Using "Obama for America" organizing tactics and patented "Votebuilder" software, out-of-state staff and volunteers are fanning out across the State of Georgia, ringing phones and knocking on doors. But in a Southern "red" state such as Georgia, which, despite a high African American population, a large middle class and a number of large universities, voted solidly for McCain in the Presidential election, the potential success of this approach is still be to seen.Since the week following the Presidential election, e-mail announcements have gone out to Obama campaign workers to seek their participation in the Georgia Senate race between Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin.
I have received such e-mail announcements from Sen. Barbara Boxer, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democratic Party and the Obama for America campaign. My local campaign team as well as the teams from cities in South Florida, where I worked during the general election, have been organizing phone banking parties and trips to Georgia, along with a community service project: the preparation of holiday gift boxes for the "Any Soldier" campaign.
In these e-mails, we are reminded that President-Elect Barack Obama needs our help "now more than ever". On the Sunday before the Tuesday runoff election, the Northern California field office sent an e-mail request for "get-out-the-vote" volunteers under the "Georgia for Change" logo. The highlight of this letter was a diary post from a Berkeley, California organizer, dispatched to Georgia for the election:
Update From Georgia: "Wake Up, You're Not in Berkeley Anymore!"
Like most worthwhile things in life, there have been obstacles at every turn: organizers have flown in from across the county and last night we stayed up until 3 am frantically assembling walk packets for today.
We've been asked to knock on 50,000 doors in 2 days, a nearly impossible task given the amount of volunteer enthusiasm in our precincts. After a couple hours of sleep (literally), I awoke to the sound of thunder and rain. Rain is fortcasted (sic) through Monday, which makes our goals that much more daunting.
I ran through the rain draped in a "stylish" garbage bag to deliver canvassing packets to freezing volunteers, I thought about my first Saturday of GOTV during the general election in Berkeley (which was also plagued by rain). During the general election, despite the rain, my East Bay offices made a record-number of phone calls that day.
But there were no records broken in this Atlanta office on Saturday.
As I told stories about the relentless volunteer base I left behind in California - making phone calls on the sidewalks because there was no more space to sit inside - a Georgia field organizer pinched me and said, "wake up, you're not in Berkeley anymore."
... if we're going to pull this thing off we still need your help. Please sign up for a shift to make phone calls to Georgia voters.
Your President-Elect needs you now more than ever.
She signed off with the words, "Still hopeful,..."
After reading this post, one wonders whether the Obama coalition can exert influence in this "red" state, given the weather conditions and the relatively un-fired-up, relatively not-ready-to-go Georgia Democratic electorate.
In my own experiences phone banking to the Peach Tree State, I found a lot of people who agreed to support Martin. Due to the quality of the Obama call lists, we only called Obama supporters, so our time was not wasted by arguing with people who needed to be convinced. Only one person, out of the dozens with whom I have spoken, was unwilling to speak with me ("I don't take political phone calls"). When it was explained to people that the Republicans are "counting on" them not to show up to the polls on Tuesday, people could actually be heard steeling themselves, resigned to let their voices be heard this time and to show up at the polls on Tuesday.
An example is that of two older ladies, both of whom expressed similar dedication to vote for Jim Martin. Despite their age, their health, the inclement weather and their inability to drive, both women seemed ready and eager to vote once more before the year ends.
From what clearly sounded like a white woman:
"Oh, I'm voting for the Democrat. I'm eighty years old. I don't walk well anymore because of my hip. But I don't need a ride. My granddaughter what lives with me, she'll pick me up and take me to vote."From what clearly sounded like an African American woman:
"I'll vote for Martin. I'm eighty-one years old. But I don't think I need a ride. You know, I'll be at the church on Tuesday with the seniors! We get together, we'll have fellowship, you know, and they usually carry us to the polls in the church van. I'm going to check with them at service on Sunday and make sure. Or I'll ask my niece to carry me."These octogenarians will make a real effort to go to the polls, but will younger voters, traditionally an unreliable bunch, go out of their way to vote for a candidate who lacks the "rock star" celebrity of Barack Obama? Do these voters understand the significance of this Senatorial race vs. the significance of November's Presidential election?
It has been reported that Republican celebs, including John McCain and Sarah Palin, have been summoned to Chambliss' cause, flying down to Georgia to rouse their base into action. Instead, the Democrats sent Georgia Congressman John Lewis. John Lewis is a civil rights pioneer and a well-respected legislator, but he could never be described as a political "star". The media reports that actor/rapper Ludacris will make an appearance on behalf of Martin, but despite his star power, one wonders about his ability to get-out-the-vote and to promote voter responsibility in the way Barack Obama has done.
Time will tell whether or not the "Georgia for Change" effort will pay off to secure a 59th Senate seat for the Democratic Party. And if the Obama campaign machine, fueled with volunteer energy, can stimulate the Georgia electorate to a new level of involvement in national affairs.I have to admit that I hope Georgia Democrats will make a strong stand in the runoff election on Tuesday.
But, as the Georgia organizer said, "Wake up! You're not in Berkeley anymore!"
Obama volunteers perform data entry for Martin's campaign
Originally published in the Daily Kos on December 1, 2008.
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