Talking to older folks

[Suzu]

I've been calling people locally as well as into Washington State (when it's too late in MO to keep calling). Getting a lot of interesting results here in MO when I reach an elderly person. Generally they will initially say they support one of the other candidates, and since they love to talk, I ask why they support that candidate, who's their second choice and why, etc.

They usually say, well I really like Ron Paul but I don't think he could win, so I better pick ________. That gives me an opening to talk about Ron Paul. I usually end up converting them within 10-15 minutes and get a commitment to come to the caucus.

I think all of the elderly people we talk to would support Ron Paul if they knew more about him. I ask if they remember Eisenhower's farewell speech and remind them of his warning about the Military/Industrial Complex, then explain that big defense contractors own the network TV stations, so of course they don't want to cover a non-interventionist candidate. I also quote George Washington on staying out of political alliances with trading partners.

The reason these older folks don't know much about RP is because they don't use computers, they rely on TV and radio. All they know is what they've been told by the corporate-whore pundits. They get excited when I tell them how passionate I am about saving the country, and they jump right onboard. It's very gratifying to be able to do this.

P.S. The reason I know their age before I call is it's shown on our calling lists.

[PolicyReader]

I've been calling people locally as well as into Washington State (when it's too late in MO to keep calling). Getting a lot of interesting results here in MO when I reach an elderly person. Generally they will initially say they support one of the other candidates, and since they love to talk, I ask why they support that candidate, who's their second choice and why, etc.

They usually say, well I really like Ron Paul but I don't think he could win, so I better pick ________. That gives me an opening to talk about Ron Paul. I usually end up converting them within 10-15 minutes and get a commitment to come to the caucus.

I think all of the elderly people we talk to would support Ron Paul if they knew more about him. I ask if they remember Eisenhower's farewell speech and remind them of his warning about the Military/Industrial Complex, then explain that big defense contractors own the network TV stations, so of course they don't want to cover a non-interventionist candidate. I also quote George Washington on staying out of political alliances with trading partners.

The reason these older folks don't know much about RP is because they don't use computers, they rely on TV and radio. All they know is what they've been told by the corporate-whore pundits. They get excited when I tell them how passionate I am about saving the country, and they jump right onboard. It's very gratifying to be able to do this.

P.S. The reason I know their age before I call is it's shown on our calling lists.
This mirrors my experience calling folks for Paul, tonight there was one gentleman who started quizzing me about Pauls stance on issues and after several minutes of details Q&A and my mentioning that Paul is (most likely) 2nd in the delegate race at present he committed to caucusing for Paul in the morning.

I hadn't thought to mention Eisenhower or George Washington through, those ideas are Gold I'll be keeping them in mind. :)

[D.A.S.]

I've been calling people locally as well as into Washington State (when it's too late in MO to keep calling). Getting a lot of interesting results here in MO when I reach an elderly person. Generally they will initially say they support one of the other candidates, and since they love to talk, I ask why they support that candidate, who's their second choice and why, etc.

They usually say, well I really like Ron Paul but I don't think he could win, so I better pick ________. That gives me an opening to talk about Ron Paul. I usually end up converting them within 10-15 minutes and get a commitment to come to the caucus.

I think all of the elderly people we talk to would support Ron Paul if they knew more about him. I ask if they remember Eisenhower's farewell speech and remind them of his warning about the Military/Industrial Complex, then explain that big defense contractors own the network TV stations, so of course they don't want to cover a non-interventionist candidate. I also quote George Washington on staying out of political alliances with trading partners.

The reason these older folks don't know much about RP is because they don't use computers, they rely on TV and radio. All they know is what they've been told by the corporate-whore pundits. They get excited when I tell them how passionate I am about saving the country, and they jump right onboard. It's very gratifying to be able to do this.

P.S. The reason I know their age before I call is it's shown on our calling lists.

Thank you for your work. It's amazing that you're able to connect with them enough so they woould hear you out and actually think about what you're saying. It is so important.

[sailingaway]

Thank you for your work. It's amazing that you're able to connect with them enough so they woould hear you out and actually think about what you're saying. It is so important.

The OP is right, at least I agree, the older folks are quite chatty, and some seem very open. It is refreshing.

[Suzu]

Yes, I also tell them he's getting lots of delegates. Most often this leads to having to explain that most of the primaries aren't binding this time. If I'm having trouble getting through, then I appeal to their conscience and tell them I know they probably don't care so much for their own sake since they aren't going to be around that much longer anyway (and neither am I) but they ought to care about what sort of world their progeny will inherit if we sit on our hands and do nothing.

I'm sure that a lot of the elderly folks I'm reaching were Goldwater people. I get a real charge out of waking them up politically.

[D.A.S.]

The OP is right, at least I agree, the older folks are quite chatty, and some seem very open. It is refreshing.

In my experience with Phone from Home, I never encountered any chatty people. Maybe it's just my luck or maybe I sound nervous. lol. It's not that I don't make an effort, but my respondents have generally been very terse and unwilling to discuss.

[sailingaway]

Yes, I also tell them he's getting lots of delegates. Most often this leads to having to explain that most of the primaries aren't binding this time. If I'm having trouble getting through, then I appeal to their conscience and tell them I know they probably don't care so much for their own sake since they aren't going to be around that much longer anyway (and neither am I) but they ought to care about what sort of world their progeny will inherit if we sit on our hands and do nothing.

I'm sure that a lot of the elderly folks I'm reaching were Goldwater people. I get a real charge out of waking them up politically.

You actually say 'hey, I know you're not going to be around much longer, anyhow.....' ?

Seems like that would be a real conversation killer....

[sailingaway]

In my experience with Phone from Home, I never encountered any chatty people. Maybe it's just my luck or maybe I sound nervous. lol. It's not that I don't make an effort, but my respondents have generally been very terse and unwilling to discuss.

I hit that in South Carolina, as the worst, but this is more like Iowa was, in the beginning, before 8 candidates flooded everyone. One old lady was really impressed with the crowds Ron has been getting.

Not all are open to Ron, one old man a week ago said he knew EXACTLY who he was voting for and it WAS NOT RON PAUL!

--- but he still seemed kind of disappointed when I ended the conversation.

[Suzu]

You actually say 'hey, I know you're not going to be around much longer, anyhow.....' ?

Seems like that would be a real conversation killer....

Well, not my exact words, but they respond well to the general idea :)

[Suzu]

Since writing the OP, I've spoken with others who advised me to just go after the "low hanging fruit" rather than spend time trying to convert people over the phone. At first I was kind of deflated by this advice, but after considering it for a while, I believe they're right. Let me paraphrase what I was told: People you have to win over probably won't actually show up to caucus and if they do, they could be swayed. After all, if you could sway them in short time over the phone, others may sway them at the caucus itself. The time is better spent calling many people to find one solid Paul supporter than spending 15 minutes trying to gain a new one.

It makes sense, but the urge to be a political evangelist can be hard to overcome. :o

[NoOneButPaul]

Reaching old people are the only way we win.

They vote in higher numbers than anyone else and always ruin it for Ron.

We always wonder where these soft supporters are coming from and how they switch around so much... they are almost always old people and they've gone to everyone but Ron because they don't use the internet.

Getting old people is the key.

[Margo37]

PLEASE tell them he's the only one that will save their Social Security.

[Ronulus]

Since writing the OP, I've spoken with others who advised me to just go after the "low hanging fruit" rather than spend time trying to convert people over the phone. At first I was kind of deflated by this advice, but after considering it for a while, I believe they're right. Let me paraphrase what I was told: People you have to win over probably won't actually show up to caucus and if they do, they could be swayed. After all, if you could sway them in short time over the phone, others may sway them at the caucus itself. The time is better spent calling many people to find one solid Paul supporter than spending 15 minutes trying to gain a new one.

It makes sense, but the urge to be a political evangelist can be hard to overcome. :o

I don't know, it seems like those are the people we want to be targeting. The others should support us and should show up.

[Carole]

Good job. Maybe they need to be convinced that we want back the America they used to know. :)

[libertythor]

+rep Thank you Suzu for passing me that contact info. There will now be a couple of extra Ron Paul people caucusing in Laclede County that wouldn't have otherwise. I was having a hard time convincing people to participate in such a foreign process until they got in contact with local coordinators.