*Dissappointed* went to a moveon voter registration party lastnight

[funkybutt]

The croud was great. One woman had her John Kerry shirt on and the whole group seemed to be Kerry supporters. I know that moveon is not affiliated with any party so I found that to be a relief after at the F-911 party I was approached by a writer who had written and article in "Workers Democracy" about how the working class CAN'T count on the Democrats. We discussed teaming up with other groups (LouisianaForKerry, KerryRoots.com, ect) in future efforts that may be more effective locally.

I was dissappointed with this party because:
a. i thought i would be calling a list of local people. (I think we could have done a lot better if our list was of unregisterred New Orleanians) Instead, we were phoning people in Florida which I agree is very important.

b. Almost none of us had ANY success signing up a voter. The list seemed pretty bad. Most of the numbers were wrong numbers and sometime it was someone who claimed to already be registerred to vote (which I suspected was a lie in SOME cases)

c. several people I spoke with said they didn't "WANT" to vote. I couldn't convince them how important it was.

*One Bite* I called about 50 people and I only had one bite. The guy had a VERY strong french accent. He was mildy rude but when he heard I was working to defeat Bush he became interested. I began signing him up but while getting his address, because of the language barrier, I had to ask him to repeat himself many times. He got irritated with my inability to understand him and hung up on me!

Oh well. The organizers said it wasnt' a complete waste of time because all the information that we took down (like wrong #, not interested, not legal citizens,ect)

I'm hoping that such voter registration efforts through the local Kerry Campaign Headquarters will be more productive.

[Tweed]

1. I know that my local moveon.org group was targeting single women

Not sure how they got a telephone list of single women, but that's what they did.

[funkybutt]

6. our scripts focused on women

but the final list that came out had men and women's names on it...so we were told to use people if the person we were speaking with was a man.

"We're working to encourage women/people who didn't vote in the last presidential election to make their voices heard this november."

[Warpy]

2. Tell the folks who don't want to vote

that if they're registered, they can call their voting office and sign up for an absentee ballot. They can fill it out and drop it in the next day's mail, nothing easier.

Voting really is a pain in the ass for working people, first because it's on a workday and second because it's close to home instead of to the workplace. That means getting up and hour early or getting home an hour late on election day if you want to use traditional voting. When there are kids that need to be deposited and picked up from day care, not to mention fed, it makes the whole thing more difficult. Let them know absentee ballots will eliminate the hassle.

Let them know that if they don't vote, they're obeying George W. Bush, who doesn't want them to vote because working people who don't vote are his best hope of staying in power.

[funkybutt]

9. i've heard that places of employment are Required by law to let workers

go vote. I think they have to give you 2 hours.

[Warpy]

14. When you have an hour or more commute to your job

which is what a lot of young families have to do in order to afford housing, you really can't take that amount of time off to go vote. Most employers allow an hour or two. That is simply not going to allow the average voter to get all the way home, stand in a line, and slog all the way back to work. Think of the expense to the voter, also, of doing a double commute.

They really try to make it as hard as possible for working people. Absentee ballots are the only solution.

[diamond14]

15. unsubstantiated rumor.....

:puke:

[ikojo]

76. I take the bus to work and it takes me an hour in good

traffic. If there is an accident then it could take longer. I live in Missouri and have been told by my employer that if I request the time IN ADVANCE then I will be granted TWO HOURS to vote. Should elections be held I will request that time.

[htuttle]

21. Depends on the state

Here in WI, I believe the law says that if you work a 12 hour shift on election day, your employer must give you (unpaid) time off to go vote.

[funkybutt]

22. "Most states require employers to allow employees to take time off to vote

here's a list

http://cobrands.business.findlaw.com/employment_employer/nolo/ency/4717D038-F938-4B8C-811FB10AB7E30AAA.html

[Misunderestimator]

24. That's a HECK of a lot of states that DO NOT allow it.

And where's Florida in that list? I guess the laws are so bad here that they don't even bother listing it? I know that it can't be true here, because in 2002 I was in line behind an EMS tech who had to take a 2 hours off work without pay to vote.

[diamond14]

26. it's a rumor...spread to stop people from voting

imagine being told that rumor by a voting registration 'volunteer'....then finding out on November 2nd that it's NOT TRUE....just as you leave work thinking that your employer MUST let you leave to vote...how terribly discouraging to Patriotic Democratic Americans...it undermines Democracy....


and DUers KNOW that it's not true....and the spread of this rumor will just get rid of LOTS of Democratic Voters...

let's stop this rumor: employers must let people go vote....

stop the rumor and look carefully at the effect they are 'volunteering' for....

[Misunderestimator]

28. Well, yes, especially if the calls were made to FLORIDA

Lots of people would probably lose their jobs if they voted under that assumption.

Well, hey... I guess there IS a silver-lining around all the job losses... at least the jobless can vote. Wonder who they'll vote for?

(good point btw)

[diamond14]

35. yes, they were FLORIDA calls....

and the object of those calls and rumor-spreading should open some eyes around here....

[porkrind]

37. It should be a federal holiday in the middle of the week.

This will prevent people using it to go out of town for the weekend.
:dem:

---

Read about the Right-Wing "Master Plan": http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/sam/sam-contents.html

Have you read "War is a Racket"?: http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

[bhairava]

58. It is shameful that election day is not a holiday or weekend

In many ways we are NOT the shining experiment in democracy that we fancy ourselves. While absentee is a good idea (isn't all voting that way in Oregon?), I still think the civic value of voting in person is inestimable. A holiday or weekend voting are easy sensible solutions that most every other democracy nowadays does except the US.

[trof]

3. Not an easy job.

I did some in Pensacola druing the 2002 campaigns, calling registered voters. You can get the list from county registrar or whoever is in charge of voting rolls.

The main thing you're trying to do is identify Democratic voters.
It's a big help when you're later targeting campaigns/voters.

[the Kelly Gang]

4. it's sad to hear this..why isn't the US vote held on a Saturday like

in most other countries..people are up and early to do it before their shopping and treat it as a bit of a carnival atmosphere.

wouldn't voter registration be more effective in the street ?

[belle]

65. Good point...

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AP]

7. The comment about assembling a database is true -- you are putting

together a database to use in the future which is going to be invaluable to the democratic party. You waste your time this year making a wrong number and you're saving future congressional, state and presidential candidates hours and hours of time in the future.

Remember, this is the first time citizen groups have ever done anything like this on such a broad scale. There is going to be immense rolling resistance. But this is exactly why EVERYONE should get involved.

[funkybutt]

11. thanks for your comment

it makes me feel like maybe my time was well spent afterall. It was my first time participating in such a thing. :)

[diamond14]

12. there is a LOT of damage done when 'volunteers' are rude and nasty

to the people that they call...

we have noticed a LOT of infiltrators at Kerry HQ's trying to diss people on the phone and on internet....

since this particular dissed Kerry volunteers to the point of deletion several times...none of this should surprise anyone...

[porphyrian]

8. That must be the frustration teachers experience daily. - n/t

[Misunderestimator]

10. I registered 3 new voters at the party I went to....

And our lists were also FL (but I'm in FL).

And the other four women at the party each registered 1 or 2.

Sorry, your experience wasn't as fruitful, but just wanted you to know that it definitely wasn't a wasted effort.

[funkybutt]

13. Bravo! Well done! That's good to hear!

[Sweetpea]

16. I registered one person, a lady in pennsylvania,

and the other 3 women in my group registered 3 people. I didn't like getting hung up on when it did happen but I wasn't surprised either. Telemarketing sucks.

[funkybutt]

19. I also think they had us calling people too late

it was 7:30 our time but 8:30 their time. I don't particularly like being called at 8:30 pm, unless it's a family member or something.

[Misunderestimator]

20. Yes, telemarketing sucks....

And this is the first time in over 20 years that I've done it. Had a summer job in college once selling theater subscriptions over the phone... HATED it.

But this time I didn't mind the rude people, after all I wasn't selling them anything. If they didn't want me to do them a favor... whatever. Most of the people I spoke with were very pleasant.

Glad you were able to register 4 people at your party! :thumbsup: I've not heard of ANYONE having such bad luck as the original poster. So, that's good news.

[Warren DeMontague]

56. Here's my take on it..

The American People have been Telemarketed to DEATH. Sorry, but it's true. I'm of the opinion that maybe cold-calling people for something like this is a bad way to go- because there's a significant contingent of people who will assosciate any phone call that begins.. "Excuse me, Mr. or Mrs. (insert mis-mangling of your last name here)" with something very, very negative, and you may end up turning off more folks to your cause than you find yourself winning over. I did a little bit of phone-banking before the '94 congressional elections, and while (admittedly) that wasn't a good year for Democrats, I distintly got the feeling the act of making unwelcome phone calls was alienating more people than it was convincing.

Personally, after years and years and years and years of getting telemarketers up the yin-yang, junk faxes at 4 AM (which happened with alarming frequency, for a while) and all manner of unasked for telephone intrusions, I go positively ballistic (and, yeah, I'm on the do-not-call list) when anyone calls me to try to sell me something, or sell me on something. I would counsel moveon to find another way to do the job.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. Don't give up!

Working the phone banks is hard. You are a "telemarketer" after all, and can't expect much success. Just gotta keep on pluggin'-- telemarketers think a 5% response rate is incredibly good, so 0 out of 50 isn't really so bad after all. The 53rd could have been a winner, and that would put you right in the ballpark.

This may have been a bad session for any number of reasons, but the good news is that it can only get better.

[diamond14]

41. Give up !

such a poor record (zero out of 50) should encourage you to STOP...

PLEASE....

[Freya]

18. Congratulations

You've just met some of the 50% that do not vote.

I think some people just do NOT care one way or the other. I've got many family and friends that are like this. They don't vote - they hate politics. Mostly because they believe they are ineffective and nothing major will change in their lives. All are lower-middle lower class economically. I agree - none of us are going to get markedly better lives with either party. It is the corporations and upper 1% that ultimately control us. It's been that way from the beginning.

This is hard for some of us who are politically active to understand. Though if you've been lower class/minority in a non-political family you'll understand pretty well.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JayS]

25. The best voter registration drives that I have been a part of...

...are outside of outdoor events or near outdoor exercise places. People just seem more willing to stop and chat outside. Having some comfortable chairs are nice also for the people that want to stay around awhile and have a soda or something, plus makes the setup look more "occupied" and of interest.

[funkybutt]

That's one of the things we discussed

at the meeting we discussed a local outreach where we could team up with organizers of other events around town. If the organizers agree, we can set up a table there with information, voter registration forms, ect.

I like the idea about the chairs and drinks. I'll keep that in mind. I'm very interested in getting locals to vote. New Orleans is almost 80% black and I've heard that less than 20% of them vote. I think we could really make a difference here in New Orleans. I'm determined to get at least 10 people to register to vote. I'm even going to take election day off to help get some of my neighbors to the polls.

[JayS]

42. Here we have a lot of outdoor concerts and other events that...

...have a good attendance and if there are any rules about setting up a registration booth then they aren't enforced, to my knowledge. No one bothered us anyway. I've mostly seen third party folks out doing this sort of thing and it looked like they were having fun and passing out the voter registration cards so we did the same. You meet some interesting people, that is for sure. :)

[Lindsey]

29. I think you helped more than you realize..

I also didn't sign anyone up. However, I spoke with a woman's roommate (we were only supposed to speak to the people on the list - and that particular person wasn't home)and she didn't know that they could both pick up a voter registration form at the post office. She told me they would because they had recently moved and didn't know how to re-register. She told me they were both Dems. and very pro-Kerry. A lot of the #'s I had were bad too but I look at it as a MAJOR updating which I think will help a lot.

[funkybutt]

31. I spoke with a few roomates and spouses

who seemed to be very pro-kerry and were very happy to talk with me. I, too, on occasion spoke with someone who answered the phone that wasnt' the name on the list. They were encouraged that we were calling and in many cases even gave us a good time to call when we might be able to reach that person. Hopefully some of the follow up calls will be successful.

[diamond14]

33. whew...that clarifies why your headline "disappointed"

depends on your affiliation....while YOU were 'disappointed', I would be THRILLED....

[diamond14]

30. ahhh...a true DUer....introspection and constructive ideas, rather

than just putting up posts discouraging other volunteers and complaining a LOT...

I like your approach to encourage others...and hope that those who want to complain and discourage the effort go elsewhere...

we certainly don't need whiners for Kerry's campaign or to register voters....they do SO MUCH DAMAGE to the effort (and IMO, are well aware of that)....

[MasonJar]

27. Actually Move-On is decidedlly pro-Kerry/Edwards; they have

come up with great ads. They need your financial support too. Also America Coming Together is a group that is trying to register Dem voters in the battleground states. They are re-building the grass roots organization in those states. If you are in Louisville and want to help you can call me at 899-9073; we have a grassroots makeship organization going. We especially need college students at Bellarmine, UL, Spaulding, etc.

[Renew Deal]

32. Are you kidding? You did more than you think.

You just improved Move-ons list in a big way. Now someone else won't have to call all those dead numbers. The people with answering machines can be contacted later with a different script. And the people that were signed up will be contacted before election. You did a great job. BTW, I signed one up to and it felt very good.

One last thing. I am in NY. It would have been cool if we signed people up in NY, but we did PA instead and that's fine with me.

[diamond14]

34. yes, discouraged me from further volunteering.,...certain that others

were made to feel that their efforts are just real minimal and worthless...


probably impacted a LOT of people to just stay home and NOT go to move-on meetings...

[funkybutt]

36. yeah..y'all are right

I guess when i brought my 10 envelopes, i was thinking that maybe i'd get 10 people to agree to have me send them info. This was the first time i've done any phone registration thing. I now see how important it was just for updates to the list. I'm now less discouraged. Thanks DUers :)

[Renew Deal]

38. 10 would have been an overwhelming success.

I got maybe 10 walking half my district. It is much harder to do that over the phone.

[funkybutt]

39. yeah...i think in person will work much better

I intend to do some walking around.

[diamond14]

40. discouraging over 100 was actually achieved here on DU....

let's hope that those "disappointed' dragging/whining/complaining
stay away from Kerry's campaign and the Voter Registration drives...
the damage is too much (and IMO, that's the mission)....

:puke:

[sandboxface]

43. How about making a video and/or pamplet on WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO VOTE...

DURING THIS ELECTION.

I'm afraid people really don't understand what we are up against in the months to come. We need powerful media to wake people up. Anyone interested in contributing? I am a video editor, so i can handle putting everything together. What I need from you is CONTENT. Maybe we could get a group of DUers interested and do the entire thing from communicating online. Let me know if you are interested...

[SonofMass]

44. Hey, funkybutt! You are famous

ninth article

http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Misunderestimator]

46. CHECK THIS OUT: 10,000 new voters as a result of yesterday's parties...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1977247&mesg_id=1977247

[iconoclastic cat]

47. Explain yourself.

Now.

[Misunderestimator]

48. Yes, my curiosity is peaked as well...

[diamond14]

49. It's the SECOND time, and certainly, it gets tiring....

IMO, two times is too many.....snips from the WALL STREET JOURNAL...


Great Moments in Democracy

"Funkybutt," a New Orleans-based contributor to the left-wing hate site DemocraticUnderground.org, has an inspiring tale of democratic participation at a MoveOn.org voter registration party (quoting verbatim):

The croud was great. One woman had her John Kerry shirt on and the whole group seemed to be Kerry supporters. I know that moveon is not affiliated with any party so I found that to be a relief after at the F-911 party I was approached by a writer who had written and article in "Workers Democracy" about how the working class CAN'T count on the Democrats. We discussed teaming up with other groups (LouisianaForKerry, KerryRoots.com, ect) in future efforts that may be more effective locally.

I was dissappointed with this party because: (see first post in this thread)....

http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/

[funkybutt]

50. FUNKYBUTT RESPONDS

I'll respond by saying this:

Everything I said in the post was true. I stated honestly that I was dissappointed with our success to get people registered , among other things. After reading some of the posts on my thread, I felt a lot better to know that even though i didn't sign anyone up to vote, I was still getting important work done. I thank all you positive DUers for making me realize that. I had no idea that this post would be picked up by a RW news source like that. I was simply expressing my feelings and experiences as I thought was encouraged on this DU board. I apologize to anyone who thinks I've defamed our DU, that was certainly not my intention.

[diamond14]

51. coming up next: the sale of the Brooklyn Bridge....

this is the SECOND time...and it's getting real stale...


:puke: :puke: :puke:

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[funkybutt]

53. I put that comment on there b/c it was THE TRUTH

I don't speak french and I had began to fill out a form to send this man. he said he lived on "north" ? street. but i never could figure out what the last word of the street name was. I asked him to spell it, and I still couldn't understand it. There were many people at my table talking on their phones. I understood how important it was for the mailing address to be correct if I were to actually succeed in sending him this voter registration form.

I don't appreciate being called a liar. And I don't care if it's hard for you to believe.

[trumad]

55. tooo bad

Are you even fimiliar with the hatred towards the French by the Repukes within the last two years? What..you didn't think you were feeding the trolls. First you report this hard to believe crap regarding the MoveOn event, then you finish it off with some French Bashing... No... I don't believe you at all!

[diamond14]

61. I don't believe it at all either...it's a total set-up....Kerry bashing...

Move-on bashing, discouraging Democratic Volunteers, and French-bashing to boot....

giving false information to FLORIDA VOTERS is particularly damaging to Democrats....

and it was AMAZING how fast the message got over to the Wall Street Journal...despite the REALITY that 10,000 NEW VOTERS were signed up at the Move-On meetings....it was a slam-dunk to keep that reality out of the papers....

[Cicero]

63. I guess the thing to do would be to find another source

Try to find someone else who was at the Moveon.org party and ask them to verify some of the general facts as to what the purpose was, who was being contacted, whether there was campaigning for Kerry at the same time as doing a voter registration drive, etc.

Right now, I'm tending to lean towards believing Funkybutt is legit, as I know how difficult is is to take prospective voter lists and actually contact people on those lists. Also, I know that amen1234 has said this is the "second time" ... second time for what? That Funkybutt was quoted in Opinion Journal? That a moveon.org party has been accused of mixing a voter reg. drive with pro-Kerry campaigning? It's not very clear, at least to me. If amen1234 would post a link to the "first time", I'd have a much better idea what he/she is so upset about.

Later,

[funkybutt]

64. I never mentioned Kerry to any of my callers

the script read something like this

"i'm volunteering for moveon. We are contacting people who didn't vote in the last presidential election and trying to encourage them to make their voices heard in November"

"would you be interested in getting help registerring to vote?""

the french man asked something along the lines of "is this for Bush?" and I said "actually one of the goals of moveon is to ensure that Bush is NOT in the white house for 4 more years"...that's when he agreed to allow me to send him a voter registration form and other moveon materials but he hung up on me before I could get his address.

[Sweetpea]

67. I believe you funky

because I was out there calling. A couple of people I talked to were spanish and couldn't speak any English. I had to rely on my high school level spanish to be understood. Then one woman told me she wasn't a citizen. Many people said they were already registered.
I was sitting next to a lady who was trying to convince a man to register his wife. He told her that if his wife voted , she would vote Republican. When she got off the phone, I told her that registering people was about giving people a choice and you can't dictate who they vote for. She called the guy back and told him that her intention was to register his wife and she can then decide whom to vote for. After that he was ok and gave her the information to register his wife.

But I understood your frustration in your post. I personally enjoyed the day because it was nice and weather in Central Park. And I was happy with my one registered voter.

[ronnykmarshall]

73. Me too.

Get off Funkybutt's ........ BUTT!

[diamond14]

68. this shows ILLEGAL voter intimidation....it's no wonder the man hung up

and I hope he doesn't call the authorities about MoveOn.....seems like an easy way to destroy a very good organization....

[diamond14]

54. and it's totally illegal to do Voter Registration and Kerry Campaigning

at the SAME TIME....

Voter Registration is a party-neutral activity in ALL STATES....

also, telling people IN FLORIDA, that their employer must let them off work to vote with pay....that is so slimey...it leads LOTS of Democrats to try and leave work for voting on November 2nd, and suddenly find out that it's not true....keeps Democrats from voting, very effective, and VERY underhanded....

[MaineDem]

66. You may want to check those facts

"Voter Registration is a party-neutral activity in ALL STATES...."

[SonofMass]

59. Actually, at times, it isn't squishy.

[The Flaming Red Head]

74. If they had paid you (they need to)

I bet you would have gotten a lot more. Psych! 12 dollars an hour sounds about right. You're a valuable resource.

[Nevernose]

57. What you were doing was possibly illegal

In my state, NV, voter registration must be done in a non-partisan manner. In fact, even non-partisan talk about politics could get you into trouble, if you're trying to get people to register. It's a felony here.

I would suggest that, no matter where you are, it would be a good idea to talk to an attorney and/or the local voter registrar.

[funkybutt]

60. this was a moveon coordinated event

We were provided with scripts but allowed to answer questions posed to us by the callers. I'd imagine MoveOn has already consulted their lawyers about the manner these phone parties are conducted. They've been going on for a long time now. This was my first time to attend one.

[diamond14]

62. it's a felony here too...and Move-On would be responsible if that's

the meeting being used for illegal stuff...good trick...hope it can be stopped soon...

[Luminous Animal]

69. RE: Voting registration / Campaign materials.

In California it is 100% legal to display and hand out campaign materials and register voters.

I've tried to look up other states laws but I'm at work and so far only had the time for Conneticutt where it is also legal.

Before eveyone starts thinking that partisan campaigns are committing felonies, the should check with their state regulations.

[diamond14]

70. Voter Rights...ILLEGAL voter intimidation (links and contacts)

http://www.sbe.state.va.us/VotRegServ/votersrights.htm

Here's a summary...

No person may intimidate, threaten or coerce any other person: for registering or voting; for urging or aiding persons in registering or voting; for purposes of interfering or influencing how a person chooses to vote or not vote; or for purposes of preventing a person from voting.

you can get the full text of the Virginia Voters Rights by calling 1-800-552-9745 (Virginia State Board of Elections)...


I suspect that much like VIRGINIA, there are MANY court cases involving Voters rights, and if further research were done, you'd find a LOT of Voters rights in Connecticut or California too...

I have volunteered on Voter Registration drives in Michigan, Colorado and Virginia for over 30 years...and it's pretty much all the same...that you must be TOTALLY neutral in helping people register to vote...that there are LOTS of rules....that legitimate organizations like MoveOn and Kerry train you in the rules and write down the legal things you can say to potential voters...and throw you out if you try to undermine and sabatoge their efforts....

[muriel_volestrangler]

71. That sentence does not say you cannot campaign while registering people

It says you mustn't intimidate them. Campaigning is not intimidating.

What we need is something explicit to Florida, saying that campaigning is, or is not, allowed by PACs while registering voters.

[Nevernose]

75. Here's the law in my state

I only put this here as a warning to others: consult an attorney or your local registrar before registering voters. This is Nevada law, btw, so while it is not directly applicable, I think it's important to keep in mind that many states take this sort of thing pretty seriously (it's a felony, at least here).

8. A field registrar, employee of a voter registration agency or person assisting a voter pursuant to subsection 12 of NRS 293.5235 shall not:
(a) Delegate any of his duties to another person; or
(b) Refuse to register a person on account of that person’s political party affiliation.
9. A person shall not hold himself out to be or attempt to exercise the duties of a field registrar unless he has been so appointed.
10. A county clerk, field registrar, employee of a voter registration agency or person assisting a voter pursuant to subsection 12 of NRS 293.5235 shall not:
(a) Solicit a vote for or against a particular question or candidate;
(b) Speak to a voter on the subject of marking his ballot for or against a particular question or candidate; or
(c) Distribute any petition or other material concerning a candidate or question which will be on the ballot for the ensuing election,

Êwhile he is registering an elector.

[Nevernose]

78. FLORIDA law:

Title IX, Chap. 98, Section 8(a)(b):

(8) A person providing voter registration services for a voter registration agency may not:

(a) Seek to influence an applicant's political preference or party registration;

(b) Display any political preference or party allegiance;

PACs can conduct voter registration drives, as long as when actually registering voters they remain non-partisan. Saying "I'm for Kerry" or "I want to beat Bush" is definitely displaying preference.

[diamond14]

83. thanks! yes, clearly ILLEGAL....and the calls were made to FLORIDA...

it's a real OLD campaign trick...

with the end result being the MoveOn takes the fall...slick !....

:puke:

[diamond14]

79. call Kerry National HQ, or call YOUR local Democratic State Party

or YOUR local Democratic COUNTY headquarters...and they can HELP YOU do your homework, they will also TRAIN you, so you can stay within the LAWs of your particular state...

There are LOTs of leads and links to work your way through the Voter Registration processes and LAWS....the easiest way is to get with a legitimate Voter Registration organization (your Democratic County offices) and get TRAINED, and follow the directions...that's the easiest way to be LEGAL...

there are MANY court cases about what constitutes intimidating voters...and KERRY's National Campaign Headquarters in DC (where I have been VOLUNTEERING since December 2003) is trying hard to keep people from violating campaign LAWS and especially Voter Registration Laws (because so many have attempted to link Kerry's campaign to illegal acts, as done on this thread), and there are MANY MANY laws (not just the 'little' summary sheets put up on web pages)....


...as a 'little' example (and there have been MANY court cases) the intimidation comes from the Voter Registration form, given to you from a person with bush* t-shirt and buttons, and THAT "implies" that the form is registering you to "VOTE for bush*", rather than "vote for whomever you please", and 'you don't have to vote at all or fill out the form'.... sometimes, people won't even give you the form if you are voting for Kerry, when they are wearing a bush* t-shirt, and sometimes, the bush* t-shirt people try to tell you that the pResident wants you to do this...so, the LAW eliminates that intimidation, i.e., that you have to Vote for bush*.....if your photo is taken, handing out Voter Registration forms with a candidates' t-shirt on, then the election can and has been challenged for intimidating voters.......another example is on this thread...someone could record you telling them that you are working to get bush* out of office while offering to send registration forms, and THAT is intimidation....it implies that YOU WON't GET THE FORM if you don't do what we want, and therefore, YOU won't get to vote...so it shouldn't surprise anyone that the man hung up the phone under such intimidation...

once again, it's a SUMMARY, not the full text, and call the 800-toll free number to understand the LAW...



http://www.sbe.state.va.us/VotRegServ/votersrights.htm

SUMMARY:

No person may intimidate, threaten or coerce any other person: for registering or voting; for urging or aiding persons in registering or voting; for purposes of interfering or influencing how a person chooses to vote or not vote; or for purposes of preventing a person from voting.

you can get the full text of the Virginia Voters Rights by calling 1-800-552-9745 (Virginia State Board of Elections)...

[diamond14]

72. Kerry's campaign does NOT run Voter Registration drives(link)

no matter what others try to trick you into believing otherwise...and there are REAL IMPORTANT reasons for that....

http://www.johnkerry.com/register/
notice how Kerry's campaign REFERS you to other groups if you want to register voters...and local groups ask you to call and get TRAINED...that's because, voter intimidation is the easiest way for reTHUGlicans to destroy Voter Registration efforts....

-snip-

"The links on the right will take you to voter registration information resources and some of the National Democratic Party organizations, which can either benefit directly from your support or direct you to local party organizations or candidates who rely on volunteers to win elections."

[demgrrrll]

77. You're fighting the good fight here Amen1234.. I thought this was a

stinkeroo from jump street.

[funkybutt]

80. yeah 17 posts in this thread (not to mention the 3 deleted ones"

all directly attacking me and accusing me of a variety of things. this isn't the first time this has happened either. yeah...somthing stinks indeed.

It wouldnt have matterred what my post was about. Every post i've posted since first coming in contact with amen1234 has been bombarded by attacks. So don't worry, it wouldnt have matterred what the post is about. Every post I post is in some way "pro-Bush" ect, ect. Oh..i see what stinks, it's all that bullshit!

ah...the ignore feature here is great

[diamond14]

82. I knew it when I first saw it.....

thinly disguised too...sadly, as the elections get closer, we can certainly expect repeats of similar tactics here on DU....let's keep our eyes open...

[funkybutt]

81. FUNKYBUTT THANKS YOU DUers and moderators

for all your POSITIVE comments and emails in support of my freedom convey my experiences in this discussion board. :)

Many would like to repress my freedom of speech...sounds earily like what the repugs do. Are we morphing into them?