Republicans are embarrassed by themselves.

By: phriendlyjaime
Published On: 7/30/2006 10:34:54 AM

Yesterday afternoon, I worked the Richmond Vegetarian Festival with a few Jim Webb and Jim Nachman volunteers and Jim Nachman himself.  :)  It was hot, sticky, and gross, but the food was great and the crowd was welcoming.  The staff wouldn't let us in if we were going to be "politicking" (which I don't really think is legal, but I wasn't going to fight them on it in a Webb shirt) and at one point they lied and said they had no porto potties.

Um....note to the staff...if we can see them, we will use them.

We gave away almost all of our lit, and people were happy to wear both stickers inside to the event.  We didn't have anything fancy like the Allen balloons his staff brings to events frequented by Dems bc they know only horrible parents would keep their child from taking a helium baloon (though my child that I do not yet have will never hold a Republican balloon, I can tell you that much) and we didn't have a bunch of free shwag.  What we did have was presence, smiles, energy, enthusiasm, and even a candidate himself.

But my day and this diary just wouldn't be complete without me taking a few jabs at the old Republican gang...
OK, first of all, there wasn't going to be a strong Republican presence at the vegetarian fest, and I knew that and frankly, I embraced it.  But the few we did encounter were curious, and I will tell you why:

They tried to sneak by the table, like they were going to catch my evil freedom for all disease.  One man tried to act like he was from another state, even when I could plainly see that he had exited a vehicle with VA plates and an Allen sticker.  One tried to "dress the part" of the veg festival, and then she quietly claimed that she was for Allen as she shuffled by red-faced and obviously embarassed.  One man actually laughed when I asked him if he was interested in helping get some Dems elected in 06.  He loudly said "Good luck!" and tried to stand tall.  I followed him for a step and asked him straight up; "Why aren't you wearing your Allen sticker today?  Veg folks don't take so kindly to your folk in there?"  He looked at me silently, went to speak, and left. 

Bitchy?  A bit.  Did I make a good point?  Yep.

Now, I will tell you that to me, a person who is even more annoying than a Republican is an apathetic non-party affiliated lazy person without any interest in the political process.  You know the type-that certain age, younger but not too young, able to vote but more interested in hair and music, can afford to buy a t-shirt and a bumper sticker, but would rather buy something from American Eagle so they can look exactly like every other person they see, and proud of their "independence" which is their easy way of saying "I know nothing about politics, and I bitch about George Bush all the time, though I don't know why and I don't vote.  But, yeah, I LOVE that music, the Beatles are like, totally retro..."

Seriously, apathy is the eighth deadly sin...we had a few people that fit that type-acted all psyched to see non-Republicans, but not willing to volunteer, wear a sticker, or even register to vote.  Yeah, thanks for all of your "help."

And yes, we had maybe 5 people blatantly refuse any type of inetraction bc they actually admitted to being Republican.  Not bad for a few hours in the sun.

Anyone else have any volunteer stories to tell?

Comments



Thanks Jaime (Nick Stump - 7/30/2006 3:01:26 PM)
Jaime, this is exact sort of "in the trenches" work that wins elections.  Every volunteer should have your work ethic.  Face to face contact with an enthuiastic campaign worker is so important to voters, especially now, in the lull before the storm.  Grassroots personal contact informs voters who don't live on the internet.  Without good folks out there doing your kind of work, many voters will make their decision based on TV commercials and nothing else.  Good for you and your fellow volunteers. Folks like you guys are the heart of every good campaign.

Nick



Well, thanks! :) (phriendlyjaime - 7/30/2006 3:59:15 PM)


Excellent Work Jaime (Mark - 7/31/2006 12:00:47 AM)
Thank you for being one of the people out there doing what everyone should be doing: taking part in their own political processes and future.

The mystery of why people you spoke of in your story (apathetic) can be summed up thus:

People in this country have it so good that until they are affected personally they aren't going to do anything, if then. There is a saying that as long as someone has a sixpack after work and a television to watch, they feel like things are going well. Maybe that's why vapid so-called 'entertainment' (think American Idol) is so wildly popular; escapism has never been more popular.

Things will get worse in this country before they get any better. The signs are everywhere; economic and social upheaval is going to only get worse, this time without much of a safety net. If some of the people in office now get their way, the government will be out of the business of helping citizens, and helping businesses full-time. And it's a damned shame. I wonder who they think will buy the goods and services that the businesses create?

That's why we volunteer, that's why we comiserate on the web, and that's why we will win some measure of victory in November.

Once again, "Thank You" from me and even the people who don't know and don't care (right now). Good job.



Kind of disappointed. (phriendlyjaime - 7/31/2006 9:59:47 AM)
For all of the complaining done on this site re: the campaign and what they are doing wrong, I certainly don't see a whole lot of people coming forward with their own "what I have done for Democracy and Jim Webb" stories.  There are opportunities out there, and there seem to be quite a few college students on vacation posting here.  So, what has everyone been doing?  Any LTE's being written?  Any lit being passed out at fests and metro stops, etc?

C'mon people-get your boots on the ground already.