Campaign Diary

[Russ Chung]

I have decided to volunteer to help the McCain-Palin campaign in the key “swing” state of Nevada during the last ten days of the campaign. Here are some highlights of my experience as a campaign volunteer.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

I received an email from the McCain-Palin campaign asking for volunteers to work in key “swing” states during the last two weeks of the campaign. Since I am self-employed, I have some flexibility in my schedule. I went to John McCain’s website and filled out a volunteer form.
http://www.johnmccain.com/deployment

Monday, October 6, 2008

I received an email response from Kameron Wilson, a volunteer coordinator at McCain-Palin campaign headquarters. I called her and after discussing some volunteer opportunities, I decided to volunteer at the McCain-Palin Campaign Headquarters in Henderson, NV (a suburb of Las Vegas) starting on Friday, October 24. I could minimize my expenses because I could stay at my sister’s home in Henderson.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The adventure begins. I drove from Los Angeles to Henderson and I stopped by the campaign headquarters. I met Frances Macias-Phillips, the volunteer coordinator, and some of the other campaign volunteers before heading to my sister’s home.

Friday, October 24, 2008

I teamed up with a volunteer from Torrance, CA. We were assigned to recruit local small business owners to participate in a press conference on Sunday afternoon. The focus of the press conference was on “Joe the Plumber” and how Senator Obama’s tax plans would adversely affect small businesses. We were given lists of members of the Small Business Coalition and Chamber of Commerce and we began calling them to ask if they would participate. It took all day, but we lined up about twenty participants for the press conference.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

I gathered information on the small business press conference participants for the press kit. Meanwhile, four busses from Southern California arrived with volunteers who offered to help for the weekend. I heard that a “Dennis Miller” would meet the busses. I thought that meant that a campaign staffer named Dennis Miller would meet the volunteers when they arrived, but I discovered that THE Dennis Miller was in Las Vegas performing at the Orleans Hotel and he came over to the campaign headquarters and gave everyone a pep talk. The California volunteers joined the Nevada volunteers for a potluck BBQ lunch provided by the local volunteers, then we began canvassing precincts. We were given booklets with instructions, maps and printouts of the households we were to canvass. Each booklet contains a list of about 40 – 60 voters (Republican and non-partisan) and a map with a recommended route to cover the households with the least amount of walking, usually 1 to 2 miles in length. The weather was beautiful so I was not surprised that most people were not home. My precinct was in Henderson, about eight miles from campaign headquarters. I covered my precinct in about three hours. By the time I finished my precinct, it was too late to start another precinct, so I returned to headquarters, turned in my booklet and headed to town for dinner.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

I spent the morning calling the press conference participants and confirming the information we were putting in the press kit. The press conference went very well; we had coverage from the local NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates. After the press conference, I walked another precinct. This walk covered about forty households, all in a single large apartment complex. Meanwhile, the busloads of California volunteers left for home. That night, I watched the press conference on the local Fox station, and saw myself in the crowd!!

To be continued….

[Russ Chung]

Monday, October 27, 2008

I spent the day making calls from the phone bank. The phones were sophisticated VoIP phones with an LCD display.

We were given lists of voters with a six digit ID number for each voter. We would login to the phone, enter the voter’s six digit ID number, press a button and the phone would dial the voter’s phone number. If the voter answered the call, the display would show the questions to ask and we would press the buttons under the display to record the voters’ responses. If we had a wrong number or the voter has moved, we would press other buttons to record the results, and if we got the voter’s voicemail, we would push another button to leave a recorded message for the voter.
Chuck Heath, Jr. (Gov. Sarah Palin’s brother) and Dylan ??? (Chuck Heath and Sarah Palin’s cousin) were at the campaign headquarters helping with the phone bank. In the afternoon, Megan McCain (John and Cindy McCain’s daughter) visited the headquarters and spoke to the volunteers in the phone bank. She went around the phone bank, shook everyone’s hand and thanked us for volunteering. The local TV stations taped her visit. Early in the evening, Sally and Chuck Heath Sr. (Gov. Palin’s parents) stopped at the headquarters and greeted and shook hands with all of the volunteers working the phone. Later, I watched the local news on the NBC affiliate and they showed Megan McCain’s visit to our phone bank; for the second day in a row I saw myself on television.

To be continued….

[Russ Chung]

Friday, October 31, 2008

I spent the past few days alternating between the phone bank and precinct walks. On Wednesday evening, former Governor/EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman visited the campaign headquarters and on Friday morning, Governor Mitt Romney visited the headquarters. They made short speeches to the phone volunteers and then went around the room and shook hands with each of them. I didn’t manage to get close enough to either of them to get myself on television. We are expecting a large number (500+) of out-of-state volunteers this weekend, so we have been planning for the logistic support for them (meals, lodging, transportation). I spent most of the day preparing the precinct walk packages for the volunteers. Each package contained lists of voters to contact, maps of their route, a custom script based on each precinct, and an assortment of campaign flyers. I have learned that there is a division of responsibility between the McCain campaign and the Nevada Republican Party. The campaign is paying for advertising, and the Republican Party is paying for the phone calls, the logistic support for the volunteers and the preparation of the targeted lists of voters that go into each packet and that are used by the phone bank.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

The Republican Party rented a number of large passenger vans. My assignment for the weekend is to drive one of the vans. Here’s a picture of me next to my “new” wheels:



My first task was to pick up a van load (14 passengers) of Brigham Young University students at their hotel and bring them to the campaign headquarters in Henderson for a briefing. Two bus loads of volunteers from BYU came to help with the campaign. That number of volunteers exceeded the capacity of the phone bank at the Henderson office, so my next task was to transport a load of BYU students to the Clark County Republican Headquarters in Las Vegas to work the phone banks there. Then I waited at the Clark County office for the busses to arrive from California. The volunteers from California arrived late in the morning. I loaded my van with six teams of precinct walkers; I was supposed to drop them off at the start of their route, and pick them approximately three hours later at the end of their route. It sounds simple, but first, I had to figure out the best route to the drop off points. It took me about an hour to drop off the six teams. But there was a slight complication. Mayor Rudy Giuliani was scheduled to hold a rally in Henderson, NV at 2:30 pm. So about the time I dropped off the last team, it was time to pick them up again so they could attend the rally. This is Mayor Giuliani with Chuck Heath, Jr. (Gov. Sarah Palin’s brother):



Following the rally, I drove the teams back to their precincts so they could complete their walks. All but one of my teams finished their precinct walks before dark. After I returned to the Clark County headquarters with the precinct walkers, I waited for the BYU students to finish with the phone bank, and I drove the students back to their hotel. I put in a total of 14 hours of volunteer work that day.

To be continued…..

[Roger]

Hey Russ, Thanks for your voluteering!

I have a question for you, The van you drove, was it lifted and have Mud Terrain tires?

[Ol Man]

Russ, thanks for your efforts and the report. Sounds like a great experience.

[Russ Chung]

Sunday, November 2, 2008

On Sunday morning, I got a much appreciated extra hour of sleep because of the end of Daylight Savings. I drove five teams of precinct walkers around that day. I’d drop off each team and then two or three hours later I would pick them up, take them back to headquarters for a break, then take them to a new precinct. I also delivered and installed lawn signs when a homeowner requested one. The day went fairly smoothly. The California volunteers’ finished their walks at 5:00 pm and returned to headquarters to board their busses for the trip home. Next, I was tasked to drive a van load of BYU students from the Henderson campaign headquarters to the North Las Vegas office so they could assist with phone calls. I stayed with them and drove them back to their hotel in Henderson after they had finished their calls.

Monday, November 3, 2008

I planned to make phone calls in the morning, walk precincts in the afternoon, then attend the John McCain rally at the Henderson Pavilion on Monday night. Governor Palin’s parents, Chuck (Sr) and Sally Heath stopped by the campaign headquarters to thank the volunteers. While they were here, they watched a live broadcast on Fox News of their daughter’s campaign rally in Jefferson City, MO:



That afternoon, I was tasked to run some errands. I delivered some precinct walk packets to the North Las Vegas office, and then on the way back, I delivered some food for the crew who were preparing the Henderson Pavilion for the rally. The rally was due to start at 6:30 pm, and a capacity crowd was expected. The local ABC affiliate was doing a live broadcast from the phone bank room for the 6 o’clock news, so I didn’t leave the headquarters for the Pavilion (about three miles away) until about 6:15 pm.





Here are a few scenes from the rally: