Need DU Ideas to help sway neighbors to Kerry's side

[funkybutt]

I'm a "precinct captain" for my area. Yesterday while canvassing I encountered 2 people (registered democrats) who say they won't be voting for Kerry.

#1 An African-American Single mother: I handed her a handout about Louisiana issues. She was a bit rude.she laughed at it while reading the bullet-points "Affordable health care! We already have that!" I assume that she was referring to the Charity Hospital system which is commonly used as a substitute for a visit to the doctor. WIth long waits ect. I pay for insurance, and I wouldnt consider it to be affordable at all, so I was mildly irritated with her comments. She seemed basically to be just fed up with politicians and their rhetoric. As I was walking away, I could hear her complaining to her neighbor (who is a Kerry Supporter) that she was sick of hearing about the war. "All they ever talk about is the war! Fuck the war! I don't give a shit about that. I'm gonna vote for that independent. That's who I'm going to vote for, b/c everyone else is just talkin about the war." Her neighbor responded, "Nader?" The lady asked "who's that?" After that, I couldn't hear anymore.

#2 A 30 something White Man: When he came to the door, I immediately could tell that I had interrupted him smoking pot. Smoke was coming out of the doorway...a LOT of it! I told him that I was a volunteer for the Kerry/Edwards campaign ect. and handed him the LA issues brochure. He asks, "Who is Kerry Edwards?" I replied, "John Kerry is running for president. Edwards is his running mate." He realized who I was talking about, "OH! Yeah. Well, I'm a democrat and I voted for Bush in 2000. I'm going to do that again. I think he's doing a good job." I was flabergasted! I told him that he's the first person I've ever heard who thought that. I informed him that I thought that we need a new president. This one has not been honest with us and he's consistently made the wrong decisions for the people of this country. He said that he would read my "Louisiana Issues" brochure but I'm not very encouraged.

My precinct is overwhelmingly supportive of Kerry. I've knocked on about 150 doors so far and only encountered 3 people who aren't on board. Overall the response has been pretty good. I was just dissappointed that I couldnt get through to these people. The longer I think about it, the worse it bothers me.

[DrFunkenstein]

1. Introduce Them To Each Other

Together they may form a whole f'n brain (kinda like Voltron).

Honestly, though, these people are not going to bother showing up to the voting booths. They are not even really Bush people. You tried, but sometimes you gotta let go.

[HFishbine]

2. I'd bet you a copy of "My Pet Goat"

that neither of them actually votes.

[RobbyRoo]

3. Watch F 9/11 online

Watch F 9/11 online.
Here's the link:
http://www.bush-flipflop.com/f911.html

[grumpy old fart]

4. Don't sweat it too much...

Just as there will be poor always, there will be the defiantly ignorant also. If the killing of innocent American youth for the greed of an aristocracy that couldn't give two shits about 'em isn't enough reason for these folks to vote against the Chimp king, there is very little that can be done.

[truthpusher]

5. send them this MSNBC link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1210725

[flpoljunkie]

6. Print for them this plain, well reasoned weblog. It is titled, "WHY?"

http://weblog.karelia.com/General/Why.html

This is something I wrote after hearing Donna Marcus, the mother of a woman who died in the 9/11 attacks, on the radio. If you disagree with what I write, perhaps you at least will understand why a person like me, with so many unanswered questions, cannot support 4 more years of our country's current President.

Why?

Why did our president ignore Osama Bin Laden, whom his predecessor had been pursuing?
Why did he ignore the briefing called "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US"?
Why did he go into a classroom to read "My Pet Goat" after he had been told the first tower had been hit?
Why didn't they bring down the other planes after the first one hit?
Why did he just sit there for seven more minutes after he was told of the second plane?
Why didn't any staffers prod him to get up and act?
Why do they say that we are safer when they clearly let this tragedy happen?
Why do people believe him?

Why were they planning on invading Iraq long before 9/11?
Why did they switch their focus from Afghanistan to Iraq?
Why did they outsource the job of finding Bin Laden to Afghani Warlords instead of doing it ourselves?
Why did they use evidence they knew to be false to justify invading Iraq?
Why did they allow torture to occur in prisons?
Why did they allow 377 tons of munitions to be carted away by the terrorists under our noses?
Why do they say the world is safer, when there are more terrorists now than ever before?
Why do people believe him?

Why has the economy gone downhill for four years in a row?
Why have no new jobs been created?
Why is his job record the worst since Herbert Hoover?
Why do they insist things are looking up when so many of us are out of work?
Why do people believe him?

Why did he fill up his cabinet with lobbyists titans of big industr?
Why did they call it "Healthy Forests Initiative" when it should be called "Leave No Tree Behind?"
Why do they call it "Clear Skies Initiative" when it allows more pollution?
Why do people believe him?

Why were thousands of Florida voters illegally removed from the rolls in 2000?
Why is the same thing happening again?
Why are programs being established to intimidate voters at the polls?
Why are new voter registration cards and absentee ballots being lost or destroyed?
Why do people believe him?

Why do the families of soldiers have to send body armor, rather than the military equipping soldiers properly?
Why are Haliburton contractors getting rich while our soldiers' pay is cut?
Why have over a thousand soldiers died and many more maimed, yet he cuts veterans' benefits?
Why is he attacking his opponent's patriotism when nobody in his administration ever served their country?
Why do people believe him?

Why does he hand out puny 'tax cuts' to Americans while giving huge breaks to his billionaire buddies?
Why did he just pass another corporate giveaway of billions of dollars this week?
Why is he putting us so deep into debt that our children are each inheriting a "baby tax" of $100,000, plus interest?
Why does he talk about freedom when our deficit means that we are now indebted over our heads to the Chinese and the Saudis?
Why do people believe him?


Why is he 'conservative' when conservatives are supposed to be cautious and preserve the way things are?
Why is he a 'Republican' when Republicans of the past like Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln were nothing like him?
Why is he creating the biggest deficit ever and biggest government ever when real Republicans favor fiscal discipline and small government?
Why do so many Christians identify with him when his actions are do not follow the teachings of Christ?
Why do people believe him?


And
Why do I believe that this nation no longer the pinnacle of strength and freedom that I grew up in?

[Mizmoon]

7. Tell the pothead this

Kerry has said he will leave the medical marijuana clubs alone and let them function under state law.

Bush has had ashcroft bust everyone they can get hold of in the legal marijuana movement, like Tommy Chong and Ed Rosenthal (he'll know who Ed is if he's a real doobiehead). They have actually declared war on potsmokers and called us "enemies of the United States".

Kerry also has taken solid action to force the government to allow universities to study the medical implications of ganja. This is something Bush had Asscroft fight tooth and nail for the last 4 years.