'Half baked Yank twang' - Listen for yourself

My stint with the Republicans attracted some media interest back home. You can check out my interview with RTE Radio 1's Ryan Tubridy by clicking on the following link.
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/thetubridyshow/1230776.html
The interview starts at 38.45 if you are listening using RealPlayer. For what it's worth my Dad is convinced I've acquired a 'half baked yank twang.' And here was me thinking I'd perfected my Ross O'Carroll Kelly impression. Cheers Da.
I'll be posting a proper update in the next couple of days. There is a lot to tell...

Are Republicans evil?

For many the above is a rhetorical question. Not wishing to jump to such a conclusion myself I decided to find out the only way I knew how. By going undercover with the GOP...

When I informed my Democratic party colleagues of my plan their reaction surprised me. Sure, they were curious about what info a mole could discover but some were genuinely concerned about my personal safety. Surely that was going too far thought lil ol liberal me.

You may be surprised to learn the McCain camp doesn't have a headquarters in Houston. So instead I called into the local branch of the Republican party in the city and was greeted with open arms. My spiel about supporting McCain cause he is in favour of legalising the Irish Americans won em over. In my defence I didn't tell them any blatant porkies.

Did I mention I was on the Obama campaign since April? Well they never asked.

It may come as a disappointment to some readers that they weren't burning effigies of Senator Obama. What went on in the GOP office was standard campaign fare. Think phonecalls, flogging yard signs and stuffing hundreds of envelopes which I was assured is a classic Republican tactic.

Where did they differ was the type of person who volunteers for McCain's campaign. Most were women around my mother's age (sorry mum) with the occasional female in their 20's. More about them later.

Running the operation was a larger than life character and hardcore Republican who for potential legal reasons I shall refer to as Fred. Literally one of the first things Fred told me after I revealed my nationality was that he spoke to an Egyptian guy who couldn't get over America was going to elect a Muslim. It was a sign of things to come.

Not wanting to give myself away I kept a low profile and eavesdropped on conversations on my first day with my new pals. One such gem was a discussion involving a bunch of women in their 50's about an email of religious prophecies which is going round predicting McCain's impending triumph.

A lady piped up and said, "McCain isn't saved by Jesus Christ but when he gets elected he will become born again." To a casual observer it seemed to validate why he is going to get her vote come November.

Curiously none of the Republicans I spoke to said John McCain was their first choice for their party's nomination. Most preferred Fred Thompson or Mike Huckabee. The inclusion of a certain Alaska Governor on the ticket has changed all that and sales of 'Read my Lipstick' and 'Sarah Palin will make a great President' stickers were doing a healthy trade.

For my amusement I told Fred I'd been asked to register to vote about 20 times. He chuckled and said, "Well that's not something you'll be hearing much about round here." History shows that when the turnout is low it favours the Republicans and one things for sure that will not be the case this time round.

Gaining more confidence (and their trust) I got the neck to ask more questions of my hosts. Do they really believe their opponent is a Muslim?

"Barack Obama has been associated with Islam for too long for it to just to be a coincidence," said one volunteer.

They questioned Obama's patriotism and Fred was impressed with McCain's defence of Obama at a red meat town hall meeting last week.

"John McCain showed why he is a good man by defending him. Obama might say he's a family man but one things for sure he isn't getting anywhere near my family," said Fred.

Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt but the longer I spent with the Republicans the more willing they were to spew vitriol in my presence. Or maybe it was just because I was diligent at stacking the 'Re-elect Republican judges' fliers.

A lady buying a yard sign said, "Obama must be destroyed," while another said, "He hates America."

Worse was to come. Much worse.

Amidst all the hatred I struck up a conversation with the Republican equivalent of my good friend Ken. Hank as he shall be known was more balanced and raised some interesting points.

"Obama is from the east end of Chicago and has associated with radicals in the past. That calls into question his character and the American public deserves to know more about him. Is he going to be getting advice off former terrorists if he gets into the White House?"

More relevant were Hank's views on the tone of this year's election.

"Negative campaign ads work when they are done right. There will be more of them no doubt. This year's election is really a referendum on Barack Obama. Will the country be safe with him in charge?"

Twas reassuring to know they weren't all bigots. Then I encountered Jean (not her real name).

At first glance Jean has the 'butter wouldn't melt' look. Aged 24 she's the kind of girl my mother would like me to bring home. Then she spoke.

One of the more printable statements she uttered in my presence was, "I used to hope Obama would get assassinated but that would make him a martyr. Now I just hope he gets some kind of disease and dies instead."

My proverbial jaw hit the ground and it was hard to remain calm when such rhetoric was being spewed. Jean was utterly convinced Obama was a Muslim, hates America and plans to destroy Israel. Oh and he wants to kill babies too.

What was particularly disturbing was her hate filled chants geed up the handful of volunteers in the office. They genuinely believe this shit.

I tried to rationalise with her even resorting to quoting Richard Nixon (see below) but it made no difference. According to her I'm a "Post modernist idealist." She's probably right though she did omit my self righteous moniker.

After two days of absorbing all of this I reached a rather terrifying conclusion. In the whole the Republicans I "palled around with" were in the main decent people. They made sure I never went hungry and gave me a lift back to my residence each night. Well a few blocks away.

What they are though is ignorant and paralysed with fear. Obama and the media are their enemy. Anything that represents a contrast to their ideology is immediately shot down (literally according to some) and must be "destroyed."

It made me sad to be around people, a small few a similar age to me, who had so many good qualities but diluted it all but believing such garbage. No one is suggesting Barack Obama is the perfect man, he says as much himself, but to suggest he is an enemy of the state made me weep inside.

As my second day drew to a close I accepted the offer of a lift from Jean's mother. Go ahead and call me a hypocrite but it was a long walk instead! We chatted and it was evident Jean was a chip off the old block.

Still trying to reason with them as we approached my final destination near the Houston Holocaust Museum I ventured, "That museum is a testament to hatred." Not that it made any difference.

I realise this a rather lengthy post and I shall be writing more about my Republican experience in the next few days. For those of you still interested the Richard Nixon quote I gave Jean was something he said as he was departing the White House.

"Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."

Not that she got it or anything. Then again there weren't any pictures of Nixon in the Republican headquarters. He's been erased from their history and so has that sentiment he so memorably gave.

Pic: Yours truly trying to keep a straight face at the Republican headquarters in Houston.

Tantrums, tears and turkey

Political wonks are, my friends (McCainism), an increasingly bizarre bunch and I'm rapidly changing (Obamaism) into one.

More than a fortnight has passed since my last post and during that time I've been thrown into the deep end of the Houston election climate.
Post Ike the city is now getting back into gear and with less than a month to go till decision day there isn't a moment to spare. Put simply everyone is flat out working crazy hours, surviving on a few hours sleep and when you do pass out into the land of nod you find yourself dreaming about the election. Or maybe that's just me.

Barack Obama's campaign is unique in that they really have adopted a fifty state strategy. For the first time in years Texas has some paid Democratic staffers, 13 to be precise, with four deployed in my temporary home of Houston. That's one Obamano for every one million people in this city. Bear in mind that there were 30 Obama paid staff in Houston for the primary and there are over 300 currently in Florida.

With the numbers stacked against us the staff have to improvise to cope with the demands of such a huge state. Stress has certainly taken its toll on them and I've witnessed tears and tantrums which even Sir Elton would find hard to compete with.

A fine example is my friend and colleague Ken Flippin who works for the Democratic National Committee and like Obama he started off as a community organiser. Ken has enjoyed about as much luck this year as most of us have on the lotto. Without revealing too much he's had two laptops stolen and his car blew up. That's just the stuff he's allowed me to reveal (I think).

Despite the personal misfortune Ken's relentless enthusiasm continues to amaze me. A couple of hours after his latest laptop was pinched he was working on voter registration strategies and speaking passionately about how we're going to win this thing.

"If I was a Republican," he recalled, "then maybe I'd be rich but I doubt I'd be happy. What Obama is doing and what he is going to do in office makes me think so what if things aren't perfect for me now. What we are doing is far more important than my own personal stuff."

Amen to that.

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Assuming things don't go pear shaped in the next 26 days Barack Obama will become the next President of the United States. A major factor in that will be the millions of people who have registered to vote for the first time in this election.

Last Monday was the final day of 'voter reg' as we have deemed it and there were over 50 separate drives in Houston. I was dispatched outside a Half Price bookstore in Rice Village for my afternoon shift and went through several books.

Although this was a non partisan registration drive it was pretty obvious to me, minus my Obama shirt, who people were signing up for. When the turnout is high it favours the Democrats and 70% of new voters go for the boys in blue. Over 1.5m people have signed up in Pennsylvania contributing to his advantage there while he is leading the way in North Carolina, a state the Democrats haven't won since 1976. That's the last time Texas went blue so maybe it's an omen.

Back to my stint at the bookstore where I was pleasantly surprised that most of the people I spoke to were already registered. And of course I ran into a fellow Irishman who hails from Mayo who later joined me for our pubcrawl voter reg drive. See below.

Whilst I was signing up new voters I was approached by a bunch of folks from California who were in town for a few days. One of their crew asked me to recommend a good place to eat so I pointed out my favourite Turkish restaurant just round the corner.

His reply said with a totally straight face was, "I love turkey. That sounds really good. Thanks man." He continued to tell his friends about how much he loves turkey at Christmas all said with a beaming west coast grin. I simply didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise.

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After tucking into my kebab (minus the turkey) our voter reg team hit the pubs to sign up some punters. Along with my new Irish friend Seamus we signed up hundreds of people before the clock struck twelve.

Our original plan was to have a drink for every voter we registered but it became pretty obvious that we'd be broke and likely in a hospital within an hour. Some people simply refused like a young barman with Irish American roots but when I told him I was a Paddy and that people were killing each other for the right to vote in Zimbabwe he promptly got onboard.

Telling people you HAVE to vote in Australia also worked as did 'you get the government deserve' line. By the time the cards were counted the next day all of us combined had signed up almost 1,300 voters.

The cards had to be turned in by 5pm at the latest although there were rumours circling that the deadline was noon. Not true but it served to put the fear of God into us.

Ken and I organised all of the cards by deputy registrar number, no easy feat, and then checked through em all for errors. Cards can be rejected for the smallest of reasons like the box for US citizen not being ticked or a poorly legible drivers licence number. We got on the phone to the voters to fix any mistakes.

Anyway we turned in our cards bang on 4pm and could relax. Or at least we thought we could. Some other registrars came in with a stack of over 2,000 cards at 4.45 and these all had to be sorted. Fortunately the staff working at the Tax Assessors office complied and helped out sorting through the cards.

Later on as we dotted the i's and crossed the t's a man who is a senior staff member walked in and remarked, "Oh you're fixing the cards then." Bear in mind the Tax Assessors office is currently Republican controlled. Go figure.

We worked well past the deadline on the cards and this gentleman later returned to the room and suggested that rejection letters should be sent to the remaining people whose cards we were still working on. His staff declined the request and continued to process the cards. Maybe they see the writing on the wall and want to hang onto their jobs when, as expected, the Democratic candidate is the new tax assessor after the election.

My friend Ken said in a rather sarcastic voice to the Republican guy, "Isn't it great that so many people want to vote in this election?" Even for an American I think the Republican spotted the irony.
Pic: Ken Flippin and I holding hundreds of voter reg cards

Reflecting on Ike

"Just like Tina Turner, I was slapped around by Ike but I survived," is the new catchphrase competing with "y'all" and "howdy" round these parts.

More than a week since the hurricane pulled into town Houston is slowly getting back to normal. Ike may have spared downtown from the expected devastation but other areas of this state were not so lucky. Parts of nearby Galveston have been practically wiped off the map causing many deaths. Remnants of local businesses found floating miles away from their original home have become a depressingly familiar sight.

Broadly speaking the evacuation effort was a success. Local government issued a dire warning for residents to leave Galveston or face "certain death" and a curfew was implemented in Houston. Of course in the event of any natural disaster some die hards refused to leave their homes but lived to tell the tale. They were the lucky ones.

For those who survived the tragedy unfolded not during the storm but after Ike passed. Carbon monoxide poisoning has been responsible for several deaths in particular the dreadful loss of four year old lad Joshua Aguirre. The youngster died after a fuel operated generator was left running in his family home and he inhaled the deadly fumes while sleeping.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6006076.html

At these moments politics and electioneering are put into perspective. Direct campaigning has been suspended indefinitely while the local Obama headquarters remains boarded up. Political volunteers have been making calls to check on supporters of Barack and blockwalking local housing estates. We've been handing out flyers with essential post hurricane information to every home - regardless of their political persuasion. Petty politics go out the window in the aftermath of a disaster or at least they should.

As for my own hurricane experience it was relatively uneventful. Cooped up in a friend's house in the museum district we gazed out the window (from a safe distance) and listened to the storm. Our greatest drama was being sans power for over a week but hey we talked more, read books and improved our skills on the grill. Oprah and Dr Phil can wait for a while.

Natural disasters seem to bring out the best in human nature. My host told me he had never spoken to his neighbours more than in the past week, generators were shared and community barbecues were a welcome distraction. Texans are a resilient bunch. With a history of hurricanes they have to be.

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I shall be resuming the normal political musings in the next few days on this site. Many thanks for the several emails of support and concern from readers which are always welcome. There will be some media content attached soon so keep clicking back for the latest. 42 days to go.
Pic by Art Cizek

Hunting Anderson Cooper

Day one of journalism school you are taught many things. Dog bites man - not a story, man bites dog - that's a story, be assertive, put people first etc.

One thing that didn't come up during that heady day way back in 2001 was what to do in the event of an emergency. Specifically a hurricane. Stranded here in Houston where Ike is gathering momentum my friend and fellow Obama volunteers Art were at a loose end. What to do with so much free time?

Then the answer appeared to us in the shape of a silver haired reporter. His name was Anderson Cooper and our challenge was to track him down.

The CNN hack is based in Houston for Ike and spotting him on TV awoke us from our slumber. Much as I would like to say it was the case of a fellow journo meeting another that appealed to me in our quest it was Anderson's repeated pointers to an all night bar during his broadcast which drew me in.

Onwards we went past the boarded up stores and houses. Downtown Houston is a ghost town at the time of writing. Thousands have fled the city but a hardy/foolish few remain to ride the storm out.

Up in the historic district my colleague and I spot the Budget rental truck. We've found the place and Anderson is in the vicinity. But where is he?

To alleviate the boredom we visit some bars, soda water for me, something else for my buddy. One lady working a local watering hole tells us her joint will remain open till 2am - regardless of the weather.

An hour ticks by and no sign of the silver fox. Has Anderson got a dose of the nerves? Then in a blink of an eye he appears with the trademark figure hugging t-shirt and combat trousers. His broadcast flies by and he takes refuge in the CNN garage. Autograph hunters abandon but we're far too cool for that.

AC appears in my eye line and figuring this is my last day on earth I approach him. He's far from the Prima Donna and enjoys the banter. Turns out Anderson spent a month in my home country to interview the IRA back in 1995. His favourite haunt, the Shelbourne of course.

Knowing he's a busy man I skip to the important questions, his views on Sarah Palin? Who will win the election? No, the far more important, where do you buy your t-shirts?

Anderson is quite the style icon and when dispatched to the disaster zones never fails to dress for the occasion.

"I get my t-shirts at Urban Outfitters and I have about 20 of them!" quipped the reporter.

Chancing my arm I asked why Anderson always gets the "shitty deals" and why do we never see Larry King or Lou Dobbs in the disaster zones. Something to do with braces and hair pieces going a flying maybe?

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to see Larry King out here," laughed the journalist.

A few more stories about his time journeying round Ireland and the relaxed host appears at ease with the public. He even enquires whether this is my first hurricane. Sure is sir. Let's hope we both survive it.

And we are back...

Not with people who look like things (Simpsons joke there) but on the campaign trail here in Texas. Let me bring you up to speed with what's been shaking on the ground in the last few months.

My first stint working on the Obama campaign ran its course at the end of June and coincided with the Senator landing the Democratic nomination. Yes I'm taking all the credit. After returning home for the summer I kept in contact with my newly acquired friends in Texas and lo and behold I've returned to witness some history in the making.

One significant difference between now and before is my location, I've been transferred from Austin to Houston a la Eric Cantona. That said Austin is a tad more inviting than Leeds could ever dream to be. As for Houston, well it's hot and full of conservatives. Hence the challenge ahead.

Democrats are mobilising together in a way not seen for decades in the lone star state. Austin, with its liberal reputation has always voted blue but Houston is now up for grabs. Post Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as many as a million African Americans crossed over from New Orleans to this city and there has been a relentless drive to get them registered and vote Democrat come November.

Election fever was clearly evident during my last adventure Stateside. Three months later and it's clear how much this year's race has mirrored the public interest. Drive downtown and you'll spot Obama/Biden yard signs, bumper stickers with the new buzz word 'Obamanos' to the more peculiar 'When Clinton lied, nobody died.'

You have to go far back as 1976 and the era of Jimmy Carter, flared trousers and Abba before this state was blue. Years of Republican dominance ensured that Texas was viewed as the ATM of the Democratic party - put simply buckets of cash was raised here but none was spent on campaigning in Texas.

Barack Obama's historic campaign has changed all that. Obama for America has 11 full time staffers in Texas with Houston alone having three of them. Combine that with a volunteer network in the thousands and it's no surprise that Democrats are quietly confident of making this state competitive and a potential battleground one in future elections. Watch this space....

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At the time of writing Hurricane Ike is headed our way. Preparations are already under way to prevent a disaster of Katrina proportions. Just this morning I saw houses being boarded up and certain parts of the state have to be evacuated. Those 'I Like Ike' buttons are being buried as we speak.

Locals here are used to such lark and seem curiously relaxed about it all. Their attitude has rubbed off on me even though my only hurricane experience was the storm of abuse accompanying 'Bertiegate' last year.

Obama volunteers are a resilient bunch and smart as shit too. When news of the hurricane emerged our team leader suggested we get a donor to give us some water and supplies and head down to the various shelters kitted out in our Obama shirts. The reason - register as many new voters as possible so we have registration cards in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

As a wise sage once said, 'A problem is just an opportunity in disguise.'

I shall be updating the blog during Ike so click back for the latest.

Parallels with 68' and now

"I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of that last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions - whether it's between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups or in the war in... - that we can work together. We are a great country, an unselfish country and a compassionate country."

You could be forgiven for thinking the above quote is attributed to a certain young Presidential hopeful from Illinois. The emphasis on change, tolerance and unity are pure Barack Obama and symbolise his brave message circa 2008.

In fact those words were uttered by the late Bobby Kennedy only moments before his tragic death in June 1968. You may have noticed I didn't complete the "war in" sentence of his last speech. Of course Senator Kennedy was referring to Vietnam but fast forward four decades and replace the Asian country with Iraq and the similarities are to put it mildly, scary.

Bobby Kennedy has again been in the news following "that" unfortunate remark by Hillary Clinton last week. With the 40th anniversary of his untimely death fast approaching his life and legacy are regularly being featured on television programmes and newspaper editorials.

Many point to the chilling parallels of 1968 and its relevance to the present day. Then as now the United States was involved in a deeply unpopular war, the divide between the rich and poor was wider than ever and there was a sense of disgruntlement with the powers that be.

Then along came a candidate who promised hope and change. He inspired people and crossed the racial barriers by just being himself. Young people adored him and volunteers signed up in huge numbers to assist his campaign from coast to coast.

Some said he was too young. RFK was only 42 at the time of his death - some four years younger than Barack Obama is now. Regardless of their tender years people saw in them a vision of what could be.

Enough with the history lesson. We all know what happened forty years ago in Los Angeles. I raise these points because of an experience I was fortunate to share a couple of days ago with a friend of mine.

Neither of us had seen the Emilio Estevez biopic 'Bobby' so we watched the movie which by the way is a quality piece of work. In keeping with our RFK themed evening we watched all the DVD extras and at one point Senator Kennedy was making a speech about unity, hope and change. My friend, who is a keen Obama supporter, turned around and we exchanged a knowing look. No words needed to be said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsKlzr2fuCM

For Bobby in 1968 read Obama in 2008.

How can I come to such a conclusion? As I have seen the impact he has made in this country during my short time here. A couple of examples spring to mind such as the voter deputization drive in Houston a few weeks back. Dozens of people of all colours and backgrounds kept turning up to help register new voters. Black students, white graduates, Asian Americans and even a 37-year old man who preached apathy before but now pounds the streets signing up new 'Obamanos.'

Another incident sticks in my mind and it occurred right here in Austin. Nabbing people waiting for a bus an elderly black man approached me. Clearly spotting my Obama shirt he told me that he had never voted before in his life but wanted his voice to be heard in this year's race.

Returning to the Bobby Kennedy theme I'm currently reading a biography of the late Senator by Jack Newfield. A passage from the introduction stands out where the author witnesses the massive turnout in the California primary in 68.'

"All my life I have heard the clichés of cynicism and white superiority, blacks don't vote, Puerto Ricans don't vote, Mexicans don't vote, immigrants don't vote, the unemployed don't vote," Newfield wrote.

"And on this day, I had the precious experience of seeing this elitist theory disproved."

"On this day, the voter turnout in Watts and East L.A., would be higher than in affluent Beverly Hills. Poor people voted when they had somebody to vote for. They did not vote when they thought neither candidate would better their daily living conditions. And usually they were right."

And it's for those same reasons that Barack Obama is Bobby's heir apparent.