{"id":546936,"date":"2022-03-08T21:31:20","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/?p=284013"},"modified":"2022-03-08T21:31:20","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T21:31:20","slug":"how-progressives-are-winning-over-the-rural-voters-democrats-abandoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/03\/08\/how-progressives-are-winning-over-the-rural-voters-democrats-abandoned\/","title":{"rendered":"How progressives are winning over the rural voters Democrats abandoned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Central Pennsylvania native Onah Ossai was lighting a cigarette on her front porch on a mild, late-summer day in 2019 when she was approached by a pair of political canvassers. Instead of showering the single mother with reasons to support a candidate, the two canvassers asked how Ossai felt about expanding access to healthcare. From there, a 20-minute conversation about healthcare ensued, ending with shared stories of loved ones\u2019 experiences with immigration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI already believed that we should have universal healthcare and all people who live in the US should receive it regardless of immigration status,\u201d Ossai told The Real News. \u201cWhen I shared with the canvassers and they shared with me, it made me want to be a part of making that happen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI already believed that we should have universal healthcare and all people who live in the US should receive it regardless of immigration status,\u201d Ossai told The Real News. \u201cWhen I shared with the canvassers and they shared with me, it made me want to be a part of making that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This strategy, called deep canvassing, utilizes active listening and asking non-judgemental questions instead of laser-focused sloganeering\u2014and research shows it is highly effective in building support for progressive causes. When deep canvassing was first used by California LGBTQ activists just over a decade ago, these intimate door-to-door conversations provided an elusive and powerful tool to fight prejudice and sway California voters who supported banning same-sex marriage in 2008. Deep canvassing also aims to sway voters who may support an issue or candidate, but lack the motivation to participate in the electoral process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep canvassing contrasts sharply with traditional canvassing, which aims to boost turnout by  targeting voters affiliated with an issue or party on a mass scale, and presenting facts and information to encourage them to vote; but there\u2019s increasing evidence door-knocking alone is not an effective strategy<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The job of a deep canvasser is to listen and gauge participants’ emotional response to a topic, and then methodically build lasting human and emotional connections by sharing personal anecdotes and by asking participants to do the same. In other words, canvassers talk to a participant the way they might talk to them if they weren\u2019t part of a political campaign. When executed well, the strategy can often enable canvassers to cut through people\u2019s entrenched biases and preconceived notions about politics and party lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The job of a deep canvasser is to listen and gauge participants’ emotional response to a topic, and then methodically build lasting human and emotional connections by sharing personal anecdotes and by asking participants to do the same. In other words, canvassers talk to a participant the way they might talk to them if they weren\u2019t part of a political campaign.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For those on the ground working to mobilize potential voters in today\u2019s political landscape, which is in many ways defined by a mix of fierce factional polarization and exhausted resignation, the need for deep canvassing is urgently felt. Leading up to the 2020 election, Pew Research Center found<\/a> \u201croughly 8 in 10 registered voters in both camps said their differences with the other side were about core American values, and roughly 9 in 10\u2014again in both camps\u2014worried that a victory by the other would lead to \u2018lasting harm\u2019 to the United States.\u201d Another study by the American National Election Studies<\/a> found that after the 2020 election, Americans have abysmal views of the opposing political party, or as CNN reported<\/a>, \u201cstatistically, Democrats and Republicans hate each other more than ever.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep canvassing has had remarkable success, even as conservative economic and political elites increasingly scapegoat people of color, the LGBTQ community, and government spending for rising systemic social and economic inequities. One report<\/a> found it had a more than 100 times deeper and longer-lasting impact than traditional canvassing in nine key swing states leading up to the 2020 presidential election. Such findings have been backed by research, including a recent study<\/a> that found while face-to-face persuasive conversations failed to reduce voters\u2019 prejudice, conversations employing deep canvassing reduced xenophobia and transphobia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI’m not making an argument with you,\u201d Ossai said. \u201cI want to know why you care about something, and I want to know why you feel the way that you feel about something. And I’m going to ask you real questions to get to the root of why you feel that way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Along with reducing bigotry, it can also be an effective method for motivating people to take action. Before Ossai was deep canvassed, she supported universal healthcare but was not politically active. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy first experience with deep canvassing was getting deep canvassed,\u201d recalls Ossai, 34, who first encountered the strategy as it was being deployed by the grassroots group Pennsylvania Stands Up<\/a> to build support for the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in universal healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was so swayed by her initial deep canvassing experience that she joined Stand Up Pennsylvania’s campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got a call a week later. And they were like, \u2018You had really great stories, and the canvassers really thought they were really powerful.\u2019 And then the next thing you know, I’m doing it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep canvassing seeks to explore the emotions that subconsciously contribute to our political and social views. The idea is that by helping the participant understand how their views are wrapped up in and impacted by human emotions and personal experiences, they can begin to acknowledge that impact and develop an approach to thorny political issues that is more measured and self-reflective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI’m not making an argument with you,\u201d Ossai said. \u201cI want to know why you care about something, and I want to know why you feel the way that you feel about something. And I’m going to ask you real questions to get to the root of why you feel that way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ossai, who is African American, recalls a 2019 conversation that ended up with a rural white voter increasing his support for universal health care. When she shared a story of her aunt who is undocumented, the man asked, \u201cWhy should we have to help other people?\u201d She responded that she used to feel the same way, but becoming a mother made her \u201cappreciate other people, and understand their experiences that are different than mine.\u201d The man admitted to his daughter that he had never considered how our experiences affect our opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We are so proud to have partnered with @PplsAction<\/a> to test a game-changing approach to winning hearts and minds. Listen to this powerful clip of our organizer Onah Ossai (@krazylilaliens<\/a>) talking about her experience sharing her story with a voter on the doors. pic.twitter.com\/ekHx2hCuWy<\/a><\/p>— PA Stands Up (@PAStandsUp) July 15, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>