Kalin’s Shoes

According to Rep. Jeremy Kalin’s website, he "knocked on 10,023 doors in 2006!" And he wore out 5 pair of shoes in that effort. He even has a picture of a pair of shoes he wore out. That looks like a pair of shoes a conservative might hang on to for more wear and tear! Maybe his are subsidized by the working class so he can trade them in whenever.

Our poll had asked if Kalin knocked on your door. Thirteen said yes and 17 respondents said no.

Of course those people may not have been home when he visited their abode. Ten thousand doors sound impressive, but how many people were home?

If our poll (which has a margin of error of + or - 3%!) is representative, Kalin spoke with less than 5,000 householders. My suspicion is a candidate will find a mere 30% of people at home. Even repeated visits will be unsuccessful. I don’t imagine the Representative will divulge that information.

Since Kalin said he told us he would vote for the transportation bill (funded in part by a gas tax increase), we posed the next poll question. Of those who actually talked to Kalin, only 50% said he told them he would vote for a gas tax increase. If that is any indicator, the topic was not all that important to the people or the Representative.

Those I know who have had a visit from Kalin indicate a visit goes like this. Kalin does not identify himself as a Democrat. He is friendly and asks for their vote. Political issues are avoided if possible in order to present a friendly face and an impression to remember his name at the voting booth. It’s more important to make friendly comments about the family dog, the yard flowers or their kids than to talk about political issues.