How to help Kerry win / Diary 1 from Columbus OH

I went from my home in Boston, MA to Columbus, OH August 19-29 to volunteer full-time for the Kerry campaign.  This diary is first in a series of what I learned.

You can still contribute money to helping elect John Kerry!  And in a more effective way than simply donating to the DNC.

Much to my horror, when I arrived to help at the office in Columbus OH (the Franklin County office in State Street, which does the ground-level work of winning the city of Columbus.  Not their state HQ, which was also in Columbus but does not interact with voters nor want volunteers), a major city in a crucial swing state, I found that the office had...

• run out of paper clips
  
• run out of folders
  
• run out of sticky notes
  
• run out of manila folders
  
• no envelopes and no postage stamps (or meter)!
  
• and no budget to pay for these.

I discovered the latter fact when I wanted to mailan absentee ballot application an old woman in very poor health who was for Kerry, and was told that there were neither envelopes nor stamps!

Taking matters into my own hands, I went to an office supply store and to the post office, spent a bit over $300.  (about 60% of that on stamps), and bought them enough office supplies to last them for a while.

Yeah, I too am wondering what the Hell the Kerry campaign/DNC did with all that money we sent, and how much they're paying for the worthless consultants who are telling him to go easy on Bush...

..but the fact remains that we have 9 weeks to turn this thing around, and we can't afford to sit back and assign blame.  

Oh, one other thing.  They were also out of Kerry buttons, had one roll of the old "John Kerry" (not Kerry/Edwards) stickers, had no signs (though were getting in "a small number next week," and had a 100-200 bumper stickers (again the old "John Kerry" ones) such that they were rationed--no more than 2 to anyone who came into the office, and none for the canvassers to give away.   I just rectified that by going to KerryGear and ordered them 1000 bumper stickers.  By the way, the limit on "In-kind donations" (= stuff, not cash) is $10,000.  So you can still give even if you hit the $2000 limit.

Thus, what I urge you to do:  if you live in a swing state, please pay a visit to your local Kerry/Democratic Party HQ and ask them if there is anything that they need!  Then help them out!  Even if you don't have an extra few hundred, they are often grateful for a package or sticky notes or some manila folders.  It's up to us to help these poor wretches run a proper campaign.  Folks from other states can "adopt" some local office.  Call them to ask what they need, then send them stuff though KerryGear.

Oh, one other thing, which will go in every diary.  Due to a combination of stupid campaign laws and even stupider planning, if you sign up to volunteer at the Kerry website, they are prohibited by law from giving your information to the local Kerry campaign offices, which are typically run by the Democratic Party.  So currently there are thousands, possibly tens of thousands of folks who signed up on the website and are scratching their heads, figuring that maybe the Kerry campaign has plenty of people for everything, while at the same time these local offices are desperately screaming for volunteers!  So if you want to help, don't wait for them to come to you, and don't rely on email.  Get on the phone and CALL your local Democratic party/Kerry campaign office!

Coming tomorrow:  Part 2:  Why the campaign needs volunteers with brains, badly.

•  Tip Jar

  Seriously, what are they spending their money on?

  by Go Vegetarian on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:07:47 AM PDT

  •  his private jet

    by Genf on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:18:17 AM PDT

    •  please...

      by Preston on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 07:50:40 AM PDT

•  Did the leadership there

  try to do anything about the lack of supplies and what not?

  by theprogressivemiddle on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:30:06 AM PDT

  •  No.

    In part because of stupid campaign laws that prevented the multiple groups in the same building (OH Dem. Party.  Franklin county for Kerry.  Franklin county Dem. party) from helping each other.  For example, while we had no envelopes or stamps and too few bumper stickers, the people above were mailing bumper stickers out to people who had donated already (80% of whom probably have stickers on their car at this point).

    by Go Vegetarian on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:45:39 AM PDT

    •  not stupid laws

      freaking stupid scardy cat dems...

      the Gop spend millions of dollars in co-ordination with the swift boat idiots and dems are afraid of borrowing a paperclip from each other...

      I have seen this over and over again...

      How can you tell a Dem...s/he is the one constantly recitinf FEC rules about what we CAN'T do...

      at the level of the GOP but, fercryinoutloud get a freaking backbone...

      I can even tell you the response of what your Dem party people said if questioned about borrowing the damn paper clip any way "NOOOO WE CAN'T, what will the Republicans say about us"... am I right?

      by Genf on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:58:03 AM PDT

      •  oops...

        that should have read:

        I am not saying that we should bend the rules at the level of the GOP but, fercryinoutloud get a freaking backbone...

        by Genf on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 07:03:50 AM PDT

    •  So are you doubting the ability of

      the people in Columbus to help Kerry in the city and turn the state for him? We obviously need to do well there to win.

      by theprogressivemiddle on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 07:28:21 AM PDT

      •  I'm not at that point yet...

        ...but I am saying that they need more supplies, and, as will be illustrated in my diary tomorrow, a good kick in the ass.

        by Go Vegetarian on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 10:01:53 AM PDT

        •  I hope that they

          get their asses into gear. If we win Ohio, we get the White House.

          by theprogressivemiddle on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 03:32:12 PM PDT

•  Dangerous misinformed advice

  (1) Individual in-kind contributions are subject to the same $2K contribution limit. ($10K is pre-McCain-Feingold, is I'mnot mistaken).

  (2) Some campaign operations DO NOT ACCEPT in-kind contributions, as they are a historical morass of compliance failure and may saddle the campaign with an accounting and compliance scrutiny problem more expensive than the paperclips are worth.

  (3) You say you stopped in at "the office" ... but you don't indicate whether this is a Kerry Federal Election Campaign office, or a state/local party office. This might make a huge difference. (You can, generally, make larger contributions to state/local parties than to federal candidates.)

  by RonK Seattle on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:37:40 AM PDT

  •  looks like there is room to give

    If, as you say, it does not go to Kerry's campaign directly (i.e., if it's for a local or state office, as many efforts are):

    Individual contribution limits

    The following limits apply to contributions from individuals to candidates for all Federal offices.

    $2,000 per Election to a Federal candidate -- Each primary, runoff, and general election counts as a separate election.

    $5,000 per calendar year to a PAC or State party committee -- A PAC is a "Political Action Committee." PACs and party committees give the money you give them to candidates they support.

    $25,000 per calendar year to a national party committee -- applies separately to a party's national committee, and House and Senate campaign committee.

    $10,000 per calendar year to state, district & local party committees

    $5,000 per calendar year to state, district & local party committee

    Married couples are considered to be separate individuals with separate contribution limits.

    (snip)

    What constitutes a "contribution?"

    Besides checks and currency, the FEC considers "...anything of value given to influence a Federal election" to be a contribution. Note that this does not include volunteer work. As long as you are not compensated for it, you can perform an unlimited amount of volunteer work.

    Donations of food, beverages, office supplies, printing or other services, furniture, etc. are considered "in-kind" contributions, so their value counts against contribution limits.

    by lapis on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:47:08 AM PDT

  •  State/Party office.

    And the $10,000 limit was based on what the person who was working there told me--I asked because I've given $2000 to Kerry.  Obviously people should ask the places that they're helping about the limits (if applicable).

    by Go Vegetarian on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 09:54:53 AM PDT

•  v. cool

  I'm doing some volunteer work on weekends in Wisconsin and was frustrated that even as of last weekend they still did not have literature for passing out when canvassing (they had great Feingold pieces, though).

  btw, I'm looking forward to the series -- and on the same day ACT put up that killer ad on dKos with Arnie as the star. As it says, Screaming at the television isn't going to get it done!

  by lapis on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 06:53:06 AM PDT

•  same deal in NW Wisconsin

  I'm volunteering with the Douglas County Wisconsin Kerry/Edwards campaign (Superior in the NW corner of the state) and our office opened last weekend. There was NOTHING in the space. Everything--desks, chairs, telephones,computers, paper clips, toilet paper--is being solicited through donations. My first act as a volunteer was to drive to Goodwill and load up my van with as many desks and chairs as would fit, then off to K-Mart (NOT Wal-Mart!!!) for bathroom supplies. Total contribution: only $50, but I must say it was a thousand times more gratifying to donate in this fashion as opposed to mailing in a check.

  Given this state of affairs I was forced to ponder the stories of the national campaign putting up reporters in four-star hotels and so forth. I mean we've had a severe shortage of yard signs for months now, and until very recently we've been getting our ASSES kicked by Bush in the yard sign wars. And this is in a county that will go for Kerry 65-70%. Maybe somebody can help me understand the dynamics behind the wealth of resources at the national level versus their absence at the local level.

  But I don't want to harp on this too much. I'm not sour on the campaign or anything. I'm at war. Our goal is to bring in Douglas County for Kerry by a 10,000 vote margin, which hasn't been done  by a democrat here since Johnson in '64. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but as most of you probably know, Gore only won the state by 5,700 votes last time.

  BTW, this is my first post. I've been a "lurker" at Kos for quite awhile now, and I want to say that it has been a joy for me to find a community of like-minded people. Cheers to all of you. Let's gear up for victory on 11/2!!

  by ddshostakovich on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 07:40:05 AM PDT

  •  Is it like that

    all over the state? And how does it compare to the Bush-Cheney headquarters in your county?

    by theprogressivemiddle on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 03:39:15 PM PDT

•  DFA

  Tonight is Democracy for America Meetup.  You should make a post encouraging non-swing state DFA groups to adopt a local office.  I will take this post to my local office tonight.  I am also emailing it to all my Columbus friends.

  by Sedge on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 09:39:41 AM PDT

•  Dallas County, Texas

  Here in Dallas, the local Party HQ is giving away Kerry Gear, but requesting a donation for it, then using the proceeds to buy more Kerry Gear, etc., (the requested donation is typically twice the cost, so it also funds giveaways to those who don't contribute). It's been amazing the number of people who have literally driven 30 miles just to pick up a bumper sticker or two, then given $25 or $100 to the local party while they're at it! We've run through literally thousands of bumper stickers (once again, we're out and waiting for more to come in) over the past two months. Our first shipment of yard signs is due this weekend, and already nearly half are spoken for (the rule here used to be 60 days ahead on yard signs, but we got caught when the rules changed locally last month).

  We're also requesting in a nice way, that anybody who gets a Kerry/Edwards sign also put up a sign either for a local candidate or a "Vote Democratic" sign, and almost everybody takes at least one additional sign.

  by precinct1233 on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 09:43:45 AM PDT

•  also

  In your final comment about contacing the local Dem party/Kerry office, please include the contact info and phone number of the Columbus one.  

  http://www.fcdp.org/index.html
  271 East State Street | Columbus, Ohio 43215
  Tel: [phone] | Fax: [phone]

  by Sedge on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 09:49:21 AM PDT

  •  Thanks...

    ...although at this point the Columbus office has decent supplies--I'm guessing that other local offices (such as ones that did not have me buying them lots of supplies last week...) need them more.  My point was for folks to contact whatever offices they were near, or even random ones.

    by Go Vegetarian on Wed Sep 01, 2004 at 09:59:33 AM PDT

•  Welcome to Hell, Go Veg

  This is what a heck of alot of campaigns are doing all across the country right now.  Here's a rationale for why everything that you and those Kossacks that posted on your diary have been complaining about.

  1.  McCain-Feingold made it illegal for federal candidates to become part of a combined campaign, as you probably already know.  My one questions is why are there, like 3 separate Democratic groups running essentially the same campaign?  It seems to me that there is no reason for the Franklin Co. Dems for Kerry/Edwards organization to even exist.  Outside of the fact that somebody got on a ego trip and would like the accolades that will  come if/when Franklin Co. goes for Kerry.

  2.  Nearly every campaign out there is going to try and not spend a penny on office equipment.  It's just a wasted expense.  Especially when money needs to go to other things like lit, mailers, yard signs, and the big one, TV.  Believe me, if campaigns could get away with not paying their staff and any other necessary items/personnel, they would.

  3.  It was a mistake to hold our Convention nearly a month in advance of the Republican Convention.  It has tied our hands, moneywise.  If we had held our convention in August, it would have given us a few extra weeks to fundraise, be on TV more, and buy extra things like yardsigns, lit, etc so we can be prepared for the sprint after labor day.

  by rgarza15 on Sat Sep 04, 2004 at 09:05:01 AM PDT

•  BUMP

  by theprogressivemiddle on Mon Sep 06, 2004 at 10:46:59 PM PDT