LAS VEGAS “”mdash; If you volunteer for a presidential campaign
in a swing state like Nevada, get ready for duets with aging pop
singers, rabid dogs and crazed constituents.
“During the debates I put Bush on mute,” Nevada
resident Juanita Williams said. “But I like Ted Danson. Have
you seen “˜Becker’?”
Make that crazy constituents.
I learned a great deal about presidential campaigning this
weekend, when I traveled to Las Vegas with Southern California
Grassroots for John Kerry in order to observe their efforts on
behalf of the presidential hopeful. Since I would be an observer
and not volunteering, at the very least I figured that I could
gamble away my per diem if things got dull. (I didn’t get a
per diem, and things were far from dull.)
I learned of this weekend getaway opportunity when my girlfriend
got a flier for the trip and swiftly began convincing me to come
with her. She noted that the weekend would present me with a
stellar opportunity to observe the workings of democracy, but I
think she mostly wanted someone to sit next to on the six-hour bus
rides.
Waking up at 5:50 a.m. on Saturday, I rushed to the Ackerman
turnaround, where a chartered bus was waiting for the UCLA students
participating on the trip. It turns out my girlfriend and I were
the only UCLA students to make the trip.
Scott Hass, a swing state volunteer, said this was a result of
poor promotion for the trip. Instead of advertising the Oct. 16
trip, the UCLA student group Project Vote is making a push for the
Oct. 23 trip to Nevada, he said, adding that approximately 80 UCLA
students will participate.
From UCLA, our bus headed to Occidental College, where it picked
up about 40 Oxy students (they call it Oxy, but why they prefer to
refer to their school by the name of an adolescent skin-care
product is beyond me). At first I was intimidated by all the Oxy
students and their political moxie. But then I realized that if my
school were in Eagle Rock, I’d do anything to leave for the
weekend. Students from Pomona College were also on the trip, and
similarly, I understand why they came out in force.
Some hours later, the bus pulled up to the Service Workers Union
Hall in Las Vegas, which would be the volunteers’ home base
for the weekend. To pump up the workers, 1970s singing sensation
Carole King made a brief appearance. Apparently she is an avid
Kerry supporter.
“At every event I have, Democrats come out of the
woodwork, and Republicans come too,” King said. “Maybe
they come to get copies of their “˜Tapestry’ album
signed, but we get people discussing.”
Then the songstress led volunteers in a heart-rending version of
“You’ve Got A Friend.” I looked over at Jessica,
and she was belting out the words, note for note. I told her
I’d never heard the song before, and sat silent.
King said the polls don’t matter ““ that volunteers
would make the difference this year. She might be on to
something.
In the Oct. 18 issue of Time magazine, the cover story,
“Fighting For Every Last Vote,” details the importance
of the ground campaigns in getting out the vote. Because this is
such a tight race, the campaigns are more interested in getting
their supporters to vote, rather than preaching to the
unconverted.
This tight race is also a controversial race in Nevada. Nevada
state officials and Kerry campaign lawyers are investigating
allegations that Voters Outreach of America, a group backed by the
Republican National Committee, has potentially destroyed thousands
of voter registration forms filled out by Democrats.
For the volunteers, this trip wasn’t about dwelling on
controversies or polling data; it was about getting out the vote.
Most volunteers did so by canvassing ““ walking around
designated neighborhoods, speaking to registered Democrats. In
Nevada, early voting began on Saturday, so workers went door to
door, making sure the constituents of Clark County knew they could
vote. (Get this: They can vote on the Las Vegas Strip in a trailer
behind The Mirage resort. That beats a library any day).
My girlfriend and I were assigned to a canvassing group with
four adults because the organizers thought that “played
better.” I was paired up with Mary Bellgraph, an experienced
canvasser who counted herself as a Howard Dean supporter until
Kerry won the Democratic nomination.
I followed Bellgraph down the street to her first stop, which
proved to be an alarming experience. It was a run-down house, the
front yard littered with the burnt-out carcasses of deceased lawn
mowers and old cars. A rickety chicken-wire fence was all that
separated us from a snarling pit bull. Yet Bellgraph persisted and
caught the attention of the inhabitants who were idling near the
front porch. She handed them some literature and away we went,
mission accomplished.
It soon became apparent that this was a dog lovers’
neighborhood. Every other house was the home of a Doberman pinscher
or some other variety of attack dog. In many cases Bellgraph
didn’t risk the walk past the chicken wire gate to the front
door.
But it was the home of Juanita Williams that was most shocking.
Mary knocked on the door and quickly we heard the sound of padded
feet trundling toward the door. It swung open and there stood
Juanita, a 69-year-old woman wearing a nightgown and an off-kilter
wig. She brandished a large black comb that she swung back and
forth like a switchblade. Bellgraph asked Williams if she planned
on voting.
“Baby, I’ve been voting since before you were
born,” Williams said.
Juanita said she was glad to see us, that she had been a
Democrat for 35 years, and that she had some things to say about
the issues that mattered to her. We just sat and listened.
“The Bush twins ““ they are no examples. Why should
you call them people?” Williams said
Williams asked us to sit down on her porch and she fetched us
cans of Sprite. When she came back, her wig was now in its proper
place, and we sipped our sodas while Bellgraph tried to discuss the
issues (of course, I wondered if the soda was poisoned, but I
thought it best to drink it and not offend Williams). A retired
teacher, Williams is very concerned with what she sees as the poor
manners of the Bush family and the president’s slovenly
appearance at a recent Las Vegas campaign stop.
And then there’s Vice President Dick Cheney.
“Cheney is hooked up to health monitors 24 hours a day in
his office,” Williams exaggerated. “And a nurse checks
his heart every 15 minutes and we are paying for it with our taxes.
I was talking to my sister Mildred in St. Louis and I told her that
Bush picked Cheney because he didn’t want his vice president
to outshine him.”
As our conversation with Williams meandered to the one-hour
mark, I began to think that maybe Williams represents the typical
American voter. After all, she has a handle on current pop
culture.
“Jerry Springer’s show ““ I like it,” she
said. “Have you ever listened to his final thoughts?
He’s a brilliant man.”
We eventually broke away from Williams, but the extended visit
had slowed Mary’s canvassing efforts and when we met up with
the other canvassers, they had completed their assignments and were
ready to go home.
Marcello Reyes, an experienced canvasser, was particularly
anxious and suggested we vote on whether to continue
canvassing.
I noted that his suggestion was kind of ironic, but he
didn’t seem to understand why.
In spending some time with the volunteers, I began to truly
admire their efforts. They are friendly, engaging and passionate
““ qualities that come in handy when you are cold-calling
constituents or knocking on doors. It’s also exciting to see
such a large group of politically motivated students.
“I definitely wouldn’t have come here if I
couldn’t go out and canvas,” said Benna Gottfried, a
second-year student from Occidental. “It’s midterm
time, so I wanted to make this sacrifice knowing that I could make
a difference.”
Early Sunday morning, I sat in the union hall, preparing for an
interview with a volunteer. Near me sat nine Pomona students, and
as they waited for buses to take them out into neighborhoods to
canvas, they discussed different canvassing strategies. Other
volunteers made lawn signs, while another group sat in front of
telephones preparing to call voters.
Nearby a boom box blaring elevator music cut to a Bush-Cheney
radio commercial disparaging Kerry’s health care plan and the
senator’s record in Congress. No one noticed.
They were too busy working.
Alyssa Milano gave a speech at the union hall urging on the
Democrats. It was awesome. Email Miller at dmiller@media.ucla.edu
to discuss “Charmed.”