My father-in-law lived in one of those red states with a big sky and not many people. He was a life long Republican. He was active in the community. In the church. In service organizations. In politics. He was not a big donor. He had no money. He did what he could.
His town had an aging demographic. There were a lot of retirement homes. Assisted care facilities and skilled nursing establishments both in town and in the outlying areas. Most of the residents didn't get out much or have many visitors. My father-in-law visited them often. Many of his life long friends and associates lived in these places. Many he befriended after they moved in. He would bring them the things they needed. Circulate reading material. Just sit and talk. He was very popular and a valued friend. He organized and went to a lot of funerals. Not many men like him around anymore, they all said.
When election time came around. My father-in-law made sure that all his friends were signed up for their absentee ballots. He made sure they got mailed in on time. He gave his friends any help they needed, to get it done. They all voted a straight Republican ticket, hundreds of them. He started doing this in the early '60s. He did it until he died, in 1993. He always maintained that there was nothing wrong with what he did. That they all wanted to vote the way they did or would have, if they still could understand. It's probably true. There might be those that have a problem with it. There are guys like my father-in-law in communities all over America.
ACORN and like minded organizations have been making an effort to give people who don't usually participate in American democracy, the opportunity to do so. It is making the Republicans very unhappy. I don't understand why.
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