I'm in Oregon Canvassing & Getting out the VOTE! Met Dean Yesterday!

[Pachamama]

Hey DUers! Pachamama here checking in! Well, I'm walking thr talk and packed the Pachababies into the Wagon and headed north from CA to Oregon....Staying with my In-laws and am walking door to door talking to people....

As I drove early Thursday evening towards Oregon, I 1st listened to a call-in w/ James Carville and Paul Begala...then the Debates...it had been a long time since I had "listened" to a debate vs watching it and while I missed the smirks from Bush, it was interesting to just hear the tones of the voices and "listen" to the words and content....without a question, Kerry was the better debater and came across very well. As I drank my Red Bulls and listened to Ray Taliaferro on KGO Radio as he kept me awake, I called in and did a big shout out to the DU....Swamp Rat heard me and pm'd me and said he had been listening...

Meanwhile, Friday (my first day here in OR) was spent over at the U of Oregon campus getting a pep talk from none other than Howard Dean to the students...it was great...the turn out was huge and the students were excited...with my Dean-powered pep talk, I went out canvassing both yesterday and today....it was amazing....the turnout was huge from volunteers and we dispersed all over Eugene and Springfield...for me it was a different world...socioeconomically as well as meeting people I wouldn't encounter in my liberal bastion in California...I encountered some Bush supporters (a lot were luke cold in reception, a few polite and some downright nasty - even to a Mommy with her pachababy) but it was exciting. I'd say that my encounters were 60/40 Kerry to Bush. Most interesting was meeting a few Nat'l Guard folks newly returned from Iraq. My favorite quote from one named Brad (cute too) was "You bet I'm voting for John Kerry - and vote Bush's ASS out of the White House".....

There is no question that Oregon is a Battleground state, and even though my percentages were 60/40, I'm not stopping at that....One thing is very clear my fellow DUers - We cannot relent....we have to be relentless, be volunteering, canvassing, knocking on doors, standing outside of Stores, visiting College Campuses and getting out the Vote in the states (like Oregon, North Carolina etc) that still have Voter Registration for the next week and then making sure we tell people to vote absentee, vote early and VOTE for Kerry! There is no way the Bush campaign can match us on the battlefield of the streets and neighborhoods of America and never will they match our passions. I made sure I smiled and thanked even the Repukes that looked like they were going to spit in my face. I felt good too...It felt good to be showing what a supporter of Kerry can look like - A Mom with her children who cares enough about her country to tell them why John Kerry is good for us and should be our next President.

If you haven't done it yet, call your local Kerry office...volunteer and get out there....it feels so good and you can make a difference....

:kick:

[faithnotgreed]

1. you and baby are awesome! thank you so so much

[Indiana_Dem]

2. That is so nice to hear! I'm having the same experiences

being a precinct captain for my precinct! I'm in a strong Dem precinct and there are very few Bush supporters. Only 1 has been nasty. The others were lukewarm or polite. But the ferver from the Dems is unmistakable! Undecideds are really undecided! I planted a few seeds and they were very open to Kerry's issues especially if I tailored them to their own concerns and compared them with Bush's stance. Can't lose.