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New Hampshire is very much a battleground - it went to George Bush by 1% in 2000 and John Kerry by 1% in 2004.The polls are tight once again this year, but we have a very real opportunity to take away John McCain's hopes of winning New Hampshire by Getting Out The Vote and making sure every single supporter is going to the polls on Election Day. We have come too far to let up now. If you don't have plans this weekend, or if you can rearrange them, we're asking again for you to come to New Hampshire.
We only have FOUR days left to elect Barack. We need to work as hard as we can this weekend. Sign up to help with GOTV this weekend in New Hampshire. Every voter you talk to can make a real difference in this close race.If you don't have a ride, don't worry. We have a ride share website, NH.BarackObama.com/NHride that can help you find a ride with another supporter in your area.
MANCHESTER-- With less than 3 days until Election Day, Sen. John Kerry will be on the Seacoast of New Hampshire this Saturday, November 1st to rally voters in support of Sen. Barack Obama, Jeanne Shaheen, and Democrats up and down the ticket.
5:00 p.m. Unity Rally with Sen. John Kerry, Jeanne Shaheen, and Democratic candidates Portsmouth Public Library- Levenson Community Room 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth
MANCHESTER - Fred Bramante, a member of McCain's New Hampshire Leadership Committee and a 2008 Alternate Delegate to the Republican National Convention today announced his support for Senator Obama's Campaign for Change. Bramante, a Co-Chair of Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign and former Republican gubernatorial candidate, is a past Chairman and current member of the New Hampshire State Board of Education. His endorsement marks the first time nationally that a delegate or alternate delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention has publicly announced their decision to support Sen. Obama. "I believe that America is at a critical point and that how our nation addresses the issue of education redesign will hold the key to America's future," said Fred Bramante. "Barack Obama is committed to reforming our public schools instead of abandoning them. To my disappointment, Senator McCain continues to support the use of vouchers, a divisive approach to education which has gotten us nowhere for decades and will not ensure that our children will live their lives in another American Century." On the call, the Obama-Biden Campaign also announced 20 other prominent New Hampshire Republicans who support Obama for president. "As a lifelong Republican and father of two, I believe Obama is the best choice for the future of our country. He has my support because of his views on the economy, his concern for America's standing in the world, and his opposition to the war in Iraq," said Barry Schuster of Lebanon. "As the former Chair of the school board, I know improving education policy will be critical to the Senator because of his own experiences and the value he places on reforming the system." "It has been the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, who has demonstrated sound judgment in dealing with this economic crisis," said Pamela Diamantis of Greenland. "I am supporting Obama because he meets the criteria I want in a president, which is someone who is a strong leader who has conviction around his ideas and has the skills and desire to effectively communicate and build a consensus." This group of 20 New Hampshire Republicans joins a long list of other prominent Republicans supporting Obama including Republican State Representative Sandy Kearns, former Republican State Senator Richard Russman, former Republican State Representative William Tsiros, and former Republican State Representative Liz Hager.
MANCHESTER - Fred Bramante, a member of McCain's New Hampshire Leadership Committee and a 2008 Alternate Delegate to the Republican National Convention today announced his support for Senator Obama's Campaign for Change.
Bramante, a Co-Chair of Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign and former Republican gubernatorial candidate, is a past Chairman and current member of the New Hampshire State Board of Education. His endorsement marks the first time nationally that a delegate or alternate delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention has publicly announced their decision to support Sen. Obama.
"I believe that America is at a critical point and that how our nation addresses the issue of education redesign will hold the key to America's future," said Fred Bramante. "Barack Obama is committed to reforming our public schools instead of abandoning them. To my disappointment, Senator McCain continues to support the use of vouchers, a divisive approach to education which has gotten us nowhere for decades and will not ensure that our children will live their lives in another American Century."
On the call, the Obama-Biden Campaign also announced 20 other prominent New Hampshire Republicans who support Obama for president.
"As a lifelong Republican and father of two, I believe Obama is the best choice for the future of our country. He has my support because of his views on the economy, his concern for America's standing in the world, and his opposition to the war in Iraq," said Barry Schuster of Lebanon. "As the former Chair of the school board, I know improving education policy will be critical to the Senator because of his own experiences and the value he places on reforming the system."
"It has been the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, who has demonstrated sound judgment in dealing with this economic crisis," said Pamela Diamantis of Greenland. "I am supporting Obama because he meets the criteria I want in a president, which is someone who is a strong leader who has conviction around his ideas and has the skills and desire to effectively communicate and build a consensus."
This group of 20 New Hampshire Republicans joins a long list of other prominent Republicans supporting Obama including Republican State Representative Sandy Kearns, former Republican State Senator Richard Russman, former Republican State Representative William Tsiros, and former Republican State Representative Liz Hager.
Last night, the Obama campaign aired a 30 min special about American stories - stories like yours, of families talking around the dinner table about the tough choices they are facing and their dreams for the future. This country was formed by stories like these - parents who moved to get a better schools for their children, men and women who have to go back to work after retirement to support their families, and young people seeking to better their future through work and education.
Barack's message tonight speaks to these American stories, and to the commitment that he makes to all Americans to address these concerns.
In case you missed any part of it, or want to watch it again, or share this with your friends - you can watch Barack's message here:
The election ends in five days, and we need your help to get out the vote in New Hampshire. You can find a volunteer opportunity near you right now.
Tonight, the Obama campaign aired a 30 min special about American stories - stories like yours, of families talking around the dinner table about the tough choices they are facing and their dreams for the future. This country was formed by stories like these - parents who moved to get a better schools for their children, men and women who have to go back to work after retirement to support their families, and young people seeking to better their future through work and education.
Barack's message tonight speaks to these American stories, and to the commitment that he makes to Granite Staters and all Americans to address these concerns.
The election ends in six days, and we need your help to get out the vote right here in New Hampshire. You can find a volunteer opportunity near you right now.
This afternoon Ned Lamont, former Democratic candidate for Senate in CT against Joe Lieberman, stopped by the Campaign for Change office to show his support, thanking volunteers and making phone calls to help Get Out the Vote in the last week of the campaign.
In 2000 we were out hustled. In 2004 we were out muscled with the Swift Boat attacks. Now, with the power of our volunteer base, we won't be out hustled or out muscled this year.
"Everyone has their eyes on New Hampshire," Lamont said.
Join Lamont's efforts: come to your nearest New Hampshire office to help Get Out the Vote.
Watch Ned Lamont's message of support from January here
Tomorrow you have your chance to stand up and be heard when you head to the polls. But you're not just standing up for yourself, you're standing up for what you're passionate about: issues list here video here why are you voting? send in your voting story link get out the vote - nov rain link here
This guest blog was written by Josh Levine, Director of Veterans Outreach for the New Hampshire Campaign for Change
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a strong supporter of Senator Barack Obama, met with veterans and military families Tuesday at the Public Library in Portsmouth, NH. Dr. Albright, who teaches at Georgetown University, spoke about our current national security situation and the failure of President Bush's approach to foreign policy over the last eight years. During her remarks, she described what she saw as the major issues facing the next President of the United States, and why she believed Barack Obama was uniquely qualified, in knowledge, demeanor, confidence, and judgment to begin the tough work of solving these complex problems. Following her remarks she fielded questions from the forty-person audience. She spoke about the need for the United States to begin disengagement in Iraq, both to force the Iraqi government to solve its lingering political issues and so that we can focus on Afghanistan, the real immediate threat to American security. She endorsed Senator Obama's plans for dealing with Iraq through a multilateral regional solution and for intensifying efforts to rebuild Afghanistan and help Pakistan to stabilize itself. Other topics included restoring America's standing in the world, dealing with Iran, the world financial crisis, rethinking the use of the National Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current and future roles of NATO. On each issue, Dr. Albright described her views and discussed with the audience Barack Obama's deep thoughtfulness, clear thinking, and confidence to lead our country through these tough times. She said that not only is Senator Obama the right man to address our great concerns abroad, but that he "will talk to us, tell us the truth" so that we as a nation can work together to meet our challenges at home.
Following her remarks she fielded questions from the forty-person audience. She spoke about the need for the United States to begin disengagement in Iraq, both to force the Iraqi government to solve its lingering political issues and so that we can focus on Afghanistan, the real immediate threat to American security. She endorsed Senator Obama's plans for dealing with Iraq through a multilateral regional solution and for intensifying efforts to rebuild Afghanistan and help Pakistan to stabilize itself. Other topics included restoring America's standing in the world, dealing with Iran, the world financial crisis, rethinking the use of the National Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current and future roles of NATO.
On each issue, Dr. Albright described her views and discussed with the audience Barack Obama's deep thoughtfulness, clear thinking, and confidence to lead our country through these tough times. She said that not only is Senator Obama the right man to address our great concerns abroad, but that he "will talk to us, tell us the truth" so that we as a nation can work together to meet our challenges at home.
If you're tired of the same failed foreign policies of the past and are ready for America to have a better standing in the world, sign up to help Get Out The Vote now.
Obama-Biden Campaign Releases New Web Tool Exposing McCain's Budget Hypocrisy
CHICAGO, IL - The Obama campaign today released a new web tool that reveals the truth about John McCain's promise to cut spending and balance the budget by 2013. The new site takes visitors step by step through McCain's proposed spending and proposed offsets, explaining exactly what it would take to make McCain's budget numbers add up.
See for yourself at TheRecord.BarackObama.com/Spending.
"John McCain likes to rail against new spending on the campaign trail, but what he doesn't tell voters is that his own spending proposals would expand the deficit by more than $300 billion each year - unless he makes drastic cuts to programs that American families depend on," said Obama-Biden Spokesman Bill Burton.
McCain has proposed more than $700 billion in new spending and tax cuts each year, but the offsets he's proposed - including taxing health insurance benefits, cutting Medicare and Medicaid, a spending freeze and eliminating earmarks - leave a gap of $310 billion every year.
As today's New York Times explains, McCain "has not specified" where the additional spending cuts would come from to close the gap in his budget. This new web tool lets visitors try out for themselves how to close McCain's $310 billion per year gap - including slashing defense spending by half, or cutting Medicare by 75 percent.
Let's make history together. Can you imagine seeing McCain-Palin winning when you knew you could have done something about it? What's a day off work or an evening compared to THAT???
The single most important way to impact that is to meet face to face with people. Canvassing is the number one way to accomplish that. The campaign has said that collectively over 2,000 folks this past weekend went to New Hampshire. Studies have shown that for every 12 doors you simply knock on is one vote for your candidate. It's easy; just ask them what's important to them and it goes from there! A few minutes with an undecided voter makes all the difference in the world Here's the most important fact.
The last election in New Hampshire was decided by less than 3,000 votes. You may only end up speaking to 2 undecided voters. Even if you can impact just one person; collectively that comes to over 3,000 voters. That can make the difference in us winning New Hampshire.
The next biggest reason to canvass and make phone calls is to support Jeanne Shaheen for US Senate. This is the closet Senate election in the country. The Democrats are close to getting 60 Senate seats. That's why doing all we can to get Shaheen elected is SO VITAL! If you are passionate about OBAMA then he will need every single Senator on his side. That's why we need every single person.
If you want to make sure Obama-Biden is elected, then the biggest way you can affect the vote is to volunteer, doing a variety of tasks. I'm going ALL OUT for the Obama Get Out the Vote. It is so amazing to see so many folks from all over New England Canvassing! I am especially proud of all the Vermonters. Even the candidates from VT and NH and many of the staff get out to bang on doors.
Let's get ALL FIRED UP!!!
Are you fired up? Join Greg in New Hampshire for Get Out The Vote. Go all out and fight for every vote in New Hampshire.
Change happens because the American people demand it. Because they rise up and insist on new leadership and new ideas, a new politics for a new time. - Sen. Barack Obama
Six days until the election - six days to join us in making history. This isn't the time to let up and rest on our laurels, it's the time to push forward to victory. This is what happens if we get complacent:
Don't trust the polls. We need to push through the finish line.
Sign up now to help us fight for every last vote.
Make calls with us, knock on doors with us, help out in your local office, bring food to volunteers and staff, house a volunteer, make calls from home, put Obama flyers around your town... whatever you can do our staff can help you with.
This is our time.
This blog was written by Colin at NH HQ
Today, Hillary Clinton returned to New Hampshire for the first time since her rally in Unity with Senator Obama back in June. She was welcomed with open arms by raucous crowds which greeted her in Manchester and Pelham. With the election only a week away, Hillary Clinton came to the Granite State to let everyone know why she is working so hard to elect Senator Obama to the White House.
Her first event was at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. She was introduced by former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen who is running for Senate against incumbent John Sununu. To get our country moving on the right track, Senator Obama will need Jeanne Shaheen in the Senate, so help elect her and Barack Obama by working as hard as you can this last week.
Hillary spoke passionately about the issues affecting our country - lack of access to health care, high energy prices, failing schools, and the sense of malaise sweeping the country due to the financial crisis. Hillary told the Granite State that a vote for McCain is a vote for more of the same and four more years of George W. Bush. She closed by urging all of her supporters from the primary to go out and work and vote for the Democratic ticket up and down the ballot.
MANCHESTER-- Former Vermont governor and current chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean will be in New Hampshire this Thursday, October 30th for a Rally for Change. With just over a week until New Hampshire voters head to the polls, Gov. Dean will stress the incredibly high stakes of the election for young voters and encourage them to vote. Dean will also discuss Sen. Obama's plan to create jobs and improve the state of our economy so that young Granite Staters can successfully enter the workforce upon graduation. Earlier today, the Obama campaign in New Hampshire released a list of 50 New Hampshire student leaders who are not only supporting Sen. Obama's Campaign for Change, but are working on campuses to elect former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, and Congressman Paul Hodes. These student leaders have been and will continue to play an active role in the last days of the campaign energizing students to vote and have dedicated their time to engaging classmates in the electoral process. New Hampshire students can visit NH.BarackObama.com for more information on voting and how to get involved in these final days of the campaign. Thursday, October 30th 11:45 a.m. Rally for Change with Gov. Howard Dean UNH Durham- Granite State Room-- MUB 83 Main Street, Durham
MANCHESTER-- Former Vermont governor and current chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean will be in New Hampshire this Thursday, October 30th for a Rally for Change. With just over a week until New Hampshire voters head to the polls, Gov. Dean will stress the incredibly high stakes of the election for young voters and encourage them to vote. Dean will also discuss Sen. Obama's plan to create jobs and improve the state of our economy so that young Granite Staters can successfully enter the workforce upon graduation.
Earlier today, the Obama campaign in New Hampshire released a list of 50 New Hampshire student leaders who are not only supporting Sen. Obama's Campaign for Change, but are working on campuses to elect former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, and Congressman Paul Hodes. These student leaders have been and will continue to play an active role in the last days of the campaign energizing students to vote and have dedicated their time to engaging classmates in the electoral process. New Hampshire students can visit NH.BarackObama.com for more information on voting and how to get involved in these final days of the campaign.
UNH Durham- Granite State Room-- MUB
83 Main Street, Durham
This blog was written by Brendan O'Neill, our Claremont, NH Field Organizer Five nights a week, Paul trickles down the Connecticut River from his home in Woodstock Vermont to call voters in the Claremont Campaign for Change office, brightening up what can too often be described as dreary and decrepit Pleasant St. With a coffee in hand and a chuckle in his belly, Paul often spends 3-4 hours plugging away in his favorite spot with his favorite phone, swooning undecided voters and greeting the occasional McCain supporter with "that's really too bad, have a nice evening." Current estimates place Paul as having personally made over 3,000 calls in the last five or six weeks, easily putting him in the top three among individual callers from the Claremont office. Despite his Vermont residency, he has entrenched himself in local New Hampshire politics by advocating for both State Senate candidate Jay Phinizy and U.S. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen. A former advertisement guru, Paul's boisterous telephone persona and intermittent anecdotes make him an office favorite among staff and fellow volunteers. Because of his dedication, consistency, and experience volunteering in past GOTV efforts, Paul will be serving as the Ride-to-the-Polls captain on Election Day. Thank you Paul!
This blog was written by Brendan O'Neill, our Claremont, NH Field Organizer
Five nights a week, Paul trickles down the Connecticut River from his home in Woodstock Vermont to call voters in the Claremont Campaign for Change office, brightening up what can too often be described as dreary and decrepit Pleasant St. With a coffee in hand and a chuckle in his belly, Paul often spends 3-4 hours plugging away in his favorite spot with his favorite phone, swooning undecided voters and greeting the occasional McCain supporter with "that's really too bad, have a nice evening."
Current estimates place Paul as having personally made over 3,000 calls in the last five or six weeks, easily putting him in the top three among individual callers from the Claremont office. Despite his Vermont residency, he has entrenched himself in local New Hampshire politics by advocating for both State Senate candidate Jay Phinizy and U.S. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen. A former advertisement guru, Paul's boisterous telephone persona and intermittent anecdotes make him an office favorite among staff and fellow volunteers. Because of his dedication, consistency, and experience volunteering in past GOTV efforts, Paul will be serving as the Ride-to-the-Polls captain on Election Day.
Thank you Paul!
Can you join us in New Hampshire for Get Out the Vote? If you have any time you could help, don't wait: sign up today.
This blog was written by Field Organizer Butch Frey
Saturdays are a hoppin' time in the Dover office! With canvassers arriving both from out-of-state and in-state, we are fired up and ready to go! But both the organizers and the volunteers rely on a few special people that come in every weekend and help us orchestrate a smooth canvass. The "Dover Weekend Team" consists of three all-star regulars, Larry from Dover, Debbie from Dover, and Brigit from Rollinsford.
These great people provide the backbone for the great canvasses out of the Dover office.
Larry from Dover
Larry from Dover begins his Saturdays by arriving early to set up for volunteers, and ends his Sunday with volunteer calls and data entry with his daughter Zoe. Larry hasn't worked for a candidate in years but believes this election is special. He has said of this election, "This is clearly the most important election of my lifetime. I just don't know if I can do anything else on the weekends...this is too important, and we just simply can't let this oppourtunity slip away."
Brigit from Rollinsford
Brigit from Rollinsford works to recruit volunteers during the week, and then greets them on the weekend. With a jovial personality and kind smile, she works with people's schedules and helps deal with any issues that come up. She always is there to offer a sandwich or a good joke when volunteers or staff need a little nourishment.
The weekend team is completed by Debbie from Dover who answers questions and concerns from volunteers after they return from pounding the pavement. She supports Senator Obama because she believes they offer real change to the partisan politics of Washington, and will provide help to the middle class.
The Dover office runs on the help of great volunteers that believe in our grassroots movement for change. Come out and visit the Dover Weekend Team in action and help change the world!
Dover Campaign for Change
11 Chestnut St.
Dover, NH 03820
(603) 742-5416
This guest Field blog was written by Martin Schubert, Field Organizer in Plymouth.
This blog was written by Jennifer, a volunteer from the Upper Valley for Obama Team Nestled in the beautiful landscape of Hanover, NH, the Kendal retirement community is renowned for its active, engaged senior residents. A dedicated group of Obama campaign volunteers from Kendal demonstrates why this reputation is well-deserved. For several weeks now, Kendal residents have been holding their own phone bank for Obama out of their residences, with Edie taking the lead in organizing their efforts. The dedicated group has proven to be quite a force in reaching out to New Hampshire voters throughout the state, smashing their own calling records and earning a special trophy from campaign staff (seen below). How do they do it? Each morning, Edie's pie basket (also seen below) appears with fresh calling packets for volunteers to pick up. By evening, packets are returned to the pie basket to be picked up by staffers for data entry. The next day, the process starts again, and hundreds of calls are made. Hats off to our great team of Kendal volunteers!
This blog was written by Jennifer, a volunteer from the Upper Valley for Obama Team
Nestled in the beautiful landscape of Hanover, NH, the Kendal retirement community is renowned for its active, engaged senior residents. A dedicated group of Obama campaign volunteers from Kendal demonstrates why this reputation is well-deserved.
For several weeks now, Kendal residents have been holding their own phone bank for Obama out of their residences, with Edie taking the lead in organizing their efforts. The dedicated group has proven to be quite a force in reaching out to New Hampshire voters throughout the state, smashing their own calling records and earning a special trophy from campaign staff (seen below).
How do they do it? Each morning, Edie's pie basket (also seen below) appears with fresh calling packets for volunteers to pick up. By evening, packets are returned to the pie basket to be picked up by staffers for data entry. The next day, the process starts again, and hundreds of calls are made.
Hats off to our great team of Kendal volunteers!
If you'd like to get active and help out the efforts of our great Kendal team on the phones, find your local field office and get involved. Get Out The Vote starts tomorrow, so we need your help now more than ever. If you can't make it in to your local office, or if you have limited time to volunteer, think about using Neighbor to Neighbor, our online call tool, to make calls whenever it is convenient for you.
This blog was written by Field Organizer Stephen Goepfert
The Seacoast region is proud to spotlight one of our best volunteers, Pearl. In all of her 87 years, Pearl admits that she has not seen a campaign like this before. The organization in Hampton and the excitement generated by the primary inspired Pearl to take an active role with the Obama campaign. She volunteers every Thursday night and reaches out to neighbors for hours making phone calls. Ever since the beginning of the primary, Pearl has dedicated herself to advancing Democratic candidates in any way she can. You can see Pearl out on the corner waving signs, in the office making phone calls, or signing up for multiple Get Out the Vote shifts. When asked whether or not she has enough time to do all these things, Pearl replies "Busy is the way to be." Pearl could not sit home this election. She truly believes that Senator Obama has great presidential material. Too often, Pearl says, politicians say that this is the way things have to be. However, Pearl believes that Barack sees thing as they should be. This election is the most important of her lifetime - and this is from someone who's seen America at many crossroads. Recently at our GOTV training, Pearl impressed everyone by signing up for 7 shifts. Her contributions to this campaign are proof that you are never too old to get involved.
The Seacoast region is proud to spotlight one of our best volunteers, Pearl. In all of her 87 years, Pearl admits that she has not seen a campaign like this before. The organization in Hampton and the excitement generated by the primary inspired Pearl to take an active role with the Obama campaign. She volunteers every Thursday night and reaches out to neighbors for hours making phone calls.
Ever since the beginning of the primary, Pearl has dedicated herself to advancing Democratic candidates in any way she can. You can see Pearl out on the corner waving signs, in the office making phone calls, or signing up for multiple Get Out the Vote shifts. When asked whether or not she has enough time to do all these things, Pearl replies "Busy is the way to be."
Pearl could not sit home this election. She truly believes that Senator Obama has great presidential material. Too often, Pearl says, politicians say that this is the way things have to be. However, Pearl believes that Barack sees thing as they should be. This election is the most important of her lifetime - and this is from someone who's seen America at many crossroads.
Recently at our GOTV training, Pearl impressed everyone by signing up for 7 shifts. Her contributions to this campaign are proof that you are never too old to get involved.
This blog was written by Field Organizer Gerad Teague
I answered the phone a couple of weeks ago when Jennifer was on the other end of the line. The other field organizers and I usually switch off picking up the phone--I had just a 1 out of 3 chance of getting there. I'm a lucky guy.
Jennifer told me that she would like to come to New Hampshire and that she thought we had a tough race going up here. She said that she'd like to be a part of our team here in the office. After completing Camp Obama, Jennifer needed a place put her skills to work. She'd learned our precious computer system, she'd read up on our organizing philosophy, and she'd blocked out her time to do the hard field work we need to do to get Barack and Joe into office. I reassured her that we could use her here.
Now I can't say for sure, but it seemed that after Jennifer arrived at our office the temperature rose a few degrees, our musty carpets smelled just a bit better, and it seemed like I had gotten a bit more sleep. All of a sudden our call sheets were organized. We didn't have to hunt down the rubber bands, because they were in our supply cabinet where they should be. The volunteers coming into the office were suddenly treated to a bright new face ready to help them with their calls and answer their questions.
I'm so glad to have such a fantastic addition to our team here in Nashua. There is so much that needs to get done in the next two weeks, we'll need Jennifer so much to make sure it gets done.
That said, Jennifer, however capable, won't be able to win New Hampshire by herself. She'll need all of your support. Come join her in the Nashua office, and help us bring change to Washington.
