Standing up for Canada in Vancouver Quadra
I'm a liberal by nature.
In the crazy context of Canadian politics, that makes me a Conservative.
I like the idea of lower taxes, less bureaucracy and cleaning up corruption.
Okay, cleaning up corruption isn't a uniquely liberal goal. But corruption is a Liberal problem - and the Conservatives are the only realistic contenders to flush out the Martin-Chretien kleptocracy.
The 2005 Canadian election is less than two weeks away. For the first time in my life, I'm actually volunteering for a political party to help them at the grassroots level - phoning, knocking on doors and mobilizing the 'undecideds' to vote my way.
While I can't explain away my procrastination, I can at least make up for lost time. For the next few weeks, I'll be volunteering for the Stephen Rogers' campaign in Vancouver Quadra.
I realize it's a little shameful to get involved in the political process so late in the game; you'd think such experience would be required for obtaining a Political Science degree. And then I went on to actually write about politics in articles and the occasional opinion column over the years.
Tonight, I heard him speak following an information meeting at campaign headquarters, following a short briefing on election-day protocols.
He'd just been to UBC to meet the voters and debate his opponent. He'd gone canvassing after that. Still, he looked full of energy and enthusiasm. He just seemed so sincerely grateful to the many volunteers who showed up Wednesday night (apparently, I've joined the campaign later than most).
It's nice to have a boss who appreciates your work - even when you're not getting paid.
After the meeting, I got on the phones for the first time, calling up people who'd volunteered on previous campaigns to see if they were still interested in giving their time (or at least to make sure they were voting for Stephen Rogers). It was a long list and most people weren't picking up in the evening, so I left a lot of messages.
As for the ones I got live, I'd expected to get a lot of resistance; my close kin are morbidly impatient with unsolicited phone calls.
Fortunately for my thin skin, nobody seemed to be bothered by my political sales pitch. Typical Canadian politeness pervaded the conversations. And even when some people couldn't volunteer or accept a lawn sign, they made sure I knew they'd be supporting my candidate. Nice!
Better get some rest. I've got more phoning to do after work tomorrow. And hopefully, I'll have some door-to-door canvassing to do on the weekend.
Anybody else in Vancouver Quadra who'd like to stand up for Canada? Call Stephen Roger's campaign office at 604-733-4443.
tags: Vancouver Quadra, stand up for Canada, political sales pitch, Stephen Rogers, volunteering
In the crazy context of Canadian politics, that makes me a Conservative.I like the idea of lower taxes, less bureaucracy and cleaning up corruption.
Okay, cleaning up corruption isn't a uniquely liberal goal. But corruption is a Liberal problem - and the Conservatives are the only realistic contenders to flush out the Martin-Chretien kleptocracy.
The 2005 Canadian election is less than two weeks away. For the first time in my life, I'm actually volunteering for a political party to help them at the grassroots level - phoning, knocking on doors and mobilizing the 'undecideds' to vote my way.
While I can't explain away my procrastination, I can at least make up for lost time. For the next few weeks, I'll be volunteering for the Stephen Rogers' campaign in Vancouver Quadra.
I realize it's a little shameful to get involved in the political process so late in the game; you'd think such experience would be required for obtaining a Political Science degree. And then I went on to actually write about politics in articles and the occasional opinion column over the years.
Tonight, I heard him speak following an information meeting at campaign headquarters, following a short briefing on election-day protocols.
He'd just been to UBC to meet the voters and debate his opponent. He'd gone canvassing after that. Still, he looked full of energy and enthusiasm. He just seemed so sincerely grateful to the many volunteers who showed up Wednesday night (apparently, I've joined the campaign later than most).
It's nice to have a boss who appreciates your work - even when you're not getting paid.
After the meeting, I got on the phones for the first time, calling up people who'd volunteered on previous campaigns to see if they were still interested in giving their time (or at least to make sure they were voting for Stephen Rogers). It was a long list and most people weren't picking up in the evening, so I left a lot of messages.As for the ones I got live, I'd expected to get a lot of resistance; my close kin are morbidly impatient with unsolicited phone calls.
Fortunately for my thin skin, nobody seemed to be bothered by my political sales pitch. Typical Canadian politeness pervaded the conversations. And even when some people couldn't volunteer or accept a lawn sign, they made sure I knew they'd be supporting my candidate. Nice!
Better get some rest. I've got more phoning to do after work tomorrow. And hopefully, I'll have some door-to-door canvassing to do on the weekend.
Anybody else in Vancouver Quadra who'd like to stand up for Canada? Call Stephen Roger's campaign office at 604-733-4443.
tags: Vancouver Quadra, stand up for Canada, political sales pitch, Stephen Rogers, volunteering
posted by Jonathon Narvey @ 11:32 PM
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