Last night 20 people gathered in Benson. From Cochise Stronghold, Sunsites, Dragoon, Cascabel, Saint David, Mescal, Benson and , as one woman put it, 'the middle of nowhere'.We were moderate democrats, progressive minded Democrats, independent minded democrats and democrats from the 'Elizabeth Warren branch' of the Democratic party .
Two energetic young staffers from Sierra Vista talked about how to knock on doors and why personal engagement matters. Jim Burton , a bearded man who looks more like an old prospector than a politician, and who has worked at all of the jobs a lot of us have worked at all of our lives, is running for state rep. in LD 14. No one else had stepped up, so he is giving it a go, thinking things have gotten so crazy extreme in the statehouse, we have to at least try to slow it down.
About halfway through, there was a knock on the door and Rep. Ron Barber , AZ CD-02, stepped in, returning to Tucson after a long day, having just finished interviewing with newspaper editors over in Willcox. After introductions he plunked down on the couch right next to me and people started asking questions and conversing.
My first impression was that Barber is down to earth, sensible, without the typical glossy politician affectations you might expect. He answered a lot of questions, then wanted to to point out the main differences between he and opponent McSally. He talked about the massive Koch money dump which has gone into trying to remake McSally into looking like a moderate after her 2012 loss. I realize that Barber is seen as too willing to negotiate and too moderate for many, and I myself have bellowed about some of his votes. but I also realized i have actually agreed with most of his positions and votes.
One of my strong issues is reproductive rights.
Barber supports a woman's right to choose. No exceptions. He supports access to birth control. He opposes citizens united. McSally is on record as opposing abortion even in cases of rape ,incest or health of the mother. her only campaign stop in these parts will be to sing at a big baptist church somewhere near Sierra Vista next sunday. we wished her a good future career as a church singer.
My assessment is that Barber is a reliable Democrat in almost all issues, and he has my vote.
After 20 minutes or so , he headed out and so did we, to knock on doors in Benson. I partnered with a ranchwoman from Dragoon who was too shy to talk. She drove ,I knocked and talked. We had 22 households. About half were not home. Out of the 10 who were home I was surprised how many had misplaced their mail- in ballots or could not remember if they had gotten one yet. I believe we made a difference in most of those homes. Many had not even thought about the races or did not know the names but when given the information ,were positive about candidates and resolved to vote. Many were elderly and had just not yet focused on who was running. Many actually said they had not paid attention to 'the ads' yet. I thought everyone would have been solidly opinionated by now. Not true.
Even so, they were concerned about education, and glad to know about David Garcia running for Superintendent of public instruction. they were niot happy with the state GOP, and were happy to learn about Fred DuVal for governor, Terry Goddard for Sect'y of State, Felecia Rotellini for Attorney General, Holway and Kennedy for corporation Commission, as well as the legislative races. Rotellini is being heavily outspent by corporate money. why? because she would make a great state AG who would not be in their pocket.
A thing I realized last night was that when you live in an area where you feel like you are a minority, knowing there are other like minded people matters, even if you have disagreements on the finer points.The fact that you recognize each other as another blue dot on the landscape is enormously encouraging and it strengthens one's own resolve and helps dissolve that urge to just hide in a dark corner and hope it all gets better.
We have a great slate of Arizona candidates on the ballot . The money pouring in to defeat them has been huge and relentless. Team blue is either in a close race or down in all of these contests. every.vote. matters. Democrats are making pushes in Nogales and Douglas this week, and everywhere possible in all of the districts. What I saw last night is that many undecided but willing votes are out there and that personal contact makes a difference. Please, Please, Please help GOTV this week. Help walk the neighborhoods and drive the lanes wherever you are.
