A way to help out the Kerry campaign in "close" states.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

(This is a copy of an email I sent to some friends today)

Dear friends,

I have been doing some volunteer calls to Ohio for the Kerry campaign.
Basically what it involves is signing up with the johnkerry.com volunteer center (link below) and doing the call center. They identify their "hotspots" where help is most needed (seems, appropriately, to be Ohio right now) and they choose an event (the one today is a door to door canvass in Dayton area on Saturday OCT 23d). When you log in, you get 5 names at a time in the area to call associated with that event.

All the people are identified volunteers signed up with the johnkerry.com site so you are not generally "cold calling" people who are likely to be Bush supporters etc. who will be mad or hang up on you.

Basically you are calling to try and sign people up for the specific event.
(The site gives the event info above the names.) A "script" is provided if you are unsure what to say, along with an appropriate message to leave if you get an answering machine.

http://volunteer.johnkerry.com/

Generally the people you speak to are motivated Dems, so you don't have to worry about unpleasantness. What you are doing is helping coordinate the "ground game" in these last days.

Things are looking fairly good for the Kerry campaign at this point, big states like PA are starting to swing more solidly into the Kerry/Edwards camp. It looks like the outcome of the election will be largely determined by the degree of voter turnout in close states with large numbers of electoral votes like OH and FLA.

I am sending this out because it is a fairly easy and pain free thing to do that may materially help the outcome of the election. If you live in a "close" state like CO, WI, Missouri, VA, then it's probably best to do what you can right there.
:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

1. better link is

http://calls.johnkerry.com

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

3. Right, but when you go to this link, if you're not signed up yet, it

puts you to the same signup screen that you'd have to go through at the volunteer center link.

[sandnsea]

2. It works too

Make those calls. People are more than happy to hear from you. You can make a call, read DU, type a response, make another call. I am! :)


:kick:

[DemMother]

4. I'm in CA and have been making calls too.

I've spent a couple Sundays working at a phone bank in Santa Monica and have been calling from home for johnkerry.com. The johnkerry.com calls are actually fun because you're calling Kerry supporters and letting them know about canvassing opportunities in swing states. I've talked to people in Florida, Oregon, Iowa and Ohio. It's hard to get some of them off the phone--they're so fired up.

You can call as few as the five potential volunteers you are assigned when you log in, or you can keep going back for more.

If you've never made calls before, start with johnkerry.com. (It really is enjoyable--and I've been canvassing in elections since I was a teenager in '68)

I've also been notified by Moveon.org that they've assigned me a precinct in Michigan to call and was contacted by the California Kerry organization about other swing state calling. Not sure I can do them all but will keep up with moveon and johnkerry.com phoning.

I have never seen any national campaign with this kind of grassroots organizing--it's amazing, and I am convinced that Kerry will win because of it.

It's a great way to get involved!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. Consider doing something in AZ or NV like helping people get to

the polls on Nov 2.

One of the great things about CA is it's going Dem, and has a huge pool of potential volunteers for NV and AZ.

[NMDemDist2]

6. i am making calls in AZ for the home team

and calling the east coast in the afternoon when no one is home here yet

they don't call AZ off Kerry's site, but they do call Nevada

if you'd like to make calls in AZ from CA pm me

[DemMother]

8. If I didn't have kids in school and a job I would.

The calls will have to be my contribution. I figure I can do it all election day--just as if I were in a campaign office in a swing state.

[liberal N proud]

7. Thanks from OHIO!

We are working our tails off and can use all the help we can get, from where ever we can get it.