I am finally getting back into phone banking after a long hiatus. I have chosen the virtual route because my time is limited and it’s easy to sign for multiple shifts. I haven’t done it for 4 years. I was a little rusty and, considering we were calling Michigan voters, a bit apprehensive. Overall, it went well. It was definitely better than when I called in 2016 in Minnesota. There were quite a few that only begrudgingly backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump back then. I am glad to report that it wasn’t the case this time. Supporters of Harris/Walz were upbeat and some downright enthusiastic.
There were a couple of Trump voters. About half of the calls were hang-ups (that is expected). A good number were Harris/Walz voters, and they were enthusiastic. A couple were, “Don’t bother me again, I am a Democrat.” Others were just, “Don’t call me again.”
One group that troubled me a bit was the Gen-Z crowd (or who I assumed to be Gen-Z. I didn’t always catch age. Like I said, I am a bit rusty). This group seemed disinterested. A few were not voting. Some were hang-ups. They were easily the one demographic that really didn’t care what was going on, which I think is a bit insane for this group will be affected the most if the Republicans’ Project 2025 gets enacted. I’m old. By the time a lot of that gets enacted, I’ll probably be dead.
There was a final group of people that concerned me. I went into a streak of Muslim voters. I don’t remember any names (and I shouldn’t name them anyway) but suffice it to say that they were very angry. There was one who would not listen to any explanation that I had. She just kept on about the genocide and the killing of babies. Now, I think that is something that is fair to say. The IDF has been indiscriminately killing innocent civilians. I did remind her of how the current conflict started, with the death of 1200 innocent Israelis. She told me I was ignorant. Every time I asked her about other groups of people being hurt, she would keep going back to that statement.
This discussion devolved into more bickering. I told her about my mother’s past. She is Japanese and was a teenager in Japan during World War 2. She lost her home to firebombing and not long after that her mother while they were homeless trying to make her way to Tokyo with her father. Yet, she is now an American citizen and says this is the best country in the world. She knows what happened to her country, yet she is undeterred. The listener wouldn’t listen. She said that she was voting for Jill Stein. I reminded her that this is pretty much a vote for Trump. Still, she was not going to budge. We decided to end the call.
Another caller also talked about the genocide, but she was more circumspect. She just wanted the side that could bring peace to the region. I couldn’t get her to support the Harris/Walz ticket, but I also told her that I understood her pain. I also said that I didn’t think that Trump would even try.
She hesitated a bit and remained uncommitted, but we left on much more friendly terms.
Overall, this was a good day. Michigan is a tough place to poll. I left thinking that it will probably go for Harris. Anyone who tells you that the African American population (including men) are not gung-ho for Harris is lying. That was the most enthusiastic group today.
If you would like to make calls for a number of campaigns and not just the presidential election, go to KamalaHarris.com and sign-up for at least one shift. You’ll feel better after you do. I’ll be continuing to make calls this week and next.
16 days to go. Let’s do this!