Image credit: Photo: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

2016/ 2017: a reflection of my year working on the hillary clinton campaign & women’s march

Catie Davis
Jul 22, 2017 · 9 min read

Yesterday marked the six month anniversary since the Women's March on Washington, which began quite possibly the most confusing-life changing-challenging-complicated-beautiful and blessed months of my life. Thinking back to half a year ago, I can still remember waking up in my cousin’s home in Oakland, CA still jet-lagged from the flight a few days before and thinking just how wonderful it was to be on the West Coast, about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Two weeks I would depart from SFO all the way across the world to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and be thrown into the humid, chaotic, yet beautiful adventure of studying abroad in Africa.

That morning was met with a bit of resentment and skepticism towards the Women’s March. I attended two; one in San Fransisco and one in Oakland. Its not that I did not believe women should be protesting the new administration or that we have achieved full equality, because we obviously have not; however, I could not help but feel extremely bitter because millions of women, along with a majority of the world felt a certain call to action now, long after the election took place. Two months, too late. But, I told myself, it is time for the world to continue healing and to support all of the women and people who are suffering directly from this new administration as well as show Trump that his exclusive, offensive agenda will not be tolerated by the country. I was also very disappointed not be joining the millions of women in D.C., whose stories and presence would leave a remarkable impact for being the largest and most peaceful march in history.

It was a gloomy January afternoon but still pink ‘pussy’ hats were ubiquitous, with the faint chants of resistance and music dancing around the crowds. The weather that day, or really all week, was far from what I had anticipated and I was severely under-packed. If you think California is sunny and warm all year ‘round, along with most Northeasterner’s skewed perception of the West Coast, you are sadly mistaken. I bundled up in four layers and my big Patagonia jacket and was still cold. My aunt Katherine, one of my favorite aunts, and I joined thousands in Oakland and listened to progressive speakers galvanize the crowds like NextGen Climate CEO Tom Steyer and a few State Senators at a rally. We had brunch at a glorious restaurant in Berkeley, and probably ordered some bougie-organic-locally sourced egg sandwich as most things are in the Bay Area. Later that evening, we were feeling optimistic and ventured out to the Women's March San Francisco, which was one of the largest in the nation and marched through the dark, pouring rain following the sea of pink hats, card board signs and never-ending chants that blocked daily traffic for miles throughout the city.

The day was both inspiring, yet ironically heart breaking. A New York Times article discussing Hillary Clinton’s post-election life:

“There is twisted irony in the fact that the millions of women who poured onto the streets in January would have changed the outcome of the election had they come together before November, yet the march never would have happened had Hillary Clinton not lost the presidency.”

How true that is still, on this July day, half a year since the March. As I sit on my front porch swing in front of my moms’ upstate NY house with my freshly brewed coffee and laptop, I watch my dog run around the yard and think about how different things would have been had Hillary Clinton been elected President. I flip through the local newspaper. Its impossible to ignore that twisted irony still six months later; the wave of resistance and passion that has spread like wild fire through this country post election is unprecedented and inspiring, yet so disheartening. In the paper, there are three articles that stand out to me: one about the Women’s March on Washington and with it come a collection of photos of women from around the world protesting and holding signs like “This is What a Feminist Looks like” and “Grab ’Em By The Patriarchy”; one about Trump and whatever ruckus he caused for the day, and one about poor Sean Spicer’s recent news. Rip Spicey. Things certainly would be different.

Its especially hard to think about the Women’s March, because the three months preceding the 2016 Presidential election, I spent every. single. damn. day as a field organizer practically begging people to volunteer, knock doors, and make phone calls for Hillary Clinton. I cannot even begin to imagine how soul crushing and heart breaking it was and still is for those organizers and staffers who have been #WithHer since day one, way before the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire. I jumped on the campaign for Hillary for Ohio towards the end of the summer and still feel a mixture of nostalgia, hope, despair and remorse every time I see a Hillary for America bumper sticker or ‘Fight Song’ comes on the radio.

Zach, fellow organizer and I organizing at Kent State.

During my time with the campaign, I talked to college students at Youngstown State every day about the importance of voting in this year’s election and entertained the worst-case scenario of a Trump Presidency, which was normally met with an unconcerned shrug and something along the lines of “I’ve got to get to class, I don’t have time for the election” or my favorite, “I just don’t like either candidate. Its like choosing between the lesser of two evils. Probably won’t even vote”. I mean, I get it. Kind of. Hillary was not my first choice and yes, there are definitely things that the campaign and she recognizes could have done differently. Hindsight is 20/20.

However, it is just heartbreaking to think of those college students and millions of people who were so distracted by false assumptions and prejudices from the media, unfair advantages and sexist biases that they never turned out to vote. All of those Americans were more concerned with the way Hillary Clinton looked, the way she spoke and endlessly scrutinized her 30 plus years of public service, yet none of her actual pragmatic, progressive policies or campaign messaging on economic development stuck with them.

And maybe it did take over a year and a half for an election loss of the most qualified, audacious and forgiving candidate for people to start paying attention. That is why I care so deeply about Hillary Clinton and her campaign, because even though she ran a campaign based on inclusitivioty, respect and forwards thinking and faced an unprecedented amount of disrespect, sexism and utter ignorance from the media, Republicans, ‘Bernie-Bros’ and Americans, she never once gave up and continues to defend every single day for those values she stood for during her campaign. Hillary Clinton was, and continues to this day, to be a warrior and a fighter for all and I am deeply honored to have worked on the campaign that will be responsible for helping the first woman win the New Hampshire Primary, the Iowa Caucus, be a major party nominee, debate in a Presidential debate and win the popular vote, all while being one of the most greatly disliked Presidential candidates in history.

Although Hillary Clinton may not be met with kind thoughts now, generations in the future will remember her legacy as bold, historic and as a revolutionary change maker who dared to shake up the ‘boy’s club’ of politics. And maybe that is what this year was all about: figuring out what is really worth fighting for, getting off the sidelines and giving it your all.

After the Women’s March on Washington, it was the most confusing, challenging and life-changing time for me but none of it would ever have happened had I not organized on the Hillary Clinton campaign. During that experience, I decided to study abroad in Tanzania and India with a food insecurity program I knew nothing about and was not exactly thrilled about going on; yet I made some incredible memories and met fantastic people and made the difficult decision to leave early. I had a very hard winter and struggled with many things, including how to manage anxiety and figured out what makes me happy and for that I am very thankful.

Ohio Campus team 2016

From the past year on the Hillary Clinton campaign I made friends that will last my lifetime and was greeted with an infinite amount of love and support from both my new and old friends and family. I applied and am transferring to American University this Fall where I finally feel I can grow and make the most difference in politics. Since the Hillary campaign, I have bugged all of my friends to pay attention to the news, to attend town hall meetings with me, and even got some to venture down to Georgia to Get Out The Vote with me for Jon Ossoff. I am also in the process of developing a grassroots non-profit with a few of my friends that will connect high schoolers to Cornell University mentors through a year of civic engagement and political activism in my hometown, an extremely ‘blue’ town (stay tuned!). From the amount of passion and love and support within campaigns and politics, I have finally found my place this past year. But the truth is, its not all about me. Or, really you. Its about us all together.

And so this is my message to you: it does not matter if this is your first campaign or fourteenth. It does not matter if you have never attended a political rally, town hall meeting; if you have never volunteered with your local political groups or if you do not identify with a political party. There is so much at stake this year, right now in America and there is so much good happening you can be a part of RIGHT NOW.

  1. Call your elected officials. Visit https://5calls.org & type in your zip code and it will give you a script for different issues and info on relevant legislation, phone numbers and your elected officials. Call once a week. Call once a day. Do it.
  2. Go to your local town hall meets & talk to your Senators and local officials when they are on recess. Check out https://townhallproject.com/ to find your nearest town hall.
  3. Visit sites like Swing Left or Flippable that point you to the nearest swing district and red counties to ‘Flip’ blue.
  4. Volunteer with local races. There are a TON. Knock doors. Make phone calls. Talk to your neighbors. Put a damn yard sign in your yard. Put 10.
  5. Donate or volunteer with organizations like Swing Left or EMILY's List that recruit and fundraise for getting more women to run for office.
  6. Check out websites like Off The Sidelines that get women involved in politics.
  7. Go to your local party’s organizational meeting. They always need volunteers.

And please, please, please do not let Trump or his supporters discourage you even though some days you want to curl up in a ball and never leave the house because the real world is, indeed a very, very scary place. Try your best to not let ignorance and hatred conquer love and understanding. Do your best to understand and accept those who are different than you and to be open to opposing perspectives. Because no one is perfect and we physically cannot do everything alone.

Campus Region34; my team that inspires me to be a better person every single day.

But we can do something (hence, the things mentioned above). We can seek the things that set as heart on fire. We must find these things and hold tight because they will encourage us to be daring and bold and better people. We must make the difference that is so desperately needed in the world. Not next week; not in a year. We must start now. And I fully believe we will. As Hillary Clinton says, Onwards!

-Catie

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