REPORTER: Yaara Bou Melhem
LAURA CHAMBERS, DC YOUNG REPUBLICAN: We will go door to door, talk to voters from Romney.
And Maryland's Republican headquarters these political young guns are getting instructions for their day of campaigning.
LAURA CHAMBERS: We will go door to door, talk to people, ask them to support our guys.
27-year-old Laura Chambers is the National Committee Woman of the Washington D.C. Young Republicans or DCVRs. Maryland has been voting Democrat in the national elections for more than two decades. So Laura has come here to give the Republican campaign all the help she can.
RICH COUNTS, DC YOUNG REPUBLICANS: Coffee, doughnuts. A little pin. Bartlett for Congress. DCYR is on tour. She's a rock star.
Rich Counts is one of the founding members of the group.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Travis jump in our car. You want to make sure that Republicans get out and actually vote, they tell you they're supportive. You want to make sure you back up and just remind them right before election day.
RICH COUNTS: I’m going to park right here.
LAURA CHAMBERS: I'm not going to try that.
The first door knock is a prime target for these campaigners.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Do you know if you plan to support Barack Obama or Mitt Romney for the election?
MAN: I tell you, I have not made my decision yet.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Perfect! Would you like some more information on Mitt Romney?
MAN: Okay.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Do you mind telling us who you supported in 2008?
MAN: That's okay. I supported Obama. I vote him last time.
LAURA CHAMBERS: So why would you say maybe you're not as sure about supporting him this time?
MAN: Good question, because you know the economy is not growing as fast as the way you expect, right? So some people say, why not give it a chance for somebody else.
Laura seizes her opportunity and dives in with a topic that's plagued Obama's election campaign from day one. The country's ailing economy.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Like companies that were failing, he turned them back around. I really think he'll be a good leader, especially for where we are with the economy. That's why we're supporting him. Bye. Thanks.
Hi. My name is Laura. Here is some more information. Thanks for your time, have a good one. We've got 804?
Sometimes people won't come to the door. You can see them. They pretend like they're not home. That is fine. I mean, we don't take it personally. A lot of people talked to us.
RICH COUNTS: Good transition.
Back on the bus and I want to know what issue is a driving force behind the team's dedication to the Republican cause. The resounding response is youth unemployment.
TRAVIS: There's something like a 60% rate of recent Grads having to go back and live at home because of the down economy. The policies that President Obama promised to enact to get people working haven't really come to fruition.
REPORTER: The unemployment rate has dropped a little according to last month's numbers.
LAURA CHAMBERS: The youth unemployment has been higher every time.
TRAVIS: It's higher than the national.
LAURA CHAMBERS: It's higher than the national average. So specifically for young people who are graduating it is extremely difficult to find work.
Rich says that while President Obama has traditionally won the youth vote he's been taking it for granted and many young people are disillusioned by the Democratic party. Later in Washington with Rich, I tease out the question of youth unemployment.
RICH COUNTS: I have friends that went to Ivy League schools that are having trouble finding work right now in this economy. So when we have an issue like that that's really affecting young people, you know, affecting their pay cheques, affecting how they live their daily lives, I think that is something that's got to be addressed and I happen to think that a business man like Mitt Romney is going to be the person that will help us turn that around. He's done it everywhere he's been.
REPORTER: Is it Obama's fault, though. He did inherit two wars and a deficit from the previous administration which was Republican. Can you really expect him to turn everything around in four years?
RICH COUNTS: Well, I think we can expect him to show some progress. I think we can expect him to lead in a bi-partisan manner.
MAN: No, I'm not going to vote Obama right now.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Are you pretty set on that?
MAN: Not 100%.
Even in this safe democratic seat, voters are wary of President Obama's plan to reintroduce high taxes on people who earn over $250,000.
MAN: I know there's a lot of people that make that kind of money, but... I heard that, too.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Do you know that passed that in the Senate, Obama's plan to raise money, or raise taxes on... They passed it and there was a board that came out and said if you pass this into law with the economy the way it is right now, it would actually kill 700,000 jobs.
You've got one campaign who's consistently been sending the message that we need too punish the rich, tax the wealthy, that's the answer to all your problems, that people who've been successful, demonising success. That's been a central tenet of the Obama campaign.
Mega-wealthy Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has promised a big tax break for America's highest income earners, a policy that has caused criticism of the Republican leader for being out of touch with ordinary Americans. It is something that Laura won't entertain.
LAURA CHAMBERS: I've actually had an opportunity, volunteered over the years and seen him in person. I could say honestly, I certainly would not -- I was certainly not raised in a rich background. My parents are very middle-class Americans. I had no sense that he could not relate. He's pretty personable. He likes to joke around. He's a good guy, I think.
MAN: I'm all for, you know, keeping my finances all tied up and if Romney does a good job on that...
LAURA CHAMBERS: On the economy?
MAN: Oh yeah. I'm perfectly willing to support Romney.
In this neighbourhood the general consensus seems to be that the economy isn't Obama's strength. But it's not only the economy that will influence who they vote for.
MAN: I'm a little concerned about the social issues - The social issues that Romney seems to need for his support.
LAURA CHAMBERS: What do you mean by that?
MAN: Social issues. I mean, women's rights, religion and government. These things are important.
These social issues have come to the fore in recent days with comments from Republican party members on rape and abortion.
POLITICIAN: If it's a legitimate rape the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.
POLITICIAN 2: When life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.
MAN: There seems to be extreme elements on the right that Romney seems to me to maintain his momentum in the election.
LAURA CHAMBERS: You have to admit there are some Democrats that have me scared on the other side as well.
MAN: Why?
LAURA CHAMBERS: I think there's some extremism on both sides.
I asked Laura where she stands on the abortion issue and the comments made by Republican party members.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Again, I think you have to consider your source. The criticism has largely come from those who would be trying to make those a central theme in the election cycle rather than the issues that most women care about. I as a woman find it offensive that someone would tell me that all I should care about are reproductive rights: I'm just like any man, con very concerned about our economy.
Having brought the conversation conveniently back to the policies she's so eager to push, the economy, I try a more direct route.
REPORTER: May I ask - are you pro-choice, or pro-life, is that something you're willing to talk about?
LAURA CHAMBERS: You know, I am happy to, you know, share my own views. Again, I don't think that's the central - I think it's interesting that women are often asked that question more often than men. I am pro-life. However, again, I don't think that that has to be the central issue in this campaign, even for women.
Back at Republican head office the campaigners hit the phones.
PHONE MESSAGE: Your calls have been forwarded to an automatic voice message system.
RICH COUNTS: Do you approve or disapprove of the job that Barack Obama is doing as President?
MAN: No, I'm not going to do the survey, but thanks.
RICH COUNTS: Thanks for your time and you have a good day.
LAURA CHAMBERS: You catch that political bug and the kind of people are there, and they are passionate about things, they're more Type As. That's definitely... When we have a good group of people, they don't think anything. Like Type A personalities, they're just very passionate. They're hard working and they never stop and sort of work awfully hard.
TRAVIS: Sometimes there's a more productive and meaningful issue, going out for a drink or dinner or whatever.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Are you planning to vote? Wonderful.. Ready to go.
With a week to go until the election and undaunted by the prospect of losing the state to Obama once again, these Type A young Republicans are determined to soldier on for Mitt Romney's vision.
RICH COUNTS: We're all on the bus together. We're with our friends and we're out there having fun, but at the same time we understand how serious the situation we are in right now is.
LAURA CHAMBERS: We're the kind of people that we care about our country, we want to see good policies implemented and that is why we're here.
YALDA HAKIM: Yaara Bou Melhem in Maryland where it seems President Obama still has the upper hand in that state. And next Tuesday we will be bringing you our election special. I will be here in Chicago t President's home town, and Mark Davis will be in Washington. Join us for expert analysis, a round table of outspoken pundits and stories from the American heartland. Also on our website you can find details of all of SBS's coverage of the last week of campaigning. And the actual results as they come in on the big day. Go to SBS online.
Reporter/Camera
YAARA BOU MELHEM
Producers
GEOFF PARISH
VICTORIA STROBL
Editors
MICAH MCGOWN
DAVID POTTS
Original Music Composed by
VICKI HANSEN
LAURA CHAMBERS, DC YOUNG REPUBLICAN: We will go door to door, talk to voters from Romney.
And Maryland's Republican headquarters these political young guns are getting instructions for their day of campaigning.
LAURA CHAMBERS: We will go door to door, talk to people, ask them to support our guys.
27-year-old Laura Chambers is the National Committee Woman of the Washington D.C. Young Republicans or DCVRs. Maryland has been voting Democrat in the national elections for more than two decades. So Laura has come here to give the Republican campaign all the help she can.
RICH COUNTS, DC YOUNG REPUBLICANS: Coffee, doughnuts. A little pin. Bartlett for Congress. DCYR is on tour. She's a rock star.
Rich Counts is one of the founding members of the group.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Travis jump in our car. You want to make sure that Republicans get out and actually vote, they tell you they're supportive. You want to make sure you back up and just remind them right before election day.
RICH COUNTS: I’m going to park right here.
LAURA CHAMBERS: I'm not going to try that.
The first door knock is a prime target for these campaigners.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Do you know if you plan to support Barack Obama or Mitt Romney for the election?
MAN: I tell you, I have not made my decision yet.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Perfect! Would you like some more information on Mitt Romney?
MAN: Okay.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Do you mind telling us who you supported in 2008?
MAN: That's okay. I supported Obama. I vote him last time.
LAURA CHAMBERS: So why would you say maybe you're not as sure about supporting him this time?
MAN: Good question, because you know the economy is not growing as fast as the way you expect, right? So some people say, why not give it a chance for somebody else.
Laura seizes her opportunity and dives in with a topic that's plagued Obama's election campaign from day one. The country's ailing economy.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Like companies that were failing, he turned them back around. I really think he'll be a good leader, especially for where we are with the economy. That's why we're supporting him. Bye. Thanks.
Hi. My name is Laura. Here is some more information. Thanks for your time, have a good one. We've got 804?
Sometimes people won't come to the door. You can see them. They pretend like they're not home. That is fine. I mean, we don't take it personally. A lot of people talked to us.
RICH COUNTS: Good transition.
Back on the bus and I want to know what issue is a driving force behind the team's dedication to the Republican cause. The resounding response is youth unemployment.
TRAVIS: There's something like a 60% rate of recent Grads having to go back and live at home because of the down economy. The policies that President Obama promised to enact to get people working haven't really come to fruition.
REPORTER: The unemployment rate has dropped a little according to last month's numbers.
LAURA CHAMBERS: The youth unemployment has been higher every time.
TRAVIS: It's higher than the national.
LAURA CHAMBERS: It's higher than the national average. So specifically for young people who are graduating it is extremely difficult to find work.
Rich says that while President Obama has traditionally won the youth vote he's been taking it for granted and many young people are disillusioned by the Democratic party. Later in Washington with Rich, I tease out the question of youth unemployment.
RICH COUNTS: I have friends that went to Ivy League schools that are having trouble finding work right now in this economy. So when we have an issue like that that's really affecting young people, you know, affecting their pay cheques, affecting how they live their daily lives, I think that is something that's got to be addressed and I happen to think that a business man like Mitt Romney is going to be the person that will help us turn that around. He's done it everywhere he's been.
REPORTER: Is it Obama's fault, though. He did inherit two wars and a deficit from the previous administration which was Republican. Can you really expect him to turn everything around in four years?
RICH COUNTS: Well, I think we can expect him to show some progress. I think we can expect him to lead in a bi-partisan manner.
MAN: No, I'm not going to vote Obama right now.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Are you pretty set on that?
MAN: Not 100%.
Even in this safe democratic seat, voters are wary of President Obama's plan to reintroduce high taxes on people who earn over $250,000.
MAN: I know there's a lot of people that make that kind of money, but... I heard that, too.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Do you know that passed that in the Senate, Obama's plan to raise money, or raise taxes on... They passed it and there was a board that came out and said if you pass this into law with the economy the way it is right now, it would actually kill 700,000 jobs.
You've got one campaign who's consistently been sending the message that we need too punish the rich, tax the wealthy, that's the answer to all your problems, that people who've been successful, demonising success. That's been a central tenet of the Obama campaign.
Mega-wealthy Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has promised a big tax break for America's highest income earners, a policy that has caused criticism of the Republican leader for being out of touch with ordinary Americans. It is something that Laura won't entertain.
LAURA CHAMBERS: I've actually had an opportunity, volunteered over the years and seen him in person. I could say honestly, I certainly would not -- I was certainly not raised in a rich background. My parents are very middle-class Americans. I had no sense that he could not relate. He's pretty personable. He likes to joke around. He's a good guy, I think.
MAN: I'm all for, you know, keeping my finances all tied up and if Romney does a good job on that...
LAURA CHAMBERS: On the economy?
MAN: Oh yeah. I'm perfectly willing to support Romney.
In this neighbourhood the general consensus seems to be that the economy isn't Obama's strength. But it's not only the economy that will influence who they vote for.
MAN: I'm a little concerned about the social issues - The social issues that Romney seems to need for his support.
LAURA CHAMBERS: What do you mean by that?
MAN: Social issues. I mean, women's rights, religion and government. These things are important.
These social issues have come to the fore in recent days with comments from Republican party members on rape and abortion.
POLITICIAN: If it's a legitimate rape the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.
POLITICIAN 2: When life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.
MAN: There seems to be extreme elements on the right that Romney seems to me to maintain his momentum in the election.
LAURA CHAMBERS: You have to admit there are some Democrats that have me scared on the other side as well.
MAN: Why?
LAURA CHAMBERS: I think there's some extremism on both sides.
I asked Laura where she stands on the abortion issue and the comments made by Republican party members.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Again, I think you have to consider your source. The criticism has largely come from those who would be trying to make those a central theme in the election cycle rather than the issues that most women care about. I as a woman find it offensive that someone would tell me that all I should care about are reproductive rights: I'm just like any man, con very concerned about our economy.
Having brought the conversation conveniently back to the policies she's so eager to push, the economy, I try a more direct route.
REPORTER: May I ask - are you pro-choice, or pro-life, is that something you're willing to talk about?
LAURA CHAMBERS: You know, I am happy to, you know, share my own views. Again, I don't think that's the central - I think it's interesting that women are often asked that question more often than men. I am pro-life. However, again, I don't think that that has to be the central issue in this campaign, even for women.
Back at Republican head office the campaigners hit the phones.
PHONE MESSAGE: Your calls have been forwarded to an automatic voice message system.
RICH COUNTS: Do you approve or disapprove of the job that Barack Obama is doing as President?
MAN: No, I'm not going to do the survey, but thanks.
RICH COUNTS: Thanks for your time and you have a good day.
LAURA CHAMBERS: You catch that political bug and the kind of people are there, and they are passionate about things, they're more Type As. That's definitely... When we have a good group of people, they don't think anything. Like Type A personalities, they're just very passionate. They're hard working and they never stop and sort of work awfully hard.
TRAVIS: Sometimes there's a more productive and meaningful issue, going out for a drink or dinner or whatever.
LAURA CHAMBERS: Are you planning to vote? Wonderful.. Ready to go.
With a week to go until the election and undaunted by the prospect of losing the state to Obama once again, these Type A young Republicans are determined to soldier on for Mitt Romney's vision.
RICH COUNTS: We're all on the bus together. We're with our friends and we're out there having fun, but at the same time we understand how serious the situation we are in right now is.
LAURA CHAMBERS: We're the kind of people that we care about our country, we want to see good policies implemented and that is why we're here.
YALDA HAKIM: Yaara Bou Melhem in Maryland where it seems President Obama still has the upper hand in that state. And next Tuesday we will be bringing you our election special. I will be here in Chicago t President's home town, and Mark Davis will be in Washington. Join us for expert analysis, a round table of outspoken pundits and stories from the American heartland. Also on our website you can find details of all of SBS's coverage of the last week of campaigning. And the actual results as they come in on the big day. Go to SBS online.
Reporter/Camera
YAARA BOU MELHEM
Producers
GEOFF PARISH
VICTORIA STROBL
Editors
MICAH MCGOWN
DAVID POTTS
Original Music Composed by
VICKI HANSEN