CT-SEN: Debate Pics and Crowd Observations

I'm in Connecticut as part of my second annual Liberal USA Tour (this is installment #4) and on Monday I went in to Lamont's Norwalk office to volunteer.  Maura Keaney, blogger on hiatus and now working for Lamont, put me right to work making telephone calls.  Isn't Maura great?  Having lived in California for all of the Bush presidency, I especially loved it when Maura was asking Barbara Boxer the hard questions and getting it on video.  I hope Senator Boxer understands the difference between friendship and cronyism and comes out to do something for Lamont here in Connecticut. I would love to have the opportunity to see Senator Boxer in person.

More about volunteering and the debate below the fold.

I'm probably not supposed to say this, but I just have to relate my phone banking experience. Based on the times I've made phone calls on other campaigns in the past, I have to say that this was one of the most positive lists I've called. While hardly scientific, it really does make me think that there is something skewed in the poll results we've seen and that we'll be turning the one-time loser Lieberman into a two-time loser on November 7.  That said, it could have been a fluke list, so no time to slack off.

Now for my confession to relieve some of this hereditary Catholic guilt.  The great thing about being an unpaid volunteer is that I didn't have to worry about cutting out of there at 4pm to make the drive to New London for the debate.  I didn't have a ticket, but being a long time fan of visibility from sitting out on Venice Beach for the Dean campaign, I wanted to go and show support by marching in the Lamont Parade beforehand.  I have a wide profile and I know I could make myself look like at least 5 people to the press cameras if there was a low Lamont supporter turnout.

It turns out there was no need for me to have made the drive because the Lamont parade had at least 500 people there. I've
posted about a hundred pictures that I took of Lamont supporters from the parade to waiting outside the theater and then at the post-debate party across the street. There are also pictures of Lamont and a few from inside the debate. Unfortunately the quality on these is low since I have a cheap lens.  Feel free to comment in the Kodak photo album, especially if you were there and can add your name to the photos for everyone to see.  The thing I like about the Kodak site, besides the fact that it is an off-site backup for your precious memories, is that it's easy for people to order prints if they want to without me having to do anything.  And I'm not even paid by Kodak to say that.  

The best thing about the Lamont supporters participating in the parade was their excitement.  They were a crowd full of energy and anticipation.  Maybe this was this the first time that many of these people had taken part in a march or parade?  I often run into people who are not politically active and they just don't get it.  I've learned that to explain what we do is best likened to being a sports fan.  Attending a protest or rally is like tailgating without the food.  Supporting your team with visibility is no different than supporting a political  candidate.   People get that.  And to get those people, we need to move these fan building events into political campaigns, like midnight madness and tailgating for peace.

I want to give special thanks to the woman who gave me her extra ticket. When I was walking around taking pictures, I heard someone next to me saying that she had a ticket she would give to anyone who was wearing a Lamont sticker.  I had on a Lamont button and I said, I'm a supporter, here's my button, I'd love that ticket!  And she gave it to me.  Just goes to show that showing up is 90% of the battle when it comes to making things happen.

As I wandered around I thought I saw trouble coming.  A group of about ten younger people were heading in and they were carrying big stacks of magazines.  I asked one of them if they were with LaRouche, and they said yes.  The LaRouche people always had a disruptive effect at our Dem Party county central committee meetings in Alameda County. For example, while I think they were sincere, they'd always bring up the most irrelevant points about the Bush administration during discussions about local issues.  Little did I know that I would inadvertantly aid these folks in disrupting the debate.

After I had my ticket, I decided I'd work on getting tickets for a couple of Lamont supporters who didn't have any.  I talked a Schlessinger supporter out of two extra tickets she had because I pointed out that they would be better off going to Lamont supporters than Lieberman supporters.  When I found the folks I had gotten the tickets for they had already received theirs, but they brought some young men over to me who wanted tickets.  I gave one of them a ticket but then I realized that they were LaRouchies!  They freely admitted to their LaRouche affiliation but it was too late to grab the ticket back he had already pocketed.  I held on to the other ticket.  Much to my horror, one of the first disruptive singers was the LaRouchie I had given the ticket too.  In hindsight I should have wrestled him to the ground and retrieved the ticket....even with all the Congressional sexual scandals with underage children.  

It was great being able to see the debate from inside, and I was able to get over feeling guilty about abandoning everyone who was working so hard at the Norwalk office. I may even actually make back to the Norwalk office today before 5pm if these photos will finish uploading into my Kodak album.  For anyone interested in standing up, you can find the nearest Lamont campaign office on their web site.  

I hope everyone in Connecticut is planning on doing something every day for the next two weeks to get Ned Lamont elected on November 7th.  And if you have friends or family in Connecticut, make sure to use the Lamont campaign's Family, Friends, and Neighbor's web site to send postcards to the people you know here in Connecticut.  I sent postcards to all the people I know from when I lived in Bridgeport and worked in Norwalk.

And if you're not in Connecticut, you could send money or come and volunteer if you live close enough.

VA-Sen: Liberal USA Tour Part 1 http://www.dailykos.com/...
Maine: Liberal USA Tour Part 2 http://www.dailykos.com/...
NH-01: Liberal USA Tour Part 3: http://www.dailykos.com/...