gus and i at joe biden

Ryan and George on the porch in Silver Cit-ay

The inside of the office--throwback to 1968.

Lani and Bri outside the Cruces office with our fabulous mural

This awesome trailer was on our canvass list

Ryan at a supporter's house, it was a beautiful house with a great view

This is what extreme canvassing looks like

Shauna and the booming t-shirt making business

Gus and Bri out back, looking wonderful

Bri pretending to be Allison

Alli, Hannah and I in the office.

9 days. Well Joe Biden came and went, as did Hillary. And Michelle is apparently en route. The swing states get all the love. I've canvassed my little bum off, my sneakers are about to have a hole in the sole and my t-shirt business is booming. We are getting out the vote and we are in the grind--of a very well-oiled machine.

Get Out the Vote

The last two weeks have flown by. We had an event with Eva Longoria and it rained (?!) It had never rained before and hasn't really since, but there she was, all beautiful and from LA standing in the rain addressing a crowd of students and middle-aged women; it was a "successful" event by all standards.

I then spent the last two days of voter registration in Silver City--a small town with a lot of charm (think N. Hampton or Bellingham). We ran around town "blind knocking" on trailers and making sure everyone inside was registered. We stood outside of Sonic (they do exist!) and registered people as they waited for their tots, then ran through local grocery stores, a movie theater and Wal-Mart (where we registered 4 out of 5 republicans, so we left). We were kindly asked to leave Sonic but registered the entire fish department at Albertsons at 10pm. We registered a guy at a bar after an older hippie cursed him out for not voting. The next day I stood outside of the Post Office in town and registered close to 20 people over the course of 4 hours. I got in a bit of a fight with a man who said Sarah Palin is a "breath of fresh air" and five minutes later the head of the Post Office came out to tell me someone had reported my bias tactics. Now, it's slightly comical. At the time, it was slightly infuriating. It never ceases to suprise me how much people will go through to stop you.

We had about 60 people come from Arizona and Texas this weekend and spent all weekend canvassing trying to get people out to early vote. I spoke to a woman who said "hell no I'm not voting for Obama, he's black." I saw the most amazing sunset at the foot of the Organ mountains while little children played in the dirt road with a lost puppy; I took 3 afternoon naps in my car in the parking lot; I lost my job 'cause the organization left town for a more "needy" area then and tried to make up for it by handmaking t-shirts to sell (I have yet to see any return on them); we got one night off and went to a dive bar and played the jutebox; I walked through a small field where there are literally a million grasshoppers and they just jump all around you in all directions; I had about two Red Bulls per day and ultimately got pretty excited about winning this election.

cruisin'

I've found that there are a few things I disagree with Mr. Obama on, namely he gets a lot of shit down here for supporting a bill to build a fence a few years back. And this gig has told me I definitely don't want to go into politics. ever. but for now, it's interesting and busy and worth something.

i'm heading back to silver land tomorrow and joe biden is coming on friday, i'll get to see how his hair looks in person.

We're going to win

Hannah with all the great people of Las Cruces.

Governor Sebelius

Just being a fan

The act immediately after us in Mesilla Plaza

when there is nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.

It's late here, as per usual. We just watched the VP debates with about 40 community members--and I have to say Sarah Palin did a good job reciting her memorized flash cards of nuclear power houses. Her constant winking at the screen creeped me out a bit--but she's cute so she can wink at whomever she wants. Immediately following the debate, a woman I had met before who had been in Iraq and has suffered from PSD, came into the office, tearing up, more or less in her pajamas and said "What she just said were all lies about Iraq. What can I do?" She's coming to make calls tomorrow evening.

A few days ago we had an event with Governor Sebelius from Kansas--which was apparently a much bigger deal than I realized, as she was on the short list for Obama's running mate. Personally, I enjoyed sneaking away afterward to the local dive bar to have a delicious margarita with the Republicans, who chose to drink instead of listen to the talk. It was a good event; it becomes so much more logistical and less inspiring each time, but nice nonetheless. The following day I had the privilege of going to a pro-gun rally with Governor Richardson. I learned that people here hunt doves and quails. I stopped asking questions after that.

In other, more exciting news, I found a job. I am getting paid to canvas with Progressive Futures here about 20 hours a week. Essentially, I am doing that same thing, it's just lining my pockets in the meantime and I have to wear a different button and t-shirt.

Last night, Allison and I drove to Silver City to spend the night with another group of Field Organizers. Silver City is a paradox here. It's a random hippy-tastic town with Fair Trade coffee and local artists smack dab in the desert. The office there is smaller, but has charm. I think I'll go back there for a little while after this weekend. And it's colder there, so I can wear scarves without looking like a jackass, which is clearly what I am most concerned about at this point.

Eva Longoria is coming this weekend. Don't be too jealous. And the McCain campaign pulled out of Michigan--essentially admitting defeat there. That news, an adorable baby who hung out with Mamas for Obamas, and my 6-pack of Red Bull that was on sale at the local Wal-Mart were the highlights of my day.