Yesterday was a great day for Senator Obama's rally. The weather was perfect and the crowd was pumped! His speech was amazing and inclusive so as to announce the triumph of achieving the majority of pledged delegates while treating Senator Clinton with respect. How could it get any better you ask? WELL IT DID!
I volunteered for the event so when we were handed the volunteer id they let us know that at this event the Senator could not take the time out to meet with us but if we brought one of the Senator's books he would sign them. I was so excited because I brought with me the new Time Magazine that announced that Senator Obama was the winner. SO NOW I HAVE THE TIME MAGAZINE AUTOGRAPHED BY SENATOR OBAMA ON THE VERY DAY HE DECLARED THE WINNER OF THE PLEDGED DELEGATES! Why shout this out to all the Obama supporters? Why indeed. I want to use this opportunity to raise a sizeable donation for the Senator by giving this little historic gem away to a person that leaves a very sizable donation to Obama via my BarackObama.com page. But I am confused on the best way to do this. Any thoughts? My goal of coarse is to get the best donation I can for our campaign. Bidding is not an option on this site because of the nature of the donation page. So please message me if you have any grand ideas. The donation is made right here on his site so don't worry about this being a scam - you will donate directly to the campaign. I am even willing to pay the shipping and handling so I will not have any personal info such as credit card numbers with the exception of a mailing address. So if you have any ideas or even just want me to send you a picture from the rally or just think you cannot live without this piece of history.
Our county convention has come and gone and it was a nice memory and a learning experience. My next step is to move on to district and then to state. When I first arrived at the convention I immediately sought out the people I knew were in charged and offered up my help but the Obama people really had all of their ducks in a row- they had everything run so smoothly. Our convention then went through the process of checking in all of the delegates and then having to fill the empty positions with people (like myself) that showed up to be alternates. We did have quite a few positions open but way too many alternates to fill them so about 70 of Senator Obama's supporters did not get to be actual delegates as they had hoped. I was one of the alternates that was able to move forward as a delegate and get to attend our state convention. Only 7 delegates from our whole county will get to actually go on to Colorado so I am sure I will not be lucky enough to be in that tiny group.
What shocked me at the convention was that even with a few of the Edwards deciding to go to other camps Senator Clinton actually didn't even have enough delegates or even alternates to keep her initial win- she actually lost a delegate in our county convention! I can't even imagine Senator Obama loosing a delegate because his supporters didn't show up- it just wouldn't happen. I have met such dedicated individuals in his campaign that they inspire me even more.
I will keep you informed about this new process I am involved with as I move forward to state. Becoming a part of democracy is so much easier than I had imagined and very interesting as well. If nothing else Senator Obama has taught me about the importance of becoming involved and I will never be the same again.
If you listen to me at all about the Presidential race I am going to slip into the conversation at one point or another that I was completely shocked to find out our precinct captain was a life long Republican. How does that happen? Why does it happen?
The tone of Senator Obama is one of inclusion. I thought Democrats were the only ones tired of division tired of having politicians saying and doing anything to get elected. But Obama’s words always reflect the tone of his campaign. His tone is hopeful. And that gives opponents a chance to say that his beautiful words mean nothing that they are pretty but nothing more. But as he speaks more and more people listen to his theme of unity. He asks people to forget the divisions of the past and to move forward. His tone lets us know that bitterness serves no purpose and that there is too much at stake. We are a world leader and need to start acting like the tone of Obama’s campaign. Inclusive and willing to roll up our sleeves to make the world a better place. Senator Obama deflects criticism by offering solutions by the tone of his words, inclusion and working together.
One Democratic mom says that Senator Obama promises to change too many things that it is too much for one politician to accomplish. Senator Obama understands, as we do that the last 7 years cannot go unchallenged. His tone is of leadership. He inspires us to do more. He inspires us to let go of bitterness that has torn this country apart. His tone tells the world that we are willing to reach out to them to make things better than they have been.
So his opponents say he cannot change anything because his experiences is lacking. They hope you will listen to their words and forget about the accomplishments of his career. He taught Constitional law and the tone of his campaign reflects our need to recapture our rights. He has worked for his state with the poverty stricken neighborhoods and the tone of his campaign inspires us to make our poor less needy. His tone directs us to pass more legislation to keep money in the pockets of the poor and elderly and less to people that have more than enough. He has worked hard in congress and championed many bills and worked hard along side those that now try to lessen his words and diminish his accomplishments. That is the tone of their campaign to diminish others to look better themselves in order to gain their own special interests. That tone carries with their campaign. Will they be willing to listen to others that have a difference of opinion or will they be exactly like the administrator we have now?
Regardless of cynics more and more people flock to hear those inspiring “pretty” words. His tone has not changed and it will not. A leader inspires us and helps people become better by setting a good example and calling on us to reach our full potential. In businesses a leader is not a substitute for team work. It is up to the people to take back their own voice and Senator Obama inspires them to do so.
It is time for Washington to change there is no dispute about that. And yet still his opponent’s counter that words cannot change politics. The young voters have always been inspired by words and yet lacked the willingness to follow through with taking the time to cast a simple vote- until now. Independents have long since distanced themselves from either party- until now. Republicans are willing to listen to his words because of this new tone - inclusion. When Democrats and Republicans can come together to make our country strong the way it can be it is indeed a time of awe. Did I tell you that the Precinct captain at our district caucus was a Republican? Sorry if I repeat myself but I love hearing the tone.
I had my mind made up before I saw a single candidate last year. I loved the thought of having a woman President and I respected Senator Hillary Clinton and her husband for all of their service. But living in Iowa I had the rare opportunity to see the candidates up close and personal and because of that my mind became open as it should have been all along.
I saw Senator Hillary Clinton first while she was speaking at a wind turbine facility. She gave a solid speech on her plans for our environment and education. The next candidate my husband and I went to see was Senator Obama. My husband drug me there because he heard him one night that I had a previous commitment. Senator Obama spoke at a middle school in Marion, Iowa. Unlike the 16,000 people that he has now flocking to Senator Obama it was only about 1000 people listening to his message. Senator Obama not only gave a great layout of what was wrong with our government - having to deal behind closed doors at the beck and call of lobbyists but it was an inclusive message tone that called for Democrats to work with the Republicans! He had me so moved I literally tried to imagine what Washington would be like with the America people having the say they actually voted for. I was also very impressed when Senator Obama took questions from the audience. I learned what the people in my community were concerned about and what they wanted from their President. It was very surprising to me to be able to ask someone a question that could actually reside in the White House as President of the United States. The last candidate we saw was Senator John Edwards and he as well was a very fine speaker and he had some interesting ideas as well. Senator Edwards also surprised me by taking a few questions from the audience.
All three candidates had my respect but Senator Obama had a strength that I attribute to working hard with the people and not just for the people. Politicians are just like everyone else they start living in a bubble telling people what they need and forgetting to ask. His strength also came from stepping forward and not backing the Iraq war but also supporting the troops and assuring people that Afghanistan was not forgotten. His words often used the word WE. We have to move forward as a county he cannot do it alone.
As the campaign moved forward I was so moved by Senator Obama's message that I volunteered at Obama's local office, I cooked meals for the staff, and I volunteered for 2 events. At our caucus the precinct captain for our district was a Republican. He said he heard words from Senator Obama that he had been waiting to hear for years. He asked me to co-captain with him. I was so moved at the support our district was giving Senator Obama that when we did our winning count I started to tear up but I redirected my focus back to the tasks at hand. Nothing was more important to me to keepup with our paperwork so I continued on with our amazing night.
I am proud of the work we did in Iowa and I am proud of Senator Obama's campaign. He does not allow people to take away from his integrity no matter how hard they try. A President with integrity is something I have been waiting to see for the past 7 years and I am so excited to see how our nation came come together to reach new heights!
Senator Obama's campaign is not about fluff it is about substance. He has been in Washington long enough to understand why it is broken and how to fix it. He has worked within the system to make gains that are important to the American people. Here is a great site if you would like to understand more of Obama's bills that he has sponsored. It does some editorializing about Hillary Clinton so be prepared for that.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633
Below is the shorter version that lists some of Senator Obama's work:
On Iran: S.J.RES.23 : A joint resolution clarifying that the use of force against Iran is not authorized by the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq, any resolution previously adopted, or any other provision of law.
On veterans and military personnel: S.1084 : A bill to provide housing assistance for very low-income veterans;
On global warmingS.1324 : A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuel sold in the United States;S.1389 : A bill to authorize the National Science Foundation to establish a Climate Change Education Program; S.AMDT.599 to S.CON.RES.21 To add $200 million for Function 270 (Energy) for the demonstration and monitoring of carbon capture and sequestration technology by the Department of Energy. (This last one passed both the House and the Senate as part of the budget bill.)
On campaign finance and lobbyists S.2030 : A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require reporting relating to bundled contributions made by persons other than registered lobbyists; and S.AMDT.41 to S.1 To require lobbyists to disclose the candidates, leadership PACs, or political parties for whom they collect or arrange contributions, and the aggregate amount of the contributions collected or arranged.
On Blackwater S.2044 : A bill to provide procedures for the proper classification of employees and independent contractors, and for other purposes, and S.2147 : A bill to require accountability for contractors and contract personnel under Federal contracts, and for other purposes.
On global poverty S.2433 : A bill to require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
On global nuclear proliferation S.1977 : A bill to provide for sustained United States leadership in a cooperative global effort to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce global nuclear arsenals, stop the spread of nuclear weapons and related material and technology, and support the responsible and peaceful use of nuclear technology.
