A Surprising Voter Engagement Story

I honestly didn't know what to say

I was out canvassing undecided voters, and I went to this one house to speak to the wife. She wasn’t home, but her husband was in the yard, and he was undecided, so I decided to speak with him.

My position was simple: because I care that people vote, I wanted to help him come to a decision, even if that decision would not match my shirt. (I was, of course, in swag.) He assured me that he would vote, and his wife would to, and they generally voted Democratic, but this time, the party had gone too far.

He explained to me that he has been unable to find a job for the past 5 1/2 years because of DEI, which is "pushed by your party.” He went on to explain that his teenaged son has been declared “toxic” because he’s white. He blamed this on the fact that Democratic Party has “gone too far” in the direction of “pushing out all of us white guys.” He further explained that he was NOT an “angry white man” with thoughts of violence, and that he is a fan of many Democratic positions, like being pro-choice.

I didn’t say anything, but I found the idea that a kid would be “toxic” (whatever that means) in this town (I was canvassing in the town in which I live) as the population is about 77% white, 3% Black, and 16% Asian. Source. Is 77% of the population “toxic”? Again, I didn’t say anything.

And then, the descent. He explained that Project 2025 has nothing to do with the Convicted Felon, it is only the Heritage Foundation, and no one outside that organization had anything to do with it, and they wouldn’t implement any of it anyway. But if they deported “illegals” that was okay with him because then he’d be able to get a job.

He continued that Kamala Harris was “given” the nomination by “insiders” and so we don’t know a single position that she holds. “There were much better choices,” he said. When I asked who he had in mind, he said that this was just another example of a Black person getting what should have been a white man’s job, and refused to identify any names.

When I offered to show him Harris’ Economic Plan, and her positions on issues, he said those weren’t her positions, they were just thoughts her staff put up on a website.

As a canvasser, I believe in meeting voters where they are. When someone tells me that their issue is prices in the grocery store, I concur, and point out that I drink a lot of milk, and it’s expensive. Though it’s better, I say, than four years ago when there was not always milk in the dairy case, and finding toilet paper was incredibly difficult. We talk about all the causes of high prices. I then move on to what the two economic policies would mean going forward. And when we discuss the difference in impact of tariffs and higher taxes, vs someone who will work to decrease corporate greed and shrinkflation, we find common ground.

When someone wants to talk about Gaza, I share the horror and feeling of all the lives lost.

When someone has a specific policy question, I’m ready with facts.

But not being able to find a job in 5 1/2 years? I believe it’s true for the man with whom I spoke. I asked him what kind of work he did, since I know a lot of people, and perhaps, I could connect him. His career? “It’s complicated, you wouldn’t understand.” And I don’t have a good political answer to that.

I think it would be terrible to not be able to find a job for a long time. And in addition to being white (he claims he’s been told that he would have gotten certain jobs had he not been), he’s middle aged, and there is a lot of ageism when one is looking for a job, plus recruiters and HR are not fond of gaps on resumes. So, I concluded that he was upset about unemployment and wants a target to place blame.

As I was leaving, his wife drove up. She was driving a Lexus SUV. This made me think that she is working, and perhaps he resents that she supports him, and therefore resents the idea of a woman president.

I don’t know, I honestly don’t. But I’m not counting on his vote.