Bumper Sticker Psychics!

As of today - as far as I know, I still write a regular column for the Plymouth Bulletin, one of several hundred allegedly local papers owned by Gatehouse Media. I say as far as I know, because I do this freelance - and I never hear word one from the management, except when they say they can't afford to give me a raise. Why do I keep writing it then? Well, because I need an outlet, because I think I have something to say, and to be part of a kind of virtual neighborhood of writers, bloggers, anonymous commentators, and street people. The writing community is a kind of Star Wars bar scene, these days at least, and I need a place to hang. Which is my usual circuitous way of getting to my subject - the aforementioned Bumper Sticker Psychics.... There was a Letter to the Editor recently, from one Prudence Darigan, which suggested that so-called liberals were flocking to bumper sticker stores (?) in the wake of Obama's victory, to acquire bumper stickers with messages that - distilled down to their core, were gloating over the victory, and salivating at the prospect of Bush run out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered, etcetera, etcetera. Now, while I don't disagree with the general notion that many people hope to see Bush pay in some legal fashion, for the crimes of his administration, I would argue that instead of gloating, liberals are actually behaving in a quite civil, and constructive manner. I think perhaps that Prudence, and those of her ilk, don't realize the extent of their pain and so are, instead, mis-perceiving the behavior of others. What does this have to do with our work-in-progress, our manifesto? Not much - except perhaps, to highlight again the importance of dispelling these long-held myths about liberals, and to suggest that door to door and the like, is the best way to accomplish that. The people that went to NH, and Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, surely had amongst them, rabid and radical leftists - but were in the majority comprised of intelligent, committed, reasonable people. In my experience anger is not well suited to canvassing, or phone banking, or any of the real grassroots activities. Anger perhaps is a good raw material for poster making, or bumper sticking conceptualization... but to go knocking on stranger's doors you have to have a base of idealism, a positive outlook, and a long-term commitment to achieving specific political ends, like health care, and peace, and social justice in general. Prudence may think she can 'read' the bumper stickers of the cars in front of her, but again I think it more likely that she is projecting her own disappointment.

71% of all canvassers for liberal causes are over 45 years old?

I don't know about you, but when I looked around the Derry NH headquarters (where I spent most of the 08 campaign), or up and down the aisles of the buses headed north, or around the Marshfield office where thousands of phone calls were made, all I saw were (handsome, energetic) middle aged people. We hear a lot about the youth vote, the minority turn out, the no-drama-Obama campaign, but very little about what I like to call past-their-prime-power.

Lies, damned lies, and best-sellers?

Statistics.. they can provide great insights, or lead you far astray. At the center of a great statistic, a meaningful statistic, there should be a core of common sense. That is, in part, an explanation for the working title of the canvassing handbook (and this blog)that Janet Alfieri and I are working on now. There is a clear difference between the causes that progressives embrace - and volunteer for, and the fear and anger that is often the 'theme' of conservative candidates. As I note elsewhere, the title also came out of the real experience of canvassing where - against everything mother taught you, your job is to talk to strangers, often in their home. Of course 'Seventy-three Percent' also seemed a good 'catchy title', something with a little humor, and a bit of irreverence. It puts prospective readers on notice that this isn't going to be your normal, pedantic political tract. And following on that, I think it might be fun to have the book organized by 'statistic'. Did you know that 79% of Americans never use their front door? That 71% of all canvassers for liberal causes are over 45 years old? And yes, 73% of serial killers are registered Republicans. These statistics may not be, strictly speaking - true, but they contain a core of truth. What's your favorite bad statistic? What truths have you uncovered going door to door for Obama, or Dean, Kerry, or Gore? You might as well get in on the action because you know - the pundits will soon be telling you that, no matter what your experience was, they know better. --Frank Mand

Unbelievable!

It's still hard to believe. Did we actually win? Are the polls closed? Is there a problem in Florida? In 2004 I was going door to door -somewhere in New Hampshire, minutes before the polls closed, asking those we had identified as Kerry supporters if they had voted. It felt desperate. New Hampshire went for Kerry by a very narrow margin that night, and as we drove home to Massachusetts - struggling to stay awake, we were hopeful that the Granite State would be the difference, nationally. It was a very long, and painful night. I think I passed out on the couch, about 2:30 a.m., after Florida had swung back and forth, and after hearing news of long lines and strange polls out of Ohio. It took a long time to recover from that. But in 2007 we somehow got out of bed, drove north to New Hampshire, and once again went door to door. Janet - to be honest, began as an Edwards supporter. I was for Chris Dodd. Eventually though, we joined Obama. On election night we were fairly confident - intellectually we knew that it was going to be our night. But emotionally we were all a bundle of nerves - waiting for the bad news. It never came. Indiana not only didn't turn immediately red at 7:30, it looked rather blue. Did Indiana really go for Obama? Virginia? North Carolina? It's still hard to believe.