Canvassers, brace yourselves. Hannity has his boys fired up and ready to attack.
On a trip to Indiana this weekend Christine O'Bama and I met a couple of Sean Hannity's hostile Red Coats. One man, while shaking and red, YELLED at us for 30 minutes. He spewed every one of Hannity's talking points at us and never allowed us to respond. My instinct was to walk away, but Christine is a trial lawyer and better equipped to stand there than me. Basically, we stood and let him vent all of his hatred and anger at Obama on us. There was no opportunity to defend Obama -- he wouldn't stop screaming. His wife finally came out and handed each of us a soda and apologized for her husband. I ended the meeting by offering a handshake and congratulating the man for being the most aggressive, hot-tempered person I had met in my experience of canvassing four states. I then offered best wishes for his wife, "You certainly have your hands full." We encountered one other man of the same age who projected the same talking points and anger. He did not rant as long as the first because we knew to escape as soon as we could.
My best friend who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs had a similar experience on Saturday, 4/19. At a neighborhood BBQ a man started verbally attacking her (using the same Hannity talking points) because he was upset about her Obama lawn sign. He was screaming and cursing at her in front of everyone - children and all. She said she couldn't even get a word in to defend herself. Her husband had to step in and admonish the guy for his behavior.
Despite the many positive experiences we had this weekend, I can't get the hot-heads out of my head! It is clear that this country will remain deeply polarized as long as Faux News exists. Their goal is to create as much hatred as possible toward Barack -- Hannity calls it the 'Obama Truth Brigade'. It seems to be elevating each day. He invites guests on and proceeds to interrupt them and never let them finish a point or defend Barack (in an effort to be perceived as fair and balanced). Now his mindless followers are mirroring his behavior on the front lines.
With the help of some blogger pals, I have compiled a few methods to handle Sean Hannity's Hostile Red Coats (previously and incorrectly dubbed militia).....
"There is a spiritual dimension that's not reducible just to the political because part of our empire has to do with the spiritual malnutrition and moral constipation in our society which is greed, bigotry, indifference to others (especially those who are suffering) as opposed to compassion and a concern about public interest and common good"
- Dr. Cornel West
1. Carry an Obama enema at all times -- forcefully inject the Red Coats before departing.
2. Pepper spray is also important to have on hand.
3. Use the 'don't waste my time' approach: Be polite & quickly interject -- "Thank you for your time" and walk away.
4. Use the 'be patient, wait it out and let them vent' approach: Smile and kindly nod while they spew the hatred. Be prepared to administer CPR if they explode due to a heart attack or stroke. When they are done kindly remind them that there is never a need to yell unless you are on fire. Then thank them for their time and passion while blowing them away with kindness and grace.
5. Use the 'this is the change we're talking about' approach: Interrupt and say, "I am sorry you feel this way. This is exactly the type of attitude Senator Obama is trying to change in this country. Hopefully you will see this come 2009."
6. If all else fails, call Marytnurse -- Team Obama's official butt-kicker!
Our pictures from the caucus:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23140353@N03/sets/72157603786319804/
My son Evan, 8 years old, and I traveled from Libertyville, IL to Las Vegas, NV to volunteer for the Obama campaign 1/16/08 - 1/20/08.
We were assigned to the Henderson, NV office. Our first morning there we had an orientation and Senator John Kerry stopped by to get us fired up. He stressed how the game in Washington must change and how he believes Barack is capable of bringing the change.
Thursday afternoon my son and I canvassed a couple neighborhoods and got a new supporter to sign. We encountered several existing Obama supporters, encouraged others to participate in the caucus and peaked interest in Barack. This day we encountered NO Hillary supporters.
Friday we worked in the office in the morning and canvassed early afternoon until 9:00pm. On this day I only encountered two firm Hillary supporters. Everyone else was open to Obama and interested in learning more about him or was already a supporter. No sign of HRC anywhere- via lawn signs or literature left at doors.
On Saturday morning we dropped door hangers from 6:00am - 8:00am. We were assigned to serve as 'acting precinct captain' for Precint 1513. This precinct was held in a golf club surrounded by Del Webb and Sun City retirement communities. At 8:15am my son and I stopped by the precinct location. There were HRC yard signs everywhere and the interior was swarming with HRC volunteers wearing their bright yellow shirts.
My son and I returned to the Henderson office to get some more 'arsenal' and to make our last calls to the caucus goers in our precinct. We returned to find an exponential increase of yellow shirts. We were very unwelcomed as we asked for the room location of our precinct. In the large crowd I can honestly say that only two people in yellow shirts were friendly.
As I entered my precinct and greeted the yellow shirts, a man instantly barked at me that I was not allowed to hang any signs. (HRC signs were plastered all over the lobby). I said, "Don't worry, I know the rules well. I am making a sandwich board for my son to wear with these signs." My son proceeded to serve as a a lone Obama greeter at the main door among the sea of yellow shirts. He valiantly handed out Obama stickers to our supporters as they entered the building. Eventually a few other Obama volunteers joined him. I remained near our precinct so I could talk to all of the supporters as they registered and get to know the undecided voters. One of them even asked me about some of the internet smear email. She wanted to know about the 'Pledge' email as she said everyone in her office was in an uproar about it. I explained the truth and it gave me the opportunity to discuss Obama's rich and diverse background.
http://factcheck.barackobama.com/
By 10:30am it became chaotic. A large crowd filled the foyer. Most were unsure what their precinct number was and the Democratic party made no efforts to make it easy for them to find this information. I attempted to usher people through the crowd from door to door to look at the posted maps in order to determine their precincts. I found a few well informed supporters to help me assist these confused caucus goers (often elderly HRC supporters).
I tried to stay near the line for registration at our room and loudly reminded everyone that all Republicans, Independents, and new voters could register as a Democrat and participate in the caucus today. I spoke with as many Obama supporters as possible to give them a crash course in how the caucus would work. I encouraged them to use the initial time to meet others, especially Edwards supporters and undecided voters and share their passion for Barack with these people.
The room was packed beyond capacity. Many supporters waited in the foyer until the last minute. At 11:30am, the temporary precinct chair started the announcements and a large man (in a yellow HRC shirt) shut the doors. I immediately challenged the temporary chairs that the doors needed to be opened. They responded in a startled way, but did ask the large man to prop the door open. I suddenly felt uneasy and ran out of the room to check the other precinct doors. I could see that at least two of them were already shut. I came back to my room and demanded to the HRC people that those other doors needed to be opened. One of them responded (again startled) that I was right and she would go tell them. At this point I was afraid to leave my room, so I did not return to check on the status of the other doors. Our double doors remained slightly propped open with the large man's body wedged between them. I could not see beyond him so at one point during the announcements I interrupted and demanded that they check and see if any voters were outsided still needing to register. The temporary precinct secretary (HRC supporter) asked the large man to check. I could not see, but he said no.
At 12:00pm the count began. The first count had 101 total people in the room. The first Obama count had 37 people. I was very excited to realize the woman who earlier questioned me about the internet smear was standing on our side. The rest were HRC and a few Edwards and undecided voters. Edwards and undecided were not viable so were asked to realign. During this period one person left, the others picked sides quickly, and one undecided guy held out. I had been talking to him throughout the whole caucus up to this point because luckily my assigned observation standing location was next to him. The HRC people swarmed him, "Hillary has a great education program." 'So does Obama," I laughed. "Hillary is opposed to Yucca mountain." "So is Barack,"again I responded. Meanwhile I was standing on a chair motioning for the Obama supporters to come over and help convince him. A middle aged Asian woman squeezed her way through the crowd and gave a compelling, beautiful appeal about why she supports Obama. The HRC people stood gawking with their chins dropped. The undecided holdout then marked Obama on his preference sheet. I was standing over his shoulder and gave the Obama supporters the thumbs up. They erupted in cheers.
The final count was 42 for Obama and 58 for HRC. Our precinct was worth seven delegates. We got three and she got four.
At the end of the caucus when the delegates were about to be assigned I realized one of our supporters was struggling. She was physically disabled and was falling out of her motorized wheelchair. She was trying to get help (I was imprisoned behind a table following the strict observer rules) and the temporary secretary attempted to assist her. I literally had to climb over the table to get to her and hold her. I realized I could not move her properly without potentially hurting her and sent someone out of the room to find her aide. As I held her she was whispering to me how humiliating this was and I assured her that everything was fine - no one could really see anyway because the room was so packed. After her aide arrived and helped her, she volunteered to continue serving as one of our three delegates. A wave of emotion overcame me and I headed to the bathroom in tears. I was so moved to see one of our supporters who clearly made a tremendous effort to be there would offer to continue as a delegate. I thought of all the apathetic people at home who didn't make it out - I had received many lame excuses during calls. I wish Barack could have seen her. A few Obama supporters came to check on me in the bathroom. I was a bit embarrassed, but explained why the tears erupted and also clarified that I was operating on minimal sleep from the week.
When the caucus adjorned, the Obama supporters were coming up to me and asking how they could get involved as a volunteer. There were also hugging me and offering thanks. I hadn't met any of them until the caucus began that day. As they left I felt like they were old friends. Our supporters are absolutely the best. Good souls. Each and every one of them. :)
My son and I left the precinct exhausted, but hopeful for the results. We hadn't expected as good of results as we had in our precinct considering it was largely a retirement area. I thought that might be a reflection of the results statewide. I called my husband (who was home in Illinois) when we got in the car. He sadly informed me that MSNBC was calling it for HRC. I told my son and watched him well up with tears. Both of our hearts sank. We stopped by the Henderson office to drop off some supplies and say goodbye.
On Sunday it was clear that Obama had won the delegates, 13 to HRC's 12, so we celebrated that victory and tried to enjoy a few sights. We reflected on all of our positive experiences and cherished the last day of our special bonding time together. I still couldn't get over the sick feeling that things were not handled properly by the precincts (closing doors early). I had learned that David Plouffe sent out an email immediately following the caucus with reports of a lot of foil play and inappropriate proceedings which resulted in voter suppression.
Today I am still in awe that this happened in the United States of America. Isn't this the land of the free? On Saturday, January 19, 2008, the Nevada Democratic Party was far from democratic. Voter suppression?! The last I had heard was that we have had over 1600 complaints of wrong doing during the caucuses in Nevada. These were clear attempts to inhibit voters from participating. At many precincts voters were told that if they were Republican or Independent they could not participate and were turned away! Doors were shut all over the state at 11:30am. The doors were supposed to remain open until 12:00pm. I was expecting one supporter to arrive close to 12:00pm. If she arrived and saw the door was closed (or almost closed) she would have felt she was too late and likely left. Clinton staffers were told to close the doors at 11:30am and only open them if challenged. Our legal team has documentation proving this. I was very comfortable challenging, but how many precincts didn't have volunteers or precinct captains? The caucus process was new to almost all of our supporters and new in general to Nevada. The voters did not know to challenge anything. They were taken advantage of! This was far from being considered a fair election. I am not challenging that the number of votes potentially lost would have made a difference in the outcome, I am challenging that voters lost their rights. If one voter in this country has a vote that doesn't count, it is wrong -- here we see potentially thousands lost their voting rights due clear suppression by the Clinton campaign.
Where is the media attention?
This is the complaint filed by the Obama campaign to the Nevada Democratic Party:
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/NV001.PDF
This is the coverage of the complaint by the Boston Herald:
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/presidential_briefing/?p=215
We all need to wake up and keep our eyes open. We are all getting bamboozled. Voters in Nevada certainly were.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh69Zi2rV-U
1/11/08
Dear Kathleen,
I am writing to share my disappointment of your article in today's Chicago Tribune. I expect the Tribune to provide articles of substance not silly, shallow articles such as yours. As a journalist it is your responsibility to be informed and do your research before planting seeds of doubt into the minds of your readers. I absolutely agree that Americans are drawn to the feeling of HOPE that Obama provides.
With that said, they are equally drawn to the idea of having a Commander-in-Chief who is highly intelligent, well spoken, and extremely capable of easing the intense bi-partisanship that exists in our current government. Obama is well respected on both sides of the aisle and has cosponsored legislation with Republicans. This notion gives me HOPE that he will provide leadership to encourage our government to work together and get something done.
http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/
They are also excited about the fact that this man has finally ignited an interest in politics of the many brilliant minds who have purposely ran the other direction for years instead of offering their valuable contributions to forming the policy that governs this country. Samantha Power is one example of the 200 plus contributors to Obama's foreign policy team. Obama has also attracted more than 500 people to build a strong domestic policy team. Yes, I have a feeling of HOPE that he will CHANGE the way people view politics and he will inspire many great minds in our country to contribute their talents.
http://ksgfaculty.harvard.edu/samantha_power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Power
You suggest that what Obama brings to the table, no one quite knows. I disagree with you again. I am certain we know he brings a new face as a representative for America. He will stand up for this nation with a multicultural background and name of Muslim roots which resonates around the world among the 6 billion Muslims who are being raised to hate our nation. The world is accustomed to a southern, white man leading the United States and have developed deep resentment towards this. Obama will be a welcome figure and fresh face among world leaders.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/08/backers_say_obama_can_regain_worlds_respect_for_us/
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1695803,00.html
As you mention, a handful of Obama's supporters have a passing knowledge of his policy positions. I agree. However, as I discuss politics with those who share their support of other candidates, they too have very limited knowledge of the issues. When I ask Hillary supports why they are interested in her, 100 percent of the time I have gotten the response that they liked Bill when he was in office(even by a 16 year old girl, she remembers Bill???). If you ask a Giuliani supporter why they support him, it is due to his handling of 9/11. I lived in New Jersey on 9/11. I am baffled by this reason for support. He did nothing to stop the event or horrendous number of deaths that occurred. The city was in a state of chaos for what seemed like an endless amount of time and New Yorkers were happy to see him finally leave office. My point to you is with exception to one Edwards supporter, I have yet to find anyone who can discuss issues with any detail. This is not unique to Obama supporters. I believe the reason is simple, you cannot express the detail of policy into quick sound bytes, and unfortunately that is what most people rely on for their information. I would encourage you to read more about Obama's policy. It is detailed, thorough, possible, and gives me that feeling of HOPE for real CHANGE when this policy gets implemented.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
Kathleen, you have a huge responsibility as a journalist. The article printed today may falsely probe your readers to believe there is no substance behind Obama. If you have not yet done so you should read Dreams from My Father and Audacity to Hope both written by Senator Barack Obama. I would then love to see your follow up article. Obama is the best opportunity this country has had at leadership that can change our status in the world and the conditions within our borders. The fierce urgency of now is certainly about HOPE and CHANGE but also about the dramatic plummet our nation is headed for without these two broad feelings that understate what Obama truly brings.
Sincerely,
