VA Liberals Stake Out Territory With Yard Signs

At Obama campaign offices in Virginia's Tidewater area, yard signs are finally in.

This is welcome news for members of an activist group in Williamsburg called Liberals United and Undaunted (LUAU), who've had to drive through a gauntlet of McCain signs for weeks, leaving them feeling outnumbered and overwhelmed. It seems a McCain supporter has been handing out McCain/Palin signs from the back of his pickup truck, advertising his giveaways with a handmade "Families For McCain" poster and directing his customers with a painted arrow.

"I can't help it," said Tim Bernard, a professor at the College of William and Mary. "It's getting me more and more angry. All I've seen is McCain/Palin."

Still, Bernard can't decide whether he wants to put up a sign himself. "It's the gesture of it--you know, it's like you're saying, 'I don't want to talk, I don't want to engage, I just want to put up a sign.'"

His friend Paul Reagan concedes that a yard sign isn't the best means of communication, but when your house is flanked on either side by the opposition, you need to take a stand.
"It's primitive," Reagan said. "It's a way of staking out territory. I feel like there must be plenty of people who aren't McCain supporters, but it's the intimidation of all those signs."

Reagan, Bernard, and most members of LUAU are transplants to Virginia, having moved from other regions of the country--primarily the northeast--in the past 15 years. They like it in the South, where the pace is easy and people are generally friendly, but around election time, things can get tense.

That's where LUAU comes in. Founded in 2004 by Martha Howard and Arthur Knight, the organization allows liberals to come out in the daylight and make new friends. "People who live in more balanced areas of the world have no clue what it's like to live where there are really strong and never challenged areas of social conservatism," Howard said. "When we moved down here, I thought, 'now I have to walk the talk.'"

Walking the talk has meant building a healthy mailing list of like-minded people and then planning informal gatherings--"LUAU Parties"--where folks can socialize and talk issues. Nearly every gathering also involves some sort of positive action, like letter-writing to elected officials. The group is also good at raising money. In 2004, a potluck brought in around $2,700 for John Kerry. Last month, a backyard barbeque raised $5,000 for Obama.

These are dedicated liberals. So when they haven't been able to get their hands on basic yard signs, they've felt frustrated. Where have the signs been? Organizers at the local Obama office explain that up till now, the campaign hasn't seen yard signs as a priority. Instead, the campaign has emphasized opening offices and organizing a sophisticated ground game of phone calls, canvassing, and voter registration.

But yard signs matter, particularly in a swing state like Virginia, where the opposition can sometimes feel downright belligerent. Reagan points to a recent experience at the Newport News Shipping Terminal, where he works. When he slipped an Obama bumper sticker to someone in the office, the boss took offense. "It was like, you're voting for HIM?"

Reagan worries that the polls, which give Obama a slight lead in Virginia, might be deceiving. Mike Blum, another LUAU member, agrees. "If you ask people dispassionately who they'll vote for, they'll say Obama's the better choice. But in the voting booth, you never know."

So Blum wants his yard sign. So does Reagan. As for Martha Howard and Arthur Knight, they already have one--they ordered it themselves. Now that the big shipment of signs is in, Howard hopes to see every polling place covered with Obama signs on Election Day, when she's sure folks will have to stand in long lines.

"I think when people see all those signs, they won't give up and go home. They'll stand in line as long as it takes. The signs will make them think it's worth their time to stay and cast their vote for Obama."

Follow Emily Pease on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ecwp

Comments

[vaughan]

Great post! Just this week, many more signs have shown up. Also, I think the Williamsburg office often gives out signs if you VOLUNTEER: canvass, call, etc.

[JoeBoomer]

Hi Emily. We moved to Williamsburg recently. Can we join LUAU? Just yesterday, I saw our neighbors (both W&M faculty) weeding in their front yard, which was adorned with two just-acquired Obama signs. I walked over and said, "K., I have a complaint regarding these Obama signs. (Pause.) If I were going to get an Obama sign for my yard, I would have asked some of the neighbors if they wanted me to pick one up for them." Well, we had a good laugh, and her husband, J., let me have an extra sign they got for donating to the campaign. It was interesting to hear K. tell me that an elderly neighbor of ours, after seeing the signs, asked K. if she would give her a ride to vote on election day. So get those signs out, everyone.

[Hipployta]

Well, I'm posting my Obama/Biden 08 sign (coming in the mail soon I hope) on the my door of my baracks out here in Afghanistan or posting it in my VERY Repub office...s­hould be interesting.

[littlepuffycloud]

I've had my OBama '08 yard sign out front for one year...and have had a couple people ask where I got it and say they like him, etc. I was afraid it would be stolen so I moved it up close to the house..I plan on framing it after the election. Seriously.

[wwood]

I live in Fredericksburg,Va. When we started to see McCain yard signs in our neighborhood, my wife immeadiately went to the Obama office and got us and a neighbor a yard sign. I don't see many of them in Virginia but I do see plenty of bumper stickers.

[mydoglucky]

After living in No. Va. for 33 years we moved to AZ. We are in NOVA this week and after seeing only McCain signs in AZ what a wonderful welcome to see ALL the Obama sigsn in NOVA. I saw Women for Obama, Veterans for Obama, Vote for THAT ONE. Love it! And, yes it makes you feel good when ya got that sign.

[MKJeeves]

Someone put a sign in front of my house, but on the side of the sidewalk that is actually technically borough property. It was against a school funding initiative that I supported, so I took the sign down because I did not want my neighbors to think I was against funding for the schools.

The next day, it was noted in the local paper that a resident had taken down a political sign. Sheesh!

[vaprog543]

I've had my bumper stickers on for weeks but I finally got my yard sign Friday. I does make a difference in a traditionally conservative area to see that your friends and neighbors are supporting Barack. When others see that there is HOPE for change, even in Virginia, it will give them confidence to do the same.

[SonofVBeach]

It has been obnoxious how many McCain/Palin signs are around the 757 area. A few Obama/Biden signs have showed up but it has not been a very well coordinated sign campaign. It irritates me when other's sat "Well a yard sign does not do much," Oh really? Check out Sessoms for Mayor signs that have been around the area and keep being put up since the beginning of summer, his name recognition is huge and 85% of a campaign is name recognition. Driving past the McCain/Palin rally today EVERY person leaving the Virginia Beach Convention center had a McCain/Palin sign (if not two or more) in their hands. Come on Obama team, get on the ball!