Last night 20 supporters of Barack met at Baker's Pizza to plan our efforts to get out the vote for Barack. We'll be meeting up at 6:15pm on Thursday evening (Feb 21st) to wave signs and show some visibility outside the Crestline Golden Age Center before the Crawford County Democratic Party Dinner.
On Saturday, Feb 23rd we'll be meeting at 11am to canvas in Bucyrus. More details on meet up location shortly.
On Monday, Feb 25th we'll be meeting at a supporter's home in Bucyrus at 6pm to make calls to voters in our area. Location details will be posted soon.
We had several people sign up to be Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Captains in neighborhoods in Bucyrus, Galion, and Crestline.
We finished up our great meeting by watching the results come in from Barack's fantastic win in Wisconsin!!!!
OHIO....it's our turn! YES WE CAN!!!!!
Our meeting on Saturday, Feb 16th at 10am has a location change!!!
Richland County Democratic Headquarters
16 S Park
Mansfield 44902
It's on the square by Coney Island. There's a green awning. We are expecting one of the field directors from the Obama campaign!
Bring people with you! It's Obama time in Ohio!!!!
YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!
Here's a link to the announcement that the campaign is setting up in Ohio!
http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/its_official_the_obama_crew_is_in_ohio
Our turn to bring home the nomination for Barack is almost upon us!!!!
The Mansfield Ohio Area Group and the North Central Ohio Group are community group pages where EVERYONE can contribute. The group pages were set up a year ago for folks in these areas of Ohio to communicate and share stories and ideas.
Anyone can write a blog entry from your own page and then post the entry to the group page of any group you belong to.
Anyone can set up an event and post it for others to sign up and attend.
A lot of group members don't live in the immediate area. Those that do, please feel free to contribute to the blog, share ideas, and schedule meetings and events!
Over the last few months, I have personally been contributing financially, phonebanking in early states, and have gone to Alabama, a Feb 5th state. I am phonebanking from home this evening again to GOTV tomorrow! I've also donated buttons, stickers, and other supplies to one of the student groups working the Ohio campuses. I did get 19 new voters signed up for the Ohio primary before the deadline....all Barack supporters!!!!
So, all Mansfield and North Central Ohio group members......please use these group pages to share your own efforts and ideas!!!
I went to Alabama for business this week and ended up talking to lots of folks about Barack. I had several people comment on the Obama button on my jacket in airports both coming and going. Ended up talking to a couple of people on the plane on my way back home today. Alabama is one of the Feb 5th states. I had a two business dinners where people at my table brought up politics. I found lots of supporters there and even a few undecideds that were leaning towards Barack by the end of dinner. It was great seeing so many people paying attention now! The movement is growing!!!!!
Come on Nevada, bring this one home for Barack!!!!
11 new supporters in the last 12 hours just from my own circle of influence!!!
2 in Michigan will vote "uncommitted" since Barack is not on the ballot
2 in Colorado leaning heavily towards Barack in a general election (can't vote for him in their primary as they are not registered Democrats)
2 in Ohio that leaned towards another candidate that they see as unlikely to win the nomination
1 in Ohio newly registered to vote
1 in Ohio newly registered to vote who in a matter of hours has reached out to 3 others to register to vote and support Barack.
All these folks were on the fence primarily because they figured it would all be decided before they had a chance to vote!!! All after the NH result who see this as a 50 state movement and intend to have their voices heard!!!
YES WE CAN!!!!!!
Real change is undeniably what most Americans are looking for in their next President.
I noticed that one year ago today, I came to this website and created a profile. I found my way here because my college aged son had called me and said I really needed to read a book called the Audacity of Hope and learn about a guy named Barack Obama. He called me because, at 49 years old, I had always been diligent about going and voting in every election from the time I could vote. In all those years, I remained an independent who went to the polls to vote for the lesser of the evils. My son told me he thought he'd found someone I could vote FOR. He was right.
In February of last year, my son and I volunteered for Barack's rally in Cleveland. Since then, I have donated to the campaign multiple times. I had never donated to any political candidate before.
Just hours before NH citizens go to the polls, I can say that the first step to real change in our country, is electing Barack Obama. Barack is a leader. He has the ability to inspire a nation and it's going to take "we the people" all working together to effect change.
Leaders have vision and the skills to communicate that message and inspire others to action. As I watch the huge crowds coming to see Barack in New Hampshire, I see the same Barack that I saw back in February. With Barack, what you see is what you get. He hasn't had to retool his strategy. He hasn't had to change his persona or his message because it wasn't working. He was tuned into the people of America from the beginning.
After all these years of hoping a candidate would come along and simply be honest with me, tell me who they are right up front and give me a reason to believe that the politics of America could be different, he's arrived!
Thank you to my son, Jeff, for that call over a year ago!
Thank you Iowa! The Obama victory is simply awesome! What a wonderful way to start 2008! On to New Hampshire!!!
Just 2 days before the Iowa caucuses and on the 1st day of 2008, I wanted to share a link to a video that shows how one voice leads to a movement that we are all a part of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUUYo9o9eg
Let's go change the world!
It's a little annoying that the Ohio primary isn't until March 4th, but I've committed to doing what I can to build Barack's momentum leading up to then.
I've signed up to do phone calls via the Action Center: www.my.barackobama.com/actioncenter
I've indicated a willingness to travel to another state to volunteer: www.my.barackobama.com/actioncenter
I started a blog in another realm to encourage family, friends, and colleagues who might not be as inclined yet to sign up on the Obama website.
www.musingsnmemoirs.blogspot.com
Of course I have my bumper stickers and buttons. Actually have had a few people ask about my support of Obama because they saw my bumper sticker or the button on my coat!!
Usually this time of year, I have that let down feeling briefly after the holidays with the long wintery months of January, February, and March looming ahead. This year I am so excited about those months because of the opportunity we have to change America!!!!
Like many folks, I was appalled at the bias exhibited by CNN during last nights debate. Not so much because of lack of awareness that it exists, but more at how blatant it was. Attached is a link to a good article from a more conservative site, but the message is certainly worthwhile reading. It doesn't address the "diamonds vs. pearls" planted question or even the clear bias of the commentators (Clinton supporters) discussing the debate on CNN afterwards. Even without those two points, it's disturbing to see how media bias can have a negative effect on the democratic process. Honestly, without Obama as the nominee, I see nothing but politics as usual for the forseeable future. Let's all re-double our efforts to get his message out!!!!
http://www.aim.org/aim_column/5914_0_3_0_C/
We held the first Mansfield Ohio Area meeting today to begin our organizing efforts. It was great to have open discussion and sharing of ideas on how we can support the campaign in the north central Ohio area. It’s so exciting and energizing to be around people who are not willing to be apathetic and who are willing to take the time to be informed, active citizens. We are already looking forward to our 2nd meeting and putting into action some of the ideas we had to get folks in Mansfield and the surrounding communities actively involved in the campaign! Those in attendance represented different age groups, sexes, races, and backgrounds, but we all came together filled with hope and willing to act together to change the course of America towards a more positive direction. We are looking forward to great days ahead!
Hi Everyone!
The original group administrator for this group disappeared and had the controls set so no blogs or events could be posted without approval. I contacted Chris Hughes at Obama headquarters and got things changed so you will now see and be able to post on the blog and also post and view events.
Hope this helps! Let's get things going in all of North Central Ohio!!!!!
Just wanted to provide some links to information that will help all grassroots groups to organize and focus their efforts. Our first job is to be sure that our efforts focus on securing the nomination for Obama.
1) Here’s a link to the Ohio Democratic Party main site: www.ohiodems.org
At the top right of the page is a tab “Get Local”. You can click on your county to find your county Chairperson. When that page comes up, to the right, you will find links to all county Democratic Party websites. Some are better than others. Here’s a link to contact information for all county chairs:
www.ohiodems.org/pdf/uploaded/chairs.pdf
Some county sites will list all committee members by precinct. Some county board of elections sites have links to party information and will also list committee persons by precinct. From these contacts you can find information about meetings in your area. It’s important to make contact with these folks as they will determine the nominee.
2) Find out who your Democratic elected officials are and write to them asking for their support in nominating Senator Obama! ****interesting note****The internet has made it easy for people to write a note to their representatives and then click a button to email it. While this is convenient, it may not be as effective as sending a snail mail letter. I saw an article the other day that indicated that elected officials get lots of emails every day, but the old-fashioned, in your hand letter works better. Maybe since someone has to actually open it!
3) Get the vote out! Some group focus should be on getting voters registered. Here’s a link to the Ohio Secretary of State site: www.sos.state.oh.us
To the left, there is information about voter registration. If you have a voter registration drive, you can get large numbers of voter registration forms by calling 614-466-3613. Completed forms can be mailed or delivered to the County Board of Elections where the voter resides. Here’s a link to all Ohio county Boards of election: www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/ElectionsVoter/OhioElections.aspx?Section=boeDir
4) Get young people to vote! They are a huge voter base, but they are notoriously absent from the polls on election day. Many will be away from their normal voting precinct for both the primary and the general election. Making sure they understand the process for obtaining and submitting an absentee ballot can be key. Here’s a link to info on absentee ballots: www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/PublicAffairs/VoterInfoGuide.aspx?Section=16
5) Here’s a link to info about all Ohio County Fairs (takes a minute to load): www.countyfairgrounds.net/ohio/ohio.html
Here’s a link to all Ohio Festivals and Events (you can sort them by city, county, month or region): www.ofea.org/events.php
