We got back from South Carolina on Monday afternoon and found waiting for us an Obama flyer and a written note to call HQ to come volunteer. I’ve been making calls after work out of the main state office in Somerville ever since. Massachusetts is reputed to be Clinton territory, Kennedy/Kerry/Patrick notwithstanding, but we are pounding the phones hard to find our supporters. I’ve mostly been reaching answering machines in the western Boston suburbs, but even so I’ll make some hasty observations:
1. The same impulses that certain folks have when I call — reticence, uncertainty, or disagreement — plays out rather differently here than down South. Those who plan to vote for another candidate in South Carolina might play along just to be polite, but here they’re much more apt to just hang up. A good number of folks I’ve called also see voting as an intensely private matter and were quite unwilling to share their thoughts (something I encountered when making calls for Kerry and for Deval Patrick in the last few years).
2. I’ve found few supporters of any type in the 60+ age range (or willing to talk on the phone, for that matter), but under that age women are just as likely as men to support Obama.
3. There are a lot more Republicans here than the “blue state” reputation suggests. Even so, most of the independents I’ve called are breaking Democratic this year; only one told me he was running with McCain.
4. I spoke with at least two Edwards supporters who are now voting for Obama.
5. I spoke with not a single person who affirmed that he or she was supporting Clinton. I have been dialing numbers of totally unidentified voters.
Phonebanking can be arduous, but I actually get a kick out of knocking off a sheet or two of numbers, especially if somewhere in the list I managed to talk to someone in any serious way about the election. It doesn’t need to be someone who’s going with my candidate, but just a person who actually cares, shows some enthusiasm for the privilege we Americans have in being able to choose our leaders, and recognizes that we volunteers are fellow citizens who love our country and our democratic way of life. (Please remember that next time you get a campaign call!).
