I’ve gotta admit, I had misgivings when we pulled up to the house with the Ron Paul sign planted in the front yard.  Not ready to face a possibly negative voter-contact, I chickened out and waited in the car while Art unabashedly strode up to the front door.  I rolled the window down, though, so that I could hear how he handled this one.  Turns out, there were no fireworks, no slammed doors.  This young couple had just “early voted”, and although they voted for a Libertarian for President, they did support Art! And so the day went. 

Today, Art and I spoke with Dems, Reps, and Independents and over and over again I heard people say they were supporting Art Staed this year.  

After knocking on over 15,000 doors, I’ve come to notice certain signs that may indicate how an “Independent” voter is truly leaning.  Okay, so this truly is stereotyping and I’m the first to say that party labels often just don’t fit most of us, but sometimes bumper stickers on cars and decals on the screen door give us hints as to which way a voter is leaning.  Such was the case when we knocked at the home of Jay (name changed).   I had Jay pegged a “4” or maybe even a “5” before he even opened the door. (Sooooo, every one of us voters gets graded.  On a scale of 1 to 5, a 1 is pro-Art, a 5 is anti-Art. )  And indeed, when Jay opened the door with no smile to be seen beyond Art’s and mine, my heart was sinking fast.  But then Jay (and his beautiful hunting dog) stepped out on the front porch and he started sharing his story.  An Army Vet who served in Iraq and received a disability discharge, Jay is obviously trying to adjust once again to civilian life.  He spoke quietly, and sometimes in a slightly disjointed manner, about his goal of opening up a taxidermy business.  All his life, Jay has loved hunting and animals.  Ah!  This I could relate to!  Not the hunting, nor the military, but turning a passion into a business opportunity was something we had in common.  We talked about the steps necessary to achieve his dream, the business plan necessary to receive bank loans and the location for his work.   Art spoke about his work on the Veterans Committee and his ideas for helping small businesses.  After listening to Jay lay out his plans, I believe he’ll be successful in his endeavors. We left his door tagging him as a “1” for Art.

For me, this day was a reminder to never judge folks by the outward stuff.  For Art, it was a promising day of gaining more votes!