I hit those phone banks tonight

[MrScorpio]

Got a couple of more people coming our way


Yeah, baby.... Folks out there are hungry for info

Got a shiny new Obama/Biden button, baby!

[kid a]

1. My kids are at Obama High School phone bank night - I'm calling from home. AWESOME WORK!!

YES WE CAN!

[treestar]

9. They way you wrote that

Portends what a great prez he will be! High Schools named after him!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

2. YAY! Everybody is fired up and ready to go!

[nilram]

3. right on! k&r'd. I gotta get my be-hind over there -nt

[CADEMOCRAT7]

4. Thank you !!! n/t

[doc03]

5. Do they really work? When I get a call from

anyone I consider it an invasion of my privacy and usually just hang up.

[Doremus]

6. When you get a call from anyone? Sheesh, why have a phone?

[doc03]

7. I mean anyone such as telemarketers, either political

party or anyone soliciting for a cause of any kind. That's why I am on the no call list.

[Doremus]

10. Oh, okay. IIRC, political parties are exempt from the no call list.

[Nevernose]

8. Please don't take thisthe wrong way, but

Please don't take this the wrong way, but most people are more polite than that. Far more just won't answer or won't be home to answer.

There are many reasons for making the calls. First, you've heard of "internal polling?" It's usually the most accurate, and that's all done by volunteer callers. Secondly, some people can be persuaded by a single phone call. Weird, I know, but true. Thirdly, many people who are newly registered or sporadic voters need multiple contacts -- by phone, in person, and by mail -- before they'll actually go out and vote. The phone calls get much more important during early voting and the GOTV stage.

While I've made thousands of calls in my life, but I'm much, MUCH better in person, doing door-to-door canvassing. Face to face, I've actually changed voter's minds. While some people get annoyed, keeping the base "in the zone" is important, especially since most folks aren't following this election like DU is.

A friend of mine won't make voter contact at all -- he claims he sounds too gay and will turn away likely Obama voters. He does, however, host house parties, does a lot of volunteer coordination, and answers simple legal questions for free (he's a lawyer).

A neighbor of mine, a housewife, is kind of old-fashioned and is too embarrassed to talk to people about politics. She goes in and does paperwork for free, and straightens up occasionally, too.

There is something for you to do.