By the time most of you read this, I'll already be at the polls. Here in Pennsylvania, the polls open at 7. This year, it won't be necessary to be there before 6:30. You may think that's early for an election where likely no more than 15% of the people will turn out in places without a "major" race, but precinct has a bunch of diehards, and for years we all like to have a real low stub number to take with us for the day.
I'll be there IN THE COLD with my local Democratic and Republican committeepeople. The candidates will all stop by.
WHAT A CHANGE from last year. First, last year was warm. Because there had been such a problem with signs being stolen, many of us were out around 3 in the morning checking for signs, replacing stolen ones, and staking additional ones up and down the ticket. We were set at some inhuman hour and STILL the diehards were already lining up. And it didn't matter, no one had slept in days, and we were all running on some combination of adrenaline and coffee.
Today will be much more quiet. After the pre-work rush, it will mostly be a bunch of political junkies talking local politics and greeting the people who can easily park their cars and step on up to vote. I'm looking forward to speaking with the local Republicans. I'm interested in their take on NY-23, co-option by the far right, and whether they plan to vote for Arlen or Toomey.
I'm probably not going to see the anger of last year. My pick fave was this towering guy with patrician features and preppy clothes to match. What we call around here "old Main Line". He came out of the polling building and decided to start yelling at me when I offered him an "I Voted" sticker so he could get a free Starbuck's coffee. He screamed so vehemently about the country going off a cliff that his pallor actually got a little pink. He ended with the accusation that Barack Obama was to the right of Saul Alinsky, and I couldn't know that because no one supporting Obama had finished high school. I was honestly able to say I had read Alinsky, and knew that Obama was nowhere near that far left. Can't WAIT to see HIM again.
I'll be tweeting anything of interest off my personal feed.
What will you be doing today? I hope you'll vote if there is an election where you are, and you are old enough to vote. I hope you'll talk to your local committeeperson and see how you can get involved with voter registration and 2010 GOTV efforts. Make sure your neighbors, friends, family and co-workers vote. Maybe someone wants to ride over with you...
Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say.
The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
Carve an extra hour out of your day to stop by your local food bank and make a donation of either cash or food. If you don't know where the nearest food bank is, Feeding America (which used to be called Second Harvest) has a tool (lower left of the page) to help you locate your local site. If you're really time-compressed, they have a donation page, too. I don't personally know what it is to be hungry. But I know people who have been. This is a problem we can help address as individuals: a bag of groceries here, a $25 check there -- if we all did it, millions of children and adults would not have to go to bed hungry.
Have a great day - we'll be here tonight with election returns and commentary.
I had hoped to get more posts up today, but already the day has gotten away from me, and I have last minute GOTV things to do. (If you know me, you know exactly what I mean...)
So -- if you've got any late breaking news on tomorrow's races, either use the comments or put up a post!
And please, take half an hour today and bang 10 doors in your neighborhood to remind people that tomorrow is election day.
If I can find some time, I'll get back to the Pelosi document -- sadly I'm only on page 400-and something.
By the way - if you only read the main page of DCW, you may have missed something we added. If you like one of our posts and want to easily share it with your friends, click on the title and you'll be on the same post, but off the main page. You can then use the little green widget at the top of the page to Tweet out the post. The widget also works for the posts on the side bars.
While most of my weekend was the sort of thing you not only don't want to talk about, but you really want to forget, there was one real highlight.
Yesterday afternoon I went out to do my neighborhood lit drop for tomorrow's election. (And not alone.) If you've never done an election lit drop, the deal is that you have a little clear plastic bag filled with information on the candidates, plus information from the local committee, and maybe the county/state committee. Generally, there's also a copy of the ballot or a list of who the party candidates on the ballot.
A lot of times, you run out and do them in the dark of night and leave the information on the doors.
If, however, you're a block captain, you also knock the doors. You do this to say hi to people you know anyway, make sure people who might need a ride to the polls get one, and make sure that if anyone moved into the neighborhood they're registered.
I had the great pleasure yesterday of knocking doors with Doug Pike, candidate for CD-6. Yes, I know he's not on the ballot until next year, but it was a great opportunity for him to meet-and-greet the folks and show support for this year's row officer and judicial candidates.
I'm a supporter of Doug Pike for his stands on the issues, and because I believe he is truly the best choice to represent me (and everyone else in CD-6) in Congress. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend a different kind of time with him. He and I had spoken before about issues and demographics, but yesterday I got to see the man. You can tell a lot about a person by the little things: when you go to someone's house, are you offered something to drink? If your arms are filled with packages, does someone offer to help tote?
Yesterday, I saw in Doug not just a pol who holds the same political beliefs that I do, but a true human being I'd want as a friend if we met socially. And based on the questions that independent voters asked him, I think he's also got a real shot at being elected.
There are all different types of political junkies. Far too many of them are only interested in the polling data: if an election is too small to be polled, it's off their radar.
But local elections matter. Even the tiny ones, for things like school board.
A few towns over from my home is West Chester, the Chester County seat. Next week, they're having a school board election. It's not any more important or less important than the school board elections in your town. (If, indeed, you're having one next week.) Certainly not the "play" of NJ and VA gubernatorial races, nor the fun in the NY-23, nor the overall importance of the Maine gay marriage initiative.
Three of the candidates for the West Chester School Board are creationists. Yup, believe creationism should be taught AS science in the public schools. They also are fans of gay bashing, and a number of other things you'd hate.
The potentially worst of the bunch is a guy named Sean Carpenter. Can't really tell you what he says he stands for, since he declined to respond to the League of Women Voters for their Voter Guide.
But I CAN tell you what he really stands for: hate and destruction.
I've posted a video, and before you watch it, be aware that there is very bad language in it. Ugly language.
It's about the Peace Vigil: a weekly vigil started almost 7 years ago. A once a week gathering to pray for peace. Something decent. A video about the best and worst in people.
Watch it, and then call your local Democratic office, or candidate, and offer a few hours to do a lit drop this weekend, or make phone calls, or be a greeter at the polls. You may think that West Chester isn't YOUR town, and something like this can't happen where you live, but you'd be wrong. We keep the Sean Carpenters of the world from overseeing our childrens' education by being active in local elections. It is the only way to keep them from getting a foothold in elective office. Before they can grow old and become the Ted Stevenses, Joe Liebermans, John Boehners, etc., of their generation.
Last night, I received an email inviting me to a steering committee meeting dedicated to the 2012 re-election of President Obama. Here's the line:
We can't wait for 2011 to start planning for winning in 2012!
I looked at and just plain wondered. Do I believe that keeping the White House in Democratic hands in 2012 is important? ABSOLUTELY. I'm a proud partisan. But I am, to say the least, disquieted by the idea that the election to work on now is that one. It relates to the same undercurrent sense I had last year with all the people who were working the Obama election, and it was their first election. And potentially their last.
The problem is that "the party" cannot be about one person. Between now and 2012 are three sets of local elections, one full House and large Senate elections, gubernatorial and other state and local elections, as well as redistricting. Not to mention health care, global warming, health care, Afghanistan, health care, Iraq-Iran, health care, etc. To focus solely on the White House is to miss innumerable opportunities. If we hold the White House but lose every House, Senate, State House, judicial and local race, it doesn't matter if we hold the White House. The White House as the last bastion against disaster? It's not enough.
So, DO SOMETHING today. Make a contribution to someone running in one of this year's local elections. Volunteer for one of next year's elections (many offices are up and running, and if you've never worked early in a cycle, it's a whole different thing!). Sign a petition. This is the one I signed today.
Remember, politics is a spectator sport only if you want it to be!
Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting here, at my desk, typing an email. All of a sudden, there was a whir and then silence. My trusty five year old dual core had apparently died. This saddens me in ways I cannot tell you. It wasn't as bad as the last computer I lost: that involved a quick sound, a puff of smoke, and a very, very, bad smell. And it wasn't properly backed up. This one was.
I understand triage, for everything from emergency rooms to regular life. So my first action was to text Matt and Oreo and let them know there was a problem. My second action was to look out the window, scope the neighborhood and make guesses at who would be most likely to let me use a computer for an hour last night. Luckily, one neighbor dropped off a laptop (and played with Olivia) while I was at the meeting I'll tell you about in a little bit, and another neighbor will let me use her computer for the weekend after I return this laptop tonight. This allows me a few days to shop instead of having to rush out this morning and buy the first thing I see. Because even though I am over 35, I cannot live for long without a computer. Kinda sorta like coffee. And yes, if you have suggestions, please use the comments.
I bought this computer when the last one died. It was an EMERGENCY because I had to be working on a huge data set to which I had to VPN, and I had a deadline, and I wasn't thinking clearly. That shopping trip involved two stops each at 4 stores, the first to look, the second to negotiate. I took notes on a chart on a clipboard. But in the end, I bought the one I have (which has been GREAT!) because of something someone said to me at the store. I bought a computer I didn't need -- FAR more powerful, with things like a double layer multi-format DVD+/-RW drive that I've never actually used, and some form of technology that enables the computer to act as a DVR for TV that I never even unpacked. But there was someone else shopping near me, as I was looking at this particular machine, and he said "Lady, you don't want that machine. You don't need that machine. It's made for a 14-year old pimply faced hacker who can't get a date on Saturday nights. You need something more basic. You're too old for it, and you look like you do date on Saturday nights." I called over the salesman.
But I digress...
I had a meeting last night with members of the hoi polloi of the local Democratic establishment. The actual elected committee people. We have a creationist running for school board, and personally, I just can't let that happen. We also have three people running for township supervisor. I had mailed them my "what do we do in a post phone bank world?" post. It had been for this reason that I had gone to Netroots with the idea of getting that question answered. There were four people in addition to me. And we go back a ways. We have a continual argument: they believe that if they run good enough candidates, those candidates will win. I believe if our town is well enough organized, a phone book could get 60% of the vote. I believe in good candidates, but I don't believe it is always enough at the local level. (As an aside, it turns out that my local committewoman is a hardware person, and she is coming over tonight to play can-this-computer-be-saved? I'm doubtful, but gee, it would be SO VERY NICE...)
Except for the school board candidate, and one of the candidates for supervisor who I just happen to know because he's a member of the local volunteer fire department, I don't even know the names of the other candidates. From either party. Because to me, it doesn't matter. This is a local, off-year election, and I am going to vote my party. I am genetically and structurally built that way. I try to explain that they want more people like me, and they fall back on how do we sell the candidates?
And then there is another topic. One of these folks asks me a question about health care. I need to tell you that these four are GOOD people. They are smart, they are consciencious, they work hard at local politics in addition to their day jobs. But here's the question: "How do we counteract the issue of covering illegal aliens?" I hit my forehead with the heel of my hand to reset the transistors. There is no such provision in any of the bills. I know this because I've read them. How does this man not know that? Obviously because the wing-nuts spread lies better than we spread truths. I blame myself because he reads this blog, and I haven't listed all the things that are not in the bills. I promise he and I can discuss it at another time, because tonight we're talking GOTV.
By the time most of you read this, I'll already be at the polls. Here in Pennsylvania, the polls open at 7. This year, it won't be necessary to be there before 6:30. You may think that's early for an election where likely no more than 15% of the people will turn out in places without a "major" race, but precinct has a bunch of diehards, and for years we all like to have a real low stub number to take with us for the day. 
