Wisconsin Report Number I've Lost Track
I had never heard Gwen Moore speak before today's trip to Milwaukee, but I'll be delighted to hear her again.

Many of us who plan to help out non-stop the last days of the campaign went to the giant, and I mean giant, GOTV Convention at the Hyatt in downtown Milwaukee. There were at least 900 people in the grand ballroom, closer to 1000, with standees and people who were lurking in the back doorways. I don't know when I've heard more enthusiasm for the hard work of making a victory.

Moore, running in WI-4th CD, is yet another Democratic Party rising star, I am convinced. She had the crowd eating out of her hand. Her closing words were, "Working together, the ants eat the elephant," and the crowd screamed approval.

Mayor Tom Barrett showed up, as did Roger Quindel, a County Supervisor and Vet for Kerry, who gave a strong speech as well. As I've reported before, the only news crew that I saw was from FOX. Are they spying for their Republican dark lords? Or are they really using all this footage they're collecting?

Other speakers explained all the various pieces of getting out the vote, which, like sausage, shouldn't be examined too closely. We then broke into teams and were sent to eat.

I must say, whoever organized lunches for this crowd should be promoted immediately to Secretary of the Army and given an honorary generalship. We were directed by a dozen or more enthusiastic, sign waving young people across busy intersections, where to turn right, where left, through a box-lunch collection, and back again with more effectiveness than the entire march to Baghdad. It was astonishing.

Then off to canvass, and I found my first Bush to Nader defection, and a glorious thing it was to hear. I want to hear about more.

And we ran into our first Bush canvasser, a very friendly young but wrong-headed woman, who was working exactly the same street we were. I think we chased her away, though, because she didn't seem to be getting anyone coming to the door.

Bush has got to be getting nervous, is all I can say. Wisconsin will go for Kerry, I am absolutely certain. Especially now that they're actually now going to print enough ballots -- oh, you hadn't heard they had planned to print a third less than the city asked for, even though they realize that a lot of people haven't registered to vote yet, and that they don't even have to until they show up to vote? Can you just imagine what would have happened if they'd run out? Incredible. But all resolved now.

And no little yappy dogs today.

- posted by Cynthia @ 9:21 PM | | | Link |