McCain Headquarters

Today I went to the McCain Headquarters in Radford, Virginia.  When I first arrived at the headquarters and asked if I could hang out for a few hours to see what was going on at the headquarters and ask a few questions about the headquarters for my journalism class.  One woman spoke up and said they were just sitting around gossiping and maybe I should go to the polls.  I ignored this response and asked again if they would mind if I stayed and another woman spoke up and said that was fine.  I’m glad I didn’t let the first woman discourage me because I talked to a few very interesting people and a few of the women who were at the headquarters told me before I left they were so happy I came down there this afternoon and really enjoyed me being there.  One thing when I was at the McCain Headquarters I feel like they just automatically assumed I had voted for McCain.  Which isn’t true I sent my absentee ballot in for Barak Obama.  The women kept commenting about how they think the younger voters were just voting for Barak Obama because he is liberal and black.  Which may be true in some cases but just because we are younger doesn’t mean we aren’t capable of watching the news and reading about the election to come to a decision on which canidate we were going to vote for.  I had to remove everyones name from the following material I collected from the headquarters today.  No one who was there wanted to be published or put in print, but the following is all of the information I learned today at the McCain Headquarters.

 

 

The McCain Headquarters in Radford, Virginia are located right behind the New River Valley Fitness Center.  The entire room was filled with American Flags and McCain/Palin signs covered the entire front window.  A large straw Republican elephant sat inside of the headquarters, dressed in read, white, and blue ribbons.  Three women sat at a round table surrounded by McCain/Palin stickers and bowls of left over Halloween candy, which they were handing out to McCain and Palin supporters.  Two of the women were dressed casually in sweaters and jeans.  The other woman wore black dress pants and a grey sweater. A sign on the main entrance of the door read, “Another family for McCain.”  The women who were sitting at the table were community members volunteering there time to help out the McCain Headquarters for Election Day.  Other volunteers from the headquarters were volunteering their time at the polls.

 

A volunteer at the McCain Headquarters woke up early this morning to make sure McCain volunteers were at all three of the polls set up in Radford.  The volunteers set up tables and chairs to pass out literature, McCain/Palin stickers, and sample ballots with the list of Republican candidates who are running for office this election.  He also made sure there were volunteers available to give McCain supporters a ride to the polls.  One volunteer had to give a ride to three Radford University students to the polls this afternoon.  The students were involved with the Young Republicans at Radford University and wanted to help out at the polls between classes. 

 

To prepare for Election Day the McCain Headquarters received a call list from the Republican National Committee and would hold phone banks weekly on Monday nights.  They would call past Republican voters and encourage them to vote for McCain in this election.  They also called “swing voters”, who have voted both Democratic and Republican in past elections to try and secure their vote for the Republican Party.  They also went door to door trying to secure votes for McCain.  “The McCain Headquarters is here to be a presence for the Republican Party, answer any questions about the party, and get people involved in the Republican Party in Radford, he said.” 

 

A woman from the community held two signs she made up in front of the McCain Headquarters.  One sign said, “God Bless America” and the other one said, “Have you forgotten 9/11.”  She said the reason she made these signs was, “Not much has been said about 9/11 in this election, what good is a robust economy if you can’t keep your country safe from terrorism?  Too many people especially young people have forgotten about 9/11 and what good is your country when you can’t keep it safe.”  She believes that McCain has the guts to keep the U.S. safe and the guts to defend us.  She made the, “God Bless America” sign because, “Who can vote for someone who sat in a church for twenty years and who would damn the American people and God because this country was founded on Godly principle and if you take God out of this country then you might as well kiss it goodbye.” 

 

She believes that Barack Obama is too friendly with Muslim people, “his reverend sounds like a racist of white and Jewish people.”  She is weary of Obama not only because of his reverend and church but also because he has been known to hang out with people like Louis Farrakhan who she said is a, “former black panther, converted Muslim, and very racist against Jews.”  Also Obama according to she hung around William Aires who she believes was a 70’s domestic terrorist and Marxist. she said, “Aires bombed the Pentagon and a police department.”  She believes if under the leadership of Obama the United States will be in danger, “the American people need to realize if your going to vote for someone that is a Radical you will end u in a country or chaos and people need to pray our country stays safe,” she said.

 

Two of the volunteers at the McCain Headquarters when asked about McCain’s qualifications to be President one said, “McCain is 72 years old but that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable, I don’t feel like I’m 70 and I still mow my own yard.”  They area concerned with Obama’s background, the people he has been known to associate with, and the church he went to.  One doesn’t like how Obama wants to spread the wealth and said, “What I have I’ve worked very hard for and I don’t believe I should have to pay for other people and if I was on the other end I wouldn’t expect hand outs because I don’t believe in them, I don’t want people paying for me.”

 

One was concerned with the young voters in this election she said, “I hope these young people who are voting for Obama aren’t just voting because he is black, which isn’t a problem with me, I’d vote for someone like Colin Powell.  People should vote for who reflects their opinions and who is the best candidate.”  Even though strong opinions were stated about Barack Obama at the McCain Headquarters she said and a few others agreed, “I don’t care who we wake up to tomorrow as the President they are the Commander and Chief of our country and should be respected.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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