[Vision2020] Eection Report from North Carolina

[Nicholas Gier]

Greetings:

I'm visiting my daughter in Durham, and, although she should be finishing a paper on militarism and machismo in WWI music for her job application at Syracuse University, she has spent the last three weeks working for the DNC and MoveOn.org. She let me know that if I wanted to see her that I should be prepared pound the pavement with her in her neighborhood.

Outside of backpacking in the Wallowas with her, this last weekend was ranks up there as some of best time I've spent with her. I was on the other side of the street and I would look up and say to myself "who is that nice young woman over there," and she said that she had the same double-take exclaiming to herself: "Oh, that's my dad!"

I was so proud of her as I heard her rap with an African American woman, who first said that she was registered but didn't want to vote, but who, at the end of the short conversation, was begging for directions to the polls.  (And Christina will call her to make sure that she votes.) Although surprisingly close, North Carolina will most likely go for Bush, but Christina's precinct 20 blocks from Duke University, is solidly Democrat. I met only one Republican in two days of going door to door.

My partner Gail was home calling people on the phone and one old guy said: "I can't believe how dumb Bush was in the first debate.  Doesn't he have a college education?  I'm voting for Kerry if I have to crawl to the polls in my pjammas!"

We are now in Charllotesville, VA where we will visit UVA and Monticello before going on to DC to visit Gail's brother and then on to NYC for the biggest Unitarian gig I'll ever have.  On Nov. 7 I will do adult religious education at All Souls Unitarian Church in Manhattan.  Forrest Church said that he would have given me the pulpit but that he has to fight for it among six associate pastors.

Take care,

Nick Gier