This is not a precinct that Democrats usually canvass. It is not an area where Democrats feel particularly welcome. Three years ago, I was roundly booed by own neighbors during a community "town meeting" with Tom Davis (I had dared to question him about the Iraq War.) The only remaining "red" precinct in the Mt Vernon District--40% for Kerry, 44% for Kaine--Westgate is distinctly Republican. And yet we Webb volunteers are not willing to give up a SINGLE inch to George Allen.
This is our story...
First off, we hit a lot of Republican households which was obviously not unexpected! But what struck me the most is how different things are this year as opposed to '04. At that time, I met ridicule and outright hostility. This time around--even amongst the people who told us they were party-line Republican--we met curiosity, interest, and respect.
I get the sense that Republicans don't know quite what to do or think about Jim Webb. He's such an unconventional candidate that he defies labels. People want to know more about him. They want to TALK about him. Truly, we were not very efficient canvassers for this very reason. So often we couldn't get away from self-identifed Republicans who just had to know more about Jim Webb or tell us why they like him and the quandry that put them in.
One of our canvassers went up to a house quite near Allen's with a DAVIS sign out in front. (Now, that took courage!) He got in a lengthy conversation with the gentleman, another self-identified Republican who plans to vote for Webb.
The self-identified Democrats we found were also very excited about Webb. And everyone I met liked the Reagan ad. Go figure.
All this valuable information goes to the campaign. And I've decided to go above and beyond. I am personally going to work on every voter in my precinct who was leaning or undecided. I am personally going to make sure our supporters get to the polls if I have to carry them there myself. That is my mission. How about you?
This is why canvassing (and phonebanking!) is so very important. We know this is going to be a close one. We know Allen has lots of money and lots of dirty tricks planned. We know we MUST get every vote in NoVA that we can if we are going to win this thing. But if we don't know who the voters are, how will we get them to the polls? What is the point of GOTV if we don't have that essential information?
Blogging is fun, visibility events--parades, rallies, farmer's markets, etc.--are great; you may talk to plenty of voters and you may convince them to vote for Webb. But who are these voters? How can we make sure they actually VOTE if we don't know who they are?
Folks, we have 8 weekends left. Pedal to the medal. EVERYBODY needs to get out and canvass (or phonebank) NO EXCUSES! We will be canvassing EVERY WEEKEND from now until the election. We have locations all over NoVA. You can go in pairs, if you don't feel overly confident. You will make friends and you will have FUN. (Good exercise, too!) It's NOT as hard as you think (we'll train you) and you DO have time.
Remember the U.S. Marine mantra: The Mission. The men. Then, and only then, me.
8 weeks to go. Call the Webb NoVA field office at 703-778-2781 for a canvassing location near you. Or...
come down to Mt Vernon (Woodlawn precinct)this Saturday and Sunday (September 16 & 17--morning, afternoon or both!) I'll be there! Our canvass leader is the wonderful Doug Reimel. Please call him at 703-447-0438.
Thanks and good luck to us all!
Change comes slowly, but it does come. Not that many years ago, I was canvassing for Kris and my very-nice-next-door-neighbor actually shut the door in my face. Several others were unnecessarily rude or smugly patronizing. I was thinner-skinned back then; it hurt.
What a difference a few years make--and an unpopular war and an unpopular President! People are a lot nicer now.
Look, people, if I can canvass in Westgate, YOU can canvass in Woodlawn, Vienna, Springfield, et.al.
Get your boots on and start walking!
Did you also canvass for Andy Hurst, Webb's fellow Democrat? I hope so because this is supposed to be a team effort.
I know for a fact that Hurst, Moran, and Feder canvassers are carrying Webb's literature and Webb's message to voters they hit on their canvasses in their respective congressional districts. I hope that you Webb supporters in Mt. Vernon and elsewhere are doing the same for the Democratic congressional candidate in your area.
I am only asking because I noted that LAS' report cited a Davis sign, but did not mention any canvassing activity on behalf of Hurst.
Westgate is an unusual precinct, certainly not on anyone's target list. (unless you are Davis and Allen). Please note that my story was focused on talking to Republicans and their unexpected response to Jim Webb. We certainly gave out Andy's lit to everybody who would take it. I talked about the experience to Andy on Sunday.
Woodlawn, OTOH, IS a targeted precinct; high democratic performance, low turn-out. We will be finding a lot more democrats there, and we will be talking up a storm about both Webb and Moran.
BTW, Thomas Paine, what do you mean "YOU Webb supporters?" Aren't you a Webb supporter? Also, I saw a Hurst script last week that did not mention Webb at all; I'm glad to hear they fixed that.
Here's to victory in November!
Glad to hear that you are working for all the candidates. So am I.
I am a Democrat and I support Webb and our congressional candidates.
I want to make sure that the Webb canvassers promote the congressional candidates and vice versa for the congressional canvassers. I had not heard about the Hurst script. My understanding is that all of their phone and canvass scripts mentioned Webb because they know, like we know, that a strong Webb turnout will also help the congressional candidates.
I used "YOU" because I was talking about those in your diary who canvassed in that precinct last weekend.
We will only win if we all work together.
Every opportunity we have for a cross-id we use it.
Remember Creigh Deeds, he lost by 323 votes. Imagine what a difference it would have made if a couple of extra phone banks had done their down-ticket IDs last year.
Creigh's loss was a loss for all of us.
Never Again!
Take your unmerited inflammation elsewhere.
If political signs are present one day, and gone the next -- replaced by the opposition's -- how do YOU explain the disappearance?
I guarantee you Pube, there are many reasons a sign may "disappear". However, living in the area in question and driving the roads mentioned, I assure you that there are still plenty of Allen sings up in Mount Vernon.
What the writer most likely is noticing is that all the precinct captains who picked up their Webb signs at the Ice Cream Social on Sunday are distributing them to their normal sign people and they're getting put up. So it might "look" like something is happening where some come down and others come up, but I assure it's simply the latter.
Mt. Vernon Democrats play above the board.
Last year we did have lots of Kaine and some Amundson signs disappear on Route 1, but we settled that (sort of) with the Repubs.
We do not like or encourage ANYONE in ripping down, destroying, or in any way undoing to hard work of people who sacrifice their time to put up signs.
U.S. Senate Candidate Jim Webb, as well as Rep. James Moran, Congressional candidate Andy Hurst, and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Gerry Connolly speaking from a motorboat tied to the pier of the waterfront home of Chuck Fazio on Dogue Creek, exhorting the crowd of energized volunteers to do their best to take back the House and Senate this fall. They also called on volunteers to defeat the Marshall-Newman amendment to the state constitution, which bans certain contracts and is aimed at preventing gay unions.
The event was held in the traditionally Republican Westgate Precinct neighborhood of Sen. George Allen, with whom Webb is tied in the polls. Precinct Captain Laura Sonnenmark and Precinct Operations Vice Chair Chris Ambrose organized a canvass of the neighborhood before and after the event. Sonnenmark said people were curious about Webb and listened at some length to canvassers describe his qualifications.
Attendance was double the size of last year's event. Most County and local state Democratic leaders attended, as well as reporters and photographers from the major local papers. Young Democrats from West Potomac High School attended. The social was organized by Events Chair Alan Salisbury. Ben and Jerry's donated the ice cream.
As precinct workers left, MVDDC Chair Scott Surovell handed out packets of street sheets so they can begin canvassing. Several of the key Fairfax precincts targeted by the Webb campaign are in Mt. Vernon District. One is Woodlawn Precinct, which has 70 percent Democratic performance, but poor turnout in non-Presidential years.
Mount Vernon and South County Democrats will hold a fundraiser for Mt Vernon District Committee member Andy Hurst has refused to take any PAC money in his bid for the 11th District Congressional seat. The fundraiser will be held from 3-5 pm Sunday September 24 at the home of State Senator Toddy Puller, 1805 Windmill Lane, Alexandria, VA. Call Scott Surovell for more information. RSVP to donald@hurstforcongress.com.
Volunteers were also urged to attend a fundraiser for Moran, with Sen. Edward Kennedy, September 13 at the Alexandria Hilton and for Webb with Gov. Mark Warner, September 21 at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria.
So, in other words, in George Allen's newest reinvention he is running as Jim Webb to beat Jim Webb?
Seriously, I'll take the real Jim Webb.
I just googled "jim webb" and the following paid ad came up on the side of the page:
Senator Allen's Campaign
George Allen promotes common
sense conservative principles!
www.georgeallen.com
But, given the dire situation 2 yrs ago, he let me plant a Kerry/Edwards sign. And it disappeared in 48 hrs, while my neighbor's Bush/Cheney one remained intact. So I went to the police to complain. It turned out, we had had a "raid", executed by drunk teenagers, on a Saturday night. The cops nailed them, with the signs (which were piled in a corner; I was allowed to pick one of the K/E ones to take home and replant). The raid, as it turned out, was "an almost equal opportunity prank" -- there were more K/E signs than B/C ones, but, but not significantly so.
So it seems to me that there are a lot of possible reasons for signs to disappear and reappear, transmorgified. It could be a harbinger of good news, or it could be a sign of evil Democrats conspiring (I thought that conspiration fantasies were the sole property of unhinged left fringe, Pubic, but it seems not