I want PA canvassing/phonebanking stories and other anecdotes!

[democrattotheend]

I can only go up there on the weekend to volunteer and in the meantime I am hungry for anecdotal evidence of how things are going there. So please, anyone on either side who has been canvassing, phonebanking, entering data, etc. please post stories. Or even if you haven't done any of that, if you have noticed one campaign having more of a presence in a particular area, know who your friends in PA are voting for, etc, please share. My own canvassing reports can be found on my blog, http://www.purplestatepundit.com/blog. Please share anecdotes, and try to keep it civil.

[rug]

1. "Not home" is beating them both by a wide margin.

[democrattotheend]

2. That's been my experience too

LOL

[rug]

3. .

:toast:

[Barack_America]

4. Wow. You are canvassing for Clinton?

Is that right? I've actually never seen a Clinton volunteer out canvassing. Not here in PA and not in NJ either. I did once see a Clinton supporter with a "Honk 4 Hillary" sign...on a corner with 2 Obama volunteers.

;)

[rug]

6. Yeah. There's a good sized group here in Pike County.

[AllentownJake]

8. Are you mocking my Honk anecdote?

I smell a dance fight coming on...don't make me come down to Philly when I reach my numbers :-)

[Barack_America]

9. Huh? No, I actually saw a lady with one of those signs...

It was at 17th & Chestnut, I believe.

It's true, I swear!

[AllentownJake]

10. Your kidding me

That means they are doing this accross the state...what a waste of a supporter's time.

[democrattotheend]

11. I disagree.

I actually think the Obama campaign is making a mistake by not caring about visibility. A lot of people in Narberth last weekend were complaining about having to buy yard signs and the headquarters constantly being out of them.

[AllentownJake]

12. Yeah

The Yard sign thing I don't get...yard signs are one thing. A human sign I think is a waste. That's just me though.

[Barack_America]

13. We've had arguments...

...with the campaign about that here in Philly too. I understand that "chum" is against the campaign's philosophy and I respect that. On the other hand, "chum" is a big part of the traditional Democratic machinery. And the Democratic machinery is ingrained in Philly politics. So often it is us volunteers who get caught in the middle of trying to navigate the old-style vs. new-style politics.

[democrattotheend]

14. I'm thinking of giving the HQ $50 and telling them to give away 10 yard signs

If Obama supporters from out of state want to help, they should consider doing that too instead of donating directly to the campaign. You can have yard signs shipped to me and I will distribute them.

[Barack_America]

15. Honestly, the campaign doesn't need money...

It's really a philosophical issue with them.

The staffers say that it's to encourage "homemade" demonstrations of support, like custom signs and buttons. They're also really big on rewarding people who put in volunteer hours.

They'll throw money at certain things, but they are just decidedly anti-chum. How that's going to play in Philly, I'm honestly not sure.

[AllentownJake]

16. My big donation last month

Was an in kind donation of campaign stuff for them to sell at the headquarters (bumper stickers, pins, T-shirts, and signs). They hadn't got any yet and I found a good union made website to get Obama merchandise and gets it out to you faster than the campaign. I don't understand the yard sign thing either. I answer more questions on where to get one when I go canvasing than anything else.

[Barack_America]

17. Let me qualify what I said.

Of course they need money. They can do none of this without $.

And yeah, sometimes it does take time for all of that stuff to trickle down to the local offices from Chicago.

[democrattotheend]

18. To be fair, I spent some time waving an Obama sign a few weeks ago

Just to see how many people honked. Believe it or not it can be effective at showing enthusiasm. Plus, it's fun!

[AX10]

5. Same here.

I got the same response.
The phone calls seem to go much better though.

[rug]

7. I found a Ron Paul door knob hanger flyer on my door when I came home, lol.

I wish we had some to leave. It makes the most of the visit.

[zulchzulu]

19. It's ALL about the opening line in the script

You need to start off the call pretty much without giving the person an "open" to stop the call.

Something like, "Hello, I'm ____ with the _________ campaign and have a message for ______ regarding ________________. <- You need to have something for them to be interested, like an event or something.

If you get the person, you DON'T say "Hi _____, do you have a minute to talk about... (you should hear a "no" by the time you say "talk about". Again, you need to be able to offer something, like Hi ____, did you know that ______ will be at the _________ next ______ and it would be a great chance to meet the _______ and have something to offer.

But most of all, be polite...

[ORDem]

20. Love the on-the-ground stories, more, more!

:woohoo: