Now is the time!
While we are busy calling and canvassing, let's not forget those closest to us. We may assume they are voting or have transportation to the polls...but maybe not. Create a list of family, friends, and neighbors and make sure these folk are: 1.) Registered (if it's not too late in your area): 2.) voting by mail or in person; and, 3.) have transportation to the polls.
FOLLOW-UP AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE UNTIL YOU CAN CROSS THEM OFF YOUR LIST AS 'VOTED';
Complete for all eligible voters you know, example:
Name Registerd? Voting by mail? Voting in person? VOTED!
You get the idea. Make a chart like this for everyone you know, starting with those closest to you. Get on the phone and start calling now to see who might need transportation help. These are the people we have the most influence over and we MUST make sure they vote.
Spread this around!!!!!
Linnie Frank Bailey
We’re Going All the Way…..
It’s been over 16 months since the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama encouraged me to get involved in the political process. ‘Encouraged’ may be too weak of a word. I felt ‘called’ to get involved with supporting the best candidate for President America has seen in a long time. I believed Obama when he repeated the motto “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
I started by signing up on this website and donating $10.00. There were only a few of us on the blogs back then, but as more people got to know our candidate the numbers swelled.
I’ve had quite a journey since getting involved with this campaign, including attending the DNC as a delegate and sitting close to the stage at Invesco. That night at Invesco was surely one of the highpoints of my life. When Senator Obama took the stage, all I could do was weep. I wept for what was and what wasn’t. But mostly I thanked God for ‘encouraging’ me to get involved! I also thanked God for Barack Obama—our country needs him.
So what now…..still much work to do. I’m not backing down and I know you won’t either……. We’re Going All the Way!
We’re Going All The Way by Jeffrey Osbourne: (youtube people please make video)
We’re just beginning And I know we’ve each been down this road a time or two And never could make it through But I’ve got this feelin’ That we’ve stumbled in to what we’ve both been waiting for And maybe even more It doesn’t matter where we’ve been cause this time I know for sure We’re goin all the way (All the way) Headed far forever and that’s where we’re gonna stay The more you’re near me, the more I know it We got it all here if we just don’t blow it We’re goin all the way (All the way) If the two of us both want it I’d lay my money on it Startin today (Starting today) We’re goin all the way I know for certain That there’s more than magic in these feelings that we found We’re standin on solid ground But now we’re both ready Ready for the real thing cause our dues have all been paid We’ve finally got it made Believe me when I tell you there’s no need to be afraid We’re goin all the way (All the way) We’’re headed far forever and thats where we’re gonna stay The more you’re near me, the more I know it We got it all here if we just don’t blow it We’re goin all the way (All the way) If the two of us both want it I’d lay my money on it Startin today (Starting today) We’re goin all the way We’re gonna weather all the showers And hold together through whatever comes I know we got the staying power We’re gonna make tomorrow ours If we just stick with it And give it all we’ve got to give it We’re goin all the way (All the way) If the two of us both want it I’d lay my money on it Startin today (Starting today) We’re goin all the way, mmm....hmm...
So they did it....they took the best (or maybe the worst) of Jerry Springer and came up with a candidate and a message.
She will play the gender card as a victim....the race card as an attacker. She will play the innocent victim against 'the cultural elite.' She will divide America between 'hard-working white, evangelicals' and 'those people.' She will be the 'innocent victim' against a media that asks her hard questions (if they don't let themselves get bullied.) She is a movie script where the spunky girl rises to power against 'those mean people' who make fun of her. A party who could only bring 36 African-Americans to their convention, is ready to launch a civil war on us to keep the White House.Palin is a PRODUCT of what the right-wing perceives as a winning formula! They will blame all of the country's ills on people who do not look like them or think like them.Not this time!!
In a currently running ad, John McCain says that Washington is broken…that people are worse off than they were four years ago. HE IS RIGHT!
However….John McCain has been a part of ‘broken’ government for 25+ years, and…John McCain SUPPORTED the current administration that has made us worse off.
Did McCain vote for John Kerry in 2004? I think not! So, I guess he is part of the problem….
This year we will vote for change and GOOD JUDGMENT so that we will be BETTER off four years from now.
Now that both parties have a nominee, I am hoping that the national discussion will focus on the future of our great country. You see right now we are not only in a military fight, miles away, we are in the economic fight of our lives here at home! Everywhere I go I see casualties of this war: the anguished looks at the gas pumps....the shock at the supermarket....the brown lawns of foreclosed homes....and the families that are crumbling under too much financial stress.
This economic war is DEVASTATING to many Americans...regardless of income or geographic area. We are collectively 'going broke.'
What does the future hold? We know conditions won't turn around quickly...but where is the relief?
Let's talk about what we as a nation can do to get back on track...no pandering...we know there will have to be hard choices and sacrifices...we know we have a candidate who will tell us the truth...let's get started!
Our future depends on it!
I will never forget what my daughter said to me after seeing the candidates on stage during the first televised Democratic primary debate. She said, "Mom, I might run for President one day!"
My African-American daughter said this because she saw Obama and Clinton on that stage.
For showing my daughter what is possible in America...I thank Hillary Clinton.
The American people were hoodwinked over Iraq...many of us knew this from the beginning!!
My personal opinion is it's not just the Bush Administration that needs to answer for this.
How about the journalists who didn't ask the hard questions?? How about the Congress members who not only didn't ask enough questions...but AUTHORIZED the action (I remember Kennedy and Wellstone being the most vocal of the dissenters...and Byrd...where were the others?) How about the evangelicals who were USED by the warmongers to support the President at any cost?
And...what about all the American citizens who were more concerned with buying bigger houses and bigger cars and more toys, and didn't pay enough attention to what was going on at the time?
I can't tell you how disappointed...and dare I say HURT, I am over the behavior of Bill and Hillary Clinton during this Democratic race. I was one who supported them to the FULLEST during the scandals. I can't tell you how many arguments I had with friends and family members (including my spouse) about the Clinton's. I truly believed they were being persecuted, and I was very upset at the impeachment.
My husband always believed the Clinton's were opportunists and that they lacked integrity. And, while I did believe that Bill Clinton dishonored the office of the Presidency (literally and figuratively), I saved my venom for what I thought were the hypocrites in the GOP.
I have since apologized to my husband.
I can accept the toughness of a campaign and the desire to win...However....I cannot accept changing the rules in the middle of the game (cheating) or dividing your own 'family of supporters' by race, gender, income, age, geographic area, and culture...to win an election. Their motto seems to be "we will lie, cheat, or steal" to get to the White House.
Yes...I am angry and hurt! My prior rants about the Clinton's had more to do with the campaign...but, this is PERSONAL. Now, when she should be gracefully exiting the race, she continues to fuel the flames of division. And, to compare the 2000 Florida fiasco with what is going on now with the Florida and Michigan DNC delegates.....well that is beyond arrogance...it is beyond logic....and it is beyond behavior desirable in a Presidential candidate.
I see no difference between the Clinton's and the 'vast-right wing' they complained about. I will be glad when we can close the book on all-of-it.
Yes...I am angry and hurt....I put too much effort into supporting Bill Clinton....I always thought that in spite of imperfections...they were people who would do the right thing and didn't deserve the vitriol that followed them every where they went.
I was wrong.
I must admit that months ago I could not fathom John Edwards as Obama's VP. He seemed too angry....too ready to 'champion his cause!' However, I never doubted his sincerity when he talked about the two Americas, and the haves and have-nots.
Well I think I've caught up to John Edwards way of thinking, now that gas and food are taking a major bite out of my budget. I'm angry too!
But, beyond that...the image of Obama and Edwards in Michigan today was too strong to ignore. I've got to say...this looks like 'the ticket' to me!
As certain politicians, and their supporters, volley around the wedge issues of race and religion in an attempt to beat back the momentum of the Obama campaign, we are not putting the focus where it needs to be in this country.
We are letting a mainstream media, which spends much of its time covering out-of-control celebrities, set the tone of our nominating process. Of course they love controversy and slime...this is what they do these days!
In the meantime.....
I could go on...but YOU know what we are facing. We NEED Barack Obama as President, but in the meantime, we've got to deal with pettiness, divisiveness, and selfishness.
Step aside Hillary, so we can focus on winning the general election and tackling the problems of everyday Americans!
Like many of you, I've been a supporter of Barack Obama since his awe-inspiring speech at the DNC convention a few years back. I was thrilled when he announced his campaign for the Presidency. I got involved in the ground campaign, wrote articles, blogged, and submitted comments on his behalf wherever I could! (I still do.)
I remember last summer when the polls reported that Obama was down by twenty or more points, and the media had practically coronated HRC. I even remember her supporters unabashedly providing the political commentary on stations like CNN, as if they represented all Democrats.
These were the type of things that were being reported at that time:
It was reported that HRC would get the Black vote because Obama wasn't Black enough. It was reported that Obama's war chest of small donations, based on online giving, would not be enough for a long-term campaign. It was reported that Obama supporters would not leave the comfort of their computer screens to campaign in their communities. It was reported that white men would not vote for Obama. It was reported that young people would not vote in droves. It was reported that boomers would not embrace this campaign. It was reported that people in South Carolina were heavily in favor of HRC because of her husband.
By the beginning of the year, the reporting had changed a bit, however:
It was reported that Obama would only win in caucus states. It was reported that Obama didn't have a strategy beyond Iowa. It was reported that, if Obama lost California, he was out of the race. It was reported that Obama could not get the backing of other Senators or senior members of the Democratic party. It was reported that Obama would not get working-class women to vote for him. It was reported that Obama would not get gray-haired women to vote for him. It was reported that Obama would not get middle-class moms to vote for him. It was reported that Republicans would not support a Democratic candidate in substantial numbers. It was reported that white men would not vote for Obama.
Yes...there was a lot of anti-Obama reporting going on! And, as I recall, he didn't whine about it...he just kept going!! HE PROVED THEM WRONG. He traversed the country with a message of hope and unity for a divided people.
Obama's message resonates to ALL searching for change in Washington and common-sense leadership. America 'gets it!' We know substance and quality when we see it.
Barack Obama has exercised good judgment throughout this campaign. This is the kind of class, leadership, and follow-through, that he will take to the White House! The other candidates for President are simply not in his league....they are in the minors compared to Barack Obama.
This is why we keep going. We believe in this man! We're going all the way.
We've come too far to turn around now.
I am disappointed in a candidate who would attack a rival for quoting Martin Luther King Jr., and the Declaration of Independence, because he used a phrase many of us use: ‘just words.’ The fact that he had to make the statement in the first place, was because he was attacked for his inspirational messages. I find this reprehensible and totally against everything we stand for as a country.
We have reached a new low in politics when hoping and dreaming are attacked as not meaningful. What, I ask, should we replace inspiration with? Cynicism? Lying to the American people?
We have a candidate who is motivating new people to get involved in the political process in numbers never seen before. We have young and old dreaming of a united America. We have North, South, East, and West hoping we can come together to solve our challenges. We have people from all walks of life who do indeed believe in the just words of Martin Luther King and the just words of the United States Declaration of Independence.
…And, here comes a candidate….so desperate in her attempt to return her family to the highest office in the land…..so devoid of the inspiration required to lead our people…..so calculating in her quest for power…..so divisive in her approach to winning….here she comes to tell us hopes and dreams are not just.
I suppose next she will tell us of the unimportance of faith! She’ll never convince me of that, and hopefully the American people will not fall for it either.
I’m going to quote from the Bible here…again just words:
“Now faith in the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
The Riverside Press Enterprise endorsed Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic California Primary. Here is the link:
http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_C_op_05_ed_presendorse1.240c367.html
This is HUGE for our area which has been considered heavily conservative!! We are seeing tremendous support for Obama from all sides of the political spectrum.
Many of you have seen me on this (and many other) blogs for months now, but I decided to go 'beyond the web' and get involved in community organizing! I am now regional field organizer for Congressional District 44 (Riverside County) This was a big move for me, because I have NEVER been involved in a campaign!! I can tell you it's one of the most inspirational, worthy experiences of my life!!!
I encourage my fellow bloggers to get involved at the community level, or if nothing else...make calls on behalf of the campaign (visit action center for more info)
Here in Riverside, we are signing up Precinct Captains and have opened a local campaign office (grand opening this Sunday)
Again...the response is phenomenal!!! People in Southern California usually don't get too excited about things...but this is different!! We are united behind Barack Obama and the CHANGE he will bring to our nation. We are taking our country back!
Join us... Obama WILL win California...
Linnie
