I want you to imagine waking up on November 5th and finding that we lost the Presidential Election. How would you feel? Would you have a sick feeling in your stomach, wondering if there was something more you could have done to have prevented Obama's defeat?
The fact is that, with just thirteen days to E-day, we are running neck-and-neck with John McCain in the polls, yet we CAN WIN this election if we make sure that every single supporter of Barack Obama goes out and votes, and for that to happen we need YOUR HELP.
We have a massive GOTV operation that can only work if we have as many volunteers as possible on the ground between now and election day. If you live in Franklin County, please, please, please help us make a victory happen. Stop by at the office at 208 S. Church St, Union, MO and fill out a volunteer sheet. We need:
CANVASSERS - We continue to canvass during most days in your area and will need canvassers over the last weekend and on election day.PHONE-BANKERS - Phone-banking takes place every single evening, but you can also do some during the day.
CANVASSERS - We continue to canvass during most days in your area and will need canvassers over the last weekend and on election day.
PHONE-BANKERS - Phone-banking takes place every single evening, but you can also do some during the day.
We will especially need help with the GOTV effort so please, if you possibly can, take election day off work, skip school, whatever it takes to come and work to turn Franklin County - and Missouri - blue. After all, we only have one chance. Come and make it happen.
I can't believe how long it is since I've had time to blog, or that it is the end of August already. Since Stan arrived, time has flown by so fast that it's hard to know what day it is, and we're loving it.
To think, we started with a big, empty open room and a handful of Democratic stalwarts and now our HQ is a hive of activity, buzzing with phone banks, canvassing, planning and everything else that goes into a successful campaign. Neighborhood Team Leaders have been selected for much of the county, many of us have been down to Rolla to complete our training, with another group set to go next week, volunteers have been and continue to be recruited and we are looking like a fully fledged campaign HQ.
My area, which covers Union and Villa Ridge, has almost completed its first pass on voter contact with an excellent success rate that I don't want to post here because we don't want to make the other side jealous, and other teams are catching up. A bit of inter-team friendly rivalry will spur us on, in a good-natured way, but for now, we can boast that we are the best. We are still recruiting volunteers for the whole county though, so please, if you can spare a couple of hours a week or a couple of days a week, join us in this exciting campaign to make history.
Another exciting thing for us was the arrival of our second paid Field Organizer last week. Megan drove all the way from California after doing a few months of service in Nepal. We are proud of our two young Field Organizers and love them to bits for their personalities, their dedication and their sheer hard work, although to look at them in the photo below, you'd think they just stood around drinking. In fairness, this was at the end of the Convention Watch Party when they took a very, very short break.
Thankfully, the weather was not as hot as last time we went canvassing because finding addresses in St. Clair is a task unto itself, but we set out in great spirits, going to register voters. Two of us took one area, three took another, and I don't know how many had the third one, but we had a lot of fun and laughter, a bit of frustration and a fruitful afternoon.
We came to one house that looked as if it was straight out of the movie Psycho and neither I nor my teammate really wanted to knock on the door, but after a few minutes of laughter, I braved it. Fortunately, there was no-one in. Things could only get better after that. And they did.
We met some fascinating people but the best moment was when we were talking to a young couple who were enthusiastic about Obama but who had not registered to vote. We were just signing them up when one of the other Obama teams turned up in a vehicle plastered with Obama stickers and magnets. These young people's eyes widened. "They're EVERYWHERE", the guy said, adding that this was one of the most exciting things in a long time.
One young woman shared how she and her husband are very worried about their future. It was obvious from their home that they didn't have a lot of money, and with three children, every penny counts, but they are concerned that he may lose his job as part of the Chryslerlay-offs. She hoped, she told me, that Obama can do something to help keep jobs in this country. Another woman, a black lady, told me how excited she was that an African American stood a chance of becoming President. "That would send a powerful message to my son, that he can be anything he wants to be." She went on to tell me about some of the prejudices she had suffered in her life, but how she now had hope that racism was on the decline. A man said he was leaning towards Obama, but was concerned about his name. I asked him which of the names bothered him. He finally decided it was Obama that sounded odd, so I told him to put an apostrophe in it. He cracked up at the notion of O'Bama and said, "I'll probably vote for him, just for you." But what is exciting to me is that all these people were new voters, most of whom had never registered to vote in their lives. And they seemed to grateful, in this poor area of town, that someone had bothered to call on them. It feels good to be bringing people into the political process, and even better to be doing it for Obama, and even better still to be doing it for people who are most often ignored, neglected, forgotten.
Anyway, after a fruitful day, we returned to HQ and stayed a while to get the office ready for phone-banking, which will start tomorrow from that office, then came home tired but happy that we'd been able to make a contribution.
With the arrival of our Field Organizer, Stan Williams, on Wednesday, seen here on the left, with Regional Organizer Brad Komar, we have really hit the ground running in Franklin County, Missouri. Stan comes to us all the way from Arizona and drove the whole distance with just one hour's sleep, so he looked a bit like a deer caught in headlights when he arrived, but is now in full swing, getting northern Franklin organized into teams, arranging meetings across his part of the county and putting in well over twelve hours a day.
I feel very privileged to have been asked to be a team leader - or something like that - and tonight completed the 84 calls that I started last night, and this after a four-hour stint at the Washington Fair, registering new voters and signing up volunteers. This is beginning to feel like a real campaign and I am very excited about what we are doing, right here in Franklin, a fairly red area of MO.
Tomorrow, we will be canvassing to register new voters, then will continue the recruitment effort, and then on Monday evening, will have an organizing meeting with team volunteers.
We are hitting the ground running, folks, and enjoying every minute of it!
If you live in Frankling County, Missouri, please don't forget to join us for canvassing tomorrow. It is easy and fun, especially when there are a lot of us working together to bring change.
Where: HQ in Union - 208 S. Church St. We will then go to St. Claire to canvass.
When: Please be at the HQ at 10.30 am for training.
Why: We need all hands on deck to turn Missouri blue in November.
Who: Anyone and everyone. Bring your friends and make this a canvass to remember.
See you tomorrow!
All the years we've lived here, we had never been to the Washington Town & Country Fair, but we signed up to do a stint at the Democratic Party booth yesterday, on the first day of the fair and will be back again tomorrow.
Even in the afternoon there was a good crowd. We made our way to the booth, situated in the Merchants' Building and settled down for an interesting evening. When we got there, we found Kris, leader of the Franklin County Young Democrats, who has signed up for a marathon stint at the fair. She spent a lot of her time painting Obama signs. That girl deserves a medal for the work she does.
We had a steady stream of people coming to our booth, many of them asking for buttons and bumper stickers, as well as tee-shirts and other Obama gear, but we are running short of stuff to give and stuff to sell. I have some buttons on order from MoveOn.org, but they are delayed too. Obama gear has to be the hottest thing around at the moment.
Talking about Obama gear, George had to have had the coolest shirt I've seen so far. He bought it when Obama came to Union. He was just one of the many people who wanted to express their excitment over this election. Franklin County is really beginning to rock.
If you are in Franklin County - or even if you're not, come on over and see us at the Fair, tell us your story and sign up to volunteer. We want to grow this county into one of the bluest in Missouri, but we can only do that if we all work together.
We decided we were mad. Yesterday was hot and humid, with a heat index well into triple digits and an atmosphere you could slice with a knife, yet my husband and I had volunteered to do a stint of exit-polling in the Missouri primaries, to try and identify Democratic voters.
When we arrived at our assigned polling place, there was one lone Republican woman reading a book, a stack of literature on a chair next to her and a couple of signs propped up against her chair. We thought we would be nice and say hello. She muttered something back grumpily, then went back to her book.
Polling was slow and, because of the heat and threatening thunder storms, many voters hurried into the polls and back to their cars as fast as they could, but there were a good number of Democrats who shared how on fire they were for Obama and who gladly gave their contact information. Some of them wanted to share their stories. One man had been laid off from a lucrative job and was now doing menial work, just to make ends meet. One woman was worried how she was going to pay her bills. But the common, uniting factor everyone shared was hope. Hope that Obama will be elected, and hope of a brighter future for themselves, their families and the nation. One man was so fired up by meeting some fellow Obama supporters that he immediately went to round up family members and neighbours to vote.
The storms held off until after the polls had closed and we were back home. It had been a hard three hours in temperatures that don't suit this English nature, but the thought of all those people whose enthusiasm could not be contained and whose stories just had to be told to someone who would listen made it all worthwhile. Today, we will be at the Washington Fair, hoping to meet more Missourians who have caught this infectious sense of optimism and hope after a long, long drought.
This afternoon, we went to a brief meeting to talk about tomorrow's exit polling, which will hopefully identify some new supporters and/or volunteers, then we went to a Monday night auction where I've had a couple of minor verbal run-ins with anti-Obama people.
Tonight though, a nice surprise. Someone grabbed my arm and asked where I got my Obama button as she needed one for her husband. As usual when this happens, I took mine off and gave it to her, but that's not the point of my writing. The point is that I signed up a couple of new volunteers, not for our county but from a nearby one, and will be able to pass the information on to their organizers, as well as met some supporters who were over visiting from Indiana.
Not only that, but people who were borderline antagonistic just a few short weeks ago wanted to talk about Obama's visit to Union last week.
It all shows the value of wearing our Obama gear, getting known as Obama supporters, and being prepared at all times to register voters (I have a couple of cards in my bag) or sign up volunteers. This word of mouth community campaigning depends on it.
I have struggled all day over whether or not to post this, but yesterday morning I cried in church because of the priest's homily.
We don't often go to that church because the priest often rubs me up the wrong way and I don't like to feel cross when I just want to worship God, but it was the only Mass we could go to and still make a meeting at the Dem HQ.
Anyway, the Gospel reading was of the Feeding Of The Five Thousand and Father rightly pointed out that this was a foretaste of the Eucharist. But he didn't stop there. Instead, he started talking about Liberation Theology in El Salvador of the 1970s and 1980s and said that it was like Obama, Reverend Wright and those machine gun toting Jesuits. In other words, for no reason at all, he tied Obama to the ultra Leftwing rebels that had got Liberation Theology such a bad name.
I know we can expect more of this as the election nears and I will be writing to the Bishop to let him know what is going on in that parish, but what a struggle for me and for all of us who have to either sit through such homilies or walk out and miss Mass.
This promises to be a busy and exciting week in Frankin County, Missouri, with us missing no chances to get Barack Obama's name out there.
Tonight, we have the Washington Parade and, although we are not allowed to wear any badges or other candidate-specific items, the Franklin County Dems will be have a float while Party workers will be handing out flyers. Tuesday we have local primaries, which will be a great opportunity to collect names and addresses of Democratic voters, outside the polling places. Then for the rest of the week, we will have a booth at the Washington Fair. And best news of all, our Obama Field Organizer will be arriving tomorrow.
Any Franklin Co. people who want to get involved in these or any events, please contact me and I will pass on your contact information.
Time for a quick news roundup from across the Pond. The first one comes from The Guardian and addresses this obsession with race and the trap being laid for Obama. If you read nothing else today, read this one, because it really is right on the mark.
McCain blows the dog whistle
If you're not familiar with the term "dog whistle," as it relates to politics, here's a quick primer: As a literal dog whistle emits a pitch that only dogs can hear, a political dog whistle sends a message that only a particular constituency will hear (or intuitively understand).....
loitering below the ostensibly substantive critique is something more nefarious. It's no coincidence that it wasn't the vacuous tabloid fixture Spencer Pratt or the "American Idol" punchline Sanjaya Malakar who appear in the advert – and it's not because they're not famous enough. For it was also not Scarlett Johansson chosen for the advert, who famously supports him, has campaigned with him, and whose twin brother works for him, despite her being arguably as recognizable as Hilton and Spears – and it's not because she's not young, blonde, or beautiful enough. It because neither Pratt, nor Malakar, nor Johansson have personas that are the perfect combination of no brains, no talent, and all slut. Obama, dog whistles the ad, hitting old racists in the sweet spot, could f*** these white girls – it's practically a Democratic tradition … JFK, Clinton, heck even Carter lusted in his heart – and we don't want that, now, do we?....
It because neither Pratt, nor Malakar, nor Johansson have personas that are the perfect combination of no brains, no talent, and all slut.
Obama, dog whistles the ad, hitting old racists in the sweet spot, could f*** these white girls – it's practically a Democratic tradition … JFK, Clinton, heck even Carter lusted in his heart – and we don't want that, now, do we?....
Next to a reporter I had the pleasure of meeting in Union, the other day. David Usborne was one of the founders of The Independent, a British newspaper that launched in 1986 and which fast became one of my favourites. Inlike most of the reporters, he doesn't travel in Obama's "bubble" - or in McCain's for that matter - but follows along with his own car or plane. That way he remains, well, independent.
Obama: Can he prove he's a regular guy?
It is a change that has not escaped John McCain's notice. Unconcerned by charges that he is turning too nasty too soon, he has been ripping into Obama for being arrogant and out of touch. I, though, am talking about physical appearance. Maybe it is the summer suits and shirt-sleeves, but Obama has surely lost weight. Hence the head that seems larger. Is it the narcotic of approaching power that is stopping him eating? Or is it fear of losing?....
From the same newspaper comes an article by Robert Fisk, one of the best correspondents on the Middle East, addressing the difficulties that will face Obama if he is elected.
New actor on the same old stage
Westerners believe that Obama appeals to the Arabs because of his middle name or because he's black. Untrue. They like him – or liked him – because he grew up poor. Like them, he understood – or rather, they thought he understood – what oppression was about. But they quickly found out where they stood in the food chain. Forty-five minutes in Ramallah vs 24 hours in Israel was the Obama equation. Yes, I know the old saw. Every US presidential candidate has to make the pilgrimage to the Wailing Wall, to Yad Vashem, to some Israeli town or village that has taken casualties (albeit minuscule in comparison to those visited upon the Palestinians), to talk about Israel's security, etc. That doesn't mean, we are always told, that Israel is going to have it easy once the US president is elected. Wrong. Israel is going to have it easy. Because no sooner is he elected than he will be enmeshed in the Middle East tragedy and be forced to take sides – Israel's, of course – and then it will be time for the next election, so the president's hands will be tied again and he'll be talking about Israel's security (rather than Palestinian security) and we'll be back on the same old itinerary...
All for now!
Until today, even I didn't believe the Republicans could sink any lower, but with their latest and very offensive web ad, they have become lower than low in a way that I, quite frankly, find blasphemous.
Watch for yourself
We all know Obama to have been blessed. Those who know him (I met a couple of them early this year) and those who have met him see in him strength, depth and kindness, as well as intellect. Those who know his family cannot deny that Michelle and the girls are a real blessing. We also know him to be a leader who can rally people to take upon themselves the responsibility for meeting the challenges of our time. But we all know that he is a human being.
There is nothing wrong with being a leader who can mobilize people to take action on behalf of themselves and their neighbors. Winston Churchill, in his time, was one such leader. Without his great statesmanship and soaring speeches, England might well have crumbled instead of standing up through the Blitz, through danger of invasion and through great deprivation.
There is nothing wrong with telling the people that there is no point in waiting for others to do what needs to be done, that they themselves are the ones who can bring change.
And there is nothing wrong with the American people, or indeed the people of the world, from recognizing a great leader who speaks truth.
But there is something very wrong with attaching a religious connotation to all this in such a highly offensive way. As a Catholic, as a Christian, I am profoundly hurt by this and can only imagine that those connected to this ad and those who approve it have no fear of God. I hope - I really hope - that my fellow Catholics, my fellow Christians will stand up and condemn this abuse of our "waiting in joyful hope" for the Second Coming of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I hope some religious leaders will step up to the plate and roundly condemn these tactics.
For all of us in this part of Missouri, there is a real treat on the Washington Missourian's site. Lots of good pictures from the Union event on Wednesday.
http://www.emissourian.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1409&dept_id=614630&nr=1&nostat=1
Just scroll down for two sets of pictures. And what's more, you can order reprints.
Yesterday began with me waking up thinking about the Obama BBQ in Union, Missouri, just as I had gone to sleep the night before thinking about it. We were down at the Union HQ at around 1.30, then about an hour later, made our way to the City Park in torrential rain, where we stood under the shelter of the pavilion until Secret Service wanted to move us out so they could officially check us through.
Everyone was in high spirits. Lots of laughter and nervous excitement kept us going through the inevitable wait for the security men to let us through the checkpoint. This picture is of my husband with one of the local Democrats.
Representatives of the UAW were standing outside chanting for Obama and people had begun to gether along the streets just outside the park, hoping to catch a glimpse of him as he arrived. One man had brought a huge banner that read "Rednecks For Obama". So nice is our future President that he actually walked over and signed the banner before coming into the pavilion, as well as strolling over to shake hands with some pro-McCain protesters, but I am ahead of myself.
In streamed the lucky 200, who had waited all day yesterday in the hope of gettinga ticket, while those who had not been fortunate stood in line behind them, hoping to be able to get in. Fortunately, they did allow most of those people in to stand around the edge of the pavilion out of the rain, along with the union representatives. Pretty soon, everyone was seated and munching away on their hamburgers and hotdogs, exchanging stories of why they are supporting Obama and generally having a good time, while CNN and a host of other news agencies set up shop and waited for Obama to arrive.
As a volunteer, I didn't get to sit and listen to him for long. We had not been allowed to eat with the others and had been asked to line up at the food counter as soon as Barack Obama begun to speak. Most of us gave it a couple of minutes before dragging himself away, and a friend of mine sitting next to me, for whom this was the first time seeing him was repeating over and over, "He's just GORgeous, he's just gorgeous..." I thought I might need to throw a bucket of cold water over her, but in truth, his immense charisma does have a strange effect on people!
Anyway, there we were, all lined up for food, nerves beginning to get the better of us as we had been told that Obama would be serving us. And he did. We shuffled along, now cordoned off from the rest, secret service people all around, each to have a word with Obama, shake his hand and be served our meal.
What really struck me though was that once each of us got close, all nerves would disappear. Obama has this way of putting everyone around him at ease. When it was my turn, I asked him to sign one of my buttons. He was unsure whether it would show, so I told him to write on anything, but we settled on the button as he commented on what he called my "fine Missouri accent" - which is in fact a British one - and I joked that I had been working hard to hang onto it these last fifteen years. We laughed about something. I can't remember what but I have it on a photo, then I floated off, sporting a signed badge and a hamburger.
I'd already managed to eat about three quarters of the burger before I realised what I had in my hand and that my mouth was so dry that the food was having a hard time going down. I wrapped the rest and pocketed it, then went to share experiences with other volunteers and friends. Everyone was floating, even while the men tried to pretend they were not.
By the time we all parted last night, we were exhausted. The reality of the day was just sinking in and we were all left with the impression of a genuinely nice guy who is never happier than when surrounded by regular folk. A man not only relaxed himself, but able to put everyone else at ease. He said something appropriate to each and every one of us, something specific to us, and for a brief moment, we each felt as if we were the only ones there because this candidate of ours is a man who is giving full attention to those he is with from moment to moment.
Altogether a wonderful day that we will all cherish.
Yesterday was a hectic, exciting day for us in Franklin County, Missouri. On Saturday, we had a hint that Barack Obama might be coming to Union. It was confirmed on Monday night, at a Democratic meeting, that he would be here in the evening, for a barbeque. Yesterday, we were down at the office all afternoon, getting ready to hand out the 200 tickets.
We arrived at around 12.45. The doors were to open at four, but already there was a short line of expectant, excited people sitting on the sidewalk in the stifling heat. I talked to Lisa and Maggie (photos soon) who had been sitting there since eight in the morning, determined to be first. They were ecstatic at the thought of seeing Barack Obama in person, and I caught them on the way out, grinning from ear to ear as they held up their tickets for all to see.
We were not short of volunteers and the office was buzzing all day. The Press arrived while the line grew, snaking around the block. People of all ages sat under the shade of umbrellas, playing cards, playing music, chatting amiably and waiting patiently, while inside we greeted newcomers, sold buttons and just tried to stay cool.
It took only about 45 minutes to get everyone signed in and moved out, tickets in hand, and I have to say that I have seldom seen such happy faces as those who emerged, blinking into the still-hot sunlight at the end of the day.
I will get pictures up as soon as I can fathom how to get them into a blog. Until then, we are overwhelmingly excited at the prospect of seeing Obama this afternoon. We will be volunteers at the event, and soooooo looking forward to it.
More later.
It seems that things are usually slower in rural Missouri. They don't call this the "Show Me State" for nothing. But last night I was at a Democrat monthly meeting and met a few other people who have been eager to get going on the campaign, and at last we are beginning to move forward, step by step.
One of the issues of concern to long-time Dems in this neck of the woods is the Missouri primaries coming up next week, but as soon as they are over, the Dems say, it will be full steam ahead for Obama.
Watch this space for news!
We had a good gathering for a laid-back Union, MO on a hot Saturday morning as people came together for the opening of our local Campaign For Change office opening. It was great to put faces to names, and especially to meet Lynne, a supporter I met through this blog, even though we only got to speak briefly.
Jean Carnahan was our speaker and she elicited a cheer when she said we would be going into the reddest areas of Franklin County. Unfortunately, when we went on a voter reg. drive after the opening, there were only four of us doing it, but we soldiered on. Sadly, we were knocking on doors in an area that had been under water earlier this year, and it was so sad to see people still trying to pick up the pieces after such devastation.
Missouri Field Director Peachy Myers was there, and what a delightful woman she is.
Anyway, pictures will come later. All for now on another hot, sticky Missouri morning.
