undecided voters – go get em’

I understand it is a cheaper republican winning strategy to disenfranchise & block voters than to put the effort into getting out the vote. but I say to you GET OUT THE VOTE. I spent the evening last nite standing in front of publix (that southern grocery store chain) holding a bright pink sign that said in big bold black letters: “UNDECIDED? Talk to Me!!!”
After finding 6 such voters in less than 2 hours, I was able to convince them not just to vote, but to vote for Kerry! the first young man was pushing his toddler daughter in a shopping cart across the parking lot toward the publix entrance, intent on shopping. he was glad to see me, as was his little daughter who allowed us to speak uninterrupted for over 5 minutes. he told me he didn’t know who he should vote for, maybe bush because we’re in the middle of a war; but maybe kerry because he has a plan for health care. this young man was semi-informed but more important, he was interested in hearing facts – which I presented to him. And I told him I think this concept that it is detrimental to change prez’s during this unjustified, totally wrong war was not only misguided thinking but a republican campaign strategy. this was the easy undecided voter.
the next two individuals were more difficult – both were more uninterested than undecided. when I pushed each to figure out how come they were uninterested, they both felt they were overwhelmed by the lying & misinformation and they felt totally uninformed. to their relief, I explained to them I had spent the past 2 years (didn’t want to mention the lifetime) getting & staying informed, researching, talking, figuring things out. I ‘briefly’ outlined what has been happening in our country & why; kerry’s record & the bushes records; a vote for bush is a vote for a war president who has succeeded in making the very few richer and the rest of us a lot poorer, not to mention the death, devastation & destruction in iraq – a vote for kerry is a vote for more peaceful existence in the world and an economy that benefits the rest of us. they both thanked me for giving them reasons to vote for kerry and to not vote for bush! I handed them some fliers and encouraged them to vote early.
another voter I encountered was leaning toward bush – his main reason? kerry flip-flops. I asked him to name me three things kerry’s flip-flopped on. he couldn’t. so I made it easier – name one thing. he still couldn’t. I explained to him that ‘flip-flopping’ was a republican campaign strategy slogan and it is just that. I think it had a huge impact on this voter, actually he said it did. then I talked about the fact that kerry did the ultimate no-no in those primarily boy’s organizations: he challenged his superiors publicly, called them out on the carpet, and became a predominant leader in the anti-war movement – which I think is the basis for the flip-flop campaign.
most people can neither articulate why they are supporting bush, nor can they define kerry’s flip-flops. interesting enuff.
yet another voter, wheel-chair-bound, sporting tubes & bandages and missing a leg, informed me he wasn’t voting because his vote didn’t make any difference. I told him softly I totally understood how he feels, and then I told him a lot more firmly, it just wasn’t true – his vote means so much, to all of us. I told him about starhawk’s wisdom, that when we feel this way, hopeless and depressed, as if we cannot make a difference & our vote doesn’t count, then we are falling under the spell of those in power – for surely they want us to be silent, to feel like we cannot impact their course for ourselves & our nation, not to mention the world. I told him we need to do a counter-spell for him so he knows that his vote counts, to me, to lots of folks.
we talked for about 10 minutes then about the differences between bush & kerry. he’s pretty much a kerry supporter all the way so I could reiterate how much his vote means. we talked about the people who died so he and I could have the right to vote & we had an obligation to the work & memory of these heroes to vote. I hope I convinced this voter to get out and vote. he tried to thank me for doing this work & talking with him. I refused to accept his thanks – I told him his vote is the ONLY thanks I want, his help in defeating bush w/his vote!
the last voter I will tell you about is an elderly white republican womon, approaching with a walker-cane, being assisted w/her groceries by a young white male republican store employee who exclaimed ‘go bush’ as they passed me. I said ‘yeah, go to texas bush!’ she angrily attempted to shake her cane at me, which appeared to be larger than her frail body. I expressed much dismay that she, as a senior, a womon, disabled, and not so wealthy-looking (unspoken observation) was supporting a president who has hurt seniors so much lately. she denied this and went on to say kerry was an ugly man who wanted to rob seniors. I asked her how kerry was robbing seniors – she angrily waved me away again, this time with only her empty hand, & turned her back.
I continued to talk w/other voters as she dealt w/her groceries. I thought that was the end of speaking w/her. after several conversations w/kerry supporters, I turned & saw she was still at the passenger’s side of her car. I asked her again, if she didn’t have a few minutes to talk w/me – this time, again to my surprise, she conceded. we spoke for a long time – time enuff for the sun to drop, the sunset to disappear and for me to be late for the banner-making party – we’re giving bush the pink-slip treatment tomorrow at the stadium, yeah!!! – it turned out, this womon was totally confused – she had decided in may to turn off her tv and not to listen to anyone – but she must be listening to someone, I thought silently, to decide bush is good for seniors, yet kerry is not. our conversation quickly turned to healthcare and social security & we talked about the plans bush has for social security, health care, retirement, drugs & seniors. she expressed her shock when I spoke of bush’s goal of privatizing social security & explained what the new medicare program really means – I whipped out the handout, which she took willingly this time. I asked her if she was aware of the economic state of this nation; I asked her if she was aware of the general world’s view of bush & his war in iraq. she wanted to know if I thought bush really did lie to us. how many times have people asked me this, their eyes guarded, their faces set in disbelief yet tinged with hope. the younger ones sometimes laugh self-consciously when I declare he did; this womon’s face filled with shame when I told her of the gross injustice this president has done not only to the people of iraq but to the people of the united states.
the message is so simple yet so huge: there were no iraqi’s on the planes; there were no weapons of mass destruction; there were no attacks against the u.s. there was the 2nd largest reserve of oil in the country under Iraqi sands; there was a regime in the white house that are oil cartel folks; and there was our self-declared war president bush’s statement when he took office “I intend to finish in Iraq what my father started!”
we then spoke of how much richer the rich have become over the past four years; and how much poorer everyone else has become. we spoke of the numbers of people out of work, out of healthcare, out of education, forced into the military, forced into lower paying jobs if any. we talked of almost everything. then she turned to me, held out her hand, stated she was Geraldine McKinze and she was voting for kerry/Edwards, and demanded I find her cane, which was already sitting in the front seat of her car.
off I rushed to buy material for the banner-making party