Have you ever made telephone calls on behalf of a political candidate or political party?

I got to do that during our winter sojourn in Florida.

That was fun. And it was new. I had never been able to do that during my working years.

Giving the appearance of bias in any capacity was a journalistic no-no at newspapers where I worked in DuBois, Erie and Warren, and in Ohio’s Akron and Canton. The policy extended beyond politics.

I started out as a sports writer and photographer. The rule was clear: Do not wear school insignias while reporting on a game for that school. I lived within the DuBois Area School District. But even when I covered a game in Lock Haven, my hat or jacket did not say either “DuBois” or “Central Mountain.”

The same principle said that I could not participate in partisan political activities.

The rules weren’t excessively fussy. I could register to vote as a member of a political party. But I was not supposed to contribute to candidates, buy tickets to fundraisers, etc.

Sometimes, journalists broke that rule on purpose. I paid or tried to pay for my own dinner when I covered a political party’s meeting because the speaker might be newsworthy. Getting a free meal gave the appearance of bias. When dining with politicians, we might each pay for our own, or I would use my expense account, but I avoided having the politician pick up the check.

By and large, I stay out of partisan politics since I retired. On occasion, my wife does not. She might donate to a candidate or plop a yard sign near our home. That causes some griping from nibby-noses who somehow expect me to control my wife (Hah!). My reply is blunt: “My wife does not tell me how to vote. I don’t tell her how to vote.”

If I want to be snarky, I add, “Do you tell your wife how to vote? If you try, doesn’t she smack you upside the head? She should!”

That is fun, too.

These days, I write opinion articles. This is one. In opinion articles, one gives voice to opinions. So I can “talk politics” in print.

At our house, where we stand is obvious. Our barn has two 12-foot-high doors leading into the haymow. My wife is predictably liberal or, in my lingo, “pinko-liberal.”

She posts political signs on our barn — on the left-hand door to the haymow. Right now, the left-hand door holds a “Bernie” sign.

We all know that the right-hand door is the conservative door, the correct door, don’t we? (Yes, I’ll pay for that, but just watching these words appear here is fun!) So, on the right-hand door of our barn is a three-foot-wide poster with one word on it: “Libertarian.”

Strictly speaking, that “Libertarian” is temporarily inaccurate. I registered as a Democrat this year. I find the Democratic primary to be the most interesting one.

I also believe that both major political parties have shafted ordinary Americans for more than a half-century, making a mockery out of any claim to party loyalty. Switching parties is legal. I also think it is an appropriate payback for the parties’ lack of loyalty to us voters. Once the primary has been held, I’ll switch back to being a Libertarian.

While we were in Florida, we met Carol Barfield, the chairwoman of the Franklin County Democratic Committee.

“Would you like to make some get-out-the-vote calls?” she asked, explaining that the party is neutral with respect to Democratic candidates.

I jumped at the chance. Florida’s primary was on March 17.

During the calls, I stuck to the provided script – mostly. I stayed on message about as well (or not well) as I had done when I taught Catholic religious education to restless high school seniors: Observe doctrine and dogma, but don’t sweat the chitchat.

By the time the Franklin County Democrats discover whether I did actual damage, we’ll be back in Pennsylvania.

The process itself can be boring, sometimes frustrating: Voice mail messages, unanswered numbers, etc.

But when an actual person answers, the calls become interesting, entertaining — and on occasion, let’s say, “pungent.”

I forced myself to remain relentlessly neutral and always cheerful and, guess what? So were the people I called!

Franklin County is close in population to our nearby counties of Forest (7,297 residents) or Cameron (4,592). It has just 11,700 residents and 8,100 registered voters, about 10 percent more Democrats than Republicans.

Our calls encouraged voters to use early voting mail-in ballots. Some said they would. Most, however, said they would wait and vote on March 19.

Why?

One elderly woman summed it up succinctly.

“Those lines” at polling sites on Election Day, she said, pausing for emphasis, “Those lines mean something.”

Yes, ma’am. They surely do.

I am more than ever committed to being in one of those lines in Pennsylvania on our state’s primary Election Day, April 28.

Are you?

¯¯¯

Denny Bonavita is a former editor at newspapers in DuBois and Warren. He lives near Brookville. Email: denny2319@windstream.net.