Report from the Trenches.

[JDPriestly]

OK. It's Southern California, Los Angeles in fact, and finding a Republican is not an easy task, but still . . . .

I'm out there on the streets in various public places registering and talking to lots of voters, and here is what they are telling me.

Women are angry. They can't stand Mitt Romney. Even the most conservative looking of the women are furious at the thought that white men think they own women's bodies, that Republicans want to take away a woman's right to choose, that they minimize the burden that childbearing and child rearing places on women. And more than anything women are incensed that Republicans have trivialized rape. Not my words -- theirs. I would sum it up by saying that I sense that women feel threatened by Romney and the Republicans.

Interestingly, with two exceptions, the white men that I spoke to are just as excited about voting for Obama as the women, the immigrants, the African-Americans and the young voters that I met. They grin really big when they talk about voting for Obama, but they aren't as angry at Romney and not as forthcoming about just why they are picking Obama. I will try to find out as the campaign progresses.

Another theme I hear repeatedly, less today than last week, is that the Republicans left a mess for Obama and that Obama needs another term to finish cleaning it up. People seem to sympathize with Obama. They express patience with the situation. I have the impression that people in Southern California view Obama as working really hard to right the wrongs the Republicans did. They are clearly blaming Republicans. Romney's focus on problems in our economy is a loser at least with the voters I am talking to.

All in all, I'm finding incredible enthusiasm for Obama -- even more than in 2008, less euphoria and more steady, certain admiration for a man who is, from what I am hearing, perceived as caring about women, about immigrants. People are confident that Obama is doing a good job.

This is what I am hearing.

Several women mentioned that Romney is mostly supported by white men.

A couple of men seem depressed and told me they don't want to vote. Others were very pro-Obama. Lots of humor out there. Lots of camaraderie. Lots of trust, confidence, good will.

Get out there and help. Talk to voters. Get them to tell you why they are voting for Obama. The more a person says they will vote for Obama, the more likely they will.

This is not my first campaign. By no means. But this campaign is special. It feels good, better than other campaigns I have worked on.

So far, I'm not finding many voters who want to argue in favor of the Republicans. That distinguishes this campaign from past ones. It may be due to the fact that it is still early in the campaign season. My advice based on past experience. If someone wants to argue with you or discuss why they want to vote against Obama, be polite but finish the conversation quickly by smiling and then saying something like, "Let's agree to disagree." Get out there. It's fun. You can make a difference. Voters are thanking me for being there. Some are volunteering themselves. Don't be afraid. But go out with a friend. Don't go alone.

[Tennessee Gal]

1. Good post! Thanks for what you are doing!

[DCKit]

2. My experience has been a bit different.

Sorry if this is a bit muddled, but I should have been asleep five hours ago, but I've been away from DU for nearly a month, in the company of many Republicans.

Just got back from a month in the hinterlands of western Virginia in a majority (a strong majority) Republican county. It's amazing to hear the lies propagated as if they originated from a reputable source, but they just can't help themselves - they'll say nearly anything to justify their opposition to another Obama term. Not strangely, the men far more often than the women.

My favorite this time around was (second-hand, from a known serial liar) that some guy in the Pentagon, who works closely on White House matters, is telling people that the font used on President Obama's "original" birth certificate wasn't invented/available in 1960. Sound familiar? When you can't be original, recycle.

Another is a dear, retired friend of mine who has swallowed the T.E.A.. I let him go on for a considerable time about taxes, then asked for some actual numbers. That conversation ended with much spluttering before he switched the subject to how much he spends on gas every month (so his share is paid in gas taxes). Turns out we're paying slightly less on over a hundred acres, a three bedroom house and outbuildings as I am on an efficiency apartment in DC - a rate about 35% of what I pay. His property is 50 acres larger and his income is SS + investments, taxed at 15% minus deductions. But, due to the relentless drumbeat of the Teahadii, he believes he's never paid more taxes in his life. Oh, the humanity!

The third let his health insurance lapse so he could keep his son, who'd had a bad accident, insured. Big mistake. He is currently uninsurable. The ACA provision that will allow everyone to be covered, regardless of pre-existing conditions, doesn't kick in until 2014. It's tied to the mandate that everyone have insurance. (Thanks NPR!)

In short, I had to remind many of the people I spoke with that:

1) President Obama is not an emperor or king. We have a Congress.
2) It took BushCo* eight years to screw everything up, Obama's had fewer than four to fix it.
3) Paul Ryan is a co-sponsor on several draconian and misogynistic health-care proposals regarding women's health and, even though he went to college on SS survivor's benefits, he would eliminate those benefits for everyone else.
4) The Republicans would end MediCare and SS at their earliest opportunity. For everyone.
5) This Republican Congress has blocked everything for the past three years.
6a) The "job creators" have been enjoying tax cuts for going on 32 years. Where are the jobs?
6b) If you feel you're paying too much in taxes, it's because the wealthy aren't paying their share.

I could go on, but my arguments seem to have quelled some of the irrational anger I ran into, and telling the men that their wives, daughters and grand daughters would be denied birth control and breast examinations because "women's health care = abortion" in the Republican lexicon seemed to cut through the fog.

Just my two cents.

[JDPriestly]

9. Thanks. Great ideas for future conversations should I run into any Teabaggers.

[JNelson6563]

3. Awesome report!

And it sounds amazingly similar to my area! I am in Traverse City, MI. The city is blue but all around is dark red. Not much love for Mitt, even here.

Much Obama enthusiasm.

Hugs, respect & encouragement to you, fellow foot-soldier!

Julie

[Surya Gayatri]

4. Thanks so much for this firsthand report from the field. Very encouraging!

[eridani]

5. I am canvassing people in my and neighboring precincts labelled by VoteBuilder as

--Strong Republicans for the first time ever, provided that they are over 50. I'm handing out literature I made myself about the Republican attacks on Social Security and Medicare, and getting reasonable responses. Only had one hand it back to me. (If you want pdfs of what I am handing out, PM me with your email address.)

Naturally I'm urging the Dems and everyone else to vote Obama and the rest of our ticket, but that is an easy sell this year.

[PossumSqueezins]

6. GOP is the party of old white RICH men and old white RACIST men

Also old white homophobes and misogynists.

I just don't get gay republicans, women republicans, Latino republicans, Jewish republicans, Cuban republicans, poor republicans or young republicans who vote against common sense and their self interests.

But your post gives me hope.

Maybe people do learn.

[fasttense]

7. Thanks for the info

Here in a red state that had to gerrymander my district into a snake along the border to keep Democrats out of elected positions, I get the same response from RepubliCONS over and over again. When I tell a RepubliCON that their party wants to end Social Security or outlaw birth control or end Medicare, I get, "Oh the RepubliCONS wont do that."

When I quote a time and place where a RepubliCON has said they would do just that, I'm told, "That's just talk. They would never do that."

When I'm told that Obama will give Gays the right to marry (not my words), I agree with them and tell them how that will never impact their lives, unless they or a loved one is Gay. I don't deny that many real Democrats would strengthen Unions and uphold the right to an abortion. But these RepubliCONS all tell me I should NOT believe what I hear coming out of the mouths of their representatives.

It seems odd to me that they want me to believe a RepubliCON wont screw me over even though their RepubliCON has said they will screw me over. Then they want me to vote for them. It's just very odd that rational people's only argument for voting for their party is to NOT believe what their politicians say.

[Laelth]

8. Many people take liberal government for granted.

Your story reminds me that a lot of "good Germans" didn't believe that the Nazis would actually follow through with their clearly announced plan to deport and/or exterminate millions of Jews and Rom whom the Nazis believed were at the core of Germany's problems. Too many "good Germans" took liberal government for granted and assumed that the Nazis could never (or would never) follow through with their announced and well-publicized intentions. We all know how that story ends.

I would remind your Republican friends that they can not keep voting for Republicans and just assume that those same Republicans will not do exactly what they promised they would do if elected. One can't take Democratic legislation (S.S. and Medicare), universally opposed by Republicans when passed, for granted. A vote for a Republican now is a vote against S.S. and Medicare. It's that simple, and this case should be made very clearly. History proves that taking liberal government for granted and voting against it is a choice that many people later regret. A lot of "good Germans" later regretted their support for the Nazi party in Germany. Remind them of that.

And thanks for fighting the good fight.

-Laelth