Getting Out the Vote, from Venezuela
Normally I’m not a politically active animal. Aside from voting in national elections or joining an occasional local cause, I keep a distance from the political process. Maybe this is my response to the sad spectacle of progressively atavistic and loutish administrations from Nixon through Reagan to the Bush coterie. Democrats have not been wonderful either, but at least they haven’t tried to tear down the house. Or it’s possible that my slow turning from 1960s enthusiast to imminent retiree has made me more worldly skeptical than wise.

But this election year is palpably different. The McCain-Palin ticket exceeds by half the Atwater-inspired gusto for fabricating dirt, bullying and trading truth for power. These two desperate figures have made for me an unbeatable case for giving participatory democracy an extra push. And what better place to become politically active than in a land where a strangely popular leader has remade government in his own ideological image. That’s right, I’m busy here in Venezuela.

Having literally sailed across the Caribbean into this Latin petro-state for a two month visit, I decided to do more than watch the American elections from afar. It was time to unlimber the laptop-Skype package and contact the Obama campaign to help persuade swing state voters to make a sane presidential choice. This means dialing to help my state of residence, Florida.

My first surprise was how easy the Obama organization had made joining online. Political campaigns, like retail stores, are naturally geared to accept monetary offerings, but are not always well disposed towards maverick volunteers. Yet in short order I registered and was provided a call list with names and numbers from Boca Raton to Ft. Lauderdale.
Now I was ready to help redeem the sunshine state’s seamy reputation for shady election results. But as anyone who has worked for a candidate knows, noble expectations seldom match the real results.

Back in Venezuela a national election is also scheduled later in November. It will be another referendum on the policies of Hugo Chavez and his efforts to radically reshape the country’s political landscape. Since Chavez came to power ten years ago through an old-fashioned Latin American coup, he has been eager to present his regime as being popular with citizens and more legitimately established through elections.

In fact, El Presidente does seem to enjoy the support of about 40% of Venezuelans—most, though not all of them low income. He achieves this in no small part by spending about half of the country’s oil-derived budget on social programs and subsidies for the poor. Gasoline here costs $0.10/gallon at the pump. His largesse for the masses, together with self-proclaimed leadership for other Latin countries and a vigorous anti-U.S. stance, are the lynchpins of his”Bolivarian revolution”. But Señor Chavez has not yet succeeded in being better at uniting than at dividing.

Meanwhile Florida residents are not exactly leaping on the Obama bandwagon as a result of my long distance canvassing. The majority of voters I call are either not home or have incorrect numbers. How many cellphones vs. landlines I call is unknown. Of the rest, some already support the candidate and politely tolerate a reminder to vote. A few remain undecided while some are so strongly opposed to the Democratic ticket that conversation is barely possible. Hangups happen. One woman who oozed hostility warned me that if Obama is elected president we are all “done for.”

A recent article, The Irrational Electorate, by Larry Bartels,
(The Irrational Electorate) about voter behavior confirms what a lot of research by political scientists has shown: that most people think we are being objective and thoughtful when we choose who to vote for. Instead we tend to make voting decisions based not on facts and careful comparisons but on wishful expectations and ignorance. (Not you and I of course.)

If U.S. politics is colorful and lively now, the polarized Venezuelan situation may be reaching combustion point. Public dialogue is punctuated with reports of assassination plots. Recently the offices of a leading newspaper were attacked after the paper’s editor made a very provocative statement about Chavez on a national TV interview program. Nothing too inflammatory, just that the President should be careful not to become too great a tyrant or he may end up hanging dead upside down like Mussolini at the hands of a mob. Chavez in turn has threatened to jail his main presidential election opponent and calls him a crime boss and a swine.

Opinions here often divide between those, on one hand, who see Chavez dismantling democratic institutions and leading the country down a socialist road to ruin. Supporters, unsurprisingly, believe that a new day has dawned for Latin America, with a foundation in social justice and overdue pride in the non-U.S./European heritage of the hemisphere. Mass rallies of Chavez’s red-shirted supporters proclaim vague slogans: We are the future of the people.

To wrap up my brief volunteer stint, I click and save, thereby reporting the results of my hopeful calls to Florida Obama HQ. For some reason, this part of their otherwise efficient online system does not quite work as advertised. I receive repeated automated reminder messages from my field coordinator to report all call results. I did that, many times. Or else I am a most un-savvy internet activist, which is likely.

It’s time now to dinghy ashore for good café with Venezuelan friends from across the political spectrum who are gracious and amable. The people here have a talent for open conversation about the world, life or just juicy gossip that leaves politics aside. Sometimes that’s where it belongs.
-Larry