As events have unfolded over the last couple of days in the vote count in VA-05, I have, in addition to trying to keep abreast of all the developments, been reflecting on my own Election Day experiences.
I don't typically blog about my own experiences in this way, on the assumption that I am barely interested in my own life and am not sure why anyone else would be, but Tuesday was a special day.
While I have always been interested in politics, I have never gotten directly involved before. The truth is that I am not much of a joiner. Indeed, blogging this past year has been a revelation for me personally in allowing me to get involved in a more active way while still nursing my emerging misanthropy.
But when John Cosgriff contacted me on Monday to ask whether I could be a precinct watcher for Tom Perriello, I jumped at the chance to help. Figuring the campaign would have plenty of people here in C'ville, I offered to go anywhere.
John told me to come to a meeting that night at HQ, where we would get Perriello t-shirts and some brief instructions.
(more on the flip)
HQ was buzzing. Staffers and volunteers were everywhere, cell phones to their ears, canvassing voters, their exhortations filling the office in one continuous sentence as I walked through, picking up different pieces of conversation. "Hi...I'm calling from the Tom Perriello campaign ... to make sure you get out tomorrow....the Perriello campaign....I'm calling....just want to make sure .... Tomorrow...can we count on your vote?"
About 30 of us precinct watchers crowded into a small room to get about 10 minutes of training.
The idea was not to leave any votes on the table, we were told. Make sure the last words people hear on their way to vote was, "Don't forget Tom Perriello." We picked up our t-shirts, and I stocked up on Perriello stickers and literature on the way out.
I found out I would be going to Buckingham County, a rural area about 40 miles south of Charlottesville, to the Maysville precinct.
I was up at 5:30 the next morning to vote and head down to Maysville. The line at my precinct at Venable School in Charlottesville was longer than I had ever seen, and it took me a good hour-plus to vote. Then it took me a little over an hour to Get to Buckingham and find the Maysville polling place, the County Agricultural Center. I tried to check in with John, but no cell phone reception.
A steady rain was falling, but there was a fantastic tree on the lawn of the center to stand under which wasn't too bad. At one point, a young woman came over to chat and said, "Wow, I can feel the blast of energy from this tree."
I didn't feel anything, but it was a neat tree, and I was thankful for it.
I had brought an umbrella, but holding it was a pain, so I used it mostly (as we had been advised by a Perriello staffer) as a reason to escort voters - there were many elderly woman - from their cars to the polling place, or at least to the 40-foot border past which I could not go.
I was the only poll watcher there. No Democratic Party officials, no Republican ones. No one from any other campaign.
As people walked past me, I would ask if they were familiar with Tom Perriello. Most everyone was. Many had seen Tom's ads on television. Most everyone was polite toward me, even if they told me they were Goode voters, with the notable exception of a few young guys who were openly hostile, but not physically threatening in any way. Most people did not want to stop to talk, given the weather, but some did.
As the day wore on, and I got wetter and more tired, I got more inspired by what I saw.
Most inspirational were the many elderly and disabled people I saw who came out in this terrible weather to vote. Several people in wheelchairs and with walkers were in obvious pain as they made their way to the poll. I would let them know someone would bring a ballot out to their car, but to a person, they all wanted to go vote.
It was the same with many elderly people. The act of going to the poll was important.
I met one amazing elderly African American woman who told me she was 90 years old and had been teaching school in Buckingham County her entire life. Our walk to the poll was too short - there was so much I wanted to ask her, but didn't have the chance. Later, I couldn't get her out of my mind, imagining what it felt like for her to see Barack Obama on the cusp of the presidency.
Still, the last words I spoke to her were, "Don't forget Tom Perriello!"
I spoke with two people during the day who both had nice things to say about Tom, but said they could not vote for him because of "the abortion issue." No nuance there: you were 100% against choice for them, or they could not support you. Though I am pro-choice, I actually can appreciate this position. If you perceive abortion as murder, then it is not a matter of choice. I told them, sincerely, that I was happy they came out to vote, even if it wasn't for Tom.
The African American voters coming to the polls also impressed me. Not having been to Maysville before, I can't say whether the African American turnout was heavier than normal, so it wasn't the numbers.
Any attempt I would make to put the election in any kind of historical context would be lame, so I won't try. But I will never forget the smile on the faces of so many African Americans in this rural Southern precinct as they walked past me heading to the polls ("Don't forget Tom Perriello," ringing in their ears!).
Another great moment was an elderly woman who walked by with the following conversation:
Me: Don't forget Tom Perriello.
She: I'd never vote for that New Yorker.
(They had given us instruction at Perriello HQ about how to respond to this.)
Me: That's not true. Tom was born and raised in Albemarle County, Ma'am.
A few minutes later, when she came out of the polling place, she was struggling with the weather, so I offered her my arm and umbrella to walk her back to her car. That's when she told me she actually was a New Yorker, and had only been in Virginia for 6 years. Ha!
I'd say I stood in front of the polling place about 10 hours that day and spoke with several hundred people. Much later that night, I looked at the results from the precinct where I was. While the drop-off from Warner to Tom was bigger than I'd like, the drop-off from Obama to Tom was only 2 votes.
But what an inspiring day I had. I'm thankful for the opportunity to help Tom, nagged by the feeling that maybe I could have and should have done just a little more.
And now, as I watch these numbers come in along with everyone else, I think about them not only as abstract numbers, but also of the people behind them: First and foremost, Tom and the staffers who have worked so hard on his behalf, and the many volunteers, like myself, that I saw.
But what has really stuck with me from the day are the voters of Buckingham County. They really showed me what our Democracy is all about, regardless for whom they voted.
It's for their sakes, not for Tom's or Virgil Goode's, that every vote gets counted, and that we don't let anyone steal this race from its rightful winner.
I ask this as there was no more capable a Hillary Clinton supporter to be found in the Blogo-sphere then aznew.
My sense is .... that it's all for the good. I'm sure Tom Perriello & Barrack Obama are glad you were on their side.
While I understand that many view the "history" of the Obama victory through the prism of race, and how could you not. But I have come to believe that it will be historic for a different and better reason.
As it turned out, Barack Obama is the right man for these difficult times, in the way that Washington was the right man for his, Lincoln was the right man for his, and FDR the right man for his. A hundred years from now, I believe historians will be talking about those three presidents in the same breath, as four presidents who stood above all others.
Given events, I think Obama will be better than Hillary would have been, and whether it is through G-d's good graces, or just the fact that Democracy is a kick-ass system that in times of trouble by its very nature tends to produce the right leaders through the collective judgments of millions, I feel better tonight than I have in years.
That is a pretty tall order. Perhaps he will be a great president, but I would be plenty pleased if he were just good, especially given the last eight years.....then again no one can equal Washington in my opinion.
Then I got to meet him- he came to a symposium at UVA on Nursing and health issues in, oh, late September, I think. Virgil, of course, didn't think it'd be important enough to be there (though, to be fair, that was around the time of the bailout junk). He received a standing ovation. I got the chance to introduce myself and shake his hand.
Tom, I know you lurk around here- dunno if you read the comments, but damn, sir, we're all pullin' for ya, and we're proud of ya. You got the vote and support of this former Republican.
As you can imagine, we at the Perriello campaign have been insanely busy, on 3 hours of sleep, emotionally exasperated and drained, in between tears and elation. I've barely had time to reflect on what we've accomplished... much less Obama's historic win.
This diary brings tears to my eyes thinking about every person that stands behind every one of these votes we are so eagerly tracking.
Thank you for everything you did for our campaign, but more importantly, for making me stop the insane refreshing of the SBE website and for once to remember why we all did what we did.
I enjoyed reading your diary, aznew. I love being at the polls and talking to people--on all sides--on election day.
Of the three counties still outstanding, one is pretty small and is unlikely to lead to a change of more than a few votes either way. The next is Albemarle, Tom's home county. I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but after the first two days of canvassing, we have picked up some votes, and I don't think we have much to worry about there.
There is one other county that has apparently not sealed its canvass envelopea -- Pittsylvania, down in Virgil's wheelhouse. Rumor has it that they are trying to find a few more votes for Virgil. At this point, though, if there is anything else to change out of Pittsylvania, it is going to begin to sound like fraud.
One of the greatest moments of my day was when someone that had told me before they went into to vote that they were a Tom supporter, and then came out and gave me a huge hug.
My friends and family told me I was crazy for standing in the rain all day long, but I wouldn't of done it if i didn't believe in Tom and the message that he brought to the 5th.
Change moves in spirals, not circles. For example, the sun goes up and then it goes down. But everytime that happens, what do you get? You get a new day. You get a new one. When you breathe, you inhale and you exhale, but every single time that you do that you're a little bit different then the one before. We're always changing. And its important to know that there are some changes you can't control and that there are others you can.
Early in the afternoon the Greene County team completed their GOTV activities (think about that fact -- it is an incredible testimony to Obama organization and volunteer spirit), and when we asked what to do, we were sent to Louisa County to help GOTV there. I knocked doors of our favorables in a rural area east of Mineral until sunset, and felt righteous as I drove back to Charlottesville.