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2022 Our work is done - Brummies for Obama is no more
Posted on the 10th Nov 2012 in the category sport
Well we have finally left the Americans to their own devices. The formidable campaigning machine Brummies for Obama is no more, our work there is done, the only way it will be resurrected is if the women of the Obama clan take up politics. We've pressed the flesh, shouted slogans at strangers, knocked countless doors, argued with anti-abortion loons, stood at the polls and stuck Obama-Biden stickers in toilets across Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. However, our best work was undertaken targeting an all important and transient demographic group that was key to Obama's victory. The barmaids and boozers vote.
We had to frequent all kind of dives, two bit joints, backroom bars and even dreaded mock Irish bars to find this group in their natural habitat. Our message that we traveled half way round the world to volunteer for Obama the least you can do is vote seemed to resonate. We had our schtick down to a tee after over two weeks on the stump for Obama. Our badges, t-shirts or accents would be our in - whether it be our 'Brummies for Obama' apparel or our selection of badges and pins that included 'Ridin with Biden' 'Smart women vote for Obama' or 'Dog Lovers for Obama'.
After hearing us speak the question would usually come: "What you guys doing here?" And with that opening we would be off like a tramp chasing a dollar bill. I lost count the amount of times I said: "Speaking on behalf of the entire world, have to put up with your insane presidents so we thought we might as well get involved" or "The rest of the world fell back in love with America when you elected Obama." Which is true, I remember having loads of arguments with anti-Americans before Obama and I'd always win it by saying: "You say George Bush, I say Johnny Cash, you say Dick Cheney I say Elvis Presley, you say Donald Rumsfeld I say LL Cool J."
America is a continent and it is not fair to write off hundreds of millions of people just because of their politicians. So for that reason me and my fellow Brummies For Obama comrade John left our responsibilities in the UK and went to help keep the world the same. But when our political discourse did not work in a bar and it was getting a bit hairy we would fall back to "our mrs would never let us have a holiday for two weeks but they couldn't say no to us saving the world..." which always seemed to bring a smile.
Our campaign war chest ran out countless times and we had to tap friends, family and associates for money to carry on. New Orleans Tourist Board were golden and they even put us up in a cottage where Elizabeth Taylor stayed 27 times and gave us our own butler. Our cunning plan to get first the Obama then the Romney campaign to fly us down to Miami did not work so we endured a crazy 22 hour Greyhound bus journey to get to the battleground of Miami.
My miscalculation that the Obama campaign or the tourist board would find us places to stay in Miami cost us dear.
If New Orleans leg ended with us living it up in a $1000 a night hotels Miami was strictly a hostel situation. Serbians snoring, Russian racists, Aussie chatterboxes and Spaniards shitting themselves were par for the course as we stayed in the cheapest places Miami had that dd not rent by the hour.
The campaign did not have the resources or volunteers to put us up which cut down our productivity down on the campaign trail. But we still persevered and as usual the best bit of campaigning was meeting and talking to normal people doing remarkable work for their country. We met some lovely Romney supporters too on the stump and at the polls, though of course we met some rather weird and nasty ones too. Meeting celebrity Obama supporter Mario Van Peebles (pictured) at the polls was also a highlight, though I did feel bad for asking what he was upto now.
Polling day was a bit of anti-climax, I spent the morning in Miami's British Consulate sorting out an emergency passport so I could get out of the country. However, this gave me time to listen to some spectacular American radio. Ex-Fox News barmpot Glen Beck seemed to be having a nervous breakdown - veering from predicting the GOP would win big one minute then wondering aloud how many guns people should buy if by chance Obama won.
Then after a bit of canvassing we had lunch at Lincoln, the only freebie I'd blagged in Miami, then back to remind the barmaids and boozers to vote after their shift. All the tension of an American election seems to happen the week before polling day and then when election day actually starts everyone seems just happy it is all over. We went to a few polling stations to help out but they were running smoothly, obviously this being Florida there were trouble spots, in Brickell, where the consulate was, voters were still at the polls hours after 7pm due to rank bad organisation.
Unlike the huge lines that greeted early voters in the days before the election the majority of voters in Miami could vote without having to wait hours as all the polling stations were open. We went into a polling station near our hostel to urge voters to go blue but could not find anywhere, this dispite the misinformation being pumped out on Twitter that queues were huge in Miami, I posted pictures on Twitter to get the truth out, but by that time time was ticking.
Time was approaching 7pm when the polls would close and exit polls would be revealed. We headed to the mythical Tap Tap bar, the one depicted in Obama and Me, and a place close to my heart due to the 2008 election.
Last election night there was a huge party, not this time, like so many places the enthusiasm just was not there, but what was there was good enough for us too, rare rum and a beautiful barmaid.
Her looks and the rum made up for there not being a television, it was good to get this stunning specimen of the female species views on the election too, but naturally as a gentleman I wont reveal them.
The place was empty unlike a few days before when it was heaving for the Voodoo Fet Gede celebration when we drank Tusker beer till past midnight. But with it's faded grandeur, magnificent murals and absence of election news the Tap Tap was a perfect place to drink away the calm before the storm of election night. We said our goodbyes to Brittney the barmaid knowing we probably never see her in the flesh again and stumbled out to begin our search for victory.
We found a very posh resort to watch the first exit polls and drank fine rum, after telling the barmen what we had done they made sure "some rum fell in" my drink. There was only about two hours of real tension about who would win, and trying to work out what exit poll meant what almost put me off my fine rum. But the team of black barmen seemed confident and that rubbed off on us. After realising we couldn't take the piss with the free rum we headed to find a party to celebrate the win.
Last time the Democrats hired out the entire Jungle Island complex which held thousands of volunteers. This time was different. The party for the national campaign volunteers reminded me of a crap student union where the drinks were expensive, but we'd smuggled in our own rum anyway. After getting sick of waiting at the bar and realising there was no wi-fi to pimp off we went to the local volunteers party which had plenty of food and lovely people.
As the results came in there was massive relief especially for me who had called the election big for Obama on the BBC and Norwegian radio. After we knew he had won the exhaustion hit us and unlike in 2008 when there were people crying in the streets it was all a bit more muted. The world had not changed after the same bloke in power won, but we had helped America and the world dodge a bullet. And that will always remain special. The Brummies for Obama were in our bunk beds before Obama's speech, it had been a long day that started at 5.45am.
Not fancing another 22 hour Greyhound journey we decided to fly back the next day to New Orleans after realising we had left it too late to fly back on the day we were leaving America. We bade farewell to our hostel inmates and e bid farewell to our hostel inmates and headed to another Irish pub. The thin lipped fella drinking at the bar made our trip worth it. Looking at the statistics on CNN he said: “This election is a turning point, over 70 per cent of white men who voted went for Romney but because of the blacks, latinos and now women as well people like me do not control this country, white men have controlled this place for centuries, but no more, we are going to shit, we will no longer be number one in the world, we are going to end up like Europe, I’m leaving as soon as I can.”
The fact Obama made wankers like that up and down the country so unhappy spoke volumes, he did not grasp that his moaning is exactly the opposite of what democracy is about. I asked, “Why don’t you move to China? They will be number one soon and don’t let women pick their leaders.” He just grumbled into his shit beer and carried on bristling at the unfairness and scowling at the cheerful barman who bought a copy of my book “Obama and Me.” We headed to New Orleans via Charlotte and stayed at a diamond of a hotel, the Dauphine, in the French Qtr after getting a press rate. The beauty of a bed and bath revitalised us to get back on the megabooze. And what a place to do it. New Orleans was at full tilt on a Wednesday night.
We discovered Florida would be won by our team whilst sitting in a 24 hour bar drinking cider and listening to ZZ Top. We toasted our success over and over again. We were not the best volunteers or me the best international travel journalist. We'd spent a week in New Orleans and didn't hear any jazz and went to Miami beach and didn't see any sand. But we spoke to countless Americans and that was good enough for me.
Brummies for Obama did our job, we've sacrificed November, December and Christmas to afford this adventure but we achieved our mission - get Obama re-elected and have fun doing it.
Brummies for Obama are Fired Up for polling day
Posted on the 6th Nov 2012 in the category sport
Today is the day when the world holds it breath to see who America will choose as its President.
We of course did our canvassing, which involves knocking hundreds of Democrat doors in the hope ten per cent answer so we can tell them to remember to vote. After speaking to two cool gay guys on Lincoln Road doing visibility - which is basically holding signs and shouting reminders to people walking past to vote - we decided to change tack.
The Democrat was delighted and got on the phone: "We are sending down some British soccer hooligans to help out...." After a couple of seconds waiting for the hooligans we realised he was on about us. But there was plenty of work to do with the need to explain to voters about the 10 plus voting amendments and all the various Democrats on the 10 page ballot. It seems the Republican governor wants to make voting as confusing as possible and has succeeded. We made plenty of friends at the polls at even got interviewed by Norwegian radio, a Democrat website and a Caribbean news organisation. When the clock struck 7pm the cones came out and the queue cut off at the last woman standing. All the volunteers for the countless candidates and causes quickly melted away and our thoughts turned to where to stay and what to do tomorrow.
After returning from the bar a couple of hours later the queues had gone into the stadium and those who didn't make it stood and waited for the Presidential motorcade, a big deal for a neighbourhood like Hollywood. The hundreds of police officers and bike cops betrayed the main attraction was on his way. The motorcade with all its outriders, SUVs, limos, fire engines and all other manner of vehicles glided into the school. Everyone on the street went barmy and it was a moment to remember forever as we glimpsed Obama. But the lucky ones were the in the stadium, we heard the roar as he entered the high school football stadium. We heard him shout: "Are you fired up?" Everyone was but then the wind changed direction and I heard no more. But that was enough for me, it matters not that we could have got in without tickets and I didn't need the passport I lost on the day because at last I'd felt the magic of 2008. After a day at the polling stations today I hope tonight I will feel it again, I mean he can't lose, can he?
Campaigning for Obama - Brummie style
Posted on the 4th Nov 2012 in the category sport
Our countless cunning plans to get from New Orleans to Miami for free came to exactly nothing.
After spending ten minutes trying to find an address or number without donating money we gave up and went to the Obama office. Being a week day there was not as many weekend warriors and just the hardcore were there, including of course the obligatory data input dude in the corner who doesn't say anything, ever, I'm convinced the whole campaign would collapse if they downed tools.
My favourite was the one with Obama bowing down in front of a sheik quoting the price of petrol when he was elected and now. We passed a voting station in Melbourne which looked a hive of activity and had countless proposition signs of all the candidates in the different races currently taking place from President to sheriff. I'm not surprised they have early voting here as just reading the ten page ballot paper, the longest in Florida history, must take an hour.
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