RK ARCHIVE - Mr. NASCAR Tells Me How He'll Vote

So poor Mr. RenaRF has been working a lot lately. It's a good thing - as a contractor, if the work's there, he takes it and tries to book a backlog that will keep him busy into the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, sometimes the backlog is SO huge that he has to work weeks straight. The last few weeks have been like that.

Although Mr. RenaRF is not especially a football fan, if he's not working I'll watch the football game at home (Washington's my team - long may they suck). The last two Sundays, however, he's been working. Two Sundays ago I just watched the game in my empty house, shrieking and scaring the cats. Yesterday, though, I decided to watch at least the first half at a nearby watering hole with lots of sports screen.

That's where I met Mr. NASCAR.
I'm bar people - if you are also bar people, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I went through undergrad and the portion of grad school working at bars, and a great percentage of that working behind the bar. Mr. RenaRF and I are musical and have a band - which also puts us in bars a lot. You know those women who won't show up to a happy hour until WAY after it started because they don't want to be there if they don't know anyone? I'm not one of those.

So yesterday, I made my way up to the bar near my home to eat some lunch (the food is good in this place - lots of surprisingly healthy choices) and watch the game. I walked in and sat myself down at the bar in front of the screen that would be showing the Washington/Tennessee game. I ordered - the seat to my right and to my left was, initially, unoccupied.

As kickoff approached, however, the bar filled in. A very nice retired gentleman sat at my left. Two guys walked in and took the seats to my right. One of them was funny - he had a hysterically ridiculous Washington-themed old-style soft helmet he wore. Quite the conversation piece.

Both of them looked like hard-working guys. The kind of guys you would expect don't wear suits and work way harder than their paycheck rewards. Mr. NASCAR had a shirt on that had the Washington logo as well as NASCAR insignia. For those of you who don't know, Joe Gibbs, Washington's coach, left football to start a NASCAR team. He was very successful at this. So Washington fans who are also NASCAR fans tend to group the two together.

So, in the commercial break before kickoff, the local CBS affiliate ran George Felix Allen's latest debacle where he picks out Webb's words about Washington (of the political, not football variety) needing more revenue (DUH), which of course becomes a "Jim Webb will raise your taxes" scare tactic. The commercial then cites the cot of a tax increase ot the "average" Virginia family (totally squirrelly - I hope someone debunks those figures and soon), and concludes with "can you afford to lose that revenue?" or something like that.

I see it and I'm pissed. Fresh from my canvass earlier, I still had Webb stickers in my purse. I theatrically threw my napkin down and said "that's IT!" I opened my purse and pulled out my 20 or so Webb stickers and proceeded to affix a few to my Washington jersey (which I wear for good luck - may need to rethink its effectiveness).

Funny hat dude isn't playing. In a totally nice and conversational way he says, "oh no - politics, bars and football don't mix." I wasn't offended, but I also didn't give a shit. They fit in MY world.

A pause. We're watching the beginning of the game, attention elsewhere until the next commercial break. I decide that canvassing is a state of mind as opposed to a mere activity occurring over a set period of time. One can canvass, informally, in a bar.

Mr. NASCAR: "I've always voted Republican. My dad was a Republican, my grandfather a Republican. But not this time. I'm voting for whoever the challenger is this time. I'm tired of it - sick of the whole thing - the lying, the decisions. We have to get ALL of those guys out."

So... What we have here is kind of a mixed bag. Mr. NASCAR wasn't especially becoming a Democrat. Rather, he was in the "throw the bums out" camp. Had the bums been Democrats, he would have voted Republican. Since the bums are Republicans, he's voting Democrat.

I'll take it, and I was encouraged. This bar, and especially football people, always strike me as very "real" people. Not that other people aren't - but where I live, most of the bars and restaurants are populated with very high income people. The sports tend to bring out a greater mix.

Mr. NASCAR was serious, and barring a personal catastrophe (God forbid), he'll be at the polls on November 7 and pushing the button (we e-vote here - shudder) for Judy Feder and Jim Webb.

Do I smell a growing backlash? I sure hope so - keep the faith, folks. There are opportunities when you least expect it to convince and show your dedication, and to receive some level of validation in return.

Comments

Bars can be wonderful places (Catzmaw - 10/16/2006 11:20:38 PM)

to hold political conversations. I have been known to dip into the occasional bar, order my sarsparilla (snort!), and carry on loud conversations with my equally disaffected colleagues. It's helpful to talk about issues we'd like to see the Webb people emphasize. As attorneys we've made sure that anyone within earshot can hear the many things wrong with the proposed constitutional amendment. One is less likely to run into right wing evangelicals in bars, but I'm ever hopeful.

One should never overlook the bartenders, either. Most of them are really tuned into what their customers are talking about.

At this point I try not to pass up any opportunity to canvass without seeming too obnoxious.

Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes: House Is Lost to Dems (PM - 10/17/2006 7:15:30 AM)

The Weekly Standard, as you probably know, is extremely conservative. In the latest issue, Fred Barnes predicts a Dem landslide. (No need for complacency lectures.)

http://www.weeklysta...

He starts off with the fear element --

REPUBLICANS and conservatives, brace yourselves! Strategists and consultants of both parties now believe the House is lost and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi will become speaker.

Did you ever get the impression that the GOP can't stand the idea of a woman running things? (They seems to like only female sycophants, like Liddy Dole and Condi Rice.)

Barnes' professional take on the polling:

The press is fixated on the so-called generic ballot--Do you want a Democratic or Republican Congress?--as an indicator of Republican setbacks on November 7. But that gauge has rarely been predictive. Two others are more reliable: presidential approval and party enthusiasm. And they tell an ominous story for Republicans about the difference between 2002 and 2006.
Presidential approval correlates with how the president's party fares in midterm elections. It's simple: High approval is linked to election success, low approval to defeat. In October 2002, with Bush's approval at 62 percent in the Gallup Poll, Republicans won six seats in the House and two in the Senate. Now Bush is at 37 percent in Gallup. The inescapable conclusion is that Bush
lacks the clout with the public he had four years ago. To make matters worse, presidents associated with unpopular wars are historically a drag on their parties (Truman, LBJ).
The most overlooked election indicator is the level of voter enthusiasm. In every election from 1994 through 2004, Republicans were more enthusiastic than Democrats. That was a decade of Republican growth. This year Democrats are more excited. And it's measurable. In 2002, 42 percent of Republicans said they were more enthusiastic than usual about the election. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats said the same. In 2006, the numbers have flipped. Republican enthusiasm has dipped to 39 percent and Democratic enthusiasm has jumped to 48 percent. Enthusiasm affects turnout. Gloomy voters are less inclined to vote.

Elsewhere in the article he blames Democrats for all sorts of things, and says they have been lucky with events, the GOP unlucky, completely overlooking the fact that the GOP has made its bed. C'mon, Fred, Iraq wasn't "unlucky" for George Bush. It was, and is, stupid and evil.

Awesome - way to go! (snolan - 10/17/2006 9:22:14 AM)

You got people (even the hat guy) talking about their choices before the election. They'll be somewhat more informed voters than they were otherwise.

You also made the point that canvassers are volunteers and that they are regular people too (that is huge). Unlikely either gentleman you described will canvass themselves (don't sound motivated enough), but they are very likely to be kinder to any canvassers who come to their doors...

Went to a deli Sunday with people from my Buddhist discussion and study group. Somehow the discussion turned to how busy I have been canvassing (I did not steer it this way, honest - it just happened), and the folks around the table are all ardently liberal, but never got involved beyond voting before. I was telling them how I got involved and they were very interested in how they could help. There is one more activist now for sure, and a second couple who might become more involved once they finish a household move. All this over deli-sandwiches and pickles!

Huge grins...

Great article and (JohnM - 10/17/2006 10:18:50 AM)

a good point made by Mr. Nascar. IT IS OUR GOVERNEMENT. Which means we give the people a chance and when they screw up WE VOTE THEM out. IT SHOULD not be about party but progress and getting stuff done. If we vote in Democrats in the next two cycles and they are failues we need to remember not to hesitate to get them out asap. We need to become what the Republicans are and hold onto power if all were doing is feeding some persons ego in Washington. We need to always make sure to hold our people accountable and as all ofyou know. THe way to do that is to vote "the bums out" if called for.

Cheers to mr. nascar.

Picking Up Votes for Feder and Webb (seamusotoole - 10/17/2006 9:46:44 PM)

Went to pick up my contact lenses today at the office of my eye doctor. He commutes from Loudoun Country to Centreville everyday. He seems pretty conservative but informed me today that he's voting No on the Marriage Amendment because it takes away peoples' rights and he's voting for Webb and Feder. I also picked up votes for Webb and Feder from his receptionists who live in Fauquier
County. While I was at it I stopped at the local bagel store. The owners and employees all live in Loudoun and are voting for Webb and Feder. Not bad for a half hour lunch break. I also delivered some yard signs and called back a ton of people who went to the Feder Wolf debate tonight. See what you can do in a half hour!!!! Educate people from now until Election Day. Do you know what I find? After 26 years most people in my precinct don't know Wolf. Doesn't say very much does it? I think it's time for a change.