagues actually let on they were thinking of, or even planning on, voting for Nekkid Scotty. Talk about folks who have no clue about how an election can affect their personal self-interest! Unions in general, and teachers' unions in particular, have an opportunity to regain some of the bargaining power we've lost over the last thirty years, but only if we can keep the Democrats in power. A Brown election Tuesday threatens to cripple the Obama administration, making it impossible for him to carry out his legislative agenda which would in turn negate the possibility of a second term. And there is no Republican on the horizon even minimally friendly to labor rights.
Brown wins, and the unions are screwed. It's that simple.
I spent a bit of time talking with one, an English teacher whose biggest concern was that "foreign terrorists," like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, actually enjoy constitutional rights. We actually pulled out the Constitution to look for where it says the protections in the Bill of Rights are limited to citizens (it doesn't say that, of course), and I told her about the innocent Pakistani British citizens who had been detained and tortured at Guantanamo for years. I pointed out to her that we provide lawyers to suspects in order to protect the innocent, and that when we fail to do we call into question the very foundations of our Democratic society. She did eventually show some sympathy to that line of argument, but I'm pretty sure she's still going to vote for Brown.
GOTV is key in this race. If you live in MA, voting on Tuesday is not enough. We all need to give Martha some hours on the phone this weekend, and those who can need to help on Tuesday, calling, giving rides, knocking doors, getting our vote to the polls. If you're out of state, you can still do some phonebanking.
If you want to volunteer, it's best to do it directly through her campaign, here.
If you want to give cash, here's her ActBlue page.
Here's the text of Obama's robocall, thanks to WBZ Boston:
Hi, this is President Barack Obama. I rarely make these calls and I truly apologize for intruding on your day. But I had to talk to you about the election in Massachusetts on Tuesday because the stakes are so high.
In Washington, I'm fighting to curb the abuses of a health insurance industry that routinely denies care. I'm fighting for financial reforms to stop Wall Street from playing havoc with our economy. I'm fighting to create a new clean energy economy and it's clear now that the outcome of these and other fights will probably rest on one vote in the United States Senate.
We know where Martha Coakley stands. As your attorney general, Martha has taken on Wall Street's schemes, insurance company abuses and big polluters on your behalf. She represents the best progressive values of Massachusetts. She'll be your voice and my ally.
But a lot of people don't even realize there is an election on Tuesday to fill the unexpired term of Ted Kennedy. They don't realize why it's so important. So please, come out to vote for Martha Coakley. And make sure everyone you know understands the stakes for their families, Massachusetts and our country.
And the White House has released this youtube video: