Political Volunteer

This past Saturday, I distributed cards reminding people in my precinct of the up-coming primary (tomorrow, July 25, from 7 am 'til 6 pm). A friend is running for the State House, and I agreed to help her by distributing these cards.

My friend had given me a list of addresses within a quarter mile of my house. I presume she had limited the list to Democrats. I also assume there's a lot more Democrats in this precinct than the small number of addresses she gave me. I imagine she wanted to keep the task manageable.

Some addresses were on the east side of May (a major north-south street), others were on the west side.  Addresses ran from NW 34th through NW 36th, on both sides of May. My house is on the east side, so I started with other houses on that side.

I distributed cards in my neighborhood first. Then I drove to 34th, parked, and distributed cards in a rough circle. Then I walked to 36th; all the cards for that side went to a low-income apartment complex.

Then I drove to the west side of May and followed roughly the same pattern. As I started this process at 8 am, I did not expect to meet many people. In fact, I only met three. I handed each one a card, saying it was a reminder of the primary, and thanked each person.

I listened to my iPod while doing this - NPR: Movies and Wait ... Wait ... Don't Tell Me. It was pleasant time in the fresh air, and the most walking I've done in some time. I finished the task around 9:30, which meant I missed the heat of the day - although I was relatively moist by the time I got home.

My friend, Dana, faces only one person in the primary - Joe. Based on their  campaign literature, they favor many of the same things: better-funded education, improved job opportunities, and health care.

Dana's campaign literature emphasizes her maturity (she's at least 20 years older than Joe), and her community involvement. Joe's literature emphasizes the fact that he joined the reserves following 9/11.

Yes, a local campaign invokes the sacred date of 9/11. No doubt the subtext is "Support our troops! Vote for Joe!"

Bah.

That military connection also implies that he supports our current military adventure. Makes little difference at the local level, but enough reason for me to have some antipathy toward him.

Even if I did not know Dana, I could not vote for Joe on that basis alone.