Hello Everybody,
After weekend canvassing for Harris in Pittsburgh (12-13) and Philadelphia (19-20) I have now returned to Pittsburgh where I will canvass every day until the election.
There have been some difficult challenges. Adapting to new places to stay, different cars, different neighborhoods, and finding food has not been easy. I am now settled in a nice AirBnB close to where I will be canvassing for the next two weeks. I feel like I now have a home and a job. 🙂 And I have booked a flight home on November 6th.
Has all this effort (and expense) been “worth it”? Would it have been better for me to stay at home, donate money, write postcards, and do phone/text banking - all of which are very worthy efforts?
I don’t know. I’m here in person and I’m doing what I can in the very swingy state of Pennsylvania. In the 2020 campaign (in the midst of the Covid pandemic) I operated on the "causal plane" rather than the physical/temporal realm. This manifested as a ritualistic austerity of riding my bicycle around the Davis Bike Loop at sunrise, circumnavigations of the White House and the Capitol, and the Georgia Senate Vegan Project. Perhaps this extended stay in Pennsylvania is working on the causal plane as well. I don’t know.
Here is an extensive Washington Post article published last Sunday which is a report on a road trip the reporters took through Pennsylvania.
My first Sunday in Pittsburgh I decided to take a little trip to nearby Butler, PA - where Trump has held two rallies - the first of which is where he got shot at. I thought I might go to church to see what the sermons were like. I didn’t make it to church on time but did see several interesting things. First of all, there are more Christian churches in Butler county than seem needed in a town of 12,000. In the downtown area there are several large churches surrounding a middle school:
I also saw signs like these:
I conclude that White Christian Nationalism is alive and well in Butler, PA.
One of my favorite Trump memes relates:
It takes real social courage to be at odds with the culture that surrounds you. This person in Butler is posting many Harris/Walz signs:
While their immediate neighbor has many Trump/Vance signs:
Canvassing entails a lot of walking (which is good), climbing steps, ringing doorbells or knocking on doors, and dropping campaign literature when no one answers the door. There have also been many conversations with people who are glad to have someone to talk with about the Harris and Trump campaigns.
One fellow said, “I’m sad that 40% of my fellow Americans have lost their mind.” (If it’s only 40% then Harris will win.)
A middle aged black man was debating with his friend: “We don’t need a pussy in the White House. That’s a man’s job. She wouldn’t be good in war.” His friend has tried to change his mind but concludes “He’s stuck.”
Several people have answered the door only to say, “I’m working. I’m in a meeting. I don’t have time. I’m in a meeting.” Why did they take time to answer the door at all? I think that if you can’t take a minute away from your job to save democracy then something’s wrong with that job.
One fellow seemed awake and intelligent. This exchange ensued:
I would love to have a real discussion with an ostensibly sane, communicative, and patient Trump voter to help me understand why in heavens name they want this fellow back in power. WTF?
I was in the Pittsburgh train station waiting room. About 100 people were waiting. I fantasized about yelling out “Okay Everybody. I’m doing an election poll. Who will vote for Kamala Harris? Who will vote for Donald Trump?”
I have donated more money in this election than ever before. Does it mostly go for TV ads? Repetitive TV ads that eventually are ignored? Is the American public so easily brainwashed that all you need to do is blast them with TV ads and put up sign after sign? Some would say yes, they are quite brainwashable. It seems that many Trump supporters have been thoroughly brainwashed.
One PAC I have donated to is Republican Voters Against Trump - rvat.org. They get testimonials from former Trump voters who cannot vote for him again. And they put up billboards and TV ads. Another is psychopac.org.
Halloween is coming soon. People decorate their homes with scary things like spiders, skeletons, ghosts, and gravestones. What about a truly scary Donald Trump or Elon Musk (dark MAGA)?
That’s a lot. Enough for now.
Let’s hope for the best.
Jon