canvassing

So yesterday evening I went canvassing for President Obama and Sherrod Brown in the Glenville neighborhood. It was cold and wet but I was moved to volunteer after my anxiety-inducing day at the Board of Elections on Thursday, when I heard lots of people saying “Vote for Obama and that’s it!” and I saw another person’s ballot that she was waving around (no, I was not snooping…that hard…) and she did NOT have Obama checked! Someone else was checked, I couldn’t tell who…Anyway, then I started to think of Mitt Romney owning all of the voting machines and how we are probably doomed and I am SCARED.

We met this kid along the way. And by kid, I mean 22-year old guy. He asked how much we were being paid to canvas, and we said nothing, because who gets paid to canvas? WAIT. HE DID. He and his mother got paid for $14 an hour each to canvas for Romney.

HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE.

BLACK PEOPLE ARE BEING PAID ALMOST DOUBLE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO CANVAS FOR MITTENS.

We. Are. All. Doomed.

His mom was voting for Obama and the kid probably wasn’t going to vote at all (hopefully we changed his mind).

MAYBE I AM NAÏVE, BUT MAN OH MAN. *Of course* the Romney campaign is so desperate to lure black voters that they would pay Obama supporters who are unemployed or underemployed to canvas for him because anyone who would do it for free are stodgey white people. THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM IS SO MESSED UP.

Next weekend I’ll be in my hometown canvassing there. To the average person, canvassing in on Cleveland’s East Side might be “scary.” Try going to the most conservative, white, racist area of the state and walk around trying to get people to vote democrat! I might have to get my CCW license this week!!!!! JK JK JK.

I urge everyone to go canvas next weekend. There are shifts all over the city. 9am, 1pm, and 4:30pm I do believe. JUST GO DO IT. And add in a little talk about voting for the school levy.

xoxo,

krissie