(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Why Should We Care About Abortion? We're Men! A Virginia Canvass Story [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-15 Voters in Virginia and Ohio are going to the polls (early voting has already begun!) this November in elections that center around Reproductive Healthcare Freedom. In Ohio, that’s Issue 1 (literally) on the ballot. Here in Virginia, the (Republican) governor decided to make this election (the first legislative election since redistricting, which means every district has new lines with new voters in them) all about Abortion and Crime. Virginia is the nearest Southern state where abortions remain a real choice for women in the South. And there are Virginia conservatives who are mad about that. Hopping mad. This used to be the safe haven for Republicans and conservatives. Democrats and liberals had Maryland (and D.C.), Virginia was red. Even Northern Virginia. The NRA bought a huge building in Fairfax, right off of 66, and is run out of it. The Leadership Institute, the premiere political training and networking organization (Democrats have nothing like it, and only the Victory Institute comes close) built a facility in Arlington. And conservative political consultants, trade orgs and other lobby outfits are nestled in Alexandria. These were supposed to be safe-guarded by all the Defense-related companies as well as the Pentagon that are home here. 20 years ago, this was the case. Even when the southerners ran for president (except for Lyndon Johnson), Virginia kept its red hue. It wasn’t until Obama ran that Virginia went blue in a presidential election. So when you are out knocking on doors, it’s not uncommon to come across an older person who remembers this. The state doesn’t register voters by party, so it is even more common to find a voter who wonders why i knocked on *their* door. “I’m not a Democrat!” All of that to get to the point. Yesterday, amidst a cloudy day (i missed the sprinkles) i was canvassing in a highly contested swing district awash in television and radio commercials, with mailboxes full of political appeals. I didn’t cut the turf, so i don’t know its precise makeup, but it was “saved for me.” I’ve now knocked on doors in the 7 most highly contested districts in the state, with both Hope Springs from Field PAC and, since Labor Day, local Democratic candidates’ campaigns. The male voter that prompted this diary didn’t ask why i knocked on his door. He politely listened to my pitch and looked over the lit while i talked. When i was done, right after i asked him if we could count on his support, he said, “Let me ask you a question.” Here we go! He pointed behind him, apparently to a credenza where he had put the mail: “I got a bunch of flyers about abortion and crime,” he said, “but this is a safe neighborhood. Why should I even vote?” Before i could get a word in, he added: “I’m a man, YOU’RE a man! Why should we care about abortion?” There it was. Were Democrats only appealing to women? Didn’t they care about white men anymore? My inclination, whenever i’ve been set up like this, is to ask, ‘do you really want to know?’ But, instead, i appealed to his vanity. Northern Virginian voters tend to be current on political happenings, federal, state and local. “You know how it is,” i started, “campaigns tend to focus on one or two key issues that they think they can motivate the voters they need to win.” “No one’s neglecting anyone here. These (campaign) messages are finely crafted to drive turnout. And, nowadays, every election seems to be nationalized. Local issues are lost in the intense partisanship….” I wasn’t finished (i don’t think) before he weighed in about what was going on in the county school board meetings. For awhile, but certainly since Trump, they’ve become quite cantankerous and, apparently, monitored by the local sheriff. “But we have lots of issues, much of it because of growth here. Republicans can make all the hay they want but we feel safe here! They are just trying to scare us! But my children are all grown, and my grandchildren aren’t of the age where they’d be thinking about sex” — i’m paraphrasing as best i can, but he definitely said “thinking about sex,” it kind of sticks in your mind — “and all I want to know is what these candidates are going to do for me, for *my* family.” As you can imagine, i am not that great a notetaker and while i still have a good memory, i was glad i was writing as much of it down as i could. “I agree,” i started out, “Republicans are trying to scare us, but what else can they do? Empty promises are all they can offer, because you just never know when Trump will change his mind about an issue and box his fellow Republicans into a corner.” “But Democrats aren't fighting for Reproductive Rights because it only affects women. It affects all of us. In essence, they want us all to conform to their own point of view.” And then i remembered something he said, that i didn’t write down. “It’s not just that you can expect your children to live by your values, but that we should allow your neighbor’s children to live by their parent’s values. Democrats recognize that we don’t all share the exact same values — and Republicans are trying to force you to accept their’s.” “Thanks,” he responded, “I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time!" “You didn’t,” i responded. “Can we count on your vote on the 7th?” i asked. “I thought you would forget that,” he said. “But, yeah, we’re planning on voting for the Democrats this time.” “I am writing this down!” i replied, and he laughed. “I guess we’re committed!” One reason why i continue to knock on doors, despite my “advanced” age, is that every once in awhile, you come across a voter who is working out what they think about the approaching election and it does help to verbalize what they are thinking about. Face to face, looking each other in the eyes, listening in a non-judgmental manner, voters can be honest about what they think. Thinking aloud. Now i can’t promise anyone that’s where i caught this voter, he could have just been screwing with me. It happens. I’ve had voters admit they just wanted someone to argue with (although this is not common). But the fact is, someone took the time to listen to him, didn’t respond with general platitudes and made him feel his thoughts were important. As an old white guy, you’d really be hard-pressed to convince me that we old white guys have much to complain about, but the country really is in a complaining mood. I guess America has to bitch about something. But the Freedom theme really works well here in Virginia and Ohio. It worked in Kansas, too. Democrats rely more upon volunteers than Republicans do, which is why training them before every canvass — even though many, if not most, of them have canvassed before — is so important. Hope Springs from Field PAC continues to knock on doors in suburban Ohio for GOTV (get out the vote!) for Issue 1. We relinquished the field here in Virginia because there is a organized campaign infrastructure targeted towards the key (or swing) senate and general assembly districts. Hope Springs relies on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hope4ohio Hope Springs from Field understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do. 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