... was the slogan for the Obama campaign in the final runup to the SC primary election. Many of you have expressed some interest in how the campaign is going on the ground, so I'll give a semi-brief account of my experiences there and some of my lingering reflections, sorted thematically, so you can choose the most interesting bits to peruse.
The Setting.
I spent the majority of the three-day weekend in Orangeburg, a small city smack-dab in the middle of South Carolina and eight hours from DC by car. Population: 13,000. 7 out of 10 residents identify as African-American. 1 out of 4 lives below the poverty line. It's biggest draw is the annual raccoon-hunting festival. There aren't many job opportunities there; one man I met told me he commutes to Charleston (1.5 hours each way) four days a week to work at a restaurant. The town's two historically-black universities are its lifeblood. There isn't much else in Orangeburg besides fast-food joints and churches.
The Campaign Office.
This campaign, like most campaigns, I'm told, is run by a group of extremely talented, driven, energetic YOUNG people. The permanent staffers were all my age, and used to living off of donated food, tiny wages, and few hours of sleep. Much like Pomona College, the group was ridiculously "diverse" across spectrums of race and geographic origin. Everyone was civic-minded and believed that the politics of this country can be fundamentally improved. I felt right at home.
Besides the permanent team, the campaign office was flooded with volunteers from across the country who, like me, were willing to sacrifice a bit of travel expenses and a week(end) to get this man elected president. One older woman from Louisiana rode the Greyhound bus up to be in SC for that whole week -- a 19-hour ride. Lots of DC residents there, unsurprisingly.
Life in the campaign office was tons of fun, but BUSY. I got there wanting to be put to work, and definitely met that objective. Every spare moment not canvassing was spent making phone calls to supporters, designing flyers, and getting the word out for a rally that Obama would be holding in town on Tuesday. Each day, we made about 5,000 phone calls. Spirits were pretty high, but nobody wanted to be overconfident about the election (the Clinton campaign is now trying to lower expectations for SC, and polls are pointing towards an Obama victory, but still. No sense jinxing it.). Lots of laughter. Lots of pizza. Lots of coffee. Actually, I think those two items pretty much made up my whole diet all weekend.
Canvassing.
The "get out the vote" operation is the crucial part of the SC strategy. Since a lot of Obama's support comes from first-time voters, it is especially necessary to recruit/remind people of the primary. I spent all day Saturday going door-to-door in Orangeburg, under a steady, driving drizzle (who knew it could get so cold in the South?!?), which gave us some combination of sympathy/credibility from the people we spoke to.
I canvassed in a pretty rural area, to the point where we had to drive from house to house. Many of the homes were trailers. Many were in the forest. Lots of poverty. Most people were pretty receptive to our message, though, and we got invited inside a lot of homes to warm up. Signed up a couple of volunteers for election day. Got the occasional snarky response, usually when the address we had been given was (mistakenly) a registered Republican household. The worst comment, in stereotypical Southern fashion, involved a white man telling us there was no way he'd be voting for a "[black man]." Pretty discouraging to hear that kind of overt racism, but thankfully, that was the only such comment and by no means indicative of the overall impression I got from the community, which was very pro-Obama. I'm letting the positives override that negative moment for now.
Lodging.
I was extremely fortunate to have been given a room to stay in for the entire weekend, along with two other out-of-town volunteers. My host, a retired black woman who lived alone, was a big supporter of the Obama campaign and offered to lodge us as her contribution. She even woke up every night past midnight when we got home to let us in, and then wanted to stay up and chat with us about how things were going for the campaign. Despite nearly falling asleep on my feet after returning, I was totally happy to give her the low-down.
I am so incredibly grateful for her generosity, as it takes a lot of trust to open your home to complete strangers, and really, without her I couldn't have afforded the trip. It made me think a lot about how the Obama campaign is really bringing out the best in people, and drawing them together for common ideological and moral aims.
Going to Church.
On Sunday, the campaign tried to get Obama supporters in churches all across the state, to increase visibility and potentially recruit volunteers while mingling with the congregations after services. A letter from Obama that spoke to faith as a motivation for doing good works had been distributed to pastors beforehand to complement the presence of volunteers. In that way, I ended up going to a Baptist service in Orangeburg; being one of two white people in the church definitely reminded me of being in Uganda!
Being a preacher in a Southern Baptist church has got to be one of the most rewarding jobs out there. In addition to being affirmed at every other sentence ("Amen, brother."), you are in the extraordinary position of being a leader who can motivate a whole community civically and morally. Truly, the influence these pastors have is impressive, and it's no wonder that gaining the support of the church leadership is so important in Southern politics.
(Obama speaking at Ebenezer Baptist Church in GA, the day before MLK Day. Absolutely incredible speech.)
The reverend at the church I attended essentially gave a stump speech for Obama from the bully pulpit. It was pretty awesome, not only because he was doing a better job talking up the candidate than I ever could, but moreover, because he was telling people that exercising their civic duties (i.e. voting) was a moral imperative for the good of their community. I'll paraphrase his speech as best as I can recall:
"Now, I'm not going to tell you who you should vote for. But I'll tell you who I'm voting for, and let me tell you, he is truly a viable candidate. [Here he said something about the way this country needs a change in leadership, a change in the way politics get done.] I want all of you out there on Saturday, exercising your right to vote! Who needs a ride to the polls? I need drivers here to take our brothers and sisters to go vote. [He then proceeded to recruit about eight different drivers who agreed to shuttle people to the polls on election day.] As African-Americans, we should all be jumping at the chance to go vote! You should all wake up on Saturday and run to the polls! Give yourself the time to get dressed, of course..."
After the service, I introduced myself to a lot of people in the congregation, who welcomed me warmly. One man told me the story of when he first registered to vote: the woman flatly told him that he could not register, and when he asked why, said it was because he couldn't read. He informed her that he taught high-school chemistry, and she responded by turning around a copy of the Constitution and making him read it out loud before she would allow him to register. (Ironic, no?)
Attending that service was perhaps the best way I could have celebrated Martin Luther King Day, reaffirming my civic, spiritual, and moral convictions.
The Rally.
Sunday after church (an epic, three-hour affair), I drove up to the capital city, Columbia, for a huge rally being held in the convention center. It was the third time I've heard Obama speak, and as always, it's a awesome event in the fullest sense of the word. The last time I heard him speak was at a Los Angeles rally immediately after he announced his candidacy for the presidency, and he seemed a lot more tired this time around - understandably - but hit his stride after a few minutes, and got the crowd really going. Check out my cool photo montage:
I really do think his is a one-in-a-generation mind, and that he ought be our next president - if you want to know why, ask me in person. I want this post to be more an overview of life on the campaign trail, and less about stumping for a particular politician (although yes, I'm clearly writing from a biased perspective!).
So many more things I could say, but let's leave it at that. An eight-hour drive later and I'm back in DC, sitting at my office job, mulling over how much I really do enjoy politics. I'll leave you with one last funny story from "down south." We saw a billboard advertising in large letters: "Tax Rebate Checks Cashed Here." The sign was for a fried chicken joint. 'Nuff said.
The Setting.
I spent the majority of the three-day weekend in Orangeburg, a small city smack-dab in the middle of South Carolina and eight hours from DC by car. Population: 13,000. 7 out of 10 residents identify as African-American. 1 out of 4 lives below the poverty line. It's biggest draw is the annual raccoon-hunting festival. There aren't many job opportunities there; one man I met told me he commutes to Charleston (1.5 hours each way) four days a week to work at a restaurant. The town's two historically-black universities are its lifeblood. There isn't much else in Orangeburg besides fast-food joints and churches.
The Campaign Office.
This campaign, like most campaigns, I'm told, is run by a group of extremely talented, driven, energetic YOUNG people. The permanent staffers were all my age, and used to living off of donated food, tiny wages, and few hours of sleep. Much like Pomona College, the group was ridiculously "diverse" across spectrums of race and geographic origin. Everyone was civic-minded and believed that the politics of this country can be fundamentally improved. I felt right at home.
Besides the permanent team, the campaign office was flooded with volunteers from across the country who, like me, were willing to sacrifice a bit of travel expenses and a week(end) to get this man elected president. One older woman from Louisiana rode the Greyhound bus up to be in SC for that whole week -- a 19-hour ride. Lots of DC residents there, unsurprisingly.
Life in the campaign office was tons of fun, but BUSY. I got there wanting to be put to work, and definitely met that objective. Every spare moment not canvassing was spent making phone calls to supporters, designing flyers, and getting the word out for a rally that Obama would be holding in town on Tuesday. Each day, we made about 5,000 phone calls. Spirits were pretty high, but nobody wanted to be overconfident about the election (the Clinton campaign is now trying to lower expectations for SC, and polls are pointing towards an Obama victory, but still. No sense jinxing it.). Lots of laughter. Lots of pizza. Lots of coffee. Actually, I think those two items pretty much made up my whole diet all weekend.
Canvassing.
The "get out the vote" operation is the crucial part of the SC strategy. Since a lot of Obama's support comes from first-time voters, it is especially necessary to recruit/remind people of the primary. I spent all day Saturday going door-to-door in Orangeburg, under a steady, driving drizzle (who knew it could get so cold in the South?!?), which gave us some combination of sympathy/credibility from the people we spoke to.
I canvassed in a pretty rural area, to the point where we had to drive from house to house. Many of the homes were trailers. Many were in the forest. Lots of poverty. Most people were pretty receptive to our message, though, and we got invited inside a lot of homes to warm up. Signed up a couple of volunteers for election day. Got the occasional snarky response, usually when the address we had been given was (mistakenly) a registered Republican household. The worst comment, in stereotypical Southern fashion, involved a white man telling us there was no way he'd be voting for a "[black man]." Pretty discouraging to hear that kind of overt racism, but thankfully, that was the only such comment and by no means indicative of the overall impression I got from the community, which was very pro-Obama. I'm letting the positives override that negative moment for now.
Lodging.
I was extremely fortunate to have been given a room to stay in for the entire weekend, along with two other out-of-town volunteers. My host, a retired black woman who lived alone, was a big supporter of the Obama campaign and offered to lodge us as her contribution. She even woke up every night past midnight when we got home to let us in, and then wanted to stay up and chat with us about how things were going for the campaign. Despite nearly falling asleep on my feet after returning, I was totally happy to give her the low-down.
I am so incredibly grateful for her generosity, as it takes a lot of trust to open your home to complete strangers, and really, without her I couldn't have afforded the trip. It made me think a lot about how the Obama campaign is really bringing out the best in people, and drawing them together for common ideological and moral aims.
Going to Church.
On Sunday, the campaign tried to get Obama supporters in churches all across the state, to increase visibility and potentially recruit volunteers while mingling with the congregations after services. A letter from Obama that spoke to faith as a motivation for doing good works had been distributed to pastors beforehand to complement the presence of volunteers. In that way, I ended up going to a Baptist service in Orangeburg; being one of two white people in the church definitely reminded me of being in Uganda!
Being a preacher in a Southern Baptist church has got to be one of the most rewarding jobs out there. In addition to being affirmed at every other sentence ("Amen, brother."), you are in the extraordinary position of being a leader who can motivate a whole community civically and morally. Truly, the influence these pastors have is impressive, and it's no wonder that gaining the support of the church leadership is so important in Southern politics.
(Obama speaking at Ebenezer Baptist Church in GA, the day before MLK Day. Absolutely incredible speech.)
The reverend at the church I attended essentially gave a stump speech for Obama from the bully pulpit. It was pretty awesome, not only because he was doing a better job talking up the candidate than I ever could, but moreover, because he was telling people that exercising their civic duties (i.e. voting) was a moral imperative for the good of their community. I'll paraphrase his speech as best as I can recall:
"Now, I'm not going to tell you who you should vote for. But I'll tell you who I'm voting for, and let me tell you, he is truly a viable candidate. [Here he said something about the way this country needs a change in leadership, a change in the way politics get done.] I want all of you out there on Saturday, exercising your right to vote! Who needs a ride to the polls? I need drivers here to take our brothers and sisters to go vote. [He then proceeded to recruit about eight different drivers who agreed to shuttle people to the polls on election day.] As African-Americans, we should all be jumping at the chance to go vote! You should all wake up on Saturday and run to the polls! Give yourself the time to get dressed, of course..."
After the service, I introduced myself to a lot of people in the congregation, who welcomed me warmly. One man told me the story of when he first registered to vote: the woman flatly told him that he could not register, and when he asked why, said it was because he couldn't read. He informed her that he taught high-school chemistry, and she responded by turning around a copy of the Constitution and making him read it out loud before she would allow him to register. (Ironic, no?)
Attending that service was perhaps the best way I could have celebrated Martin Luther King Day, reaffirming my civic, spiritual, and moral convictions.
The Rally.
Sunday after church (an epic, three-hour affair), I drove up to the capital city, Columbia, for a huge rally being held in the convention center. It was the third time I've heard Obama speak, and as always, it's a awesome event in the fullest sense of the word. The last time I heard him speak was at a Los Angeles rally immediately after he announced his candidacy for the presidency, and he seemed a lot more tired this time around - understandably - but hit his stride after a few minutes, and got the crowd really going. Check out my cool photo montage:
I really do think his is a one-in-a-generation mind, and that he ought be our next president - if you want to know why, ask me in person. I want this post to be more an overview of life on the campaign trail, and less about stumping for a particular politician (although yes, I'm clearly writing from a biased perspective!).
So many more things I could say, but let's leave it at that. An eight-hour drive later and I'm back in DC, sitting at my office job, mulling over how much I really do enjoy politics. I'll leave you with one last funny story from "down south." We saw a billboard advertising in large letters: "Tax Rebate Checks Cashed Here." The sign was for a fried chicken joint. 'Nuff said.
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