Day 9 - Mission Accomplished

Today started very early. Our gracious volunteer Jim around 4:30 A.M. picked us up. We headed to our new headquarters at the VFW to pick up the door hangers. Emilio, Damaris, Jim, and I dropped the lit all around town until we headed over to a local middle school where Hillary would be appearing. When we arrived a few people were there already voting and some visibility folks had already shown up. I could feel the excitement looming! I poured coffee for volunteers and handed out donuts. Now I being the nice guy that I was I gave McCain, Obama, Richardson, and others coffee and donuts too! When Hillary showed up it was complete chaos. I was so excited to see her again and shake here hand. Now what happened next is something that I would never forget. When Hillary came over to the volunteer crowd she focused and me and reached over people to extend her hand to me and thank me for all of the hard work. She has a way of making you feel that you are the only two people in the room even if there is secret service, press, complete chaos ensuing around you. We left shortly after she did and continued canvassing all day. We had to get these people out to vote anyway possible. We canvassed until 7:55 P.M. in addition, we found out most people at that point had already voted but even if we found one that hadn’t it would have made a difference because every vote counts. My group was exhausted and decided to head back to the hotel to have a mini watch party on T.V. We discussed results as they came in and frantically called family and friends to share the excitement. Well I do not have to tell you that Hillary won the primary of N.H. Not only did she win she won every ward in Nashua, this just made all the blisters, sleepless nights, and hard work pay off. It was an experience I will never forget and would do again in a heartbeat. Congrats Hillary!

Day 8- Leg Work

The pre-primary day was as crazy as I expected. The group arrived at the office around 9:45 this morning and we walked to the VFW building that accommodated more folks. It was amazing to see so many volunteers and the system that was set up was very efficient in moving people along and at there jobs. The campaign is very generous in feeding us lately, with all the Dunkin Donuts and Pizza provided by volunteers. We split up into two groups and Damaris, Emilio, and I decided to stick together today. We had a blast canvassing because we really engage in the door to doors and we cover tons of ground while keeping up each other’s positive energy. It is a bit harder to canvass on weekdays because most people are at work, but the few we did get at home were mostly supporters or undecided. This undecided issue really makes me confused because it is the day before the primaries and with all of the debates and rallies; someone is still thinking about it. I have heard a lot over my experience that they will decide when they get to the polls and I have to wonder what they are thinking. After finishing, a couple of wards it was around 12:30 when we went to this awesome little café called Michael Timothy’s on Main Street. Our driver named Jack wanted to take us to the tastiest restaurant in Nashua and I can say first hand it was the best food I have eaten on this trip. We headed back to the office after lunch and recruited another volunteer for the evening to drive us around while we canvass. After finishing a couple of wards, we headed back to the VFW at seven and ate dinner. Our field director said we looked tired and said he needs our energy for the big day so he sent the three of us packing. Debbie and Steve headed to Manchester for the Rally. Now were back at the hotel and hoping to be in bed by 10 because we have a ride picking us up at 4:30 AM! Goodnight and see you at the Polls NH!

Day 7- Running on Coffee

What a day! After getting little sleep because of the watch party the night before we headed out to the office. We quickly gathered to greet the Mayor of Los Angeles and other congressional representatives and state senators. We were cramped in the office’s basement while we listened to each one of their short speeches about why they believe Hillary should be the next president of the United States. The group then headed to Nashua High School North to see the rally. Debbie, Damaris, and I went to canvass before it started while Emilio and Steve stayed to attend the rally. An interesting thing happened here, we went inside to use the restroom and when we were all done we huddled off to the side and this rude security guard said we were pulling a sneaky trick and kicked us out! It was funny actually, because we truly just needed to use the restroom. We went out canvassing for most of the day with a woman named Janie who lives in D.C. Most of the volunteers today were from D.C. or NYC; I believe there was a bus with both travelers. One of the best parts of interning is meeting so many great people and they all are so enthusiastic and willing to help with anything. Janie drove us around all day while we canvassed. I met some interesting people canvassing today with Damaris. First, we met a little girl who was trained to answer the door with “we don’t support Hillary” this just struck us differently because we realized that most people at this point are ready for this primary to be over. They have resorted to training their kids to answering the doorbells and phone calls. Another interesting thing was all of the signs that say, “Campaigners go away” or some versions of do not knock on my door. It is tough to encounter folks who do not want to help us out or listen to us speak. When someone says, that their not interested in politics I almost want to take them aside to tell them why they should be! Anyways around 7 o’clock, we headed back to the office to help with lit projects for these last crucial days. Our group was sent out at 8:30 to do a little bit of friendly counter visibility where absolute chaos ensued! The police came and we were told to be quiet and get out of the street. Damaris and I left early because the un-civil nature made us uneasy. We stayed until right before midnight to help with more literature. A 15-hour day is rough on 3-4 hours of sleep! Were working hard in NH for you Hillary!

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2008/01/usf-goes-on-the.html

Day 6- The good and the bad

Today was a mix of emotions. After getting very little sleep, we awoke to a lecture from Dante Scala. I really enjoyed listening to him speak because I have studied him for a while now for various classes. During the meeting, the fire alarm sounded and we were told to leave. Chaos ensued and we departed for our various campaigns with no clue what may happen to our hotel. We arrived at the office and it being a Saturday there were so many volunteers it was an absolute madhouse. We were immediately sent out canvass and while we were getting ready to head out, we were informed we had a limited window to get our belongings from the room. The volunteers from Cape Cod were very helpful in taking us all the way back to our hotel. Thanks people! All of us Clinton volunteers were fortunate enough to have rooms on the inside that were not affected by the fire. Arrangements were made and we are now in Massachusetts. Last night we met an attorney from D.C. who works for the Department of Justice who has been very generous in helping us with rides and taking us to events. The debates were tonight in Manchester and Damaris, Debbie, Emilio, and I were able to attend the official watch party at a place called Chateau. Little did we know what we would encounter at the end. I got up to use the restroom and ran into secret service looking for it, the guys were the same people who were at the rally yesterday so Damaris and I decided to ask them if the Clintons were there and they said yes. Wow! This event was not publicized and it was fate we happened to be in the right place at the right time! The debates were great and I think Hillary withstood attacks and came out above all the other candidates. She was by far the clear winner. Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea walked in and everyone was so excited the crowd went crazy. It was so nice because she spoke as if she was talking to us each individual. I think this had to do with the fact there was no press there and it was such a small room. It absolutely made this day much better! Bill is so polite and really speaks with you. Hillary thanked us for working so hard for her and encouraged us to canvass to get out the vote. After everything calmed down and the Clintons left, the building we walked back to the Radisson in downtown Manchester. Here we saw a nice NBC setup that was empty besides one person so we wanted to check it out, just look. When we walked in a security guard very upset and started freaking out although no one was in there. We explained we were college students and wanted to see the set. He wanted our ID’s and cameras, it was ridiculous. He literally shoved us out and said shouted we were scruples just like Hillary (we had our Hillary flare showing). Here we are a bunch of curious college students that wandered some empty room and we are called names by a nameless security guard? We ran into Chris Matthews right after this at J.D.’s Tavern inside the Radisson. The day may have started with a bump but the night definitely made up for it.

Link to fire:
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=newsblog#2008933127662
St. Pete Times Slideshow:
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/webspecials08/audio_slideshows/road_white_house/

Day Five- H-I-L-L-A-R-Y!

I want to start this blog off by saying this was by far the best day of my trip here. It started around 6 AM when a volunteer picked us up from the Hotel. We were heading to a rally to welcome Bill and Hillary to New Hampshire. It was still dark it when we began to do some visibility where the cars were driving in. The whole groups of volunteers/interns/staff were chanting to pump everyone up for the event. Damaris and I were holding a huge Hillary sign (pictured above) when we both decided to use the restroom. We went inside and were caught in the chaos while the area was cleared for security reasons. We literally were stuck inside and began to chat with a woman who lives in NH. We talked about how important NH is to the primary and what we thought the outcome might be. IT was a good chat because we were interacting with a woman who lives here on a different scale than say canvassing. What she said to me really separated in my mind NH voters to that compared of other states. She said she had invites from Obama’s campaign when Oprah was touring with him and she really wanted to go. Well this woman has been a long Hillary supporter and told us that she wanted to see Oprah but decided against it because she felt it would be for the wrong reasons. Anyways when we were let into the main hanger where the rally was held we met our fellow classmates. We ended up getting a very good spot to watch the rally. I remember we were so excited! When they walked into the room the presence that the Clintons have is unbelievable. They say a lot without saying anything. I was the first out of the whole rally to shake Hillary’s hand and then Chelsea and then Bill. Bill spoke a few words and then introduced Hillary. She creates this energy that is just out of this world. When she spoke, people listened. I like how she explains her plans and how she wants to go about carrying them out. I enjoyed the question and answer portion as well where random folks were able to ask questions such as healthcare or share there stories with Hillary. It was interesting to see these events play out live because I am so used to seeing it on TV that it made me appreciate the work that goes into putting these things together. She made and interesting comment that I have seen circulating the News “ It took a Clinton to clean up after the first bush and I think it will take a Second Clinton to clean up after this one!” I really liked this quote and gave a huge cheer at the rally. After the speech was over we got to meet the Clintons again and were able to talk with them a bit longer than when the entered. I found it amazing that they were so down to earth and relatable. We went back to the office after the rally all pumped and inspired, we could not stop talking about our morning. Emilio, Steve, and I were sent out to do some visibility on Library Hill. I found this so much fun as people were giving us thumbs up and honking. It is true we got the occasional thumbs down or honk for the wrong reasons but for the most part people in Nashua are so political informed and involved. I felt like in other place we may have no even been noticed. We stood around here for about two hours and went back to the office to make Hillary signs for another event scheduled for the evening. We then drove to Milford to do visibility for Hillary at the NH annual Democratic 100 Club Dinner. Our office was so into it, just about everyone was screaming from the top of there lungs. Damaris and I decided to take another bathroom break where we ran into Joan Ashwell who is the Chair of the Strafford County Democratic Committee in NH. They were very pleasant as we discussed who we are and what we were doing in NH. After this, we were doing Visibility when we were fortunate enough to come across two tickets to the 100 Club Dinner. After talking, it through with the fellow Clintonites 3 of us wanted to go. We talked to Mrs. Ashwell who informed us we could pick up another ticket at the event. We were so excited we immediately found a way home. We dressed the part and hailed a cab. At the dinner, everyone was so pumped up and excited to hear from the candidates. I enjoyed all of the speeches, but I would have to say Dennis Kucinich brought forth the most attention for his strong speech and obvious enthusiasm. He moved that whole room tonight and brought forth thought amongst one another. Damaris, Debbie, and I were fortunate enough to meet him and his wife (pictured above). We also met Dick Gephardt and he was a very sincere person. (pictured above). Raymond Buckley did an excellent job hosting the event and deserves much kudos. We had a great time at the event and were very appreciative to have had attended. I am very excited about this weekend and am looking forward to primary day!

Day Four- Iowa

We started today meeting with a fellow Floridian. She is doing a photo story for Florida’s largest newspaper The St. Petersburg Times. The Clintonites arrived around 9:30 and due to the weather, our regular job of canvassing was axed because it was around 1 degree this morning. We were immediately put to work on the phones. I enjoyed making the phone calls in the beginning of the day because we I had not done it yet and I enjoy a variety of supporter activities. I was pulled to help clear debris from the office and rearrange furniture to prepare for the influx of activity this weekend before the NH primary. The office looks great! Emilio and I made a quick trip to the dump to unload the campaign trash(picture above). We made sure to recycle paper and plastics to go green for Hillary! When Emilio and I arrived back, we decided it was time for lunch and the Clinton crew decided to eat at Martha’s Exchange (picture above). This restaurant is famous in Nashua for its presence of political figures. After Lunch we made some more phone calls and were sent to drop lit for the Clinton Rally tomorrow Jan 4th. Hillary and Bill are flying into New Hampshire in the morning and all of us will be there to provide a very warm welcome. I cannot wait for tomorrow to be there among fellow supporters and hold my Hillary totem as high as possible!

Day Three- Lets See Hill on Capital Hill

Today started out with a trip to the capital of New Hampshire. In Concord our first stop was at Library and then over to the New Hampshire’s Political Tradition Exhibit. This exhibit was very informative in archiving the political past and importance of New Hampshire. The first primary state has a long rich history of vibrant campaigns that enrich the country through such a thorough selection process. The exhibit demonstrated this. We met the curator of the exhibit and I thought it was particularly interesting the selection she goes through to pick the items that is displayed. I imagine items of particular interest include the history making memorabilia and the items that particularly were not of importance but provide an overall piece to the important puzzle that is the New Hampshire primary. When we said our goodbyes, we headed over to the Democratic Party headquarters in Nashua. We met the chair of the Democratic Party; Ray Buckley (picture above) and had a question and answer session about some important New Hampshire policies and demographics. I also enjoyed hearing about our Professor’s past experience with the office. The class caravan drove down to the good ole’ GOP office and met Fergus Cullen and discuss the republican primary of New Hampshire. While here, we discussed issues concerning the Republican Party, and what their hopes are for the outcome of primary. We left around lunchtime and then headed out to our campaigns. When our group arrived at our office, we hit the ground running on the canvass forefront. We were given our own 15-passenger van, recruited one more volunteer, and had a team of six. This was exciting because in the days before we were sent out with volunteers who had previous experience with the campaign but now we were entrusted with a van to canvass ourselves. We had a colorful day of enthusiastic supporters, which always helps the motivation when sloshing through the snow. When it turned to night, my colleague Damaris and I walked out of the heat for an hour and thought we were paralyzed because of the low temperatures. We were happy to do it of course, we would do anything to garner support and get the word out. After canvassing, we went back to the office and got a ride home. On the ride home, we talked with a volunteer who works for Senator Clinton in D.C and she told us a very pleasant story. She explained her birthday was yesterday and in the midst of Iowa and NH pandemonium, Hillary called her to wish her a happy birthday personally. This to me speaks to her true character. She did not do it for press or public relations but she did it too genuinely to wish her a happy birthday. I think this sort of detail oriented, thoughtful, and caring human being is someone I want in the Whitehouse.

P.S The last picture shows me trying to get the broken washing machines to wash clothes. The lengths I would go to for Hillary!