Sorry if this is in the wrong area....RE: Organization For America

[Timshel]

Has anyone done the latest volunteering call from the Organization for America in regards to the health care reform fight? I signed up for calling or going door to door (that was the only option they had), and was just wondering if anyone had also signed up, and if they had already participated, what their experiences were like?

Thanks for any info!

[NYC_SKP]

1. I heard from my local office, asked me to write LTTEs and if I'd canvas.

I said yes, wrote letters, haven't heard back yet on canvassing.

And...this is a fine forum for your inquiry.

And... welcome to DU!

[Timshel]

3. Thank you!

Thanks! I lurk & come back, and lurk and come back....this site got me through the Bush years, so I have definitely got to give back. Not sure about all the rules, but I assume that I will make a mistake and someone will tell me about it. I 'hate' canvasing and cold calling, but personal family experience has me all over this issue, so I will do what needs to be done...... I am planning on taking a half day next week and doing all the calling necessary to my representatives and congressmen.....

[SleeplessInAlabama]

2. Nope but

I did the pre-election calls and several people complained of me being their eighth/tenth call, I kissed ass about it, leaving messages was easy enough with no-one to scream at you, a few people were genuinely fun to talk to though, one ended up calling me back swearing at me and demanding how I could POSSIBLY know her name, and where her voting precinct is and what time it will be open until.

Not to turn anyone else off of doing it, but I'm torn about whether to call for HC reform because the system was pretty crap at weeding out people who'd already been called.

[Timshel]

4. RE: Calling for HC reform

It's funny - I just tried to extricate myself from an argument with my sweetheart because he won't go volunteer with me and do the cold calling and canvassing. I said it's all about doing what you have to do and he said that part of the campaign won't work so he won't do that part..... You probably proved him right!!!

Thank you for the warning - you have to know what you are getting into! I do customer service, so I am used to people yelling at me....

I heard on NPR that people were certainly more receptive to the pro-Obama calls than they are to the pro-health care calls....

[SleeplessInAlabama]

5. I could have guessed the reception for healthcare,

and, really, it wouldn't have been AS BAD if a good 75 or so out of my 300 calls had already been contacted.

Anybody who actually has done it this time around - Is the call system better?

[Timshel]

7. Call System

Certainly - if there is anyone who has some tips, or info about this, it would be greatly appreciated! I don't do this until next Sunday, so any occurrences of note over this coming weekend would still help!

[abumbyanyothername]

6. I had nothing but good experiences

calling for both Kerry and Obama. If people wanted to ditch the call quickly, I was happy to oblige and move on to where I could be of some good.

Cold calling generally is sort of a needle in a haystack proposition so expect to spend 3-4 hours and 40-100 calls to reach one or two people.

It's just the nature of the beast.

[Timshel]

8. Thanks

I figured as much!

[sandnsea]

9. They don't want to weed them out

They want to keep calling because believe it or not, people get sidetracked really easily and decide not to vote. That's actually how Democrats lose. If we got someone really really hostile, we would put down that they were bedridden or something that would guarantee removal.

The phone calls are so important. I wish they would get it together. I can't wait to start.

[csziggy]

10. I was working the databases and found that the codes to mark who had been called

Were messed up. To make sure an individual was marked properly was almost impossible. After the election, I tried to volunteer to go over the problems with the database people and they were not interested.

Even with those problems, the system for making calls was infinitely better with the Obama campaign than for the Kerry campaign.

I hope to volunteer in the fall but cannot now. But I wonder what is happening with the databases now. I am not sure if they are using the VoteBuilder software with the Democratic database that was used in the campaign or if they have their own database.