In the last couple days I've come across three separate columnists jumping from the McCain ship:
http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2008/09/my_dear_john_mccain_letter.htmlhttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2008178468_danny14.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091502406.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Seems McCain has a lot more to lose by lying than anyone thought.
Quoting Alexa from The Field:
"This US Navy film clip -- the only one available -- is from the Forrestal. It was always used in Navy damage control training films subsequently. McCain hotdogged on deck and caused this; he was identified in Navy classes as the cause by those who attended these classes and saw the film.
Because McCain was the Admiral's son he was airlifted immediately off the Forrestal to the USS Oriskany (the only Forrestal crewman to be transferred immediately) and was shot down in NVN three months later."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chuiyXQKw3I
After watching that horrific video, I'm beginning to think that McCain was shot down by an American.
A great spoof on disaster coverage, this video pretty much says it all.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/bush_tours_america_to_survey?utm_source=EMTF_Onion
It's been awhile since the Obama campaign created an ad that moved me to tears: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRgWpa_rnWQ
The ad portrays the America I want to live in!
We HAVE to vote in the August 19th Primary, most especially we have to vote for Governor Gregoire. I know some of you have issues with her, but let me tell you what happens if Dino Rossi wins the Primary on Aug 19th. He can change the dialogue completely to: See, they really did want me for Governor and Washington State is ready for a change. If the Republicans think they can pick up a Governor's race in a traditionally blue state, Washington becomes a Swing State, and they start pouring money into the General like there's no tomorrow.
We have to send a clear message to the Republicans to keep out of our State! We can help make that happen by making phone calls to local voters, most especially to West Seattle Voters (who traditionally vote strong Democrat) And oh! Guess what? West Seattle has its own phone bank! Here are the sign up links for helping us call voters to see if they're going to vote for Obama in the General and other candidates on the down ticket in the Primary.
July 29th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wtqJuly 30th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wtqJuly 31st http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wrlAug 3rd http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wrbAug 4th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wrjAug 5th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wr4Aug 6th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wr2Aug 7th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wrfAug 8th http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44wry
Unite for Change events in West SeattleHigh Point: David Ginsberg's house http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4qsdfollowed by a voter registration canvassing event http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4s3cLincoln Park: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4glgf
We'd love to see you at either event!
Another of the million reasons I love this man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywQKYga6uMY
Dear Obama Delegates and Alternates,
Below is an Overview of what to expect when you attend the Legislative Caucus, then an FAQ followed by information about how to campaign for a Delegate seat at the Congressional District Caucus(es). There is important information for Alternates contained in this message. I encourage everyone to read this, even if you’re Alternate #10 in your precinct.
You will be receiving an “Official Call” document in the mail from the 34th Legislative District Democrats. That document will explain absolutely everything about the Legislative District Caucus in great detail, and will include a copy of the proposed rules. Bring that document with you to the Caucus as reference. The rules must be formally adopted at the Caucus.
Overview:
What: 34th Legislative District Caucus
When: Saturday April 5th.
Where: West Seattle High School. 3000 California Ave SW
Sign In: 9am-10:00 am. The Commons. There will be 20 sign in tables. That’s about 50 delegates and 50 alternates per table. Your “Official Call” will have your precinct number on the mailing label. Please remember to indicate your preference. You’d be surprised how many people forgot to do so at the Precinct level.
There will be a food drive at this event, so bring an item of non-perishable food with you to donate.
The Caucus will convene in the Gym. Dow Constantine will be the Permanent Caucus Chair. One designated speaker from each campaign and someone speaking for the people who are undecided will speak for 5 minutes about their candidate/preference. Our speaker will be Tim Nuse.
People are given 15 minutes to change their sign in preference if they want. You’re welcome to gently lobby the Clinton people to change their preference at any time prior to this. Stay positive and remember that you are representing Barack Obama, not yourself.
The Credentials Committee will report to the Delegations how many Delegates and Alternates have been awarded to each Candidate and the Alternates will be seated.
The Obama delegation stays in the Gym. The Clinton Delegation moves to the Theater.
For Obama, if we retain all our Delegates, then we’ll be electing approximately 33 Congressional Delegates and approximately 17 Alternates to the 7th Congressional District Caucus. Another sub-caucus of people from the 9th Congressional District (some of the Burien precincts) will be electing approximately 2 or 3 Delegates and 1 Alternate for Obama for their part of the 9th CD.
It’s good to know that the Uncommitted Delegates are too few in number to achieve the 15% threshold. Unless the 15 of them can successfully convince about 135 people to change their preference, they will not get a Delegate for the Congressional District Caucus. If we show up in sufficient numbers and the Clinton people don’t, then we have a chance of picking up another Delegate for the 7th CD.
Which is why Mike French, the head of the Western Caucus States Delegate Team in Chicago has asked me to inform you of the experience the Obama Campaign had at the recent District Caucuses in Colorado. They only called up Alternates to fill vacancies they knew of in advance, and found themselves lacking because not enough Delegates showed up in some districts. That put them in a bind all too often. For that reason we are being directed to instruct ALL Alternates to attend the Caucus. I realize this is an inconvenience for people, especially people who thought there’d be no chance they would be called and have made plans for that morning. We can’t miss this chance to advance as many Delegates and Alternates as we can to the next level. Dragging yourself out of bed on a Saturday morning can only be mitigated by knowing that you get to hang out with other Obama people for awhile, and that you’re helping Barack Obama, one of America’s greatest humans, to become the next President of the United States of America.
FAQ:
Q: I lost my Certificate of Election. What do I do now?
A: Don’t worry. Your information will be on hand at the sign in table for your precinct. Bring your I.D. just to be safe.
Q: What is the purpose of this caucus?
A: To elect Delegates and Alternates to the Congressional District Caucuses. At the Congressional District Caucuses on May 17th, Delegates will be electing a portion of the total Delegates and Alternates who will be attending the National Convention in Denver. The balance of the Delegates and Alternates will be elected at the State Convention in Spokane over the weekend of June 14th.
Q: I’m an alternate. Do I have to wait to be told if I should attend? Or do I have to attend?
A: We need EVERYONE to attend. Even if you’re alternate #10, we need you. Let me say that again: EVERYONE! We can not afford to lose that 71/27 ratio we built last month at the Precinct Caucuses. We must seat every single Delegate. To do that, we have to have a ready source of alternates from each precinct to fill any vacant spots. Things happen, people who plan to attend end up not being able to. There’s no way to call up extra people at the last minute. Once all the Delegates are seated and counted, then any Alternates who aren’t needed can go home if they like and if they’re not running for Delegate to the Congressional District Caucus. If a Delegate can’t be seated for Obama, the Delegate goes to the Clinton campaign. Seriously…we do NOT want that to happen.
Q: Should I bring food and water?
A: Yes, especially if you’re bringing children.
Q: Can people who were not elected as Delegates or Alternates attend the Legislative District Caucus on April 5th?
A: Yes. This event is open to the public.
Q: Who can vote for the Delegates and Alternates to the Congressional District Caucuses?
A: Only credentialed Delegates are allowed to vote.
Q: Are we going to be voting on the resolutions that were turned in at the Precinct Caucuses?
A: No. All the resolutions voting and platform work will be done at the King County Convention on Sunday, April 13th, also at West Seattle High School.
Q: Do I have to go to the King County Convention?
A: You are invited. If you choose to attend, you will be welcome. Attendance at the Convention is not mandatory.
Q: What if I have to leave early?
A: If you are a Delegate, once you sign in and STATE YOUR PREFERENCE, then you are considered seated at the Delegation. For purposes of having your preference count, that function is complete. However, the purpose of the caucus is to elect Delegates. If at all possible, we want you to submit a completed and signed ballot before you leave.
Q: Can someone Challenge my eligibility as a Delegate?
A: Only people from your own precinct can issue challenges. Delegates must be eligible to vote, registered to vote and living in the precinct where they were elected. If you signed in at the wrong precinct caucus, then you are vulnerable to being challenged and losing your seat. This is yet another reason why we need all the Alternates to attend.
Q: If I’m elected Delegate to the Congressional District Caucus, will my name and contact information be published?
A: Yes. Everyone who will be running for Delegate to the National Convention in Denver will be contacting you to ask for your support, vote and or endorsement for their candidacy. You will be part of their constituency. Running for National Delegate is very like running for elected office. It’s a real live campaign that has to be conducted.
Q: Where do I get a yard sign?
A: There will be some Obama swag for sale at the Caucus, including yard signs.
Q: Do I need to bring my checkbook this time?
A: If you plan to run for Delegate to the CD, then yes. You will be asked to give $50 to help pay for the State Convention. This is not mandatory, but you will be asked.
A2: Donations to the Obama campaign will be accepted at the Caucus.
A3: No doubt the 34th Democrats will continue the membership drive begun at the Precinct Caucuses (which were highly effective, by the way).
Q: Do I need to bring my identification or voter registration card.
A: If you are 17 years of age, then yes, you’ll want to be certain you can prove you will be 18 in time to vote in the General Election in November.
A2: For everyone else, it couldn’t hurt to be able to prove that you are the person who was elected to that seat.
Campaigning for a Delegate Seat at the Congressional District Caucus.
There could be as many as 300 people wanting to be elected to the CD Caucus. There will only be about 33 Delegate and 17 Alternate slots available in the 7th CD and 2-3 Delegates slots and 1 Alternate slot available in the 9th CD. That means we have to compete for those few seats. This has been addressed very creatively by establishing a nomination process. The process will be explained in greater detail in the Official Call. All seated Delegates will be given ten nomination cards that they can use to nominate people. Remember, you don’t have to be a Delegate at one level to run for a seat at the next level, so you can nominate anyone. You write the person’s name on a nomination card, and give it to that person.
We can each come up with our own strategy for enticing people to write our name on a nominating card and giving it to us. The people who collect sufficient numbers of nomination cards (within the rules) get to stand for election and make 1 minute speeches on their own behalf. So, prepare a ‘vote-for-me’ speech. In one minute, most people can get out from 5 to 7 complete sentences. The speeches will be strictly timed, and you will be cut off mid-sentence, so practice. On the off chance that the rules are changed at the caucus to shorten that time to 30 seconds, create one for 30 seconds, too.
Some campaign tips:
Ø If you are serious about running for CD Delegate, dress in business casual when attending the LD Caucus.
Ø Name tags for everyone will be available at the Caucus. You can rely on that or make your own, or a button with your name on it to make it easier for people to find you if they want to give one of their nomination cards to you.
Ø If you want to pass out flyers, try to save a few trees and limit the size to a half-page, or a quarter page. Make sure any abandoned campaign literature makes it into the recycle bins.
Ø Form alliances with people to help you accumulate nomination cards.
Ø You can bring friends or family to help, too.
Ø Create a campaign web page or blog.
We can take advantage of an online resource to share out personal campaign messages to help people get to know everyone in advance of the caucus. Post a link to your campaign web page, blog or profile on the West Seattle for Obama blog. I invite you to take a look at mine as an example.
Once you’re elected as a Delegate or Alternate to the Congressional District Caucus, you will be asked to pay $50 to help pay for the State Convention in June. It isn’t mandatory, but you will be asked.
If you’re planning to campaign to become a Delegate at the National Convention in Denver this August, then it’s critical that you attend Cherisse Luxa’s course on the subject.
Saturday, March 29th, 2:00-4:00 PM
High Point Library, 3411 SW Raymond St.
Or
Sunday, March 30th, 3:00-5:00 PM
Burien Library, 14700 Sixth Avenue SW
Before you go to her class READ THE DOCUMENTATION ON WA DEMS SITE FIRST. There are pages and pages and pages of it, plus a Power Point presentation.
See everyone on April 5th.
Yes, We Can!
Artemis
I just adore this ad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXmYVRIpu2w
This thread is for people who plan to run for Congressional District Delegate to represent the 34th Legislative District. If you've created a campaign web page or blog or profile, please post a link to it so others can find your information and consider voting for you on Saturday, April 5th at the LD Caucus at West Seattle High School. Please note if you're running for a position in the 7th or 9th Congressional District.
I'll start:
My name is Artemis. Vote for me: http://www.unfiction.com/~tienle/ao4cd.html
This article gives me hope that the Super Delegates are starting to take notice:
NY Times 2/14/08
Bill Clinton Campaign Chair Goes for Obama
By Katharine Q. Seelye
David Wilhelm, who was Bill Clinton’s campaign chairman in 1992, has endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president.
Mr. Wilhelm lives and works in Ohio, which will be a major battleground for the Democratic candidates come March 4.
After Mr. Wilhelm helped him win the election, Mr. Clinton made Mr. Wilhelm the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Now a venture capitalist who focuses on neglected regions of the country, Mr. Wilhelm is also a superdelegate and said he expected the Obama campaign would want him to get on the phone to lobby other superdelegates.
He said in a conference call today that Mr. Obama was more electable than Senator Hillary Clinton. Mr. Obama’s campaign is evidence of his leadership, he said, calling it “masterful.”
“He has out-worked her, out-organized her and out-raised her,” Mr. Wilhelm said. “I know organizational excellence when I see it, and the Obama campaign, win or lose, will serve as a model” of execution of strategy, message discipline, application of new technology and small-donor fund raising.
