I know it’s been a few days since I last submitted an update on my travels, but I’m happy to report that it’s been a great few of days on the campaign trail, from New Hampshire to New York. I’ve written up a two-part New Hampshire and New York diary, so here is the New Hampshire installment, with New York scheduled to publish later tonight.
The day after the Hillary/Bernie unity rally, 7/13, I confess I took the morning off in order to hop over to the Maine seacoast just for fun and to add a new state to my ongoing tally (currently at 36/50!). I wore my Hillary hat, though, so I am willing to count it partially as doing visibility work. Anyway, if you have not been to Maine, I highly encourage it. Like the rest of New England, which I finally have gotten to see for myself this trip, it is absolutely beautiful, with rolling hills and the ocean all in one place.
I felt similarly about New Hampshire when I was working there, and at one point I joked with the organizers there that I might never leave. After marinating in sweat from the swampy summer temperatures and humidity of North Carolina and Virginia, New Hampshire provided a welcome relief, particularly at night when it dropped to a perfect 65-70 degrees. I hear the winters are pretty brutal, but then again, Chicago is hardly a picnic that time of year either. But I digress.
A beautiful New England summer evening outside the Dems office.
In New Hampshire, I worked out of the Portsmouth Dems office (follow them and get involved if you live around there!), by far the largest field office I think I’ve ever been in. It was a great space to work, with little half cubicles that all had their own tables and power outlets, and of course, hilarious signs decorating the walls.
Look how huge and amazing this office is!!!
As you can see from the signage, they are taking the coordinated campaign aspect very seriously. Though I do not live in New Hampshire (yet), one downballot race I will have my eye on in November is the Senate race there. I sincerely hope to see Kelly Ayotte go down in a flaming pile of ash at the hands of Maggie Hassan.
Priorities in New Hampshire included recruiting volunteers for the weekend Day of Action in Portsmouth and getting signed voter commits. I asked one of the organizers whether they are doing voter registration for the summer (partially because I wanted an excuse to go play outside while it was nice out), and it turns out they are not, because New Hampshire has same-day registration. So I hit the phones for the afternoon, where I recruited a handful of volunteers for the weekend and a substantial number for later. One older woman could not volunteer, but assured me, “Honey, I will be the first in line to vote for Hillary in November. She’s the only one who makes any sense!” Favorite part of phone banking: quotes like these.
Finally, I got to go play outside when they sent me to an outdoor concert in a park to collect signed voter commits. Managed to get 11 in the hour I was standing there, bugging people who were entering and leaving whether they were planning to support the Democrats in November. My proudest commit, though, was from a former young Bernie supporter. She signed right away, but expressed some disappointment along the lines of, “Well, I guess I’m voting for Hillary now…she’s not Trump!” So I gave a little pep talk about electing Hillary along with a Democratic Senate (and possibly House) so we can enact as much of Bernie’s policies as possible.
I talked to a second Bernie supporter that night as well, a conversation that really sticks out vividly to me for its civility and mutual respect. We went over the points about the Senate, Bernie’s platform victories, and I also encouraged him to watch Bernie’s endorsement speech online (FWIW, he seemed pretty eager to do so). At one point he asked me what I thought was the most important issue facing America. I thought for a second (since there are many), but decided to go with one issue where the Presidency has near-complete control over the solution, and one that is essentially my “single-issue.”
“The Supreme Court,” I answered. “The next President is going to appoint several justices. With all the challenges coming up through the state courts, whether or not we see the progressive gains from the last 50-60 years upheld or swept away depends entirely on these appointments. Holding onto the Court is also absolutely crucial if any of Bernie’s ideas are to become reality, long-term. As far as I’m concerned, Hillary is the only person who can appoint the people we need.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Huh. No one I’ve asked has given that answer yet,” he said. “But it sounds like you really know what you’re talking about.” He paused briefly again, still thinking things over. “Anyway great to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to talk about this. I’ll go watch that speech!”
We shook hands, and he disappeared down the brick path towards the main stage. I ultimately wonder if that conversation swayed him, and if it did, if he’ll make it to the polls in November. At a gut level, though, I felt very hopeful. He seemed very willing to consider what I had to say and give Hillary another look, and I have to think that there are so many others like him out there who would do the same, with some encouragement. I think the lesson from these interactions is that it’s really important for all of us to reach out to the Bernie supporters in our lives, or at least make it known that we’re willing to talk. What I’ve found to be the most effective tactic from these conversations (and another I had later on the NY subway), is to sing Bernie’s praises, declare him victorious with pushing the platform left and finding room in the mainstream for his ideas (if you would argue that she was to the left all along, I would leave that argument aside for these interactions, tbh…it may well be true, but it’s not helpful here), and then to emphasize how important it is to take the Senate, if not the House, to enact these policies along with Hillary at the top of the ticket to hold the Supreme Court. If you have any success stories of your own, I would love to hear them in the comments!
In the meantime, up later tonight: a summary of my travels to Headquarters in New York!
Previous Installments of the Roadtripping for Hillary Series:
Roadtripping for Hillary 7/12/16: Dems Unite in New Hampshire
Roadtripping for Hillary 7/11/16: Virginia and Pennsylvania, Pt. II
Roadtripping for Hillary 7/10/16: Virginia and Pennsylvania, Pt. I
Roadtripping for Hillary 7/5/16: Obama and Clinton in Charlotte
Roadtripping for Hillary 7/4/16: Independence Day in North Carolina
Roadtripping for Hillary is an independent initiative by violining247 to travel across the eastern swing states in an effort to elect Hillary and other downballot Democrats in November. To support this effort, please consider a donation through GoFundMe.