I canvassed today for Gerry Connolly (VA 11), and I knocked on every door to which his campaign assigned me (including the door of a teabagger -- ugh). (And yes, I asked for his vote, too.)
I took along literature and candy! Everyone who opened their door (except the teabagger) got Reese's. I walked and knocked for five hours.
But I was not canvassing simply for Democrats – I was canvassing for those to whom our great Democrats give hope. I was canvassing because I believe in the hope only Democrats can bring – and I canvassed for those who need it.
I was canvassing for my country. And that, to me, means supporting Democrats.
I pledge to vote. And I pledge also to do everything I can to GOTV for our good Democrats. I am proud to be a Democrat.
We have 48 hours to win this election; and win it we must!
I canvassed for my niece, Kate. Kate is now 20. She has lived with Type I Diabetes for more than 18 years. She is the bravest person I have ever known. You do not know courage or heart until you’ve gone with your niece into a ladies’ bathroom, and have been washing your hands and have heard your beautiful niece moaning slightly in a stall. She was moaning slightly because she was changing the needle from her insulin pump – which she has to change into different places in her abdomen a couple of times a week. Of course, this is better than the 25,000 needles she had been stuck with before she got her pump, but still . . . and hearing her say, when you ask her if she was okay (your heart in tatters), “I'm okay, It’s just my pump.”
I want a cure for her. And I'm so grateful that while we are waiting for a cure, she won't be uninsured. That's why I'm canvassing.
I canvassed for Kate because, thanks to Gerry Connolly and other Democrats, Kate won’t age off her parents’ health insurance plan in 18 months and by the time she’s 26 the evil insurance companies won’t be able to say “no” to her.
The GOP wants to REPEAL this coverage for my niece. NO WAY.
I canvassed on behalf of Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Maseth, 24, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
During his two tours of duty serving as a special forces soldier in Iraq, Ryan D. Maseth had cheated death on more than a few occasions.
While protecting a Baghdad polling place in December 2005, he ran toward enemy fire to help his fellow soldiers and to repel the attack. And after a Humvee in his convoy once hit an improvised explosive device, Maseth escaped injury and apprehended the perpetrators.
But little did the staff sergeant know that when he stepped into the shower at his military base in Baghdad two months ago, he was putting his life at risk.
Maseth, 24, of Shaler, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, was electrocuted on Jan. 2 (2008) when an improperly grounded electric water pump short-circuited and flowed through the pipes. Since the coiled hose was touching his arm, he was hit with an electrical jolt and went into cardiac arrest and died.
Maseth's tragic death (brought to) 12 the number of soldiers who have died in Iraq due to accidental electrocution, according to Army and Marine e-mails obtained by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Source ~ ABC News
The corporations that cut corners and killed Staff Sgt. Maseth and others are in cahoots with the GOP. They believe in profits (especially profits from taxpayer dollars) and secrecy. They don’t care about our military or about America. I do. I canvassed because I am deeply ashamed that brave young men like Staff Sgt. Maseth died for corporate profit. That’s beyond horrifying. We need to bring these corporations to task and we cannot do so without Democrats running the show.
The GOP gets their secret money from these corporations. We say: NO MONEY WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.
I canvassed for Jason Armitage.
Jason Armitage was 7 years old when his life changed.
He was running across a soccer field, chasing the ball, when he collided violently with another player.
At first, he appeared unharmed. He even finished the game.
Later he developed a terrible headache, so his mother took him to an emergency room. But doctors failed to correctly diagnose and treat his injuries.
Six weeks later, a blood clot triggered a massive stroke, which left Jason paralyzed from the nose down.
His last memory of life as it used to be was sitting on the front steps of his home, eating barbecue potato chips.
Source ~ Jacksonville Times-Union
Jason’s mother, amazing kossack fayeforcure, has previously given me permission to post Jason’s story and photos.
My niece Kate and Jason have one thing in common: they could both benefit from stem-cell research. Think of what it would be like to have cures for paralysis and diabetes! Republicans want to STOP embryonic stem cell research, which has only recently again been started (with government funding) after eight years of no funding at all. The GOP thinks unwanted frozen embryos (donated, by those who made them, for scientific research, or discarded) should be preserved for “adoption.” They think it’s better for kids like Jason and Kate to exist without hope for a cure than to use a bunch of cells no one wants to try to find one. SHAME ON THEM. I’ll take my niece Kate and my friend Faye’s son, Jason, having hope over a bunch of cells any day. I canvassed for THEM.
Update from the comments: from wonderful kossack Kitsap River:
I could quite likely benefit from that as well. Stem-cell research and other genetic research could well enable people like me to someday regrow our own native kidneys, and live without having to stick two size 15 needles in my arm five days a week on dialysis.
I am a Democrat. I know that the only real hope I and mine have is the Democrats. If you know me, please vote. If you don't know me but know another dialysis patient, please vote.
Stem Cell Research NOW.
I canvassed because I cannot bear the selfish, awful behavior of people like Steve Schwarzman, who said this:
Steven Schwarzman, the billionaire founder of private equity giant, the Blackstone Group, has long bemoaned bank bashing. But, on the subject of taxes, he's apparently not afraid to cast aspersions on the Obama administration.
Speaking to board members at a nonprofit recently, Newsweek reports that Schwarzman compared the recent Obama administration push to boost taxes on private equity firms to a "war... like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939."
Source ~ Huffington Post
He and his ultra-rich cronies are already at work to further destroy the economy of the United States, all in service to further private enrichment:
Before the 2010 midterms are even over, the company led by Charles and David Koch has sent out an invitation to attend a confidential meeting in January at Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in California and begin planning for the next clash in 2012. It invites participants to “develop strategies to counter the most severe threats facing our free society and outline a vision of how we can foster a renewal of American free enterprise and prosperity.”
The invitation makes clear that the Koch-led meetings are a twice-annual affair. At its last meeting in Aspen, Colo., in June, its participants, which include some of the wealthiest people in America, listened to a presentation on “a vision of how we can retain the moral high ground and make the new case for liberty and smaller government that appeals to all Americans, rich and poor.”
Source ~ The Washington Independent.
Moral high ground?
OMG.
(Question: How much money is enough?)
And I canvassed for my parents.
My Dad died a Republican. But I am about 1000 percent certain that the likes of Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle would have made him abandon his party and become a Democrat. My Mom grew up in a Republican household so Republican that when Happy Days Are Here Again came on the radio, the radio was shut off. Her Dad, my wonderful grandfather (who taught me to play hearts and love the Red Sox) drove many hundred miles (back when that meant something) to shake Wendell Wilkie’s hand. With the election of President Bush, though, my Mom became a Democrat. She is now 80. She is deeply worried about the country she loves and the country her late husband of half-a-century served; she is worried that it is being driven by no-nothings, idiots and the selfish. She was so happy to vote to President Obama. She said: “I am voting for every Democrat I can.” She deserves a good election.
So that’s why I canvassed. I’ve got a lot of big shoes to fill. I hope I helped fill them with my sneakered feet today.
Thank you ALL for everything you do! Let’s do this!