"Do you need a drink of water or anything?" she asks

[struggle4progress]

It's a hot day. Halfway through my walklist, I take a break to change into a cooler shirt; the one I'm wearing is soaked with sweat. After recovering, I start knocking again

Here's a small notice, penciled on weather-worn paper and scotch-taped sideways above the bell: No soliciting

Folk regularly post notices like that, and I actually have no idea what the sign means. I guess it's a safe bet the inhabitants wouldn't want to meet me if I were selling Big Sucker vacuums or a lifetime subscription to Modern Scams; but beyond that, I just don't have a clue. Some folk, though obviously home, don't answer; many come chat with me, making no mention of their sign; every now and then, somebody's mightily offended I didn't know their personal definition of soliciting, so I apologize quickly and sweetly as I move along

I ring the bell

Like many other people, she comes out the back door and up the drive. Can I help you?

I offer her our primary endorsements

Well, she says, we usually don't allow soliciting, but I'll make an exception for this

I'm not really soliciting, I shrug

Exactly! she says

So I run through the high points of my short spiel, telling her what races concern us and where she can vote early

She tells me this is very helpful. Do you need a drink of water or anything? she asks

I thank her but decline: I live nearby

[Kali]

1. ...

[sheshe2]

2. Well done s4p.

Thank you for helping to GOTV2014.

[struggle4progress]

4. I'll be glad when the primary's over

I spent part of the afternoon on door-hangers for one candidate

Later I dropped off my walklists from Saturday and Sunday somewhere else

Then I spent part of the evening knocking doors to pass out endorsement cards

I'm looking at another week of this

We better win!

[sheshe2]

27. I look forward to the results!

[NYC_SKP]

3. Recommended. (nt)

[mopinko]

5. and that is how its done

bam

u da man.

[struggle4progress]

14. Well, that's how I currently do it. A year from now, when I know more, I hope

Last edited Tue Apr 29, 2014, 01:20 AM - Edit history (1)

I'll have changed some of what I do. And somebody else will want to do it differently than I do, I'm sure

There's some strange trade-off here: you need to be yourself enough, so you won't be phony -- and you need to respect the person whose turf you've invaded, by getting to the point ASAP and by skeedaddling before you're asked to skeedaddle whenever possible

[Cha]

6. thanks struggle~

[struggle4progress]

13. It's fun. The city's somewhat shy of a quarter million, so there's always somebody new to meet,

but you constantly bump into some you know

Saturday, I knocked a door and asked for somebody, and her reaction was: You want to talk to me? She was so surprised! I myself found it charming

Yesterday, I caught a woman as she was getting ready to drive off, and she insisted on getting her husband. I couldn't figure out this it was so important, but after a spell of calling into the house and looking around the side of the house, she finally told me they seen me on the street, and he'd said he knew me. She finally found him, and we chatted a bit

The local ballot's not too big, and I get some conversation with local candidates when I volunteer: They might drop literature at my house before an election if I ask, and I might drop (say) yard signs at their houses when the election's over. There are some smart, informed, caring politicians -- and since by temperament I'm not at all politician, I learn a lot from these little interactions

[Cha]

21. Thank you for your inspiration, struggle~

[herding cats]

7. Best of luck to your candidates!

Thank you for doing the work to help them win. If we all were as dedicated as you are, we'd have no need to be worried. GOTV works only if we actually do the work to make it happen.

Your a superhero, and your superpower is believing in the process.

[struggle4progress]

11. No superhero here. Just an old hippie tryin to keep on keepin on

... and maybe it's the time of year
yes and maybe it's the time of man
and I don't know who I am
but life is for learning ...

we are stardust
we are golden
we are caught in the devil's bargain
and we've got to get ourselves
back to the garden

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. Thanks s4p, for all your hard work. You done good. You done real good.

[struggle4progress]

12. Guess we'll find out next Tuesday night how well I done

Whether we done poor or done good, we can always do better

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. next Tuesday Afternoon will tell the story

[struggle4progress]

17. I'll eagerly await Tuesday Afternoon's report next Tuesday night

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. keep the dial turned to DU for all the groovy updates

and, I really hope they ARE groovy

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. I used to go out on the motor voter drive....

It was a simple question, "Do you need a ride to the polls?"

[struggle4progress]

15. That's important to do!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Especially in neighborhoods where women are pushing a cart full of groceries all the way home.

[struggle4progress]

22. People will do what they have to do to get by. Sometimes that requires thinking outside the box

[AverageJoe90]

10. Good luck. =)

[SheilaT]

19. When I was going door to door

campaigning a decade ago, the Democratic party assured us that a no soliciting sign did not apply to political speech.

Obviously, if someone is quite hostile you want to excuse yourself and walk away, but many people are okay with what you're doing.

[struggle4progress]

23. I'm not a lawyer but local variations in the law may matter. I'd guess blanket prohibitions

(in a neighborhood or town) against activities such as canvassing would be invalid; but I'd also guess that an individual property owner will certainly have legal remedy against a trespasser -- and exactly what constitutes trespass might depend slightly on jurisdiction

[SheilaT]

24. If you're simply on the doorstep,

trying to promote your candidate, I sort of doubt it's actual trespass. Although if the homeowner asks you to leave you certainly should.

[struggle4progress]

25. I suspect that's generally correct in many jurisdictions but don't know whether it's true everywhere

and under all circumstances

[steve2470]

26. thanks for your hard work s4p ! nt