Each October for the last 5 years, I’ve walked our suburban neighborhood with my daughter as she goes house to house hawking that most American of childhood fundraising commodities, Girl Scout Cookies. Each year, we see mostly the same faces, greet the same smiles and make the same chit chat as she take orders for overpriced boxes of Thin Mints, Tag-a-longs, Samoas, etc.
I imagine our neighborhood isn’t that different from many others like it across the country. The majority of residents are families with children, with a few singles and the occasional empty nest couple close to retirement age mixed in. It’s an updated version of a Norman Rockwell community, with lawnmowers humming, leaves on the oaks and maples starting to turn, and children riding their bikes in the street or playing fetch with the family dog. Most of the people belong to a church (in our neighborhood more likely than not one that is Catholic) even if they don’t go every week. When people get together the conversations revolve around our children, school activities, and — of course — the weather.
Politics rarely comes up and when it does, most of what I hear has a decidedly Republican/conservative bent to it. No one likes what Bush has done in Iraq, but they think Democrats would do worse. Gays are a handy scapegoat, with many heads always shaking in mild alarm at the dreaded prospect of gay marriage. Last election, our lawn was the only one which displayed campaign signs for Kerry/Edwards and most of the SUV’s had “W” stickers plastered on their rear bumpers. That’s right: I’m the token liberal here, and everyone knows it.
So as we walked around today in the bright sunshine and mild early Autumn temperatures I had to wonder to myself if any of the multitude of Republican scandals that occurred over the last 2 years has made any difference in the way my neighbors intend to vote this year. Are my neighbors aware of the conviction of Duke Cunningham for bribery and corruption? Have they even heard of Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay or Bob Ney? Do they have any inkling of the massive waste and corruption that constituted the reconstruction of Iraq? Did the Bush administration’s incomprehensible failure to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina register with any of them? Does the fact that we are now on record as the only western democracy which officially approves of the use of torture cause them the least bit of concern? Does the erosion of our privacy rights and the elimination of habeas corpus by President Bush, and the lack of Congressional oversight of his unprecedented power grab mean anything to them? Does the possibility of an attack on Iran which might include the first use of nuclear weapons since Hiroshima and Nagasaki sound any alarm bells in their heads? Does even the scandal involving Mark Foley’s harassment of Congressional pages, and its cover-up for months, if not years, by Republican leaders like Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, register with them?
Well, this year I’m about to find out. Our community is represented by Republican Congressman James Walsh who took thousands of dollars from Tom DeLay political action committee, and thousands more from corporate lobbyists, and who has voted a straight party line every time any of these issues came up in the House of Representatives. This is a solidly Republican district, so solid in fact that he ran unopposed in 2004. This year, however, the latest polls show that the race between him and his Democratic challenger has narrowed in the last few weeks to a margin of only 4%, a statistical dead heat (and that poll was conducted before the revelations regarding Foley and the GOP Leadership came out).
I’m going to sign up to canvas my neighborhood on behalf of Walsh’s Democratic challenger, Dan Maffei. Today, helping may daughter sell her cookies, wasn’t the right time to engage my neighbors in political discussions about the upcoming election. But soon, it will be. And I sincerely hope they take the time to consider what I have to say. Because this election isn’t just about which party should control Congress. It’s about whether our nation will remain a Constitutional Republic, or whether we will surrender to the tyranny of one man and one party rule.
I think that’s worth some of my time over the next few weeks to speak to my conservative neighbors about. Don’t you?
Also posted in Orange
No peanut butter? (My favorite.)
My wifes’ fave also.
Your wife is a smart lady!
I most certainly do Steven. We can preach to our friendly “choir” of fellow pond dwellers here as long as we want, but by and large we are all coming from the same or similar place as far as our political beliefs are concerned. What will turn this election, and perhaps the country’s future in our direction, is that group of voters that define themselves as independent or even moderate Republicans. If the Dems sit on their hands and do not engage these fellow Americans in political dialogue before the election, then IMO we have no right to complain about the outcome if it does not go our way!
BTW check out Larry Johnson’s article about Jim Marcinkowski just below this article on the front page.
I did. Typical DCCC shenagins, sadly. But over at Dkos, Larry has reported that in the time since he posted the diary there and here, Marcinowski’s online contributions have jumped. Sometimes I really wonder about the dem leadership in DC. Other than Howard Dean, they all seem in a time warp from 1992.
I really think that talking to friends, family, and neighbours makes a huge difference. People are more likely to listen when it comes from someone they know, and they will respect you so long as you respect them.
Was out for Philly Against Santorum today, registering voters and telling them about the Senate Race. Got a fair few Republicans who said they would vote for Casey, and others who were more interested when I talked about some of the stances we aren’t happy with here.
$@NT*RUM – its latin for @$$H*LE
There is plenty of research to show that canvassing is the single most effective form of campaining and the most effective canvassar is a neighbor.