Why the Obama campaign is revolutionary!

[Coexist]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/20/54044/8983/92/499273

So it was a huge shock when they sent me to NE Philly, a working class neighborhood which is solidly Obama-resistant. Alas,it's Hillary territory and the voters' minds tend to be very closed to reason. I have encountered a fair amount of hostility,with doors being closed quickly in my face. Once another volunteer and I were told by a woman walking her dog that we we were "stupid" for volunteering for Obama. It can be very discouraging to be an Obama supporter in this area, especially after I hear from other volunteers who talk about what a cakewalk it is to canvass for Obama in other areas of Philadelphia. Sometimes I've wondered if it's worth having anyone from the campaign go to NE Philly, since people are so close minded towards Obama.

But last Saturday I knocked on the door of a woman who told me she was undecided. Then she said "If Obama knocks on my door, then I will give him my vote." That got me thinking... why not ask the Obama office to get Obama to show up in Northeast Philly? He had nothing to lose, and I've noticed that he has no fears about wading into areas that aren't friendly to him. Also I thought that Obama's effort to reach out to these voters might change some minds. I asked a couple of other people whose doors I knocked on if they would like to see Obama come to NE Philly and they said yes, that they felt neglected. One voter told me that one of Obama's Secret Service agents live in NE Philly, and I thought that might give Obama's team an added incentive to visit there.

So, I took the woman's name who had made the challenge to Obama back to the regional office, and they passed it to the higher-ups. When I got home to NYC that night, I also called the Philly headquarters and urged them to get Obama to get to NE Philly.

Guess what... yesterday morning Obama showed up on a street in Northeast Philly to knock on doors. As another volunteer and I were driving past a street yesterday morning around 11:00 am we saw all these police cars, blocking off streets. The cops told us Obama was expected there. The other volunteer who was driving the car was eager to start canvassing didn't want to stop to watch, so we kept going. I was mad ! Turned out Obama did knock on doors there for 40 minutes.

When I got back to the regional office after canvassing from 10:30 am to 6:00pm,(it was hotter than Hades yesterday) the guys in charge said that the higher ups had in fact listened to my come-to-northeast Philly idea. It felt good to know that they had listened to me, just a lowly volunteer on the ground, and that I helped play a very small part in convincing Obama to get to that neighborhood. Things really do start with the ground up in his campaign!

the emphasis is mine.

the wow factor is all Obama's.

[ginnyinWI]

1. Great story! Thanks for passing this along! n/t

[ClassWarrior]

2. It's all about empowerment. Just like another beloved Dem Prez...

CUNY Professor Frances Fox Piven on a recent Democracy Now!:

You know, in 1932, FDR didn’t run with a good program; he ran with the same program the Democrats had run with in 1924 and 1928, and that wasn’t a good program. But nevertheless, his rhetoric encouraged people who were suffering as a result of the Depression—working people, the unemployed—and helped to fuel the movements, which then forced FDR to support initiatives which he otherwise would not have supported, including the right to organize...

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/6/super_tuesday_roundtable_with_bill_fletcher

NGU.

[lisa58]

3. The first time I was called by the Obama campaign...

...I spent 15 minutes on the phone with the woman. She told me she has spent up to an hour on the phone with people. That if she doesn't know the answer to a specific question, she finds someone who does, even if it means the person needs to be called back.

She also said that she would pass the information she learned from the people she called to the higher-ups and all suggestions are considered - she said it really is "everyones" campaign.

This story confirms everything she said.

[meow mix]

4. K&R

great post!!!

[MethuenProgressive]

5. The Obama Campaign is all about how great the Obama Campaign is.

.

[democracy1st]

6. good work

thanks for this post

[rug]

7. I agree. It's a revolution in political marketing. The politics, however, are nothing new.

[C_U_L8R]

8. Listening. It's revolutionary.

And acting upon it... Presidential.

[rndmprsn]

9. K&R

nice...

[OzarkDem]

10. I've worked on quite a few campaigns where candidates did the same

its not that unusual for a candidate to choose key areas to go door to door.

[Maddy McCall]

11. OMG! It's novel!

Obama should patent door-to-door visits by candidates!

:woohoo: *squeal*

[Creideiki]

12. Here I thought it was revolutionary

Because it signaled a re-entrenchment of homophobia in the mainstream Democratic party.

Obama, Michelle, his ex-gay buddies, Richardson, Boren and Nunn--all jumping onto the same bandwagon.

Obama's giving me hope, though. I hope that I can survive the next 16 years of this crap.

Where the hell is the next JFK or MLK when you need them?

[DerekJ]

13. K & R .. Great story.

[stillcool]

14. Thank you! Love these stories!

things you won't see on your television set.

[H2O Man]

15. Thank you.

I think that the Obama campaign is evolutionary, as well.