WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
I'm a reasonably busy person. (It's one of the reasons I type out my blog posts before the sun comes up and schedule them to launch throughout the day.) I triage my non-work correspondence, and respond to text messages immediately (because it's easy), e-mails second, and generally I don't check my home voice mail except on Saturday nights. In case you were wondering, my snail mail is in a stack in my car.
So last night, there were a few interesting surprises on my voice mail. One was from a friend asking me to quit sending her e-mails to come out and work GOTV since "we've already won Pennsylvania, why don't you take time to come back to yoga class?" Normally, I'd send a nastygram for this, but instead I got back in my car, in the dark, pouring rain, drove over, rang the doorbell, and asked "Are you insane?" (And no, I didn't ask it that nicely.)
I am starting to hear this a lot. Not generally from friends, who've known me long enough to know better, and who ALL volunteer. (Yes, even the person who called.) But from neighbors, people I "meet", and worst of all, from people who previously committed to GOTV shifts.
Obama will be in Pennsylvania this week, so maybe that will help.
Some people say they "hope" that the complacency doesn't extend to voters. And I have heard rumours, but I have not yet spoken with anyone planning on NOT voting out of sense of complacency. As always, I repeat my mantra:
Elections are won one voter at a time.
We have a plan, we work the plan.
We work the plan, we win.
Still, winning Pennsylvania is a function of turning out our volunteers so that we can turn out our voters.
So, why don't people vote? According to the USA Today (October 24, page A1):
Too busy - 20%
Ill or disabled - 15%
Not interested - 11%
Didn't like candidates - 10%
Out of town - 9%
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