Doorknocking: don't be scared, jump in, the water's not cold

A woman I know, Maryellen -- a rock star door knocker and volunteer, emailed me. We'd talked a few weeks ago about doorknocking in the suburbs. She wanted to organize a bunch of her friends in the city and suburbs to doorknock for Keith Ellison. She was correctly concerned that next to nothing would be done in the suburbs for Keith other than mailings. You may recall that Pam Costain told me she wished that they'd been able to do more in the suburbs, that when people heard from a volunteer about Keith, they liked him. In the runup to the primary, they simply didn't have enough time to get that aspect organized. Since the Ellison Campaign is back to most of the people who were originally running it, the suburban effort (as far as I can tell) is haphazard.

I knew Maryellen would have a positive experience out there in MN-05 suburbia from my experience as a canvasser for Clean Water Action. Put me in a trailer park, I'd raise a ton of money. Put me in the Seward, the Wedge or Kingfield neighborhoods, I'd raise a ton of money. Put me in East or West Lake of the Isles Pkwy or even the Lake Minnetonka area where the rich people live, I'd raise a ton of money. The fact is if you're excited about your cause, speak well, people will listen to you. Door knocking isn't rocket science or Renaissance fresco painting ... passion will go a long way. To make it easier, she wasn't asking for money.

She's allowed me to relay her email:

Spent two hours Saturday afternoon in Crystal doorknocking for Keith, Amy and Hatch. Lost track of the car, and we weren't in a mall parking lot! Everything looked the same. But my body chemistry didn't go kablooey [ed: she was worried about meeting too many Republicans, too many apethetics, getting mad and yelling at them -- she grew up in the suburbs, she tells me].

(tall e - most people were home, working in their yard, or listening to the Gopher game. They were nice.)

The Ellison Campaign staffer told us that it has been hard convincing voters to support Keith in Ember's district, and it will be harder now that she's quasi-endorse Tammy Lee.

We got a targeted list, but decided to knock every door, just to test the response to the Ember/Sabo quasi-endorsement of Tammy Lee. It was interesting. I found two people not on the list, who said they voted DFL, and voted for Keith in the primary. My friend found a 90 year old man, not on the list, who didn't vote in the primary because of physical limitations. He didn't know about absentee ballots.

The man with two Amy Klobuchar signs thanked us, because Ellison HQ hadn't returned his calls, and the office was closed on Saturday morning when he drove in; he felt stranded in a desert of GOP. He told us he thought his neighbor WOULD like a sign. That woman was on her cell when I stopped by, and she was still on it when I returned an hour later. I held up the Keith lawn sign, and she pointed to her front yard indicating she wanted one.

When we met the organizer again and told her what we'd done, she wasn't thrilled. She told us to finish up tomorrow, but go to the list people first, and then everyone else. Today we got three lawn signs, and names of more voters/supporters.

We got more lawn signs from Ellison HQ, absentee ballot forms, and voter registration cards.

I've told voters that Hatch doesn't come across as a warm and fuzzy person. Remember, as Attorney General, he always fought for the ordinary and vulnerable Minnesotans. He'll do the same as Governor. Hatch has said that we first need to enforce existing laws. If we then find the laws don't work, then change them. Our State Auditor knows we're losing $1 billion in uncollected personal income taxes and $250,000 in unpaid corporate taxes. The Dept of Revenue doesn't have enough staff to collect them and they are underpaid. If we get those taxes, it will pay the bills, balance the budget and give the budget a cushion. Hatch is telling us "get the government working for us again."

My friend and I are telling people that Keith is working for the common good, and
he fights for ordinary people.

Addendum from Sunday's doorknocking:

Returned to finish my SD45 Amy/Hatch/Keith doorknocking assignment this afternoon. Crystal is like Brooklyn Center in one way. It has retired people in their late 70s and early 80s; they probably bought the house when they were first married. I went to a house whose cars had AM 950 bumper stickers, but they weren't on my list. The woman was a strong progressive, an election judge, and she took an Amy sign. She urged me to contact her nextdoor neighbors, who were in their 90s, because they were strong liberals. And the people on the other side of them were strong liberals, too. None were on my list.

We realized that we needed to bring absentee ballot forms for the retired voters, as well as voter registration cards.

Even though Crystal's streets are named in the 2nd alphabet, they curve around and bisect each other. This gives the house numbers really strange sequences. We got lost, but I located some mysterious houses numbers while trying to find my way again. My body chemistry remained fine.

You don't need to triangulate your message out there to not scare suburban voters. This is the myth that the DLC and frightened Democrat moderates have foisted upon us. People voted for Paul Wellstone because they believed his message that "when we all do better, we all do better." Suburban, rural and city voters support progressive candidates when we explain our positions in our terms. Suburban voters will vote for Keith Ellison, if someone takes the time to talk to them. When we allow the Republicans to frame the debate, we lose. The DLC and the frightened moderates have a history of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. We progressives must not succumb to their baseless fears and pandering message.

So get out there and volunteer in the suburbs. Our city candidates are doing quite well ... they'll trounce what little opposition they face. Doorknocking for Keith, Amy and Hatch in the suburbs will also help out the down ballot candidates, the State Senate & State House, Andy Luger, Juan Lopez and etc. The more DFLers we get excited about this election by a personal contact, the better.

If you have any questions about how to get hooked into all this, email me. My email address is available by clicking on user profile, The Big E.

Don't miss out on all the fun.