I think sometimes we don't give enough credit to the hard work that our candidates do. While some of us can get days off, for candidates those days off are their opportunity to go out and meet people - to change minds, and to try and convince people to get to the polls.
Today, I took part in a Kansas tradition - Labor Day in Hoisington, Kansas. You can find Hoisington on a map, and you'll notice for someone like me, a Johnson County dweller - it's a bit of a swing.
But smaller communities in Kansas represent the nervous system of the state. They are the pulse that drives a big part of our economy, and they are the signal to the rest of the state what is possible. So, for Labor Day, I went out to Hoisington to accompany candidates to chronicle Retail Politics in Kansas.
Jim Sherow Shaking Paul Davis hand as they prepare for a day on the trail.
Too often, we 'city folk' as we are called lose track of the beauty of a rural community. We have thoughts of what it must be like, and we forget that real people and real issues are there.
(Please Note: these are downsized images. Feel free to click them to see a full view.)
Before the parade started, Jim Sherow (Running for CD-1, KS) took time to talk to the American Legion Motorcycle Club, who also spoke to him and Paul Davis later:
Paul Davis spoke about the implications of the VA, and how we all have to step in, and he asked Jim Sherow, a veteran himself, to speak on the VA.
While Tim Huelskamp, his opponent sits on the veterans committee, it is his party that continues to block and deny funding for VA sources.
http://www.reuters.com/...
But Sherow spoke eloquently and in detail about programs like the Wounded Veteran Job Security Act - https://www.govtrack.us/... - and how we must do more for Veterans in America.
People think Rural communities are bright red, and don't want to hear from Democrats..
But walking the route today, of something that is a Kansas tradition, Sherow found himself pulled in to conversations of people who were eager to help in any way they could. The number one comment we heard: "We are sick of being embarrassed"
Like all good events, you stay after, you talk to the people - you spend your time. Good politicians know that people want to have a voice in the process. They want to feel as though people listen to them.
Pat Roberts and Tim Huelskamp were also in the parade.. and after the parade, I couldn't find them anywhere... and no one I asked had seen them. But Paul Davis stayed after, ate food with the residents, met with the people of the community and shared his thoughts.
Jim Sherow walked up and down the street, talking to people about their farms, their community, their future.
For the Republicans who went to Hoisington today, it was just something else to check off their to-do list.
But for these two Democrats, it was a chance to try and learn something about the people they want to represent. People do notice those things - and it does pay dividends.
Thank you Hoisington!
To Donate to either candidate:
Jim Sherow: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Paul Davis: https://act.myngp.com/...