I just woke up this morning after sleeping for 13 hours :) I’m feeling pretty good this morning and wanted to send one last post from Pennsylvania before heading home. We should all congratulate ourselves for everything that has been done to push this campaign forward. Whether we phone banked, emailed friends, talked about why Hillary should be our next president, or kept our Hillraisers meetup group together by talking and planning and discussing — everything we have done is what has made this campaign in PA a success.
I wanted to comment on a myth that is perpetuated by the media and other individuals:
White voters in Pennsylvania didn’t vote for Barack because of reasons of race or that they do not want change:
This is simply not true. The vast number of voters that have turned out for the Democrats clearly demonstrate that voters DO WANT CHANGE. Barack has not clearly communicated the type of change he plans — his message has come across as more of a vision and a feeling than a plan. Voters need to have a compelling reason to vote for a candidate. The majority of voters in Pennsylvania did not have a compelling reason to vote for Barack. Most people we spoke with (white and Black) had a very good perspective of Barack and Hillary and did not at all seem to have a problem with his being Black. In fact, most of the voters believed either candidate would be better than John McCain and were not shy about saying this. However, the reasons for voting for Hillary were very compelling to the voters in Pennsylvania, especially the working class. These are the people who want a clear message addressing the issues of our economy, jobs, national security, and health care. Barack’s message did not connect with these voters. His was a message of change without specifics and hope without solutions. Hillary provided a very clear point-by-point statement of her plans for the economy, health care, jobs, and national security, and people in PA were able to understand and trust her message. In addition, I cannot overemphasize how much these people love Bill Clinton and believe Hillary will stand up for Pennsylvania the way Bill did and offer the kind of change that will directly benefit the people of PA. African Americans in PA and throughout our country have a very strong compelling reason to vote for Barack. Our country has been so torn apart by issues of race, and African Americans have carried the greater burden with high numbers living under the poverty level and suffering all the ills that come with poverty — crime, poor nutrition, poor health care, unstable communities with little outside support. African Americans struggling to join the middle class have all experienced the hardship and history of injustice. These issues are absolutely compelling reasons for the African American community to vote for Barack and elect the first African American president.
My point is that the reasons for voting for Hillary were not based on racial or ethnic distrust but simply because the reasons to vote for Hillary were more compelling to white voters who do not share the life experience of African American voters — an experience that provided a more compelling reason for African Americans to vote for Barack.
One other point I would like to make is that working class people most likely are more compelled to vote for a candidate with a stated plan about the economy because it is what can drastically alter their lifestyles. Health care is very closely connected to a healthy economy because it is what they will not be able to afford if they lose their jobs. Higher income voters (who are more likely to have a higher level of education) are able to be drawn to a statement of hope or inspiration because, in the end, their lifestyles will not be as drastically altered during the ups and downs of the economy, and being more financially secure enables a person to vote based on who “speaks to their heart” rather than someone who speaks to the issues.
I realize all of this is based on generalizations and certainly cannot be applied to every individual within the demographics, but I do believe it is an injustice to all of us to attribute Barack’s lack of success among the working class to those people not wanting to vote for an African American, and Barack has done very little to dispell this myth. My concern is that the perception of this election being about a racially divided country is inaccurate and does nothing to bring us together. I also am concerned because the media enjoy much more lively viewer ratings when they create the story line, and I think that goes on every day.
Thanks again everyone!!! We did good here and now we have lots more work ahead of us.
Keeping phoning for Hillary!!! It helps!!! Indiana is going to need a huge number of people on the phones — we’ll be outspent again but we have the better candidate and, hands down, we have a harder working group of volunteers.
Go Hillary!!!!!!!!
Cathy Wittel
Voting for Hillary? Tell us why here.
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Live From Pennsylvania 4/24
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Live From Pennyslvania 4/22
Okay, I know I predicted 16%, but in our regional office area — NE Philadelphia, which also covered part of Bucks County, our goal was to win big and take some of the huge win away from Philadelphia. We did it. Our area won by more than 30% — We were 72% Clinton, 28% Obama which gave Hillary one extra delegate. In addition, the concern was than Philadelphia would go with Obama 85% and I believe he only got around 70%. Our area was identified as the most key area for a big win in the entire state. It was very strategically important in that part of the area was within Philadelphia city limits but also included a small area of the suburbs. A lot of volunteers were routed over to our office in the last few days. I think it was very smart and once again the Clinton team moved quickly and re-directed efforts where needed. Without a doubt, this was a much better managed campaign than Texas. There were great staff members and regional coordinators, and no ego problems to bring down the operation.
I believe our office was very well managed and had very well defined priorities. Every time things started to slide off, they immediately turned us back to our priorities. I knocked on 320 doors today (my hand is chapped and sore), I participated in a visibility event at 6:30 this morning at the train depot, I drove elderly people to the polls, and at 7:15 pm (45 mins prior to polls closing), I was given a list of addresses and people’s names to go out to their houses directly, ask them to vote now before the polls close. My list included a family with 6 voters (2 adults, 2 children ages 18 and 20, and one grandparent). They were huge Hillary supporters but did not have a great record of voting. I showed up at their house at 7:45 pm, asked if they had voted, the mom was surprised and said they had not had a chance but were eating dinner. I told them they could leave the dinner on the table, get in my car, and I would take them to the polls at the rec center and bring them back home. The dinner would still be warm. They were ready for that and all piled in the car. They all voted as did several others. Some voters saw us at their front door three different times on three different days within one week, and some saw us for a second visit on the day of the primary. It is amazing how it worked. We went from about 62% of our Hillary-identified voter turnout by 5:30 pm to 91% by 8:00 pm — not bad! It was a huge team effort and everyone took their job seriously.
One note that I thought the group would find very interesting. All the talk about how Bill needs to be controlled. Hmmm, don’t think that is necessarily unplanned talking by Bill. All of us who contacted voters and identified voters and ushered them to the polls found one common factor — the majority of them mentioned how much they liked Bill Clinton and how much he did for the country. Doesn’t sound like the talking was a problem here. They love him. One group of ladies told me they loved Bill Clinton and believed Hillary was behind every he did, then she said, “Well, not everything, but everything he did for the country.”
The entire area I worked was very much a working class area, not like places we often see in Seattle. I took some photos of some of the tree-lined streets with the row houses with flags out and people working on their porches and repairing their roofs. In the mornings, there are lots of people leaving these homes with a lunch box and huge thermos. They have a pretty good life and value hard work. I also found them to be very interested in talking about the candidates. When approached at their door, they would say something like, “yeah, I’m voting for her, but let me ask you this…” I found that just listening and then saying it sounded like we had a different opinion but I respected their views was just fine. They have no problem at all with someone disagreeing with them. What they don’t like is when someone tells them they are wrong or how they should think, which leads me to the next point….
I have heard on CNN that the “bitter” comment did not hurt Barack at all because Hillary won the same percentage that she did in Ohio. I disagree. First of all, Barack was rapidly closing the gap in the polls to within 2-5 percentage points. Secondly, he spent over $12 million dollars in this state and the gap continued to widen after the comment even with the enormous amount of money dumped into PA. With that amount of spending and he lost ground, I think the comment and other comments did hurt him. I also think his campaign will spin this to say they closed the gap. Barack’s campaign also said they were not worried about gaining ground in Pennsylvania, but that is so untrue — he broke all spending records for any campaign iever with his spending in Pennsylvania. He never broke her hold on the working class supporters and lost some of the gains he had made with women. Some of our areas were so pro-Clinton it was just fun being there. Our biggest challenge, of course, was getting them out to vote. They work hard and have lots of their plates and are not as apt to vote every single election. We outright asked for their votes, told them we could not win without them, and they came through.
We have been partying all night and exchanging great stories. There are so many good ones and how much everyone loved being here. There was one fellow who told me he got a little nervous when he went to a door where he heard yelling and shouting and could smell alcohol and heard sports on the TV. He was a little concerned about presenting himself as a Hillary supporter. It was so funny when he told us the beer-drinking, football-watching macho dudes yelled out and said “Hillary, yeah dude!” They invited him in for food and game watching and some beer. Of course, he should have continued on with his canvassing, but he said he couldn’t resist the surreal experience. They were planning on being there to vote for old Hillary, and they consider Bill Clinton a friend who came through when Pennsylvania needed him.
We all agreed most Clinton supporters were definitely less verbal and more likely to quietly cast their vote. The Barack supporters are more likely to feel proud and loud, but it doesn’t really reflect on the final vote. So many of our African American volunteers are the targets of terrible slurs from other African Americans. One woman coped with it by pretending she didn’t speak English or was deaf. They were by far some of our most informed and devoted volunteers.
I’m going to close now because it is 4:41 am here and my husband is arriving at 9:30 am. We are going to spend Wed driving to a place called Bushkill Falls. It is at the base of the Poconos and is supposed to be beautiful. We may end up pulling over and resting. Or, the excitement of this campaign might just keep me energized through tonight when I can sleep in. I have been working 12 and 14 hour days every single day since being here and I still feel so fortunate to be here and to be able to contribute on the ground. It goes without saying that the phone banking has provided a huge boost to this campaign and was a very large contributing factor to Hillary being able to get a double digit win.
You guys probably had a great celebration tonight and I was thinking about you.
See you soon! Next time we get together, I’ll share all the new great chants I learned.
Cathy Wittel
Live From Pennsylvania 4/21
Hi everyone! Sorry I didn’t get an update in yesterday. I just got in a few minutes ago and it is almost 2 am. This has been an exciting two days. I have canvassed throughout NE Philadelphia and the support for Senator Clinton continues to soar.
TOMORROW (TUE 4/22) IS THE BIG DAY.
Today I canvassed with two young men — one an African American fellow who carries around boxing gloves so when people ask him if he is a boxer or a fighter, he tells them he fights for Hillary. He told me today he is still floored that gender has been a much bigger obstacle than race. He doesn’t understand it and never expected this. We canvassed three different neighborhoods and knocked on 340 doors!! Whew, we went pretty fast. As soon as we were done, we headed over to University of Pennsylvania for a visibility event prior to the rally at the UPenn where Bill, Chelsea and Hillary were to appear.
I had a very interesting conversation with a young female college student who came out holding an Obama sign. I asked her why she was for Obama and she said, “mainly because I just hate Hillary.” I was pretty calm but I asked her why. She said she didn’t know but that it was like if you ever meet someone for the first time and just hate them for no reason. I told I didn’t know what that was like, but asked if she had ever met Hillary. She said “No, but I’ve seen her on TV.” I encouraged her to go see her talk tonight because she will be blown away by her brilliance and her strength of character. She told me she would. Then, a fellow chimed in who was one of the organizers for Obama visibility events. He and I started talking and I said, did he really believe in his heart that Obama could win the election in November. Okay, guys, here is the big one — he said “NO, I don’t, but everybody loves him and that’s I’m on board.”
I did read Nancy’s post about Obama not answering questions in the last 10 days — no kidding, he hates questions for the press and his irritation is showing everywhere. He only likes to have huge rallies with lots of music and cheers where he can start his “revival” style of preaching. And that’s why women always faint at his “revivals.” He doesn’t solicit questions, he only talks and everyone listens.
Gov Rendell and the mayor of Philadelphia came out tonight for the big rally.
Today I talked again to Teresa Krusor, the superdelegate from Kansas. She and I have had a very similar experience while canvassing. Neither of us can complain about canvassing in the African American communities because they have been so nice to us. I still believe there are lots of African Americans (women especially) who will vote for Hillary. We both talked about how the Hillary supporters are less vocal. For example, when you go to a door and ask if we can count on your vote for Hillary on Tuesday, the supporters often times will be very soft spoken and say “yes, I’ll be voting for her.” The Obama people are very open, proud, and loud. The “undecided” in Pennsylvania are about 10% of the vote and I believe the majority of all undecideds will vote for her.
Sunday and today we concentrated on re-contacting all known Hillary supporters who have a less-than-stellar voting record, i.e. they seem to vote only half the time. Our goal today was to remind them how much we need them and are depending on them, and we located polling places for lots of those people. I believe we are going to have a huge turnout.
I have met so many people who I had seen in Texas and I am really enjoying the other volunteers and staff. There is a great team here who has done a great job of pushing forth the strategy. I know the media and the news programs always have their opinion. For instance, they have said Westchester County is the place to be and that is where the state will be won. This is not the strategy they are using. Yes, a huge effort has been placed in Westchester; however, they have placed an even stronger effort in the areas they KNOW they have huge support, but the challenge is getting out the vote. That is everything we have done throughout the weekend.
Today I visited lots of places that were being visited for the second time in 3 days. I explained to those voters that their vote counts so much in this election and we want to make sure they are able to get to the polls. I believe it is working because they are very enthusiastic — much more so than 5 days ago. We have been followed by the Obama campaigners — they have lots of expensive looking door hangers, and have a paid staff for phone banking. They have outspent Hillary almost 4-to-1 and still are not making a big dent.
The campaign here has saturated the area with contacts — Hillary’s volunteer base is much larger even though she has less money and less offices. She has a much more grassroots effort in Pennsylvania and her voter base is very loyal.
Tomorrow is going to be huge. We will be out at 6:30 am in designated areas holding signs and reminding people to vote. We will also continue to call and canvass in areas where people are less likely to vote unless they are encouraged. We will have poll sitters calling in every hour providing us with lists of who has voted so we don’t bother to contact them. We will continue to contact voters throughout the day who have not yet voted. And, we’ll be busy providing transportation for voters who would otherwise not be able to get out to vote.
Hillary will probably be in Scranton the night of the election since that is her home town. There will be plenty of celebrations planned for Philadelphia and I plan to party. When I was in Texas, I worked all night long in the legal dept taking reports of “irregularities” at the caucuses.
Despite the Obama campaign paying an organization to do all of the phone banking, I still feel our team is far superior when it comes to dedication and support, and I know it is going to show when the election results are in tomorrow.
Thank you for all your calling — tomorrow is the biggest day for calling and if you can call early in the day, it would help tremendously.
Thanks again everyone!! Woooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooo GO HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cathy Wittel
Live From Pennsylvania 4/18
It was another phenomenal day in Philadelphia. I woke up, took a shower, and put on my clean pants and brand new Hillary T-shirt. I drank a cup of coffee, ate some yogurt, and headed out to the office.
From 8 am until 12:30 pm, I called some of the 1200 people who signed up to volunteer for Hillary after attending her rally in front of the Mayfair Diner. The excitement is very palpable. So many people want to express what they thought after hearing her and why it is so important she be elected. I don’t know how we are going to manage the crowds of volunteers this weekend, but the staff is a very energetic and talented bunch, and I’m sure they will keep things moving along. We actually have two offices in NE Philadelphia. They are right around the corner for each other. One is at 3545 Ryan and the other is at 7727 Frankford. We use the Frankford office for the large numbers of volunteers on the weekend. It is where we pass out the signs, the canvassing packets, and sign in and out the volunteers. It is pretty chaotic and fun. The Ryan office is where the staff continues to develop the campaign and work on events and strategy.
From 1:00 pm until 8:00 pm, I canvassed door-to-door in two different areas. One area was in a very tough section where many buildings were in disrepair and people were struggling. The other area was a much more upscale, manicured lawn type area with old historic homes and row houses. I knocked on more than 200 doors and it was so wonderful how much support she has from both of these areas. The majority of the “undecideds” are moving over to our side. I think there will always be “undecideds” who just do not want to share their opinion and I do respect that. There was a 92-year-old man who lived with his son and daughter-in-law. He told me he really couldn’t explain why, but he thought it would be a good idea to elect a woman president. He told me he just couldn’t explain his reasons other than that he had lived long enough and seen how women seem to be able to handle so many things at once and thinks this is a good skill for a president. And he thinks women are more “apt” to get a job done before they take a break. Wow!! And, this guy has never voted for a Democrat in his life, but he will on April 22nd. He changed his affiliation in January. He was unapologetic and even lectured me a bit in case I didn’t have that figured out. His son will be taking him to vote, and there is nobody who is going to tell that guy what to do. He’s for Hillary and the rest of us can go to hell if we disagree. I have talked to many African American women who are so stressed about the election. So many of them have told me how much they like Hillary and think she is going to do a good job, but aren’t sure since they also believe they should be voting for Obama. I have a small buzz in the back of my ear that tells me it may be the African American women who are actually the ones responsible for the switch-over votes Hillary gets on the last day or two before the elections.
Without a doubt, Hillary’s volunteer support is second to none. She has the most passionate, hard-working volunteers who don’t care if they get to have a party or not — they just want to get this woman elected. Whenever there is an event with both candidates supporters showing up, her supporters are there earlier, leave later, and work harder. I can’t help but see that as a reflection of Hillary herself — the hardest working candidate who will always be there early and stay on until the job is done.
One other item of interest was that the Washington Post was in our office today interviewing our coordinator. I overheard quite a bit and wondered if these were the same questions asked of the Obama people — how do we match the Obama enthusiasm? Huh? Our office was packed with people working their butts off — young, old, and in between — we fill space at events with double the Obama numbers. We knock on twice as many doors and make triple the number of phone calls — how do they define enthusiasm? Maybe they think it is defined by the number of dollars raised. While writing this, I have seen four Obama commercials – he has unlimited funds. The TV ads are not cheap. We have the best candidate and I think Obama’s support is continuing to erode and he is trying to revive it through TV ads.
Tomorrow is Saturday, only 3 days left before the primary. We have a lot of work to do. I will be canvassing all day Saturday, I will be the captain for two visibility events on Sunday, and captain for one visibility event on Monday. When not doing visibility, I will be canvassing. Tuesday will be one of my best days because I will get to drive lots and lots of people to the polls. There is a Philadelphia Protesting Adult Home close by and lots of the residents are signing up for rides to vote for Hillary. I can’t wait — they are always a fun bunch!!
Thanks again for every single phone call you make on behalf of Senator Clinton. If she could thank you personally, I know she would. There is nothing more valuable than your voice on the phone to potential voters. I know it can be frustrating when you get hang-ups, but there are people out there waiting for someone to call who will get them excited about heading to the polls on Tuesday. You guys are the ones who do it and the ones who make the big difference.
Good night for now (I am soaking my feet while typing — it feels sooooooooo good)
Cathy Wittel
P.S. Remember to forgive all my typos and other errors — I usually am too tired to proofread my stuff.
On The Ground in Pennsylvania
Today I again worked out of the NE Philadelphia office. It was a very hectic day — started at 8:30 am and just ended at 10:30 pm. Hillary Clinton was making an appearance at the Mayfair Diner. We just found out late last night and had today to spread the word. The plan was call all known volunteers, post signs, and pass out 3×5 flyers with the news that Hillary would be here right at the Mayfair Diner.
My job was to pass out flyers and, according to my GPS, I walked 12.2 miles today. I delivered small stacks of the flyers to businesses, especially food establishments and the seemingly dozens of nail salons — there sure are a lot of those around here. I also spent time at the bus/train depot, but it wasn’t as welcoming because it is right next door to the Obama campaign office. The majority of the people responded very positively. I was back at the office at 4:00 pm for a meeting and a huge blitz visibility even to remind commuters that Hillary would be here tonight. I guess our work was successful. We had expected possibly 1000 people, but went way over that number. We started working at the event site signing up volunteers from the crowd, then directing them to the seating and standing area. It was much nicer than the Hillary rally at Pier 33. Anyone who went will remember how stifling hot and uncomfortable it was in the warehouse-style bldg. This event was outdoors on a wonderful, warm, balmy night. Chelsea was there and so was the mayor of Philadelphia and Governor Rendell. Hillary was beautiful and inspiring and the crowd loved her.
Tomorrow we will spend a great deal of time calling all the people who signed up to volunteer this weekend. Then, this weekend, we plan to visit or call every single solitary registered Democrat in Northeast Philadelphia. We will have hundreds of volunteers on the ground and on the phone. Several huge busloads from New York will arrive Friday night. This will be our biggest push yet and the effort is expected to push us into a 22-point lead in our NE Philadelphia area. It is definitely doable.
The response from attendees tonight was amazing. Prior to the event, I was feeling a little disappointed that I was not able to actually canvass door-to-door today. I love doing it and it is the single most effective way to get votes (other than to have Hillary show up at the door herself). However, I guess I forgot that the event brought in thousands and was great exposure for Hillary. The pizza place around the corner from our office sent us free pizza and thanked us for the great event and that it brought in a lot of customers for them tonight.
I cannot believe that I haven’t heard news about the slam dunk Hillary carried out at the debate last night. Yes, I realize the news anchor spent a lot of time on some of the more “gotcha” issues, but he did get to real issues and she answered each question with poise, intelligence, confidence, and knowledge. Obama didn’t come out well at all, and the focus groups unanimously declared Hillary the winner. The tactics he accuses Hillary of using, were exactly the tactics he used. Oh well, moving on. When she gets elected, it is going to be because she is light years ahead of any other candidate in her intelligence and her knowledge of the issues — but that often is the way it is with women — you have to be twice as smart and work twice as hard to get half as much acknowledgement.
I’m looking forward to getting the volunteers organized tomorrow and then hitting the streets all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and all day Monday. Of course, something I have learned about campaigns — circumstances change in a split second and you have to be flexible and ready to go in a different direction at a moment’s notice.
I am feeling good about our girl — she can’t please the press, but the people love her. She is gaining strength in Pennsylvania and I am sure the polls do not show it. Can’t remember what my prediction was yesterday, but I’m thinking about 15-16%. One volunteer keeps saying it will be 21%. Hey, I’ll take it if it happens!!
Thank you to everyone who is phone banking. It is by far one of the most powerful tools in getting extra votes — and we need every single vote we can get.
I better close since I have to do some laundry — I have been wearing the same pants for 8 days now. I am going to feel so good tomorrow with my clean pants and brand new Hillary T shirt. It is going to be a good day!!!
Cathy Wittel
Live From Pennsylvania - 4/17
Today I again worked out of the NE Philadelphia office. It was a very hectic day — started at 8:30 am and just ended at 10:30 pm. Hillary Clinton was making an appearance at the Mayfair Diner. We just found out late last night and had today to spread the word. The plan was call all known volunteers, post signs, and pass out 3×5 flyers with the news that Hillary would be here right at the Mayfair Diner.
My job was to pass out flyers and, according to my GPS, I walked 12.2 miles today. I small stacks of the flyers to businesses, especially food establishments and the seemingly dozens of nail salons — there sure are a lot of those around here. I also spent time at the bus/train depot, but it wasn’t as welcoming as it is right next door to the Obama campaign office. The majority of the people responded very positively. I was back at the office at 4:00 pm for a meeting and a huge blitz visibility even to remind commuters that Hillary would be here tonight. I guess our work was successful. We had expected possibly 1000 people, but went way over that number. We started working at the event site signing up volunteers from the crowd, then directing them to the seating and standing area. It was much nicer than the Hillary rally at Pier 33. Anyone who went will remember how stifling hot and uncomfortable it was in the warehouse-style bldg. This event was outdoors on a wonderful, warm, balmy night. Chelsea was there and so was the mayor of Philadelphia and Governor Rendell. Hillary was beautiful and inspiring and the crowd loved her.
Tomorrow we will spend a great deal of time calling all the people who signed up to volunteer this weekend. Then, this weekend, we plan to visit or call every single solitary registered Democrat in Northeast Philadelphia. We will have hundreds of volunteers on the ground and on the phone. Several huge busloads from New York will arrive Friday night. This will be our biggest push yet and the effort is expected to push us into a 22-point lead in our NE Philadelphia area. It is definitely doable.
The response from attendees tonight was amazing. Prior to the event, I was feeling a little disappointed that I was not able to actually canvass door-to-door today. I love doing it and it is the single most effective way to get votes (other than to have Hillary show up at the door herself). However, I guess forgot that the event brought in thousands and was great exposure for Hillary. The pizza place around the corner from our office sent us free pizza and thanked us for the great event and that it brought in a lot of customers for them tonight.
I cannot believe that I haven’t heard news about the slam dunk Hillary carried out at the debate last night. Yes, I realize the news anchor spent a lot of time on some of the more “gotcha” issues, but he did get to real issues and she answered each question with poise, intelligence, confidence, and knowledge. Obama didn’t come out well at all, and the focus groups unanimously declared Hillary the winner. The tactics he accuses Hillary of using, were exactly the tactics he used. Oh well, moving on. When she gets elected, it is going to be because she is light years ahead of any other candidate in her intelligence and her knowledge of the issues — but that often is the way it is with women — you have to be twice as smart and work twice as hard to get half as much acknowledgement.
I’m looking forward to getting the volunteers organized tomorrow and then hitting the streets all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and all day Monday. Of course, something I have learned about campaigns — circumstances change in a split second and you have to be flexible and ready to go in a different direction at a moment’s notice.
I am feeling good about our girl — she can’t please the press, but the people love her. She is gaining strength in Pennsylvania and I am sure the polls do not show it. Can’t remember what my prediction was yesterday, but I’m thinking about 15-16%. One volunteer keeps saying it will be 21%. Hey, I’ll take it if it happens!!
Thank you to everyone who is phone banking. It is by far one of the most powerful tools in getting extra votes — and we need every single vote we can get.
I better close since I have to do some laundry — I have been wearing the same pants for 8 days now. I am going to feel so good tomorrow with my clean pants and brand new Hillary T shirt. It is going to be a good day!!!
Cathy Wittel
Live From Pennsylvania
Hi All,
I arrived in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Apr 10th, after flying all night on Wed.
I worked for one day at the down Philadelphia main headquarters and then helped open up a new office in Northeast Philadelphia, and that is where I am assigned. Northeast Philadelphia is receiving a lot of attention from the Clinton campaign. There is a huge amount of support for Hillary here, and if we can win this area by 85%, then we will be alloted a couple of extra delegates. The 85% is believed to be do-able. Our main goal is to get out to the homes of every registered Democrat in Northeast Philadelphia, and so I have done a huge amount of canvassing and it is so fun.
Yesterday I drove Teresa Kruson, a superdelegate, to a very small town called Mechanicsburg where she met up with the Chelsea Clinton entourage for an event. It was so fun and the people in the town said they had never seen so many people out in the park at once. We stayed there until after dark. I drove myself back Philadelphia, but enjoyed hearing Chelsea speak.
Today I got up at 7 am and headed down to the Constitution Center where we set up for the pre-debate rally. We had our signs everywhere and the Park Service would not allow us to attach them to the railings, so we had to stand and hold on the signs. We had a large number of people and we stayed there until 8 pm. At about 4 pm, the Obama people showed up and complained that we did not leave any room for them. I was really unhappy because I figured they could have had some space if they had arrived there earlier. The Park Service made us give up half of our staked out area to the Obama people. I asked them if they also needed some pillows and could we get them some cool water while he hold their place for them. I was being pretty sarcastic but I was sunburned by then from holding our rally spots all day. It turned out okay, though, because they didn’t have the prime area, and they didn’t even have enough people to fill up their half. It looked very sparse and their crowd was small. We were five deep and overflowing into Independence and were loud and organized. We had a tremendous turnout and Hillary was welcomed to a huge rally on her way in to the Constitution Center, and Obama couldn’t even see his people on his way in.
Without trying to whine too much, the Obama people sure get a lot of special treatment. I was protesting to one of the Nat Parks Police that they had made us take all tape and ties off our signs and hold them. The Obama people came in and immediately duct taped all of their signs. I went over to the Park Service and asked them to apply the rules fairly because they weren’t saying anything to the Obama people. They were irritated at me and asked why I had to stand by the line between the Clinton and the Obama group. I told him it was because I had a right to do that and I would appreciate fair treatment. He told me to stop talking or he could arrest me. I told him it seemed so ironic that he would order me to not talk while we were standing in front of the Constitution Center. I guess I was a little sunburned and tired and a little hungry, but I backed off and moved forward. It was a great day.
The media really enjoyed talking to the Obama people, but we did get some media time. Not sure if any of you watched the debate, but it was amazing and Hillary came out way on top.
Hillary needs to win in Pennsylvania and she needs to win by more than 10 points. She has a tremendous amount of support here, and the Clinton campaign is very well organized. I think it is much better organized than Texas, but Texas is a lot bigger state so probably more difficult to organize. I was so amazed at how much work they put into this pre-debate rally and how well it turned out. It looked like a huge carpet of Hillary supporters and signs that could be seen all the way from Independence Hall to the Constitution Center. Such a great feeling!
Tomorrow is a big day for canvassing and then setting up for Hillary to appear at the Mayfair Diner in NE Philly. I’ll try to write a little something each night and let you know how it is going. I know some of our other members on the meetup group are coming to Pennsylvania, and I’m sure they can provide a little on-the-ground.
I have seen a lot of the volunteers and staff who were in Texas. In talking one evening, everyone agreed that being here on the ground gives you a sense of how well things are going, and things are feeling so fantastic here in Philadelphia. And, the little town of Mechanicsburg sure loves Hillary. The few Obama people there tried to break up the event with Chelsea by offering a free movie during the time Chelsea was going to speak. As it turns out, Chelsea was a little late and nobody left the park to go see the movie.
I am so tired out at the end of the day, and I feel soooooooo happy to be here. All of your efforts at phone banking are invaluable and play a key role in getting this big win.
I know I’m rambling, so I’ll stop here and try to get another update to you tomorrow.
Thanks everyone! Go Hillary!!!!
Cathy Wittel
