Our Intrepid Volunteer, Yannick

[asdjrocky]

I met so many great people when I volunteered for John Edwards in Reno, Nv, the weekend of Nov 18. What follows, over the next seven days, will be the story of one of just one of those hard working volunteer I met. When I got to Reno with the SacCrew -don't worry, it's my name for us, not an actual official campaign name, but I am hoping it catches on - Yannick, from Sonoma Ca was all ready there, working hard. She was full of ideas and energy. I believe the banners for Edwards, that you see outside the Reno office, and at the town hall, were acquired by Yannick from car dealerships. They were banners that they weren't using, and she said she needed them for a school project.

Don't worry. It was a school project, the banners we're painted by students supporting Edwards! Pretty slick, right? This is how you run a dead heat in Iowa, while spending a fraction of what the other guys are spending. This is grass, at it's roots, my fellow Edwards Supporters.


Painting the banners


Outside Reno HQ


Edwards Supporters (they totally rock)banner in the background

So here's the story. On Sunday morning, Yannick will depart from San Fransisco California at 10 am, and she will arrive in Des Moines Iowa, at 5:45 pm. A die hard, untamed spirit, is what she takes with her, that, and the hopes of all of us here. She wouldn't be making this trip without the help of a lot of people. At least one, or more of them are here, and she asked me to thank you for that. Please feel free to come forward if you are one of her benefactors, she would love to thank you, or drop me a pm if you wish to remain animus here in the thread.

She plans to hit the ground running in Ottumwa (hope that is right) by Monday. She told me today when we spoke, that this is a very promising area for Edwards. Trust me, she will be at it early, and she will not stop. Yannick and I have probably exchanged a hundred words since I met her in Reno, so all of us will be getting to know her together, as she calls me with daily up-dates from Iowa. I'll then be passing all of the good news on to you here in the Edwards Supporters Group. I'm hoping to get pictures from on the ground. And I'm hoping she brings us some real inside stuff from the Edwards Campaign. Any you guys want her to know, post it here, and I'll make sure she hears your voices. From what I know about her so far, you vote Edwards, or she runs you over.

So I'll be posting here just about every day for the next week starting Sunday. But I'll just keep it in this thread. This should be fun, so stick around, and join in the Adventures of Our Intrepid Volunteer, Yannick. If it turns out to be entertaining at all, when it's done I'll clean it up and post it in GDP, just to drive em all nuts.

Until next time, peace.

[Plucketeer]

1. I'm one of them - proud to say!

I envy her spirit and the fact that she can pick up and go. The least I could do was let her carry a bit of my spirit and hope thru a small donation. Heck, now with the first of the month upon us, I might slip Yannick a few more. Why not?

Let me say one thing here if I can. Starting with the '04 elections, I told myself that if Corporate interests could buy the oval office for their own business, we can play that game too. Screw tithing to some religious rule. If that buys you ANYTHING, you won't be able to tell the rest of us when you "cash in". But a few hundred behind a candidate that represents you HERE - on Earth - on your OWN turf! By golly, that's a pittance to pay to turn things around. And it's proving to be effective when we pool our pennies together.
Hey! I'm a tightwad! I really am. In this day and age when folks casually fork over the cost of a whole big can of coffee for ONE SILLY CUP of it..... I just don't get it! But I DON'T mind getting investing where I feel I'm getting VALUE FOR MONEY - and THAT'S what I feel we get for every dime sent to JE's aspirations!

:kick:

[asdjrocky]

2. You rock.

America will be a better place for it.

[asdjrocky]

3. Yannick Up-date

Spoke with Yannick just hours ago. They had just finished a volunteer kick off party and tomorrow morning she's on her way to Iowa!


Yannnick (on right) at Reno Town Hall


"I just made a trip to REI, and I picked up some double layered gloves," She stated earlier this evening on the phone, referring to the chili temperature in Iowa, "So I'm ready to go!"

Because I'm the curious sort, I checked the weather in Des Moines,High:48-Low:28. For those of us in the sunny west, let's all say brrrrrrr. A bit colder than our California girl may be used to.

Again, she wanted to say thank you to everyone that helped!

Good luck Yannick, we'll keep our fingers crossed for warm weather.

Remember, the real news comes after her first full day on work, Monday, Dec. 3. More tomorrow night by Midnight pacific.


Note: Edited to add photo.

[Catchawave]

4. Safe travels yannick !

Thanks for the updates rocky, I love event reports :hi:

[asdjrocky]

5. Yannick in Mormonland!

Yannick called me today, as she was on a lay over in of all places, Salt Lake City. That's right, our Dem Warrior for Edwards, Our very own Intrepid Volunteer, was trapped for an entire hour in the heart of Right Wing Nutland.

Actually, I got a call from her before she was due to board the connecting flight to Des Moines, hummmmmmmm, you can't turn Repuglickin by just spending an hour in Salt Lake can you. I mean, isn't the mayor, Rocky -yes you do gotta love a guy with that name- a left wing, died in the wool, liberal Democrat? So I'm sure Yannick has been in Des Moines for hours, and everything is fine.

She didn't stop working, from the time the plane took off she was talking up Edwards to the passenger next to her. She told me he was a republican, but he was willing to listen, she even made sure he took some Edwards literature with him, when they landed.
A couple, that had been sitting beside her during the three hour flight, said hello as they all were leaving the plane. One of them a republican, the other a Dem, and both spoke to her. Both Mormon, on Dem, one Republican, both liked Edwards. The also told her they thought what she was doing was great.

So I guess this is where I eat my words about Salt Lake City, right? Ugh, can I at least have some ketchup?

Salt Lake City, a great city for Edwards!

So that's the report for now, because it's all I know.

Good luck to Yannick, looks like she might be winning us votes before she even steps foot in Iowa, and GO EDWARDS!

[Catchawave]

6. Best thing about Salt Lake City.......!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Anderson

Thanks again for the update!

[asdjrocky]

7. Thanks Wave,

It's great to know people are paying attention. I'll be posting more tonight about her trip tonight when I get my second call of the day. Got a call at 6:30 this morning- who needs sleep?- and she is bundled up and ready to go.

[asdjrocky]

8. Yannick Morning / Afternoon Report, The Work Never Ends

We continue to follow the adventures of Yannick, or California Edwards Supporter that traveled all the way to Iowa, to work this week for the campaign. Today was her first full day with feet on the ground, and she was eager to get started, so eager in fact that my phone rang at 6:41 this morning. Yes people, I said 6:41.

Just a quick aside here people- In case you didn't know, I'm a DJ, and DJ's do not like mornings. Kind of funny ya know, if we liked mornings we wouldn't be DJs. We'd be garbage collectors, or milk men. (My God, do they still have milk men?) No, we DJs, as a group, are night people.

The morning report follows...
6:41 / 8:41 SEIT (Standard Edwards Iowa Time) I made that up on my own, like it? Yannick called me from Des Moines HQ, she had a couple of minutes as they were deciding what to do with her for the day. She was wearing about 17 layers of clothing -just picture the kid in A Christmas Story - but she said it was a dry cold, so all in all, not that uncomfortable. And what's a little discomfort when we're getting Edwards the nomination? (Notice I say this sitting in cozy Ca, at my comfortable desk.) She stayed the evening at Nancy's house. She said, Nancy and her and her son Josh, were very nice people, and I said of course, they're Edwards Supporters. She hoped to do some tabling today, or canvasing, but she said, with typical determination, that she was ready for anything. She did mention, that if you have not gone to Iowa yet, it's an experience that should not be missed, and she encouraged a trip by any dedicated Edwards supporters. I decided I'd see how she felt at the end of the day.


Rocky, wishing he was in Iowa


The afternoon report:
3:55 PST/ 5:55 (SEIT) I got the call from Yannick as she was still working. Forty houses down, and about five more to go. It was dark, and her and Bob were carrying flashlights. Bob is another great Edwards supporter she was canvasing with today.

When I asked how it was going she told me there were a lot of undecideds, and a lot of "anyone but Hillary" sentiment in the people she spoke with so far. She did recommend that you bring boots if you make the trip. When I asked how cold it was Bob answered, not bad, 25 degrees. For those of you that are used to this, I say you are tougher people than me. Being a life long California resident, I get cold if it drops below seventy-five.

Anyway, that's it for now. As always, more to follow.


Yannick, behind the peace sign.
Picture her with about 15 more layers of clothing.

[Plucketeer]

9. Thanks for the updates!

If it weren't for my parrots and my support for my wife's doin's, I'd try goin' to Iowa myself. Having grown up in So. Michigan, I'm not too intimidated by cold temps. Of course, having lived in CA since '82, I've learned to appreciate the temperate climate here. Anyway, I'd appreciate a situation where folks would actually listen to what you have to say. Here, where I live, it's bleeding, solid, fire engine RED. Very depressing at times.
I DO have Edwards stickers all over the back of my vintage pickup truck and it's amusing to stand off from it a bit, while it sits in a local parking, and watch folks take notice of all that Demo-Decor!
Go Yannick! Go Edwards! Someone send Elizabeth a catalog of curtains. She needs to start considering different patterns for their impending DC residence! :kick:

[asdjrocky]

10. Loved your reply.

What part of Ca are you in?

I'm Sacramento, and we're putting together a group to go down to the Salinas Straw Vote, on Dec. 9.

[Plucketeer]

11. rocky

I'm about 200 miles south of you, in Visalia.

[asdjrocky]

12. cool!

Howdy neighbor!

[asdjrocky]

13. The Continuing Adventures of Our Intrepid Volunteer Yannick, Debate Day

I NEED YOU
In Iowa

That's the message tonight from Edwardsland Iowa. The energy is amazing, the people are amazing, but we still need to do more, we must do more. Yannick, in our daily call told me today that she sees more Edwards volunteers than any others. But it is still not enough. Remember, we are playing with the big money, corporate candidates in Iowa, with both of them together out spending John Edwards by millions and millions, so what is our choice, but to do more?

Yannick told me at the debate today -yes she was there, and more on that later- all the candidates had their people there to rally. The funny thing, for Obama, it was almost all paid staff, and the same goes for Hillary. Edwards had some steelworkers there, some carpenters & joiners in attendance and a lot of volunteers, plus only a few staff.

So here is a plea coming directly from Yannick in Iowa. She tells me they need you. She tells me, in this last thirty days, we must call every number, we must knock on every door. They must have more bodies. They need volunteers. If you can, give some time, take a trip, even if only for a few days. If you can't give time, then throw some more money Edwards way. I know how generous some of you have been, and the last thing I want to do is turn this into a telethon, but if you can find it, give just a little more. And that's all for my Jerry Lewis moment. I promise not to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone." No one here wants that.

Now onto the fun stuff, inside debate news. Well, not actually inside. As I'm sure all of you knew, and I just found out, there was no live audience at the debate. But from what Yannick tells me, there was quite a crowd outside to greet the candidates, as I spoke of a bit earlier. Now here's the scoop, the Clinton supporters were on an opposite corner of the Edwards group, then they changed positions, then they changed them again, then did it a few more times. Yannick said it got to the point where the Edwards people were making jokes about the shifting positions of the Hillary supporters. Eventually, the Clintonites got too close to the debate entrance, and the police asked them to leave. I can't make this stuff up. Trust me, I can't. If I could, then my fiction would get published.

Since the debate took up a good part of the day, Yannick did some phone banking back at Iowa Headquarters (I just like saying that) afterward. Three hours worth of calls, and call backs. She did say that they are really dialed in there, and they are doing everything to make sure everyone, and I do mean everyone, gets a call.

She told me the Clinton office is right across the street from Edwards and at one point today she took a walk, and actually walked into the Clinton office to say hi. While wearing an Edwards t-shirt. Don't worry, she's still Ok, she in fact said they were very nice and gave her a couple of souvenir's for two of her friends, that are Hillary backers.

At the rally, she did say one of the staffer she spoke with from the Obama camp was not so generous when she tried to talk him out of a sign for her Ca Assemblyman who likes Obama. He suggested she stop by the Obama HQ instead. I'm certain they just want a chance to brainwash her.

Well, people, that's all I have for now.

Remember, Edwards needs your time, Edwards needs your money. Edwards needs you. Don't forget, everything you do, no matter how great or how small, takes us just a tiny step closer to changing the world for the better.

More tomorrow.

Peace

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/asdjrocky
Please, give my journal a click.

[pamela]

14. Hey Rocky...

I had an idea I wanted to share with you and I thought this might be a good thread for it.

There is a message board at the Des Moines Register that could use a little Edwards love. I think it's a new message board but it seems to be getting some traffic. They also have a place for comments after most articles. I thought maybe you could pass this info and link along to Yannick and she could pass it on to some of the Iowa folks at headquarters. Here's the link... http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?plckForumPage=ForumCategories&category=PluckForum

[asdjrocky]

15. Bitchin idea-

I'll take a look.

[pamela]

16. It seems to be very new.

I've been doing some searches for message boards/forums in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. I like newspaper message boards, when I can find them, because they usually cover a very diverse range of topics and attract a wide audience. Plus, for every poster on the board, there are probably at least a hundred lurkers. This one, at the Des Moines Register, appears to have just started so it doesn't have a whole lot of members or posts yet. That's not necessarily a bad thing as everyone is a newbie and it wouldn't be as hard to establish "board cred.":P

This might sound sneaky to some but I see it as just a different type of community and no different than going door to door or talking to folks at the mall or grocery store. I don't think we can underestimate the importance of just getting Edwards' name out there. At the very least, we should encourage some of Iowa's Edwards' supporters to leave comments under any relevant articles. So far, it looks like the Ron Paul folks are thinking along the same lines.

eta: I hope I'm not hijacking your thread. I had been thinking about this but thought it was best if the people that signed up were Iowans and this looked like a good possibility. Yannick's trip sounds great.

[asdjrocky]

17. On 'hijacking your thread'

Forget about it, we're all here for one reason

and that's to make this man our next President.

Keep up the good work.

Peace.

[asdjrocky]

18. .

[Catchawave]

19. Will Yannick sign up for DU when she gets home?

Goodness knows we need MORE Yannick :)

[asdjrocky]

20. Honestly,

I'm not sure she's much of a computer person. She just asked me yesterday, how to check her e-mail from a computer that is not hers.

I will encourage her to come on and say hello to everyone, which I'm sure she will.

Wave, we could really use about a dozzen more of you.

[Plucketeer]

21. I went

to that paper's forums and found a thread about JE. I posted a comment to it. We'll see if it draws any fire. The respondents had already made negative remarks. :grr:

[asdjrocky]

22. Good work.

[asdjrocky]

23. Lost in Iowa, Yannick

Hi people! Haven't reported much on this of late because I'm hearing very little from Yannick, I figured she was working very hard to get John Edwards the nomination, or, she was lost in Iowa. Turned out to be a little of both. A few nights ago, Yannick and another out of towner, became lost for a few hours after searching for an electric blanket, something about University Ave being in two different places, maybe you Iowa people could offer a little help on this point.

Quick Note: Didn't I offer you some rare up-close, inside campaign information at the beginning of this piece, so long ago? And haven't I delivered? I've talked electric blankets, cold weather tips, and pleas for money and time. Wow, where is my award? Can someone make me a sandwich?

Kidding aside, as if that can ever be an aside with me, Yannick has worked very hard for John Edwards during her week in Iowa. She's done the hard work, the work that a lot of people don't want to do. She's knocked on those doors, she's sat in an uncomfortable position on a sofa, at a desk, in a metal chair, even on the floor, I'm sure, making call after call. She's been on the other end of the phone, when people politely said, "No thank you," and hung up.

She's indubitably been that cheery voice that heard, "No way. We're caucusing Clinton."

And she's heard the same for Obama, Biden, and the others. Sometimes she's heard nothing but a hurried hello at the other end of the line, then received a dial tone as her award for caring, sometimes only half way through her introduction. We've all heard that dead tone, right? Weather it is in our head, or the tone on the phone. It's a lonely sound, it can get you down.

You know the calls, Yannick knows the calls, everyone that cares here, and has been on the ground, doing the work, knows those calls.

But we know other calls. "I'm for Edwards," We've heard that on the other end of the line. We've had the occasional call where they actually want to know more about our candidate, where they ask real issue questions about health care, about nuclear arms, about the war or a hundred other subjects. We've had the call where we know we've won a vote, where we know we changed a mind, where we know, we've gotten a great Progressive cause, one tiny step closer to a reality for all Americans.

The other day, Yannick stood outside of Campbell's Health Food Store, in the snow, tabling for Edwards. She had three people sign support cards for Edwards. Yeah, I'd say Yannick knows those calls for sure. She understands the moment of connection, she gets IT. She has done the work, the grunt work, on the ground.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to Iowa, go to New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, even. Make those calls, look those voters in the eye, then you'll know. If you can't go, then do everything you can to get involved from your state. It matters. Every call, every door. Every conversation.

Today, or tomorrow, Yannick will fly back to California, where I'm sure her work for Edwards will continue. While I haven't been to Iowa, I've had a chance to experience some of it through the brief phone calls I've gotten from her, on her infrequent breaks. If she were writing this, I'm sure she'd thank all of you for your support and good wishes. I know she wants to thank Nancy, and her son Josh, for having her for the week. That part always blows me away, people, in these crazy times, inviting total strangers into their home. And of course, all the other volunteers and staff in Des Moines. I do hope to get a pic or two, and a letter from her, to post here.

Well, that's all I got for now. I'm sure I'll do a final wrap up piece for the whole thing. Tomorrow, I'm off to the Salinas Straw Vote, with a great volunteer I met in Reno named Nancy, to do everything we can to support our candidate. I'll have a report from that, with lots of pictures!

Keep up the work people. This man can't elect himself you know!


Peace.

[Catchawave]

24. Thanks for the update....here's a great kos diary

I met TomP and clarkent in Chicago at Yearly Kos....we all worked the Edwards Exhibition booth for a few days, great guys! Anyhow, here's what they've been up too, Ms.Yannick would enjoy this story:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/2/193632/041

[asdjrocky]

25. What a great story, thanks Wave. nt