Report and pics from on the ground with BarcaChicago!
I am a longtime lurker, but I sometimes post as BarcaChicago.
I live in Chicago, but I’m from Wisconsin and my elderly mother lives there which means I spend at least a week or two every month in Madison where she is. Anyway, I’ve been driving into Wisconsin to canvass from Chicago for the last month and a half.
For these last four days before the election, I’ve been canvassing every day in Madison.
I got to meet Ben Wikler yesterday when he came to fire us up before our canvass, and tomorrow we will meet Susan Crawford before we go out at noon.
I imagine that all our eyes are in Wisconsin right now. It’s been really fantastic to do all this canvassing, it reminds me that we are not alone and that we have power when we come together.
Just look at this first pic and try to tell me that Susan Crawford doesn’t look like she’s a regular person, just like the people canvassing!
Reminder from Mousebumples:
WisDems is doing phone banking all day, if you’re free to help – http://Mobilize.us
Voter registration is same day in Wisconsin!
RedDirtGirl
Thank you for doing that important work!
Scout211
Wow! Way to go BarcaChicago! Thank you so much for all your hard work.
Mousebumples
Thanks for your canvassing help, BarcaInChicago!
WisDems is doing phone banking all day, if you’re free to help – http://Mobilize.us
tobie
Bravo, BarcaChicago!
(Anyone know about turnout in FL-06. That’s the race I adopted this cycle. I’ve been too swamped to phonebank today and am now on tenterhooks.)
Eduardo
We need to win this one — Wisconsin is the closest thing to a Poland situation we’ve had in which the authoritarians got full control but then liberalism came back from the abyss. Gives me so much hope.
JCJ
Back to the clinic after going with my wonderful wife to vote! Will take my daughter out later. Votes for Crawford and the non-fascist school board candidates. And Wisconsimites – don’t forget to vote for Underly for state superintendent of schools
Princess
Sounds like heavy turnout in WI.
rikyrah
thank you for this report.
Eduardo
@Princess: Everywhere or just on the blue cities?
VeniceRiley
This is the way.
pacem appellant
Good luck Judge Crawford.
Princess
@Eduardo: Early voting was good in blue areas. Anecdotally I’m seeing positive stuff for today, but who knows. Unfortunately, I’m hearing high gop turnout n the Florida races, (or as we in Canada call that state, Hot Scotia).
Elizabelle
@tobie: Yay you for the phonebanking. Harder to find better angels in Florida, but there must be some!
H.E.Wolf
Thank you, BarcaChicago!
(Our lurkers are AWESOME.)
pacem appellant
@Princess:
FL-01 and FL-06 will remain in the GOP’s corner. But watching the MAGAts flopsweat over it was briefly entertaining.
Warren Senders
I did a few hours of phonebanking and wrote a little over 500 postcards for Crawford.
I really miss the days when I wasn’t emotionally invested in other states’ internal affairs.
Rusty
Today I went to a prayer vigil outside of the ICE offices in Manchester NH. Prayed, sang and the group of 50 or so took symbolic trips around the building as with Jericho and walls tumbling down. They are monthly and this will be a regular habit the next 4 years. Seeing others that care filled my soul.
Ksmiami
@Princess: Florida is a nightmare disaster. Hopefully climate change does its part.sorry bc.
TS
@Ksmiami:
How many in Florida depend on SS & medicare – what will it take to make them realise what they are facing? Just weird.
Ksmiami
@TS: they’ve been outvoted by wealthy South American immigrants who love them some autocrats. Add to that, a mostly uneducated population who don’t understand government or anything and FL is what you get.
Eduardo
@Princess: Thank you and LOL at the Hot Scotia. Getting too hot around here.
Eduardo
@Ksmiami: Plenty of Medicaid dependent and no so wealthy Latin Americans around here voted for Trump. This weekend I felt some green shoots of finding-out-awareness. Will see if enough of them want to wake up — for my experience in Cuba not terribly optimistic. The finding out is very real because Trump is totally sure they don’t have to worry about elections and is acting accordingly but again, people in cults …. The thousand tales i could tell about that.
Eduardo
@TS: It is weird, yes. They sent mixed signals about “entitlements” which coming from politicians you should always read like they want to f*** you but OK. The surprise and hurt of the Cuban and Venezuelan communities about the immigration stuff is amazing because he told us several times exactly what he was going to do. Yeah, all the North Korean propaganda stressed the deportation of criminals but Trump himself was absolutely clear about it. Why to believe the agitprop when Dear Leader is telling it like it is?
Eduardo
and just because I can’t control myself on the finding out tangent tonight this is the very odious Richard Grenell in Venezuela
.https://youtu.be/j-y3MbXub4w?si=wAY-a3FBxB17Tfth
SpongeBobtheBuilder
Susan IS a regular person! I went to college with her, she lived on my floor freshman year. She was brilliant, articulate, and so very, very even-tempered from the start. We’ve kept in touch over the years and I and a bunch of other people from that first-year dorm crowd got to attend her first investiture as a judge in 2018. Fingers and toes crossed.
WaterGirl
@Eduardo: I really appreciate having your perspective here.
BarcaChicago
Hey Jackals, I finally got home to Chicago. Thank you all for your supportive comments :-))) It’s been an intense last 6 weeks — but very satisfying to be able to do all the canvassing. I did postcarding too. Some of the groups I worked with in Madison actually formed in 2007 when I had just got back from many years in Spain and was raring to go for the little known Barack Obama (I had lived in Chicago and knew of him for years). So I canvassed for the 2008 election with these same people I canvassed with now – kinda wild!
@Warren Senders: Shoutout to you, I’m in awe of your accomplishment – a truly gobsmacking feat!
It was a thrill to meet Ben Wikler (he is VERY good at getting people fired up, I was impressed), and also Judge Susan Crawford – so relaxed, authentic and whip smart. I also met a lot of sweet dogs (a definite upside to canvassing) and many kind and caring (and enraged about it all) people.
I’m definitely on tenterhooks, as the Brits say, but I take comfort from having been able to put in the work. I’ll never forgive myself for doing absolutely nothing for the 2016 election. It will haunt me forever.
WaterGirl
@Warren Senders: That really is amazing!
WaterGirl
@BarcaChicago: Susan Crawford has won! Looking good for the state superintendent, but no call yet. Voter ID amendment sadly passed.
Still, a great day for Wisconsin!
Big thanks to you and everyone who worked their asses offf.
BarcaChicago
@WaterGirl: Thank you!! We are thrilled, we are profoundly relieved, and we are looking forward to sleeping well for the first time in a very long time! This is such a huge victory for democracy in Wisconsin and throughout the nation, and it exposes the weakness of Trump and Elon in a dramatic fashion. A huge boost for the morale of Democrats across the country.
Eduardo
@WaterGirl: Thank you for that. Some times I post here just to keep my sanity.