warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Obama Nevada Campaign Volunteers Explain Their Pitch To Voters

Lauren Foliart |
November 4, 2012 | 6:31 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter
Volunteers gather for last minute campaigning at the Obama for America headquarters in Las Vegas (Lauren Foliart/Neon Tommy)
Volunteers gather for last minute campaigning at the Obama for America headquarters in Las Vegas (Lauren Foliart/Neon Tommy)
NEVADA--Two days before Election Day, the massive billion-dollar operation known as Obama for America is holding strong in the final hours of campaigning in Nevada.
With early voting now closed, volunteers are looking to make sure residents know where to vote on Nov. 6 by canvassing neighborhoods and calling homes.  They want to make sure people know to vote at their registered polling location, unlike early voting where they could vote anywhere in their county.
Local volunteers Zeke O'Leary and Andrea Royo made yet another appearance at the Obama for America headquarters on East Desert Road today, taking a moment to speak with me about their involvement in President Obama's 2012 campaign here in Las Vegas.  
Obama for America, Nevada Volunteer Zeke O'Leary (Lauren Foliart/Neon Tommy)
Obama for America, Nevada Volunteer Zeke O'Leary (Lauren Foliart/Neon Tommy)
Zeke O'Leary:

What compelled you to volunteer for the Obama campaign?
I'm a big supporter, fan - whatever you want to call it - of the president.  I can relate more to President Barack Obama than I could ever to Mitt Romney.  I don't like the way Republicans have treated the President with disrespect over the past few years.  That's not the way the system should work and I hope they all get their asses handed to them.  And there's a lot of energy around [the campaign office].  They're friendly and not pushy.  We need people like this.  
What type of work have you been doing?
I worked in the phone banks today and canvassed recently.  Before that I was out registering voters, getting to them to come up to the polls, driving some of them to the polls, getting my neighbors to go and vote in support of the President and Shelly Berkley (a Democrat hoping to win a U.S. Senate seat).
Have you always lived in Las Vegas?
I previously lived in Oregon where I rehabbed old houses.  Now I live just across the street!  I've been here now for 11 years.
What do you do now?
I'm part of the 47 percent - I'm retired.
What would you like to see the president do with four more years?
I hope we eventual get to a single-payer health care system.  It would be great for young people like you.  It's not big deal for old people like me, but for my kids and grandkids.
What is it like living in Nevada (a swing state) during this election?
There's just way too many ads.  How many times can you call someone a fool and not look foolish yourself?  But I get to go out and talk to local people, and not convince them, but tell them you need to help out the president get reelected.  I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I've been pretty successful in getting blacks, Hispanics, Asians, white - old and young - to kind of go along with my shtick and that's cool.  We all get to do a little bit and we'll get a good result, hopefully.
Do you think the president will win?
Yeah, I think he'll win it.  I didn't think it was going to be close to be honest with you.  But there's so much money in this thing.  And not necessarily well spent.  This whole Citizens United thing - that's craziness!  Should people be able to spend as much as they want and declare it a lobbying expense for the business?  I don't think so!  To me, that's not right.  And those are the types of things I explain to people who haven't voted before.  I also tell them I don' think the Republican party will be good for women in the long run.  I mean I don't go to Planned Parenthood, but I'm sure many people that I talked to do and for health reasons.  Why should that be taken away?
Obama for America, Nevada Volunteer Andrea Royo (Lauren Foliart/Neon Tommy)
Obama for America, Nevada Volunteer Andrea Royo (Lauren Foliart/Neon Tommy)
Andrea Royo:

How did you get started volunteering?
I've been here in Vegas for three years, before that I was in New York.  When I came here [in 2010] they were having an election - Harry Reid and Sharron Angle.  I never volunteered in New York, where I was born and raised, but when I got here I heard this women Sharron Angle talking on the television.  My husband and I thought people in Vegas were crazy.  And then a guy named Elliot Anderson, who was running for assemblyman, rang my door bell.  I asked him to come in and told him I wanted to volunteer somewhere because I was so overwhelmed with what was going on here.  I was scared - I had never heard such stupidity and I thought this Sharron Angle lady was going to win.  So I got involved and stayed involved.
Why volunteer in Nevada but not New York?
These field workers are young, they're in their 20s, and they're busting their chops.  I keep telling them, 'I want to be just like you guys.'  They have this energy and I don't remember having that kind of energy with politics when I was growing up.  I would not have experienced this if I was living in New York.  I would have never even thought of getting involved with politics.  I felt compelled here. It's a transient state, people come from all over and they all have different kind of problems.
What's your pitch when you go and tell people to vote?
It depends on who you're talking to.  Everybody has a personal issue.  And then I talk to some people who really don't understand the issues.  So I ask them questions and based on their answers I can give them information.  I try to do that because I'm not telling them who to vote for, instead I'm telling them things they should think about.  Then at the end of the conversation I tell them those are all things President Obama is trying to do, or already has done, for you.
The sticker on your shirt says 'Women for Obama,' can you tell me what that means?
If you understand the constitution, first of all, religion should not be involved with politics but it's so inertly involved in what we're hearing now. Second of all, I remember when women did have abortions and they were illegal and done with hangers.  What I'm hearing now is that women are unequal - they think we're stupid because they're not allowing you to be in charge of yourself and I don't understand that.  The things they're saying about rape is so outlandish.  That requires such a level of ignorance I don't even know how to respond to it.  But all of a sudden, why do they want to take control of your life at all?  It's like the Stepford Wives or something. These people have always been there, but they feel licensed to be free about what they feel now for whatever reason.  These thoughts are not new - they've been there the whole time - but what has happened to make them feel like they can start thinking like that out loud now?
What would you like to see happen after the election?
I think that after the election, no matter what, I'd like to be involved in something that gets the money out of politics - a very dangerous thing.  I'd also like to see something be done about climate warming.  And voter suppression - I think that's illegal.  There are some things that have happened during this election that I would like to be involved in getting straightened out.  Even if Obama wins, same thing, I think these things need to be taken care of and think people should be very anger and concerned about them.  I don't get angry anymore, I get sad, but I don't see how people aren't outraged by these things.
Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on the 2012 election here.
Reach Staff Reporter Lauren Foliart here.


 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.