Oct 20, 2008

As Election Day gets closer volunteers get going


MADISON TOWNSHIP -- With just two weeks until election day, its nitty-gritty time, and I experienced some of that while knocking doors for the Mark Schauer for Congress campaign in his opponent’s home county of Lenawee County on Sunday.

The Michigan Senate minority Leader is leading extremist Republican Tim Walberg in the polls in the spread out 7th U.S. congressional District, but the going is beginning to get tough. Most elections are won in the trenches, on the phones and on the doorsteps of voters. This late in the game, volunteers are going back to doors that have already been knocked on and the people were undecided or were not home. That made it less pleasant for me than in other trips in Adrian and Tecumseh, but worth every minute to elect a person like Mark Schauer.

Generally, people are not rude when you are at their front door, but I had three or four people tell me they were not interested. That was also worth it because it just means we will not contact them for get out the vote. Getting down to the nitty-gritty also makes it tough on the legs, and I got my daily dose of exercise. Houses are now further part, and because I walked in a township that is more rural, there are no sidewalks with large setbacks. That gives you a long walk up a long driveway.

I also saw the orange Walberg yard signs for the first time. There weren’t nearly as many as there were Schauer signs, especially when you consider this is Walberg’s backyard.

There was some positive press for Schauer here in Livingston County. The Daily Press & Argus finally caught on to Schafer’s ties to Livingston County. I know they have known about that for some time. Plus, a press release earlier this month announced Howell’s last two Republican state Representatives were endorsing the 1980 Howell High School graduate. I guess they were waiting to use the information until they could find a positive story for their favorite son Mike Rogers, who represents the 8th Congressional District.

The paper did a cutesy story about how both Rogers and Schauer were on the same football team at Howell.

The Schauer campaign is gearing up for the all important get out the vote activities beginning November 1, and they are looking for volunteers to knock on doors, phone bank, be a poll watcher, be a driver or runner or host volunteers. For those who want to volunteer in the eastern part of the 7th District can call (517) 417-6275. For those in the western part call (517) 316-7887

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Guru: The latest count from Editor and Publisher:

NEW YORK (Updated Monday) The Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements, by 115 to 38, a better than 3-1 margin, picking up 70 or more papers in the past three days, including (see separate stories), the Detroit Free Press, Buffalo News, Cleveland's Plain Dealer, Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, New York's Daily News, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Portland's The Oregonian, Denver Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Salt Lake Tribune, Kansas City Star, and Chicago Sun-Times.

And you still maintain there's no liberal bias in the media?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

Communications guru said...

No, what I “maintain” is that the corporate media has a conservative bias. How else do you explain 38 newspapers actually endorsed an out-of-touch old man and a woman whose best qualification is that she can field dress a moose?

Respected Republicans like former Secretary of State Colin Powell are endorsing Sen. Obama for good reason.

Anonymous said...

An out of touch old man...such talk. You are obviously a bigot since you can't talk about McCain without mentioning his age.So hotshot, what is the age when you think people are no longer capable of contributing. Is Bill Clinton an idiot, by the way, since he said that Democrats are underestimating Sarah Palin.

Facts mean nothing to you. Three out of four newspapers endorse Obama and that provides you with further proof that the media is biased in favor of conservatives. Holy cow.

Okay. Here's the fact. Most of those bigwigs in corporate America-owned newspapers are concerned with bottom line. Some of these guys might influence news coverage, but mostly it's by reducing budgets, not by directing the newsroom or editorial pages.

Newsrooms tend to be more liberal. It's a fact, and not always a bad thing. Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. But it is a fact. Refer to the study that said most reporters considered themselves Democrats and that's how they vote.

The biggest sins with newsrooms are these: too small and getting smaller, which restricts good reporting; pack mentality which encourages them to follow a simple story line (Gore "invented" the Internet, for example); they tend to run with the inane rather than report deeply (and it's hard to blame them when more Americans can identify Paris Hilton than the secretary of state.)

You aren't much better. You name-call McCain. It's fine to disagree with him, but by ridiculing him, you aren't any better than the oafs who call Obama a terrorist. McCain's a fine man...he should be respected. I am disappointed that he has stooped to low-brow tactics; it will harm his reputation in the long run. But I suspect his advisors say that the low road is the way to reach voters like you.

Communications guru said...

I don’t see how saying someone is too old to handle the most stressful job in the world makes me a bigot, hotshot. There is no age limit when people are no longer capable of contributing, but it’s a different story when you are asking people to hire you for the most stressful job in the world.

Facts mean plenty to me. You have presented nothing but your opinion. I am well aware of how newsrooms operate, and I have been saying that huge corporations own news outlets where the bottom line is profit for years. Corporations are certainly not monuments to liberalism. The newsrooms may be liberal, but the editors and corporate executive editors are not. I would also say reporters are professionals who take pride in their work, and this constant false crap about them being the “liberal media” has an effect. That’s why it’s a political strategy. As for them being liberal it’s certainly not a fact, just one more opinion.

I have more than “name-called” Grampy McSame on this blog. It’s a hell of a stretch to say calling McSame too old to handle the most stressful job in the world is the same as calling Obama a terrorist. I would say McSame had my respect two years ago, but his tactics in this campaign and the way he has sold out every singe belief he once held just to get elected lost my respect.