Meridian Magazine :: Ideas & Society : Anxiously Engaged in the Political Process: The Journal from Ground Zero Ohio 2004

The Journal from Ground Zero Ohio, Part Two
By Cherilyn J. Bacon

The Anxiously Engaged Series seeks to establish a principle-based, non-partisan- philosophy of politics. This is the second in a series of articles, re-capping Latter-day Saint experiences of the 2004 election and exploring a values-driven strategy and public policy agenda. The journal to follow is Part 2 of an example illustrating a campaign experience from Bush Cheney 2004 headquarters in Ohio. Experiences from readers who participated in other values-driven campaigns, regardless of party affiliation, are welcome. With the philosophy that Latter-day Saints should be actively involved in their communities and noting that the Church is politically neutral, Meridian Magazine helped recruit volunteers for both parties during the election.

Election Day, November 2, 2004 Continued…

Meet the President

"Everyone clean up. The President's coming!" shouted our executive director Darrin Klinger. "We've got to get this place looking good." He was right. It was a disaster zone at Bush campaign headquarters Ground Zero Ohio. Papers were everywhere on the floor. I cleared the area up, and suddenly members of the press corps began squeezing in like sardines, pressing me against the cubicle divider. I politely excused myself and went to the opposite end of the room where I could breathe better. Two reporters thanked me generously for clearing a spot for them.

Then it happened. The President Himself appeared. There were only about 15 of us with him. He stood about two feet from me, and one of the volunteers gave him the phone receiver saying, "There's someone on the line that would like to talk to you." Then, "Hi, this is President Bush. How are you today?" Silence. Then, "No, I'm not kidding. It really is me." We cracked up. And my expression was forever pressed in print with mouth wide open in the post-Election day story of the New York Times. He got off the phone and confidently announced, "Well, that's one-zero." More laughter. Even from the disgruntled press corps.

All this time I kept thinking, "I've toured and performed on stage with some mighty famous folks and celebrity just doesn't faze me. They're real people. But I've lived all these 54 years and have never really been this close to a world power – a U.S. President – and for this length of time in such a close setting. I know he's going to turn around any moment now and speak to me. If this never happens again in my life, what can I possibly say of any import?"

Just then he turned around and extended his hand. So I said the only thing I could think to say, "Hi, I'm from Utah." Pause. I couldn't believe it. Hi, I'm from Utah!!! The Girl from Utah. Five electoral votes. Great start. [OK, hint: Utah means LDS]. "And I'm with Meridian Magazine." [That's better.] "We've helped recruit about 700 volunteers to go to each of the battleground states to help you get elected."

He didn't seem to be in the slightest hurry. Fascinating. He took his time, smiled, chitchatted, and thanked me. He wasn't short on conversation and time, but he was short (the President is 5’ 11”). Isn't that funny? What an odd thing to notice at such an important time.

The volunteer next to me had tears running down her face. "Thank you, President Bush. We're praying for you," she blurted out as she vigorously pumped his hand up and down. (Why didn't I say that? I thought.) He stopped, and then I saw his eyes mist over. He thanked her and said that he too prayed daily. "I can feel those prayers," he said. "Keep 'em coming. I need 'em," as he patted her hand.

You wonder about the sincerity of politicians in today's world. While this president isn't perfect, and I don't agree with every position, I saw and felt his sincerity today.

Also spoke with Laura Bush and Karen Hughes. I called her Laura because that's what we call her. We don't go around saying, "I saw Mrs. Bush on the news today." We say, “I saw Laura Bush this or that…" Oops. Protocol—It’s Mrs. Bush in person. But that faux pas didn't faze her at all. And so comfortable did she make everyone feel, I thought, "Aw, throw out the protocol at a time such as this." I was able to get a little more detailed with what Meridian was and that I was a Latter-day Saint helping with the election.

[As Bart Marcois told me, "Our voices need to be heard during the election so that we will be included in the policy setting after the elections.”]

Then I joked with our visitors, "No offense, but even though we appreciate him coming, how long will he be here? We've got to get back to work soon if he wants to get elected." They laughed. Soon the President and First Lady were whisked away out the back door through the kitchen, gone as quickly as they had arrived.

A Great Lesson Learned

We've been wearing down emotionally from days and nights of no sleep and were at each other's throats a bit today. The computer file we carefully organized was completely scrambled - had to re-create it while Peter took a much-needed time-out. Then I mistakenly locked us out of the computer, and no one knew the security password. Felt awful. Every minute counted.

But the President's visit brought an energy that carried the day. After we had done all we could do, we had one big group hug. Someone commented how amazing it was that people came from all over the country, had never met before, and yet somehow people showed up with exactly the skills and experience needed and worked together in unity and teamwork.

I learned a great lesson today. If the goal is a passionate one that everyone believes in and the clock is running out, you just do it. Everyone's dependent on each other and everyone's important. No time for ego or dissention.

As the soggy, drizzly day progressed, I got several phone calls from friends and from our own technical director, Justin Hart, monitoring the results as they came in. While everyone expected us to have some inside information, the truth was that we at Bush Cheney Ohio headquarters were in the biggest blackout of all. We didn't have time to listen to the news, we were making the news. We had no sense of the real world. All we felt was that if we got out every voter on our lists, George Bush would win. So to us, the job was to get the flushers out, report back, and phone bank those who had not yet voted and get them out.

A victory party was scheduled, but I had no voice and was too exhausted to celebrate. Went straight to the hotel, packed, listened to the election results and drifted off, not even knowing if we had won or lost.

Wednesday, November 3, 2004. The radio went off with good news. Got dressed, packed, checked out and returned to headquarters to help clean up. My, how fast that place transformed from campaign central into The Twilight Zone! Bought some more cough drops and got myself to the airport. Saw some dejected volunteers turning in their rental cars, obviously Kerry supporters. On the elevator I said, "Well, to quote the President, it's hard work, isn't it?" Oops. Not a time for humor. She looked at me with despair, "They don't know what they've done," she mourned. "They just don't know what they've done. They're stupid!" No comment. I know how it feels to lose. I felt a little sorry for her.

In all, about 5% of the observers and flushers in that Ohio County came from Latter-day Saint volunteers, and it all started with just one phone call to a devoted Latter-day Saint leader named Ernie Shannon.

Latter-day Saint Volunteers: 50% in Akron

Latter-day Saint volunteers from both parties rallied full time for the campaigns they had been assigned to through www.anxiouslyengaged.org. From Friday to Tuesday they were assigned to anything from poll observing to phone banking to poll flushing to door-to-door – each get out the vote tasks. The Bush campaign called it the 72-Hour Task Force. It had a Latter-day Saint survival ring to it, like “The 72-Hour Emergency Kit.” Volunteers were all ages. One 12-year old boy spent all day on the phones, so mature and professional. At the end of the day, the staff gave him a big applause. Entire families came together to help. The air was full of excitement.

Bart Marcois, who had helped create the non-partisan www.anxiouslyengaged.org website, was sent to Summit County – Akron, Ohio. With two weeks to go before Election Day and with his volunteer database in hand, he took on the arduous task of campaign marshal. His job: to fulfill the county GOTV campaign, mobilizing and managing the volunteers.

He reported "over 500 people were deployed nationally and over 700 others were ready to go. Those last two weeks of the election, I survived on one to two hours of sleep a night. By Election Day, I couldn't even count to 12."

"The local party had lots of volunteers, but because they had become aware of possible voter fraud, I needed extra help on ground," Marcois said. "We had to pull out 300 volunteers to be poll observers and replace them with more volunteers. I started working the phones to find local people through my own Church and the Catholic Church networks – friends, and relatives of friends of mine."

Marcois handled things appropriately, of course avoiding use of church lists, and no solicitation of church members. "One Latter-day Saint gave me the names of six others, and a few others gave me more names. From just talking to that one person, over 40 church members, men, women and children, stepped up as volunteers in the last week of the election. In the end, 50% of the poll observers were LDS."

That's about 3% of the Latter-day Saint population in Akron, a county where Latter-day Saints only comprise about 3/10ths of a percent of the population. "The church members felt a need to get involved, but that applied to everyone, regardless of religious background," Marcois explained.

One night they had over 200 volunteers in one room phone banking, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. "At the end of the day, we told them all to stop, that it was time to end for the night," Marcois said. He asked for a show of hands of how many had never volunteered in any political campaign before. "Over 75 % raised their hands," he said. "There were Mormons, Catholics, Evangelicals, union members, and the unions had endorsed Kerry, you remember."

LDS volunteers brought children and entire families. Marcois had kids making telephone calls too. "Teens were actually more effective than some adults," he said. "The only people more effective than the teens were the senior citizens." They worked 12-hour days. "They loved it," he said. "They all said the same thing: 'You know what? This is the most rewarding thing I've done in years. I've always wanted to have an impact greater than my vote, but never knew how to do it.'"

Repeated Around the Country

This scenario repeated around the country. The Kevin and Denise Warner family of Orem, Utah shared their experience in Minnesota.

Kevin and Denise saw the notice in Meridian to volunteer through www.anxiouslyengaged.org and applied. "We had four family members – plus friends and neighbors. Nine in all," Denise said. "Trey and Haley Warner, our nephew Cameron Treu, our son's roommate Sean Langdon, and three girls – roommates Carli Webster, Eliza Frazier and Mary Hamilton."

"It was neat," Denise said. "The campaign was led by young people in their 20s. One of the main gals at headquarters – her name was Rose – got emotional. She said, "My family is in Israel. No one else will protect them."

The Warners felt that since Utah only has five electoral votes and they were definitely going to Bush, their service could be better used elsewhere. "This was a way to really grow our vote and make a difference," Kevin said. "Our kids got to see how it works, too. Many people who found out what we did when we returned would have done it too, if they had known about it. Think what can happen in 2008."

Minnesota state election laws allow voters to register even on Election Day itself and without a license or ID. Some might argue that breeds voter fraud. "You can simply use a utility bill or someone can vouch for you," Kevin said.

Carli and Kevin were poll challengers and legally allowed to request voter's ID. It was a tough job, but protecting the integrity of the election was so important to the Warners, they didn't mind. "We sat there with the other party's people. I said to the voters, 'You need to show me your ID.' Twenty minutes later the election judge went around to everyone saying, 'You don't have to show your ID.' I went to the table where they were vouching for people and continued to make sure they knew the person's name. I knew there were people who were vouching for people they didn't know. At first, they didn't really like me, but I finally won them over," Kevin said.

Denise enjoyed helping with the little jobs that needed to be done. "We also went door to door, and then I helped with organizing paperwork. We had speakers come in, and we listened to them. I took food to the different precincts to the workers, and we helped people from place to place, as they finished their shifts. Everyone was so tired."

"We became very close as a group," Kevin added. "We ran into some wonderful, beautiful members of the Church that saw this election as a crossroads.”

"There were some altercations with protestors too," Denise added. "They were picketing every day." The Warner's were great examples of how to respond to the conflicts that often arise in hotly contested political races. "We ended up having calm, peaceful conversations with some of the picketers," she said. "We even got the phone number of one and are sending a Book of Mormon. And Trey got on the news. It was a mixture of a lot of work and a lot of fun."

The Warner's know their presence kept the incidence of fraud down. "I just want to let people know this is so important," Kevin said.

It's Hard Work

And hard work it was. As a Latter-day Saint, it was a privilege to work alongside others not of our faith. Such was my experience with Melissa Sharp, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, graduate in journalism/poly sci from Ohio State University, who came from D.C. She summed it all up: "Sleep? I got four hours a night – working till midnight, back by six the next morning," she said. "But this was a great campaign. When the President came in, it was thrilling. I was so excited. He told us to keep working. My cell phone kept ringing. Finally, I got off and he put his hands on my shoulders and said, 'Thanks for all your hard work. God bless.' He was so sincere, from the bottom of his heart. And Laura was amazing. She looked impeccable. It sent a burst of encouragement. Our momentum was at high speed. It was like a machine. We were all going crazy. Then he came and stopped everything. As soon as he left, the machine started right back up again."

There's nothing quite like the adrenaline of a political campaign. "Yes, we were stressed," Melissa admitted. "And yes it was crunch time. But we knew we could sleep the next weekend. We went to the election party downtown and waited till four a.m. to hear the results. It wasn't until then that we sang, danced and cheered. Then we crashed until the following Monday."

Post-Election Recollections

Peter Sperry, a Latter-day Saint who is Senator Voinovich's legislative assistant in Washington, D.C. recently spoke about his experience as marshal of the Ohio Franklin County Bush Cheney campaign. He was in charge of all the precincts in Franklin County, making sure every one was covered with "flushers" - campaign workers that go to each polling place and check off the voters who have not yet voted and report it to the campaign.

Peter noticed that a true spirit of teamwork prevailed. "It was that whole thing of unbelievable cooperation of getting everyone in and out to their assigned precincts and then getting them back out again a second time. We covered 115 precincts, and we did it twice in one day. Everybody kept their spirits up."

He too felt the intensity of Election Day. "Everyone was just fired up and so enthusiastic in the morning. Along toward mid-day as people came back with their reports, and the exit polls started coming in, some were beginning to get discouraged. I remember saying, 'Today we don't listen to the news, we make the news.