I did some phonebanking last night, and it was a good time.
So I wanted to share some of the details with the crowd here.
That's Terry Bellamy above. She's the Mayor of Asheville, NC.
For those of you who read "Top Ten Destinations" type articles, Asheville has been regularly mentioned as both a good getaway vacation, and as a prime relocation spot.
We've got a strong arts community, great music scene and lots of beautiful, protected forest surrounding us. The Mayor has done a good job promoting and protecting our assets while fighting for affordable housing as well.
So when she decided to run in the new 10th Congressional District against the odious Patrick McHenry (you know, the punk who insulted Elizabeth Warren), I decided to volunteer time and money to support her. I live in the 11th, but I don't have as much hope that the seat will stay Democratic with the new districts.
About 6 of us were phonebanking last night on Bellamy name-recognition, as she will now need to start trying to reach people who wouldn't be used to hearing about her with the new districting.
We were calling from a list that was based on early-voting Democrats from 2010. Since retired folks and seniors more commonly early-vote than others, I got to talk to some good old Southern Democrats.
See, the script we were given didn't mention that Terry is a Democrat. In the first few calls, I got questioned about Terry's party affiliation. One nice old lady asked, "Is she a Democrat? Because I won't vote for a Republican."
So I found out first hand what my buddy BD had told me about: yellow dog Democrats.
As in, "I'd vote for a yellow dog before I'd vote for a Republican."
So I figured it out, and started giving the Mayor's party affiliation right up front in the script. Needless to say, those who hadn't heard of her before were happy to hear that a woman was trying to challenge McHenry for the 10th.
It was also a heartening experience to talk to regular old Democrats, who may not be as politically sensitive as we are here, but were still brought up right.
Anyhow, maybe this story will inspire some of you to get active. We need the House and Senate back if we're going to get good legislation onto the President's desk.
Cheers,
Jake