Talking with Obama supporters in Gary Indiana
By Bill Bianchi, State Co-coordinator PDA Illinois
October 8, 2008, Chicago, IL
Bill Bianchi, Nick Bailey, and Lorin Klugman at Obama Headquarters in Gary, Indiana
Thursday, Sept 25--Three PDA Chicago members traveled by train to Gary, Indiana, to learn how we could help Obama become the next President. Indiana was never considered a swing state before, but election polls now show Obama trailing by only two points. A good turnout of voters from N.W. Indiana may put Obama over the top
Our day was enlightening and sobering. Lorin Klugman, Nick Bailey and Bill Bianchi traveled by South Shore Line to the Obama campaign's downtown Gary HQ. We were cordially greeted, and set up with organized precinct lists, which showed voters and their voting history. We were told that the area is overwhelmingly pro-Obama but has a history of low turnout. So our goal was to register new voters and to encourage those who were registered to vote early.
In the neighborhood of mostly single-family homes, we were struck by the number of vacant houses, some of which weren't even boarded-up, and overgrown lots that suggest they've been vacant for years. Here had lived many victims of the economic policies of Reagan, the Republican "Contract with America," and Clinton's NAFTA and capitulation to the Republican Party to deregulate business in order to pass NAFTA. Despite the problems, when we announced we were working with the Obama campaign, residents were cordial and helpful.
“People were surprisingly friendly,” said Lorin Klugman. At one well-kept house next to two abandoned ones, an elderly couple came out offering help, water and directions around the neighborhood. Yeshi had told us that people in these Gary neighborhoods appreciate the fact that people are paying attention to them and their concerns.
After we worked through our precinct list, we decided to just engage people on the street by asking them if they had registered. Several people signed up on the street. One gentleman, however, listened to our appeal and asked sternly, “Tell me one thing, what’s wrong with being a Republican?” I was ready to unload a long list of reasons, but Nick Bailey interrupted with a diplomatic, “They’ve been in power too long and now it’s time to move back in the other direction.” It was a response the gentleman found completely acceptable.
We learned that people in this neighborhood see our registration efforts as a genuine service. They understand very well that this election is special, that if offers a chance, at least, to reverse the downward drift of the last two decades. We all plan to head back to Indiana.
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