Voters keeping close eye on presidential campaigns

Lauren Glendenning, lglendenning@vailtrail.com
April 30, 2008

Local war veteran Tom Kirk says this presidential election is the country’s most important since World War II.

Kirk, like many locals, is paying close attention to the race. He says there’s a lot at stake for our country and its future, and he’s determined to spread the message for the candidate he believes can accomplish the most: John McCain.

Kirk was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. He spent four months in the same cell as McCain. This election is definitely personal for him, but it’s also about the future of the country and everyone who lives in it, he says.

And Kirk isn’t the only local voter who’s galvanized by the 2008 election. A shift away from political apathy is evident here in Eagle County. Both parties reported much higher than average turnouts for the precinct caucuses held in February.

“The turnout was so high and heavy that it’s been a scramble to get on top of delegates,” says New New Wallace, co-chair of the Eagle County Democratic Party. “Most of these (delegates) have never participated in the political process.”

Sure, the county’s population is growing fast, but voters are paying more attention and they’re getting involved.

Patrick Espy, an architect from Avon, is one of the county’s state delegates who is learning as he goes. After feeling disappointed in the country’s leadership for so many years, he decided it was time to step up to get his voice heard. Espy, 41, says he’s excited about a presidential election for the first time since he’s been old enough to vote.

“I’ve voted ever since I’ve been old enough, but I’ve always kind of held my nose,” he says. “As far as enthusiasm goes, (I saw) a lot of hope and excitement for the future at the Democratic caucuses.”

Kirk’s involvement with the Republicans is also intense. He’s preparing to travel around the state and give speeches on behalf of the McCain campaign.

Peggy Curry, the Eagle Valley dean at Colorado Mountain College and the local campaign coordinator for Sen. Barack Obama, has been talking up her candidate since last June. Curry says it’s the first time she’s ever gotten this involved in the political process.

“I’ve always been politically independent,” Curry says. “I didn’t feel like being an independent was making anything happen. I think a lot of people have had that same internal dialogue. We have to get involved.”

‘Same old story’
In politics, people get frustrated with the slow pace at which things get — or often don’t get — accomplished, says Amie Brooke Nelson, an Edwards mother of two who is paying close attention to the election this year.

The problem isn’t necessarily with the system itself, but rather with voters’ apathy, she says. And it’s Obama that has restored her optimism about the American government.

“He’s speaking to those people like myself who never turned our heads at politics because it’s been the same old story,” Nelson says. “He’s shaking things up.”

Nelson says she’s always voted, but has never really gotten behind a specific candidate because they all seem to have the same personal political agendas. But last summer, through Obama’s campaign Web site, Nelson signed up for e-mail alerts and began reading up on the issues. She learned about the national “Walk for Change” that his campaign organized, so she joined in with others and walked through local neighborhoods knocking door-to-door to gather support for Obama.

“I felt like people needed to learn about him,” she says. “I wouldn’t normally do something like this, so I must be really excited about it.”

While Obama’s supporters seem to be the most energized — he’s been widely compared to John F. Kennedy for his ability to inspire Americans — voters across the board are putting more thought into this election than they have in the past.

Jessika Werchick, of Edwards, says she’s voted in every election since she was 18 years old, but this year she’s on the executive committee of the Eagle County Democratic Party. She says people can’t wait for political problems to sort themselves out anymore.

“Everyone not only needs to get involved, but they need to pick up the phone and call five of their friends,” she says. “I feel like every aspect of our government is in such huge disrepair that it’s so important to get involved.”

Even Kirk, a retired Air Force colonel and prisoner of war, hasn’t paid too much attention to politics in the past. He too has always voted, but traveling around to give speeches on a candidate’s behalf isn’t something he had ever considered before.

Sure, it helps that he knows McCain personally, but it’s the state of the country that’s bringing him to his feet more than anything.

“I think we’re in serious trouble as a nation,” Kirk says. “I think we’ve got to, as a nation, make some fundamental changes. We’ve got to go to work to fix this country and I’m absolutely convinced he’s the only candidate of the group that can help the U.S.”

Again, change is the theme, all across the political spectrum.

“George Bush has absolutely disappointed everyone, left, right or center,” the county’s Democratic Party co-chair Wallace says. “People are absolutely sick of it. They see a real opportunity for change.”

The issues
Kirk says the terrorism threat should be the most concerning to Americans. The Muslim terrorists want Americans destroyed, and “you can’t negotiate with them,” he says.

“We’ve got to win the war,” Kirk says. “This is the biggest threat to us since World War II.”

A recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that Americans’ opposition to the Iraq War has reached a new high, with 63 percent saying that sending troops to Iraq was a mistake. A poll from February showed the Iraq War was the single most important issue voters would weigh when choosing whom to vote for. While Kirk and McCain still see a war we can and must win, Democrats are typically saying it’s time to bring our troops home.

“I think nine out of 10 people would say they don’t want our tax dollars going to a failing war,” Nelson says.

As the mother of two young children, ages 2 and 6, Nelson says she personally feels the effects of misplaced tax dollars. She says she and other school volunteers have to raise money for “really basic things,” like books and classroom supplies. She, along with many other parents, volunteers at her children’s schools “because we have to.”

“We have to have so many fundraisers for our schools,” she says. “Why can government write a blank check for a war and we have to have these huge fundraisers to educate our kids? It doesn’t seem right that’s how the tax system works. The money is not going to where it’s going to serve the people.”

Kirk and many Republicans might not agree with Nelson and the Democrats on the war, but Kirk does see serious deficiencies in the American education system, as well as social security, health care, economics and international relations.

Bob and June Vanourek, Republicans who live in Cordillera, are precinct captains this year. They participated in their first caucus this year because they say it’s a critical time.

“I think it’s a very important time for our country,” he says. “I know it will be a tough battle. We’re hopeful that whoever is elected can bring the country together to recognize the national priorities that are important, no matter the (political) party.”

The couple says they’re concerned about national security. Bob Vanourek says there’s a legitimate threat from extremist groups, but it’s difficult to figure out how to handle that. The environment, energy policy, immigration and tax policies are also important areas that need serious attention, he says.

Everyday people
For these newfound political activists, a qualified field of candidates combined with the state of the current administration is especially poignant, says first-time Democratic state delegate Espy. He’s optimistic because for the first time in a long time, people won’t have to choose the lesser of two evils.

“I would say John McCain is an American hero, and if somehow he became president, I wouldn’t be crushed,” Espy says. “I wouldn’t be enthusiastic about it, but my willingness to be committed to my country would be personified in the president if Obama were elected.”

Curry, Obama’s local campaign coordinator, is involved for the same reasons. She relates to Obama and sees him as less of a career politician, but more as a real person who cares about the direction of the country.

“I feel like I can trust a family man like him and his wife to do the right thing for children, health care, education and job opportunities,” she says. “I also think he’ll be a better ambassador in our world.”

Learning about candidates and the issues they stand for takes time. Curry read Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope,” last summer. It motivated her to read more about him, and where he stands. For Espy, also an Obama supporter, he’s reading up about what he needs to do as a delegate for Obama.

The Vanoureks, who support McCain, say the opportunity they had to sit down with neighbors to discuss the pros and cons of each candidate, was invaluable.

“We compared views and learned from each other,” Bob Vanourek says.

Kirk is studying about 45 pages of literature about McCain, so that when he gives speeches on McCain’s behalf, he’ll be prepared to answer questions. It’s important that people get the answers they’re looking for, because if they don’t, he says people will make uninformed votes.

“I’m concerned that so many American people don’t get involved and understand the issues facing the country and what the candidates’ positions are on the issues,” Kirk says. “We’re at a crossroads. We’ve got to fix things or we’re going to be in serious trouble.”


Lauren Glendenning can be reached for comment at 970.748.2983 or Lglendenning@vailtrail.com.