A Peek Inside Karl's Vaunted Voter Vault

[Rose Siding]

The RNC's complex 72 hour plan is based on contact with voters who are divided into targeted interest groups:

Following the plan, over the campaign's final three days, GOP field offices in Shaw's district must file updated spreadsheets every three hours to the state GOP in Tallahassee, showing how many voters have been personally contacted. State party officials report that data to national headquarters, where staff members make sure that individual campaigns are meeting their goals.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-turnout6nov06,0,6025131,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

That's how it's supposed to work. Pretty fancy, huh? Intimidating, even. However...

As one of Shaw's teams made its rounds Friday, carrying GOP door-hangers and dressed in T-shirts advertising the Republican candidate for governor, a voter identified as a Shaw supporter said she had no intention of supporting the Republican Party this year.

"I just don't know about the war," said Karen Rossen, 48, a dental office manager from Delray Beach. "I think the Democrats would be easier to deal with." A mountain of mail has arrived promoting Shaw and other Republicans, Rossen said, but she throws it all away, calling it "a waste of money."

Several voters targeted on one three-hour walk agreed to back the GOP ticket. But of 99 households assigned to this particular team of home-schooled teenagers, only 15 people were contacted directly. Many on the list had moved, or lived in buildings that banned solicitors. Two reacted angrily when asked whom they were voting for.

I haven't done the math, but if Shaw's campaign did reach 15,000 voters on Friday alone, as he told the Times, how many teams on how many 3 hour walks would that have taken? -And that's FL. You'd think Karl would really be on top of things in FL.

Klein, the dem in this race reported contact with 7,000 voters by phone or visit on Friday. He's up 10pts in polls. The district would be a pick-up for dems.

[bobthedrummer]

1. Susan Bonzon Ralston won't be there this time n/t

[Pragmatic Pilgrim]

2. Do our folks know that "No Solicitors" doesn't apply to us??

Canvassing for a political candidate is "protected speech" under the First Amendment. The cops usually know this, and except in the most terribly hostile towns will at least check with headquarters for confirmation. In every case where I've been confronted by a resident, I've ended up free to continue canvassing--usually just by telling the resident about "protected speech." But of course it should be up to the canvassers as to how far they want to push it in a community that resists them.