Trash Talking

Little did the troops know that the campaign wasn't always upstanding and admirable with them, according to one memo, written for their supervisors. It states, "we will provide gas money only if people ask (you shouldn't mention it)."

In other ways, the campaign was generous. Besides the pay, doled out at the end of the day in cash, each walker got a banana for breakfast and a free lunch. They were also given bottled water, granola bars and a hooded rain poncho, purchased from Wal-Mart (the six unopened ponchos we found will come in handy some day). Working material included two Bic pens, a map of their route, a copy of the voter's rights law and a script in Spanish (¿Votara usted por Tony Sanchez?).

Door knocking is an easy job, but the supervisors were instructed not to take anything for granted. In the mornings, while the grunts were eating their bananas, the supervisors were required to "role play" how to knock on a door and drop off the literature.

"This isn't too hard to master, but testing has shown us that unless you are extremely clear and explain this multiple times, people will do things like not drop lit at houses that aren't on the list...or otherwise not follow the instructions."

Anyone who slacked off on the job would regret it. "If someone is not doing their job," the supervisors were instructed, "warn them that if you don't start seeing lit on the doors, they will not be paid, and they will have to sit in the van with you until the day is done."

The threats may have worked: Although Perry walked away with a 19-point margin of victory, Sanchez only lost Dallas County by 5 points after capturing 47 percent of the vote. (Just 37 percent of the county's registered voters bothered to vote.)

With just three bags down and a trash bin full of them to go through, Tony--not Sanchez, just plain Tony--showed up. Tony appeared to be homeless, and he said he was just looking for something of value--clothing, furniture, anything. Tony climbed into the bin and started digging.

When asked whom he voted for, Tony shrugged and said, "I can't vote."

A half-hour later, Tony stood over his find and frowned. All he got was a half-drunk bottle of water, a bottle of glass cleaner, a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic sun block and two tomato-stained Tupperware bins. "He didn't leave much," Tony said.