Chirag Shah

Shah, who interned with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), is a sophomore at Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo., where he is pursuing a double major in political science and marketing.

14/2/2004

At 8:30am on Saturday morning, my officemates came to pick me up and we traveled to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) where we met 120 other enthusiastic Republicans who were enjoying coffee and donuts and about to board three charter busses bound for Lexington. The approximate travel time was scheduled for eight-and-a-half hours. Taking a proactive approach to the situation, I knew that this experience would be a great chance for me to get to know the members of the staff and begin to establish a solid network of contacts in Washington, D.C. After stopping five times, we finally reached the hotel in Lexington after spending eleven-and-a-half hours in transit. The organizers had us split us up into two hotels across the street from one another; I ended up being in the second hotel. There, I met David Byrd, a gentleman who was close friends with Eric and Dino from my office and who helped them campaign in Louisiana for Bobby Jindal’s gubernatorial bid. For the duration of the weekend, Byrd and I shared many conversations, and I was able to learn a great deal from his sage advice and life’s experiences. The first night, the five of us went out to dinner and I spent the evening talking to Byrd. He explained how he had worked in the first Bush administration, then went to work as chief of staff to Michael Steel, lieutenant governor of Maryland, and is now going to work for the second Bush administration. Explaining that starting at an early age, as I am doing, is the best way to break into the industry. Continuing that the key to success in politics is not what you know, but whom you get to know and how well you build and maintain a network. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with his humble nature; an individual with his credentials was taking time to speak with me simply to impart his experiences and wisdom.

15/2/2004

Having done campaign work in Wisconsin and Missouri, I was expecting to do much of the same; going door to door and making phone calls to potential voters, for the next several days. The next morning (Sunday), we were split into 15-person vans and were driven out to each precinct of the district. We were handed door hangers and maps with addresses and were told that we were only knocking on the doors of registered Republicans. The idea being, if we could get our base out to the polls, we could with the election. Generally speaking, the voter turnout in the district has been around 10 percent.

Two other students, Keyur Parikh and Mike Chahinian, joined me in the first route. It was very cold, but we were up to the challenge. We split the map into three portions, but opted to do the first street together. It is important to note that each volunteer was instructed not to place any literature anywhere near a mailbox or letter slot, as advertising for a campaign in or on these premises is a federal offense. At the first few houses we were met with warm receptions from people who said that they were voting for the Republican candidate, Alice Forgy Kerr. Having split up, it made the work run quite smoothly. Keyur and I took the two longest streets and he worked the evens and I took the odds. Knocking on doors and leaving literature, I became quite accustomed to our slogan: “Good morning, I’m volunteering for Alice Forgy Kerr; I just wanted to encourage you to come on and vote on Tuesday. It will be a close election, so we need all of the support that we can get! Have a great day.” This did get somewhat redundant and monotonous after going through dozens of homes, but each person was different and added a new dynamic to the experience. The most exciting aspect was that I was truly working on the most basic and pure form of the political process. This notion helped to reinforce why we were there and that our efforts were indeed an important aspect of the campaign.

After finishing the route, we were picked up by the van and headed back to headquarters for lunch. After drinking some hot chocolate we were ready to attack the next precinct. Because it was a Saturday, it was much easier to reach people. The cold weather had relegated people to remaining in their homes, and thus they answered their doors when we came knocking. Working at the base level, I was able to communicate with the voter base and speak to them about their concerns. It was certainly interesting to know that the voters were becoming quite disgruntled at the barrage of media that bombarded them for the past several weeks. Some people complained of up to 10 phone calls in one week, not including door-to-door workers. Some felt that the efforts were intrusive and thus vented their frustrations on us, the volunteers. Knowing about the issues at hand and the political dynamic, I tried to explain that because it was a special election, all of the media was accelerated to fit into the allotted time. Similarly, because it promised to be a close election, it was imperative that we express how important it was for our supporters to get out and vote. This appeased some, yet others were determined to be angry (and who can blame them?). I had three friends who came with the Democrats and were doing virtually identical activities for the other camp. They expressed similar dissatisfaction from their constituents as well.

The campaign truly turned ugly. Both the NRCC and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) funded smear campaigns to discredit the other candidate. The NRCC spent upwards of $1 million in supporting Kerr, while the DCCC spent almost $700,000 on their candidate, Ben Chandler’s efforts. Each side also imported a significant amount of help from around the region and from Washington, D.C. For the duration of the week, the Democrats imported roughly 600 volunteers (400 from Washington, D.C.), while the Republicans brought upwards of 900 (120 from Washington, D.C.). This certainly must have helped to stimulate the local economy; yet it was not appreciated by the local community, that so many outsiders were taking part in their electoral process.

16/2/2004

On Monday, we did virtually the same thing. Walking from house to house; however, we ran into some more difficulty. In order to rally the support, we ended up badgering far too many people. Because it was a Monday, more people were not home due to work. It seemed as though those who were home were angry at the campaign strategy. Thus, it was as though there were many more angry constituents. In reality it probably evened out to be the same as the day before.

Monday was the epitome of drudgework on the campaign trail. Nevertheless, I was able to keep the goal in mind as I was with a determined group of people who all fed off of each other’s high spirits. One change from the previous days was that we were only to hang the door decks in certain neighborhoods, without knocking. This would alleviate some of the frustration from the angry constituents who had seen multiple campaign workers that week alone.

Upon coming back to the campaign headquarters, we were put to work once again, but not before having a chance to meet Kerr and speak to her briefly about her views on some of the key issues. She also thanked us for our hard work.

Moreover, each of us took a precinct and attached labels with the address of the appropriate voting location on yet another set of door decks. This (in my estimation) would be the fourth or fifth set of literature that would come out to each individual household. After each precinct was labeled, we ensured that we had performed every measure within our capacity.

That night, the Forgy Kerr team had organized a rally at the campaign headquarters. TV crews and supporters were in high numbers. Volunteers passed our street signs and American flags to the onlookers. The announcer of the University of Kentucky basketball team was the emcee and Kerr had four of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation, along with Sen. Mitch McConnell and Gov. Ernie Fletcher, to support her. With each speaker, the cheers became louder and more enthusiastic. Perhaps the quote of the evening came when Sen. McConnell said, “There is nothing more irrelevant than a freshman Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

This remark was followed by wild applause and the audience franticly waved their flags and signs. Kerr was the last to address the crowd and her message was one of thanks. She expressed her gratitude for our volunteer efforts and coming out to Lexington to work on her behalf. She concluded by encouraging one final push, tomorrow.

Election Day

Finally, it was Tuesday (Feb. 17), Election Day. A few dozen very dedicated volunteers woke up before dawn and signed onto visibility. This meant that we were given street signs and stood at corners and waved to drivers as they passed by. After eating a quick breakfast at the hotel, we piled into the vans and were dropped off at strategic street corners. At about 6:00am, people started to drive by the corner of Man-o-War and Connors streets in great numbers. Honking in support or waving to us were ways that we knew that they agreed with our cause. Every once in a while, we would see a thumbs down or a more vulgar gesture that signaled support for Mr. Chandler. Unyielding however, we held the signs proudly and with conviction, smiling and waving at all of those who came our way. Diligently working from 6:00am to 9:00am, our group was exhausted when they came to relieve us. After a hot cup of coffee and a small break we were off walking the precincts once again.

Today, our job was to continue to rally the support and get out the vote. As the day progressed, we were to ask if people had voted and encourage them to do so. Additionally, we were to ask if they needed transportation to their designated voting area. Again, as it was during the workweek, many people were not home, so we left the literature between doors and on knobs. As the day progressed, many people smiled with support and told of their intentions to vote for our candidate or that that had already done so. Each house that showed enthusiasm for Ms. Kerr helped to reinforce within me that I was truly helping a strong cause. After finishing our assignments, Keyur and I climbed back into the van and we were deployed to helping some of the other teams with their lists. We knew that we were to end at 5:30, as the polls closed at six. We finished our entire van’s worth of households and called to see if we could be of help elsewhere. When they called us back to the headquarters we knew that now it was crunch time. We had dinner arranged for us at a restaurant near the hotel. By the time we had changed and had come to the restaurant, the numbers had started to come in. For a fleeting moment, it appeared as though Ms. Kerr may have a chance, but in the end she had lost, by thirteen points. With 92% of the precincts reporting, Ms. Kerr gave her concession speech to her campaign staff and close friends. We watched on TV from the restaurant.

Upon the final verdict, Eric, Dino, Wesley, Mr. Byrd, Keyur and I got into conversation about the election. Some felt that one of her biggest problems was that she was too much like a “kindergarten teacher.” She did not do enough to answer many of the attack adds against her and that was one of her major shortcomings. Others commented that she was not a strong candidate considering the opponent that she was facing. A former attorney general, gubernatorial runner-up and deeply rooted family recognition in Kentucky politics. I asked if our efforts and the campaign strategy to bombard the people with media was a pitfall. With almost 60 years of campaign and political experience between all of them, they said that this was generally the trend with campaigns and special elections more specifically. They generally felt that the inundation of media was not a major factor in the loss – because it was such a wide margin. The evening ended quietly with some talk and we kept an eye on the TV for results of the Wisconsin Democratic Presidential Primary. Senator John Edwards was looking to do much better than anticipated and the focus quickly shifted from our election to the Wisconsin Primary.

18/2/2004

The next morning, we departed early for Washington and after an exhausting weekend, we slept most of the way.

This experience was certainly a remarkable time for me. I was able to engage in the elections process and live the lessons that I have learned in my government and politics classes. Similarly, with all of the campaigns that I have volunteered on, this was certainly the most organized. Each volunteer had a specific duty and place to be at a given time. The transportation was arranged well and the people really were able to do a good job.

Aside from the logistics, I was able to see first hand the role that the parties play in elections. From advertising to gathering of people, to raising money, each party had a strong role in working for their respective candidates. This was certainly an exceptional opportunity to see the dynamic of politics at its finest and at its worst. The amount of dirty campaigning and accusations at the others’ record became overwhelming at times, both on TV and in print. It was interesting to see which groups supported which candidate and why. Among the noted groups, the state newspaper, the Herald Leader, supported Chandler, while the business groups and the law enforcement and fire departments supported Kerr. This exemplified the draw of special interests into the race. Perhaps the mudslinging became more apparent as I was apart of the process itself, but it seemed as though there was significantly more during this race, than in others I have been a part of. Additionally, it can be attributed to the fact that this was a special election and that the same amount of campaigning was needed in a condensed time frame and in an accelerated fashion. And that it was going to be such a close race.

No matter how it is justified, I think that this was certainly the worst that politics has to offer in its most prominent form. Nevertheless, the fruits of my labors were justified in the idealistic view that I was a fundamental aspect of the electoral process. Something about working towards the goal of getting someone elected to public office is what kindles the flame within me. This experience exemplified one of the core reasons that I decided to come to Washington, in addition to learning about policy. To that end, I agreed with the core beliefs of Kerr and as such this was certainly a rewarding experience for me.