Canvassing against Rodney Tom

Saturday I canvassed in Bellevue with Fuse Washington, the King County Democrats, and the Win/Win Network to educate people in the 48th LD about Rodney Tom. King County Dems Chair Karl de Jong was at the event.

The web page for the event, on the website of the 48th LD  Democrats, says:

Many of his constituents are angry about his actions, but there are people in our precincts who don’t have good information and so don’t know what to think. Our canvass will educate them about his move and the implications for Washingtonians. We’ll be asking people at the door to take action on their issues.

As I arrived at the event, an activist from Fuse Washington was handing out canvassing sheets, with names, addresses, and maps.  They said that they were targeting people likely to be low information voters: people who vote irregularly.

Indeed, most people I spoke with during the canvass were either unaware of or uninterested in what’s happening in Olympia. Several people refused to talk about politics. Several people were dismissive of politics and of political groups trying to market ideas. I understand their hostile attitude: if someone came to my door trying to convince me to support or oppose some position or some candidate, I’d be pretty skeptical.

The event web page was posted by Phil Kouse, the 48th LD Dems chairman.     Since the Democratic Party, including his legislative district, have roundly censured or admonished Tom, and since it seems certain that he will not earn the endorsement even of the 48th LD Democrats, one wonders whether Tom will become a Republican or an Independent.

Democracy is very imperfect. Most people are pretty clueless and probably base their decisions on superficial criteria: sound bites,  photos, attack ads, and charisma.