If Tim Russert were here today, I think he would be writing "Virginia, Virginia, Virginia" on his white board this November (boy do I miss him...he would never let the media/McCain get away with this nonsense going on).
So I'm stating this for the record...this election will come down to Virginia.
I believe that Obama has this election in the bag with Virginia (even without Ohio AND Florida)!
Virginia, Virginia, Virginia!
Hey y'all! Let's face it, the younger voter's have the potential to have an important impact on the election this year and the historical statistics for younger voters are not good for us. I recall my first voting opportunity in college...by the time I realized I needed to call to have an absentee ballot sent to me it was too late. Many college students are just realizing around October/November that they need to hit the books and elections fall to the wayside. I've been trying to think of ways we can get this voting block out. So...
I looked up my own absentee voting laws here and it looks like you can hand out absentee ballots if you are certified...but this raises many questions...
Will this count for out of state?
What are laws regarding absentee ballots in other states?
What's the leed time for having this completed?
How can we get absentee ballots out to college campuses and raise awareness?
I know there are lot's of smart folks out there who can help answer these questions and come up with a plan! We all know the support Obama has among younger folk, is great so please help!
Let's make the GOP realize that young votes matter!
When I decided to support Barack Obama, I came here for myself, and for my daughter, for some hope that we could help change the course of America. I couldn't sit idle after the last two elections.
That has changed as of yesterday when I went to a GOTV event. Now I'm here for John.
On Thursday, some nice Obama phonebanker called me and asked me if I could GOTV on Saturday and I didn't have any specific plans so I said sure. I signed up on line and was a little nervous, because the event was what is considered a "bad" part of town. If a shooting occurs in our town, it's likely to happen in that neighborhood. But I pushed this to the back of my mind and drove on down. The event was at a community green space where several residents worked together to build a garden. The neighborhood was getting together to celebrate their accomplishments.
Arriving, I met some nice folks. One lady, who was in her early 80's has been working on voter registration since she was in her teens. Both her kids who were in their 60's were there too. We recieved our instructions for registering voters, and we recieved a section on which people with a criminal history could vote---those on parole could not register but those who served their time or on probation could voter. Now this is a different conversation for me to have!
Just then, John cut into our conversation, saying...see, there was a young man who just walked by and said he couldn't vote because he had gotten trouble with the law! Later the young man walked by again and registered. So this is when I met John and we engaged in conversation throughout the two hours that I was there. I found out he was originally from Harlem, fought in vietnam, and came back to protest the war. He told me stories of being beaten with a police stick at some of these protests and watching his own friend being shot in the street "like a dog". He talked about when he originally started voting he would have to go in large groups to reduce the risk of harrassment and intimidation.
Then he talked about the present and how amazed he has been to see so many young people involved in politics again. He volunteered in PA and attended the rally in Philly. He talked about the spontaneous march down the streets of Philly after the parade and seeing the baracade of police in the middle of the street as the crowd came walking toward them. Now imagine the fear he must have felt after being beaten by police in the past! He said that as the crowd approached, the police looked at each other and moved off to the side of the street to let the march continue...then all of the sudden some of those police officers jumped into the crowd and started cheering themselves, one of them right next to John! He talked too about all of the people who left New Haven to Branford (the affluent town near New Haven) years ago and now he sees them with Obama stickers and wanting to engage in conversation with people "like him" about politics.
I went to GOTV to help out, but I think I may have gotten more out of it than those I went there for. I am here for my daughter, but now I'm here for John too.
