Wisconsin Phone Banking

The original plan was to go to Eau Claire to get-out-the-vote phone bank against Wisconsin's anti-gay marriage amendment but as it turned out, there was a phone bank operation in River Falls, much closer to the metro. River Falls is just a little south of Hudson. It was easy to find the Unitarian church as it was right on the main drag and next to a little farm with a number of holstiens greeting arriving phone bankers from the other side of the fence. Inside the church, there was a spread of lasagna, sandwiches, cookies and coffee. Cell phones were charged up and ready to go. Volunteers were dispersed throughout the church in meeting rooms and in corners of the sanctuary. Bob and I were handed a script and several pages of names and phone numbers by Beth, the very friendly person in charge. The calling resulted in leaving voice messages for the most part since our shift was in the afternoon and there weren't many people home to answer the phone.

As I was calling down the list, the realization of how wrong it was that we should have to be doing this, trying to convince people to vote a certain way on something they have absolutely no business voting on, hit me. Not a joyful endeavor. Back at it tomorrow.