Final Thoughts.

Finally, a picture of "Team Iowa 2004", or as I liked to call it, "Susies from New York taking over Des Moines." No, Judy will never live that down.

I guess you had to be there.

You know, it's been a week since I left Iowa. It seems like so long ago, but it really was just a week ago.

I upgraded my flight from Chicago to Philly. I went first-class, baby.

I, of course, slept through it.

I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. Now that it's over, my mind has stopped on overdrive and has let my body takeover. So sleep is my best friend. I feel like I've been hibernating.

Sure, I've visited my friends, I've spent time with my folks, and I've even spoken to two classes about the whole experience at my alma mater.

And I still am trying to wrap my head around this damn election.

But what I have a hard time understanding is that it was just a week ago that I've been home. It's such a strange feeling to have departed my daily life and activities for two and a half months, feels like I've just dropped out of my life, which has been suspended over by head for the past two and a half months, and I've suddenly jumped back into it.

It's a strange feeling, indeed. I feel strangely lost. And for some reason, I have no qualms explaining this to anyone that bothers to read this anymore.

Perhaps I am just headed right back to my reality. Perhaps this whole excersize was to get me to refocus my career, goals, my life. In fact, I think I might be right there. But I suppose I was a little naieve to think I made this decision and everything would be cool when it was over, I should have known I was turning my world upside down. Won't complain, though. I've loved every second of it.

In fact, I was going through my boxes that just arrived from Iowa and I'm laughing at most of the things. I chuckled pretty hard when I saw my stressball again. And my filebox. My WSFS hat from Seattle. AFSCME for Kerry/Edwards placards, a Jerry for Kerry fan with notes from the awesome teleprompter written on it.

Then I remembered. This was only eight days ago that I packed them. How is that possible?

Nine days ago, the picture of Megan, Jess, and I was taken at the Hotel Fort Des Moines bar where we once stalke.. er, "saw" Ron Livingston (best remembered as "Berger" from "Sex and the City") - and by the way, that was only two weeks ago. This picture was from election night as we sat, listening, watching, hoping. I will admit it was a better election night than 2000, and it was mostly because I got to spend it with these ladies.

In a week, I've realized just how much time Jess and Megan and I spent together. It's definitely been a period of adjustment since last week.

And plenty of sleep. Sweet sleep.

If you're still reading, you just got hit by the week-out emotions stick. That's the price you pay for reading. Apologies. You sure you don't have anything better to do?

Anyway, I decided to "Jerry Springer" this final post:

When life seems static and you are losing focus, it's okay to make decisions that are life-changing. It's okay to decide that it's time for you to think about yourself. That's how life is. It's okay to take a risk. Of course, it helps to have extremely good company while you do it. So you fight the good fight, you meet some new people, you have new experiences, you learn new things. And you re-learn old things. And at the end of the day, no matter how things turn out, you remember that you really can survive after all. And as is the nature of the beast, you win some, you lose some. But you live to fight another day. And what no one reminds you is that the next time around, you'll be better prepared, more ready, and more eager to fight than you ever were before. And with any good fight, you make some important friends at the same time.

This might make sense to only me. But you know what? It's what I learned. It's what I remember. It's what I've "taken away" from all of this. And honestly, that's what matters the most.

I suddenly feel like Doogie Howser.

So thank you for reading this. Thank you for your posts, your messages, your emails of encouragement. This blog is officially closed. You can still catch me at http://themonkeehaus.blogspot.com. I will be reformatting that blog since I've learned so much about blogging from this experience. So be patient, it might take some time.

In the meantime, keep in touch. Drop me a line, give me a ring. Hell, I've got some time on my hands now.

Oh. And before I forget:

Take care of yourselves. And each other.

I have no words...

to what has happened. I've thought about it all day and night and I still don't understand.

We were spanked by the "religious" and "moral" vote. A force to be reckoned, with, I suppose. Yet, we were so close.

However, I would be remiss if I didn't say that we didn't give it our all - we gave it all we could and then some. And that is something to be proud of. We worked our tails off, and in the end, that's all we can ever hope for. Sure, the outcome is not what we had hoped, but in the end, we did good work. Solid work. And we came here to do a job and we did it to the best of our abilities and I am proud and honored to have been a part of it, if any, at all.

I am fond of saying everything happens for a reason, and yet to the expense of our country, I believe that this will only make those of us on the left, angry, frustrated, and confused only more active and better in the coming years. I've got some fight in me left. It's more of the same and we know how to make it better. So after some rest, some good times with friends, I plan on doing whatever I can to begin again for the next fight. It's far from over.

With a heavy heart, I'm cleaning the office and packing up to leave. Yes, it will be wonderful to go home. But I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I have been blessed to have worked with such wonderful people who never gave up, worked their hardest, and knew how to have a good time in the process. I will surely miss Iowa for all the gracious and friendly folks.

I will definitely miss seeing Megan and Jessica as we go our separate ways, but I'm sure that we'll talk all the time. And as politics go, I know we will see each other again soon. Next week, in fact.

But I plan on posting one last post before wrapping this blog up. Then it's off to my old blog, for the trail has ended and the journey just beginning. Thanks to anyone that has actually read this thing. I hope you have found it informative and entertaining.

I sure learned a lot. And I'm extremely happy that I was invited to this party and that I was smart enough to come.

It's off to the Embassy Suites for packing and one last time with the gang before I head to the airport tomorrow morning. It's been one crazy trip.

A Toast...

...to Angela out there in Ohio, for excersizing her Constitutional right to vote for the first time. I know you're proud of yourself, mama, but I'm damn proud of you, too.

Many of you are probably wondering what I am doing out here, writing these blogs. Well, I'm sitting at a desk, shuffling volunteers, so take that!

And I'm trolling the news. Very important.

Oh, and a good story from Fabs: her Aunt and Uncle in Ohio, two staunch Republicans, are in Italy and forgot to send in their absentee ballots. Ha!

And no, not all Republicans are bad. I know many that are voting for Kerry.

But the best political button I've seen this campaign cycle?

"When a Republican dies, a gay angel gets their wings."

Brilliant!

I Smell Blood...

Now I have said for some time that I had a good feeling about this election. At the least, there's a record turnout to keep us extremely happy.

We're still very close. But there's some really great signs out there. I've called all my people across the country and here's what I could get:

1. Kevin and Noel are hitting the pavement in New Hampshire. They started in Nashua where there was an expected volunteer base of 150. More than 300 showed up. So they are headed for Concord.

2. Still waiting on Slewis, but I have a feeling she's very busy out there in Michigan.

3. According to Fabs, Ohio is raining, but they are turning out at the polls. There was a wait of at least an hour in a predominantly Black neighborhoods with traditionally low turnout.

4. Mahoney's reports are good. Not only did she predict 7 points for the Kerry, she also said there was news on the ground that by noon today, Philadelphia had surpassed the voter turnout of ALL of Election Day 2000.

5. Andrew, Anne, David, and Lindsay are on the ground in Pennsylvania and they had to be turned away and reassigned to another volunteer location because they were at capacity.

6. Dougie says that Palm Beach has amazing turnout and that the lines were longer earlier in the week for early voting, but there's still a great amount of people waiting for at least half and hour to vote.

7. And out here in Iowa, one of the precincts had seen more than half of their voters by 9am. Another precinct predicted 300 to turnout. By 11am, they had surpassed that with 350. At a polling place I stopped by around 11:30, they usually had dismal turnout averaging around 30. By 11:30am, more than 130 had come to vote.

America is changing. People are paying attention and besides that, are actually doing something about it. And as of 4pm, here's how we looked (kudos to www.dailykos.com):

          NV  CO  NC  PA  OH  FL  MI  NM  WI
Kerry     48  46   49   54 50  50  51  50  51
Bush      50  53   51   45  49  49  47  48  46

In Florida, Bush has lost his commanding lead with Hispanic voters:
Hispanics

        2000   2004

Bush     65     53
Gore     35    
Kerry           46

Cuban-Americans

        2000  2004

Bush     82     68
Gore     17    
Kerry           32

From CNN:

Ohio - African American precincts are performing at 106% what we expected, based on historical numbers. Hispanic precincts are at 144% what we expected. Precincts that went for Gore are turning out 8% higher then those that went Bush in 2000. Democratic base precincts are performing 15% higher than GOP base precincts.

Florida - Dem base precincts are performing 14% better than Bush base precincts. In precincts that went for Gore, they are doing 6% better than those that went for Bush. African American precincts at 109%, Hispanic precincts at 106%.

Pennsylvania - African American precincts at 102% of expectations, Hispanics at 136% of expectations. The Gore precincts are doing 4 percent better than bush precincts.
 
Michigan - Democratic base precincts are 8% better tha

We are seeing some problems, but not as badly as we had feared. The concern is with the challenges. But if things keep going this way, we'll be cool. And we'll have our country back tomorrow.

KEEP GOING!

It's Official...

It's out of our hands.

But it's very much in all of yours. I was going to post last night, but opted for more sleep instead. Sorry, that's the way it goes.

So instead, if you are actually reading this on this very important day, I urge you to get off your butt. No complacency today, folks, this is it. If you have already voted, call your friends and family and urge them to vote. If you are on your way to the polls, call up some neighbors and see if they need a ride. See, if we do this, we will be victorious when the day is over.

If you need more motivation, check out the poem below from John Greenleaf Whittier:

"The Poor Voter on Election Day."

To-day, of all the weary year,
A king of men am I.
To-day, alike are great and small,
The nameless and the known;
My palace is the people's hall,
The ballot-box my throne!
The rich is level with the poor,
The weak is strong to-day;
And sleekest broadcloth counts no more
Than homespun frock of gray.
To-day let pomp and vain pretence
My stubborn right abide;
I set a plain man's common sense
Against the pedant's pride.
The wide world has not wealth to buy
The power in my right hand!

VOTE FOR CHANGE, VOTE FOR OUR FUTURES, VOTE FOR OUR COUNTRY. VOTE KERRY AND EDWARDS AND WE WILL ALL WIN.

Be back tonight or tomorrow. It's almost over!

Two Days...

We're at the end of the two day mark and it was an interesting day, indeed. We went doorknocking in Marshalltown and Megan had a close encounter with a bunny broiler - well, not really, but a bunny skinner we call Malachi. Seriously. The good news is that little Malachi's parents are voting for John Kerry. Still got the creeps.

We are 3 points ahead out here in Iowa. And we're hearing good things all over the country, despite what those national polls say. AND the Green Bay Packers won over the Redskins (See the Strange Bedfellows post from before). So we're seeing some positive signs all over the place.

I'm pretty beat, but we're in the final stages. But as my crew coach used to say, "Do your thing and don't worry about anyone else. I know it'll hurt. I know it'll be hard. But if you do what you're trained to do, focus on the task at hand - I promise you won't feel any pain when you cross the finish line." Yup. Rowing applies to everything, people. Especially in these last days. As I liked to say, "We've passed the 500 meter mark. Now the race begins. Let's go."

So, I leave you all to peruse the pictures from yesterday's rally. Mama's tired and is hosting a Halloween party in the hotel room. Guests can only come if they wear a costume using the materials in their hotel room. Pretty inventive, considering how crazy this week has been. Whee-ha.

Super Saturday. Seriously. Three days?!

So as I have said before, they like to "spring" nice "events" on us. Neeat.

So on this particular Super Saturday, we found out that we were having a rally in front of the Capitol. Super Neeat.

But those of us fortunate enough to find ourselves in the state of Iowa - yes, I said fortunate, dammit. It is exciting as hell here and the folks are very nice - except for a notable few (whom you usually find at rallies) - but we are spoiled out here. You think I'd be sick of rallies, but it beats being in the office.

Anyhoo, we were visited by Bon Jovi (again), Ashton Kutcher (Call me Kutch!), and The Senator himself, John Kerry.

After some interesting "field work" (can you say visibility patrol?), got to enjoy some of the event up close as I attempted to find our signs (they were behind the crowd of us).

Surprisingly, Ashton Kutcher is awesome as a surrogate. He's from Iowa, his dad worked in a factory, his mom is a teacher - he talked for a long time about his poor roots out here in Iowa - and how he voted for Bush the first time. He said he was there to right his wrongs and that he was "punked" into thinking Bush was just a regular guy like the rest of us. And he was there so that our taxes could be lowered and his could be raised. He kicked ass. Bon Jovi is great, as always, and John Kerry was sharp.

Since I've got some more work to do, I'll leave you with these pictures - many of them came out dark because it wasn't so nice out - until John Kerry came out and suddenly, the sun came out. Seriously.

Here's some pics. Enjoy.


Mr. Demi Moore. Well, nah, he's the latest "it" boy, if you will. He's a good kid.




Jon Bon Jovi from the front. Just as nice as the back.






Yeah, man. Rock on!


Extreme close up, but hell, I love this guy. He noticed my hat again, but briefly. The Secret Service were ready to "take me down!" if I tried to get him to sign it. I enjoy my freedom. I shook his hand instead.

It's getting close, but we're on the verge here, folks. Everyone out of their houses, get on the phones, knock those doors. We're gonna change America, people, but it will take all of us.

As Requested...

Wow! My friends actually read this!

If you click on the little button to the left underneath the picture of the monkey, you'll see a link to my pictures from the trail. I haven't really had a chance to change or editorialize (though I might soon) the captions, but you can see all of my pictures there.

Of course, for those who asked:


Lookin' good, Jonny...



And as for the other Johnny:


Satisfied?

Four Days??!!?!

It is official. Election Day is around the corner.

Being in a swing state is fun and exciting. It sure beats seeing it all on the tube in New York. Sure, we're working around the clock to get out the vote, but it makes it hard when there are so many visits by the candidates. Yeah, I'm kvetching, but I'm not being a Yenta about this - I'm just stating a fact. It just feels crazy in these last days, trying to balance between crowd building for events and knocking on doors - and we all know that knocking on doors is going to be the most important thing.

I shall refrain from any anti-Red Sox statements here. Congratulations, BeanTown, now stop bitching and whining about not winning. I'm cool with them winning every 97 years or so. But well met, good work.

Now, onto the exciting stuff.

So we found out two days ago that John Edwards was coming into Indianola today. Neeeeat. That's why I haven't really been keeping up on my blog, but hell, you'd rather have me get them elected, right? So, here's the highlights from today.

We heard that the event would be John Edwards, our own AFSCME International President, Gerald McEntee, and none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Talk about a random mix. But we were excited, nonetheless. Then - yesterday, we found out Jon Bon Jovi would be added to the mix. Hell yes.

So we quickly do some crowd building in order to hit our 500, but it was on the side of doing walks and phonecalls. But it ended up being an incredible event for many reasons.

For one, we did a pretty good job, if I can say so, in visibility. If you watch the news or look at the pictures, you will see AFSCME green and AFSCME signs all behind the stage. Hell, I didn't learn nuthin' from my McCall days. Visibility, visibility, visibility. It's a mantra for field folks. And it sure felt good looking out upon that crowd of 3,000+ and seeing AFSCME green in every pocket.

Two, the advance girl for the event was awesome. Her mother is a 34 year AFSCME member running for office in Nebraska. So she took extra good care of us. Yeehaw.

Three, it was a fun event. Good way to get motivated for the final days.

And four, I stood directly behind the stage and basically got a very good view of Bon Jovi's butt. Hey, sometimes we get some perks on the trail.

The signs are all around that we are in the fight of our lives - and Iowa is, as I have mentioned before, becoming increasingly important as we head towards Tuesday. It is, as President McEntee said, "the eye of the storm." And I am fortunate and glad to be here, exhaustion aside.

Perhaps you've noticed I haven't mentioned Mr. Titanic yet. Well, I'm a bit confused because as an actor, I assumed he'd be pretty good. But he was fairly lackluster and read from a script. C'mon. Sure, he's come a long way from his Growing Pains days, but I'm sure he could have at least learned his speech before he got up there. Might have made him more effective.

Of course, no one in the crowd was really paying attention to that. Especially the girl who was jumping up and down manically and yelling, "Leo! Leo!"

Turns out he was a diva. Much like Sharon Stone, but that's another story for another time (Yes, Sharon Stone was here in Iowa, and no I did not meet her. I met someone much better instead - Roberta Flack). Anyhoo...

So as I get ready to pack up and leave surprisingly early tonight (gotta catch the time while ya can out here), I leave you with the following pictures from today's rally. In two days, we'll be rallying with Senator Kerry, Jon Bon Jovi, and Ashton Kutcher. Yes, Kutch. Bring the Boss! Either way, we're pleased. It was a good day, indeed.


Here is President McEntee as he pumps up the crowd. My action shots we a little blurry, but I like this image, so deal with it.


Here is the back of Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, he has grown up a lot, but to me, he still looks like a prepubescent boy with facial hair. But I admit, he's still a good looking lad.


Senator Harkin and Governor Vilsack motivate the crowd. They rock. Seriously. I heart them.


Bon Jovi, baby! He played three songs including "Living on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive."


Here's a decent shot. Yes, I have pictures of him from behind. All we want to know is what kind of squats he does so that we can thank whomever taught him them. I will dump them into the photoalbum to the left when I get a chance.

And finally...

John Edwards. I heart him. And I managed to get one of his waters on the stage after the event. I was thirsty, man. Our awesome advance lady gave it to me. Suhweet.

8 Days to go...

The official countdown begins.

I wish I took some pictures today, sorry, been too busy to remember little things like bringing along my camera, taking out my contacts at night, eating - you know, little things like that.

Holy good God, we let weapons of mass destruction slip through our hands. Is anybody surprised?

I think Jon Stewart had it right - "WHAT DON'T I GET?"

I mean, I've been talking to seriously undecided voters and they list their top priorities as security and health care. They clearly don't like George enough to be in his camp, but if you list health care as your second most important issue, then are you kidding me? I mean, even on the war on terror, come on. Let's be clear here, people, Osama attacked us, not Saddam. We went in to Iraq for weapons of mass destruction but the first thing we secure is the oil fields and then let the non-hidden weapons of mass destruction slip through our fingers. We have lost more than a thousand of our sons and daughters and more than 3,000 are amputated, more than 5,000 wounded. We then find out there was no credible link between Saddam and Osama.

I know Saddam was a threat, but doesn't Iran and North Korea already have nukes ready and are beginning to point them at us?

That's just the terror war. Take it from someone who was there on 9/11, saw it firsthand, lived in it afterwards - I do not want us to continue to perpetuate hate in the world.

Healthcare? What healthcare? I can't understand how labor folks who list jobs as their first concern are voting for Bush, hell, I can't understand rank-and-file members even voting for him in the first place. For the Christ, people?

Honestly, what don't I get?