My friend Amanda Painter works as a phone canvasser for Maine People’s Alliance, a progressive activist group. She has lots of stories about her fundraising phone calls, which sometimes turn into consciousness-raising experiences. I’ve encouraged her to tell some of the stories here — since this is grassroots politics, the real thing. No punditry, just actual human beings talking about the intersection of existence with the political process. Here is Amanda’s first article in this genre.
Tonight I spoke with Barry, the confused but well-meaning hippie. The call began typically, with my giving our standard rap explaining why we believe people should vote down a proposed tax-related referendum. Barry asked several genuinely interested questions about it and our stance, then asked what else is on the ballot this year. I told him a few of the issues my organization is taking a stance on, mentioning Question One only in passing.
Question One is a referendum to repeal a law legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine. The bill was passed by Maine state legislature this spring and signed into law by the governor. A confusing but high-profile referendum question aimed at repealing this law has been placed on the ballot this fall, mainly through the work of conservative religious groups here. I hadn’t yet had a chance to secure a donation from Barry, so I was reluctant to potentially jeopardize it by discussing another issue — especially that one. Barry had another agenda, immediately asking me what my organization’s stance was on Question One.
I told him we advocate a ‘no’ vote, based on a basic platform of human rights. With a fair amount of hemming and hawing, Barry expressed that he hadn’t made up his mind on this one, and held what he himself described several times as some opinions that might simply be “ignorant” and a little “redneck,” but hoped I might be able to explain a few things to him. I finally told him to go for it. Barry explained that despite being “an old hippie,” having friends in San Francisco, and having no problem with people being homosexual, he was afraid of a few things.