My afternoon registering voters

[dragonlady]

Today I spent about three hours trying some freelance voter registration in Milwaukee. I was going to try outside the Wal-Mart, but when I arrived, three people from Wisconsin Citizen Action were already on duty. So I moved a few blocks away to a grocery store. After about an hour, a young man from the New Voters Project came along, and we each stood outside one of the entrances. Later a shopper stopped to talk and said she had been helping out with another registration group, which I can't remember. Several other groups are also working in this area.

My final score: two middle-aged men and two young women. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but my heart is light because EVERY ONE of the eligible voting-age people that I talked to (99% African American, by the way) said they were already registered. (Except for a couple of women who informed me that they trusted in the Lord and therefore didn't vote.) Everyone seemed to be Kerry supporters.

If the rest of Milwaukee is anything like my sample, we are in good shape here.

[Barney Rocks]

1. Good Job!

I really appreciate all the work that people are putting in to help Kerry win!

[ewagner]

2. Good for you!

Our next job is to make sure that everybody who is registered DOES vote......

Maybe the key is to get people angry enough to turn out in record numbers.

[Nevernose]

3. I feel like a racist when I register voters

I've registered voters as a volunteer for both ACT and the Democratic party. Do you know where I've gotten the best response? Working independently.

I keep a stack of voter registration forms either on me or in the back seat. I registered the clerk at the 7-11, the stock boy, the clerk's brother, and some woman playing video poker. I registered the cashier at the cable company, and the couple in line behind me. Two of my coworkers registered because of me, and my mother.

What do these people have in common?

Most of them are black, a couple are women, and a couple were both. It's illegal to only register Democrats to vote, or even discuss party-type stuff with them before they register. There's no rule, however, on WHO you ask, so I usually ask black people and women, who are statistically more likely to vote for Kerry. I know that there's something morally wrong with this, but the pragmatic side of me just won't let me say to middle-class white males "Let me register you to vote."

Oh, and great job Dragonlady! You're putting your money where your mouth is, and with people like you working for us, I'm sure we'll take Wisconsin!

[sonicx]

4. don't feel bad, its a good idea

there are groups out there that are 'nonpartisan' (wink) but target black voters for the reasons you gave. i see nothing wrong with that. :)

[Frances]

5. Since I grew up in the Bible belt

I would tell those two people who said they trusted in the Lord that they should remember that the Lord helps those who help themselves. I would say that God gave us a brain and expected us to use it (the parable of the man who buried his talents and didn't use them).

Anyway, thanks so much for all you are doing. And for writing about it on this board. I think it's heartening to hear what others are doing.

I went to a move-on bake sale today and contributed there so I'm trying to do my part too.

[aePrime]

7. Reminds me of a "joke"

A man was in an area that was starting to flood. First, some people offered him a ride out of the area, but he said, "No thanks, I have trust in the Lord. He will save me." As the water started to rise, he climbed onto his roof. In the deeper water, a boat came by and offered him a ride. Again, he said, "No thank you, the Lord will save me." The water continued to rise, and was lapping at his feet when a helicopter came by and lowered a rope to him. He shouted up, "I'll be fine, God will save me!" Eventually, the water overcame his house and washed him away to his death.

In heaven, he got to meet face to face with God. "God, I had complete faith, why didn't you save me from the flood?"

God responded, "I sent you a car, a boat, and a helicopter, what more do you want?"

[0rganism]

9. Hey, get off my wavelength!

Hehe. Inevitably, someone just had to post the Revised Standard version after I started writing the King James edition...

[aePrime]

10. Here's to brevity!

Hehe, no, your telling was better.

[0rganism]

11. A toast to brevity!

:toast:

Don't know about better, but my telling was certainly longer!

[0rganism]

8. Another popular parable: The Flood and the Man of Great Faith

A few hours before a serious flood hits a small town, a Man of Great Faith is sitting on his porch. There has already been some flooding, and his neighbor rows up to his house in a small rowboat.

"Climb in," the neighbor says, "The storm is almost here!"

"No," says the Man of Great Faith, "I have faith in God. He will protect me from any danger, I am quite safe here."

An hour later, his porch is underwater, and the Man of Great Faith has moved to the second floor. He sits calmly at his window, smiling slightly, watching the incredible rain and the floodwaters. The police come past in a motorboat, and tell him he has to leave. The Man of Great Faith again refuses.

"The Lord is my shepherd, He will spare me from this catastrophe. Of this I am quite certain."

Two hours later, his entire house is underwater, and the man is clinging to the peak of his roof. His smile is gone, but he remains undaunted. A National Guard helicopter flies over and drops a ladder down to him. The man refuses to climb it.

"I put my faith in the Lord God, not the machines of mankind. He will not let me drown, this is but a test of my faith."

As the wind picks up, the helicopter pilot realizes he cannot sway the man and it's too dangerous to remain hovering over the mostly-submerged house. The helicopter leaves.

The waters continue to rise, and the man drowns. Predictably, the Man of Great Faith stands before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, with a complaint on his ethereal lips.

"I put all my faith and trust in God, and He still let me drown! Why?"

St. Peter looks up from his Tome of Deeds with a grimace. "Let you drown? Are you kidding?!?! We sent a rowboat, a motorboat, and a helicopter!"

[cheshire]

6. Great news, trusted in the Lord. They missed the one that said God helps

them who help themselves. Oh my I trust the lord for things I have no control over. All else is up to me.