Over 4000 enthusiastic supporters hosted "Unite for Change" Obama events today. My husband and I (lifelong Republicans) were two of them. Nothing has galvanized me into the level of optimism, enthusiasm or political activism like this Obama campaign. That's why I am proud to be a "fan" and a part of the grass roots work that will make the dream come true: President Obama.
More about our little "neck of the woods" event on the flip side.
We live in what is commonly called by the black folks in our 'burb, "White Chester." Yes, it is. West Chester, Ohio, about 20 miles north of Cincinnati, is not just white, it's dominantly Republican (with some thinly veiled racism thrown in for good measure). Bush won easily here both times and many of my friends obeyed Rush Limbaugh's command and shamelessly voted Hillary over Obama in the primary, bragging about it to me, assuming I'd be all "cheery agreement" and "sinister side-kick."
To be "for Obama" in this neighborhood is to willingly identify as non-conformist, to leave one's faith open to question (as in, how can you be a Christian and vote Democratic?), to boldly sin - putting social programs ahead of all that wealth you could hoard for yourself.
Still, having made the profound mistake (mea culpa guys!) of voting for George "What was I thinking?" Bush twice, I deserve all humiliating snickers and out right exasperated critiques leveled at me.
So starting with the primary, I repented. I got in gear. I honked and waved downtown, I phoned Appalachian Ohioans, Pennsylvanians and Kentucky-ans, I canvassed the Greek system at the University of Cincinnati with my college-aged son, and I walked my neighborhood the Sunday before the primary to find out just who might be a closet Obama supporter in the land of the Republican domination.
I found 11 houses out of about 35 that had supporters in them. Each door I knocked that hid an Obama voter created a bond between me and the enthusiastic neighbor. We all felt so lucky to find each other! Among those eleven, several of them were Republicans who flipped for this election. The narratives of why and how we'd come out of the "dark side" poured out of us. In the weeks that followed, we'd wave and honk as we passed each other on the streets.
One family with four little kids rolled by in what they called their "Obama-mobile" - a wagon decked out with flags and Yes We Can flyers, with little kids holding up Obama photos. Of course we bonded!
So I knew I wanted to host an Obama gathering when the phone call came in from the Cinci HQ.
My daughter (who works the Obama campaign at Ohio State) and I walked the neighborhood again last week, this time inviting the "fans" to our house for the "Unite for Change" event. I also posted our invite to the local Obama email list.
Tonight, seven Obama supporters joined my husband and I in our little living room to talk about the coming General Election. Naturally, the Obama family showed up and my kids took the four little ones out into the backyard while the adults chattered in their Obama t-shirts, hats and buttons. I had ordered the "fist bump" buttons for anyone who showed up.
I love the emphasis of the Obama campaign: tell your story. And so we did. One of the women had served in the Peace Corps in Malaysia about the time Barack was growing up in Indonesia. Those old enough talked about JFK and the 1960s and the hope of that time and how this time reminds them of it.
We talked race and racism in Ohio, and what Obama's candidacy means to young black men (sons of one of the couples) to have Barack on the cusp of the presidency. Two of us who are white attend black churches. Three who are black live in the white suburbs.
I love the way this campaign is creating the interweaving of our narratives!
And everyone wants the war to end.
Our Obama HQ volunteer never showed. Not sure if he got lost or what. It didn't matter though. While those attending were all "the converted," it didn't matter. The enthusiasm! The hope! The stories of how Obama's books had influenced us (in fact, in this group, most everyone had read The Audacity of Hope and we agreed that it made all the difference in our grasp of the issues and where Obama stands on them).
We all had contributed money for the first time to a campaign. Each one wants to participate in this process and because it's Obama's campaign, we all know we can and will!
It really was wonderful to think that even in our part of the city which is so conservative and rightwing, Obama supporters would want to come together anyway to talk about Barack, to get to know each other and to team up to do good in the fall.
We have new friends! We have turned the corner! We will work for change!
Yes we can!
Obama 08!