|
In addition to telling your friends and relatives, identify public forums in your area like farmer's markets, a public square where people gather and where you can register voters. (Don't try to do this inside a building. Don't block a sidewalk. Sometimes a store manager will let you do this, but probably not at Wal-Mart). Get brochures, buttons, stickers and other materials on Obama. Above all, try to get voter registration materials from your local voter registrar or Democratic Club. Then get a small, portable table. A light one the size of a card table is ideal. Set up your table in the public place. Make it look nice. Maybe use a tablecloth. Start handing out brochures.
You have the right to do table in certain places that the law defines as open forums (First Amendment), but you have to follow local regulations in doing it. Check the local ordinances on demonstrations before you do this. If you don't understand them, just call city hall, explain that you want to register voters/campaign for a candidate or candidates and ask them what the rules are. (Be careful. Some states do not allow voter registration and advocacy for a specific candidate to be done at the same time.)
---
Another idea is to volunteer for the Obama campaign or local Democratic Club and let them know that you want to canvas your precinct. That is called walking your precinct. It's old fashioned, but there is no better way to help your candidate.
Here is how you do it: You get Obama materials, and knock on the doors of the all the Democrats in your area. The Obama campaign or local Democratic Club will probably obtain lists of the voters in your area who have regularly or recently voted Democratic. These lists are most often used as call lists, but you can use them to walk your precinct. Calling is quicker but less effective than walking your precinct.
Both walking your precinct and tabling are really fun. You get to discuss politics with people who are interested in the issues. You encourage other people to take a stand for your candidate. And when you walk your precinct, you get to meet all the Democrats in your area. I can walk down the streets in my neighborhood and identify the houses in which people who think like me live. I love them all.
Walking your precinct with a list of Democratic voters is the easiest way to start. You rarely meet someone who really disagrees with you.
When you table, you will be challenged by people who ridicule you are disagree with you. This does not happen as often as you might think. The best technique for handling this is
1) Remember your goal is to encourage people who are leaning toward Obama to actually commit to vote for him, talk about why they are going to vote for him and remember to get out and vote for him.
2) Don't waste your time arguing or trying to persuade people that you are right and they are wrong. Just quiet your heart and say, "Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I hope that you will get a chance to listen to what Obama has to say." Believe me, just the fact you are there and are friendly to them opens the way. If their heart is at some point touched by Obama and what he has to say, the fact that you were kind and respectful will make it easier for them to decide to vote for him.
3) Make the experience of talking to you as pleasant for the people you talk to as possible. You want the experience of talking about Obama to be a positive one for all involved. That means that you listen to what other people say more than you actually talk yourself. (So, if you are shy. Don't worry. you don't have to say all that much most of the time. In fact, you may be better at this if you are shy.) Use the materials you hand out to open the conversation. Ask the person what that person thinks -- and then really listen. Agree with what you agree with. Be sure the conversation is win/win. If you get into an argument or a nasty discussion, Obama loses. The experience of talking with you, an Obama supporter, should be positive and make the other person feel validated -- even if the other person does not yet support Obama.
4) Remember you represent your candidate. Everything you do and say will reflect on Obama. Make sure you know Obama's views on all topics possible. Listen to Obama's speeches. Watch his videos. Read his books. Become an expert on Obama. I tabled for Edwards. Obama supporters had a table near ours. Sometimes it was positively embarrassing to hear Obama supporters misrepresenting Obama's stands on certain issues. It wasn't that I agreed or disagreed on the stand, it was that I knew that some of the Obama supporters had not bothered to inform themselves about what Obama was really saying. Remember, the person you are talking to will probably check out Obama's website and Google information about Obama after talking to you. Be prepared.
5) Elections are won by talking to people. That's the point of television ads. They talk to people in their homes, and they work. But they don't work nearly as well as the personal contact you get when you table and walk your precinct.
6) Above all, try to get people leaning toward Obama to commit, to say they agree with Obama, they like what he is saying and then, eventually, that they will vote for him. Once a person commits to something out loud, they are more likely to stay with it than if they just keep their thoughts to themselves. Ask people who have shown that they are very committed to Obama's campaign to join you in volunteering, to attend a rally or an Obama party or to donate.
7) Don't just table or precinct walk once. You need two or three contacts -- preferably if you are tabling weekly contacts with the each voter you reach through these methods. (Knocking on doors is more intrusive, so at most once a month and always with new brochures or information). Repeated contacts are essential.
8) Remember the specific voter you are talking to at the moment is the most important voter. Obama will need each and every vote and the work of each and every supporter to get elected. The religious right movement grew to be as powerful as it is precisely through this neighbor-to-neighbor, person-to-person contact. Progressives have not bothered to do reach out in this personal way. Our ideas are more popular, but we have not bothered to encourage people to vote for our candidates -- not enough -- not person-to-person. We march, and our marches are anonymous and ineffective. You need to get out and talk personally with potential voters. I can't repeat that often enough.
Sorry this is so long, but I want to encourage you and others to act, and I know a lot of Obama supporters are new to the political world, so I wanted to spell out just how you do this.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
