I don't know how many of you have seen the article about the turn out in Early Voting this week, but it goes to show that all of our efforts registering, calling and canvassing to GOTV is working!!!
BRADENTON, Fla. _ The times, they are a changin’.
So say local Democrats who point to a favorable surge in early voter turnout as proof that the political landscape here could be starting to shift. Through the first five days of early voting in Manatee, 6,979 voters cast a ballot: 46 percent were registered Democrats, 28 percent were Republican.
Election experts predict that a third of the electorate will already have voted by Nov. 4, up from 15 percent in 2000 and 20 percent in 2004, according to the Associated Press. In Florida, 40 percent of the electorate is expected to vote early.
Those are numbers that bode well for a Democratic Party that has worked hard to get out the early vote. Party leaders urged voters, particularly blacks, to cast ballots early in case there are any problems. Already, 1,100 black voters have cast a ballot in Manatee, another good sign for Democrats.
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has made early voting a keystone of his campaign and urged voters to do just that during a campaign stop in Tampa on Monday.
Early turnout has also given local Democratic leaders hope that Obama could pull off a stunning upset and carry Manatee County, despite an overwhelming registration disadvantage.
"It’s as good a chance as anyone has had in years," said Manatee Democratic Chair C.J. Czaia. "We’ve been trying to build the party to create a viable second party in our community, and for the first time we feel like we’re achieving that."
The complete story at bradenton.com
I was sent today a great GOTV music video.
Enjoy!
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=-ycu0sy5RW8
Last night Sarah Palin had the audacity to belittle and make fun of my profession and life's work. In her own quest for power, she insulted a whole group of people that everyday for little pay dedicate their lives to helping others. For us, success is not measured by the size of a salary. It is measured by the difference made in the lives of others. It is not a glamorous job, we go into all the neighborhoods everyone else avoids and work with the people everyone wants to forget. Community organizers, do not advertise nor market our profession because it is not about us, it is about the people whose lives we hope to better one person at a time, one child at a time, one community at a time. I am PROUD being a social worker, a community organizer, an advocate for those who need a voice, and of my MSW in Community Organizing Management and Planning from Boston University, the alma mater of another community organizer Martin Luther King Jr. I am proud of my daughter who has decided to continue the tradition by also becoming a social worker focusing on helping those suffering from addictions, and yesterday began her MSW at Boston College. I am proud of the work that I do everyday for the children and families of Manatee County Public Schools, I am proud of the work that I do to register new voters to participate in our democracy and take ownership of their future. Community Organizers do more than just talk, we act to make the world a better place.
It seems that Sarah Palin knows no more what a community organizer does than what a vice-president does, Maybe then it's something not to take personally since before being selected, on CNBC she told Larry Kudlow "what does a VP do anyway?" She is obviously ignorant, but it is sad that hords of Republicans are also ignorant and cheered her put-down.
Here is a video of famous community organizers that have made a difference and impacted history. Pass it on to those who do not know a community organizer, do not know what a community organizer does, nor the contributions they have made to make this world a better place. It seems that WE need to speak up for ourselves and set the record straight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVkhtMY2io4
Tonight I hosted an Obama birthday party, which was the first time I've ever done anything like this. I didn't know anyone that was coming. There was the organizer from the campaign and other Obama supporters. Although we just had a few people it was a success and fun to meet fellow supporters that I did not know.We had fun talking about the campaign, why we support Obama and other Obama stuff. The food was good, we had cake and we even sang Happy Birthday!
I have pictures, and hopefully will be able to embed them here. You might also see the town hall pictures too because I'm not sure how to seperate them. Can you tell I'm just learning this stuff? Anyone that can help with flckr please let me know,
If it doesn't work here is the link.
http://flickr.com/photos/29150307@N05/sets/72157606547856162/
Today we went to the Town Hall meeting at Gibbs HS. It was awesome! At the end, Obama shook my hand. We all know how decent he is, but I saw it first hand. He realized that I was to short to reach him, and made the extra effort to reach me to shake my hand. He didn't have to do that, but he did.
Here are the pics. This is my first attempt at Flickr and it seems I uploaded them in reverse, so go the last one first and work your way back
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29150307@N05/
This is great news for increasing support in South Florida and Cuban-Americans who support Obama! Cuban dissidents in Cuba support Obama's policies towards Cuba One of the groups I belong to forwarded this information to me. Please forward this to any and all Cuban-Americans that you know to make this viral on the Internet!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7418941.stm
I heard on the news that Obama will be coming to FL on May 21 to campaign for a few days. He will be coming to several cities, Tampa, Miami, Palm Beach and I think some others. Does anyone know of any details? How do you sign up to attend? If anyone knows when exactly and where he will be when he comes to Tampa, and how to get tickets to go, please post to me, or email me. I'd really want to go.
thanks!
I recently received an email where the person thought that Pat Buchanan had a point about Obama's speech on race. The email agreed with parts of what Buchanan said and the feeling that blacks including Obama don't give whites credit for what they have done in the civil rights movement, nor sufficient credit for how far we have come as a country. Below is my response:
I totally disagree and feel Pat Buchanan TOTALLY missed the point of Obama's A More Perfect Union speech! Not only did he miss the point in this speech, but Buchanan fails to understand who Obama is and what he believes. Obama is all about unity and ending division from where ever it comes and from whoever it comes. He has numerous times said that both he and his wife have benefited from changes in brought about in this country as evidenced by the educational opportunities they had.Buchanan totally missed not only the point of this speech but what Obama has been saying in stump speeches for months! In his speeches he has acknowledged the efforts of the white abolitionists and the whites who came to the south to register voters and some were even killed in the cause of civil rights. He very eloquently has said this in stump speeches and his New Hampshire speech in fact inspired this Yes We Can video where the very point is made of people coming together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yq0tMYPDJQ
Pat Buchanan is a MASTER of half-truths for political expediency. Many points in his Buchanan's article are simply wrong and come from his own bigotry, not from what Obama has said or failed to say. PLUS he has an agenda, of making sure that the Republicans stay in power and makes no bones about it.I sent you Obama's speech. A More Perfect Union last week. Did you listen to it? If you haven't listen to it before concluding that bigot like Buchanan is right, : Don't use a right-wing filter like him to get your information. Go to the source to draw conclusions.
Here is Obama's speech again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU&feature=related#
Ok critics may dismiss this speech as a speech for whites to keep the white vote. However, long before anything happened with Rev. Wright, listen to what Obama said last January in a Black church, Martin Luther King's church Ebenezer Baptist Church.
First some short snippets.
Right here, he gives whites credits for the help in the civil rights movement. Remember he is not doing this in a speech to a white audience, he is speaking to BLACKS in MLK's old church in Atlanta, and calls for unity because we ALL face the same challenges.
This is a very good snippet to hear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjSV0FITIas&feature=related
Here he credits to the work of Ashley a white woman in his campaign for her work in bringing people together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3KQwSejock&feature=related
The above are just snippets, but below is the link for the entire speech, in it he gives white people credit for helping in the civil rights movement and that the civil rights movement was successful because of the unity between whites and blacks.He gives credits to whites for their courage in seeing that the injustices aginst blacks hurts them as well. He talks about a moral defcit and an empathy defict in this country and our failure to understand that we are all tied to one another. It isn't about black and white with him.He also is not shy about being critical of how blacks are not immune and do not have clean hands in their treatments whites, jews, immigrants and gays, and that they too have had streotypes that they need to tear down. He talks about unity coming from opening our hearts and spirts and seeing beyond our differences to see how much more we have in common. He also says that the black community need to be accountable for their own children and family, turn off the TV and video games, fathers and mothers being responsible. It is a very powerful speech and worth listening to the entire thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0x_TpDris&feature=related
I encouage you to listen to what Barack himself says instead of relying on what Pat Buchanan says that Obama is or is not saying. Don't use the right-wing filters, go to the source! NO THERE IS NO TRUTH TO A WORD THAT PAT BUCHNAN HAS SAID! Obama does appreciarte and acknowlege what EVERYONE has done, regardless of race.
With the possibility of the re-vote happening, we need to make sure that any Republican or Independent person that supports Obama here in FL change their party affiliation NOW to Democrat to be able to vote. My Significant Other who is an Obama supporter and a registered Republican did so yesterday. It was simple and painless. All you need to do is go to the Supervisor of Elections office in your County and fill out a registration indicating change of party affiliation. FL requires that you change your party affiliation 29 days before an election. So now is the time to get all of the Independents and Republican supporters registered!
You can also download the registration form indicate change of party and mail it in. I'm providng below the link. You can download the form and mail it in to the supervisor of election in your county.
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/RegToVote/webappform.pdf
Today on Hardball Carvelle was suggesting that the the Clinton and Obama Campaign pay for a do over primary. While I agree that there needs to be a new primary, I disagree with Carvelle that the campaigns should foot the bill.
Making Obama and Clinton campaigns pay for new primaries in FL and MI makes absolutely no sense because in essence you are punishing the innocent parties and the ones that actually complied with the rules that were set. I don't think that the campaigns should pay at all. This will be a long and expensive primary fight. We know that Clintons will not give up despite the mathematical odds and would rather destroy the party to make a point. So as a campaign, we need every last penny to be able to get our positive message out . Besides what did Clinton or Obama do wrong that they should foot the bill for this thing? They didn't make the rules, they just agreed to abide by the DNC rules that were in place.
The problem here is with the bad decisions that both the states and the DNC made. The states should have abided by the rules, but chose not to. In doing so they left themselves open to the consequences of their actions, which the DNC imposed. The DNC also bears some responsibility in this mess because they were too harsh in their punishment and perhaps should have done what the RNC did and reduce delegates in half. What exactly was the DNC thinking by making the decision of having a primary where voters voted not count at all? Why in God's name would they not count the votes and voices of the people of two key states that they needed in the general election, just to make a point? This is a game of chicken where no one wwanted to blink and in the end all Democrats lose.
This is National and State Democratic Party blunder and everyone involved needs to accept their piece of responsibility for it. The DNC was clear on the rule, but overly harsh in enforcement, and FL and MI state Democratic party chose to have their primaries sooner against the rules. I think that both should foot the bill together and leave the campaigns out of it.
I'm not sure of all that went down in MI, but as a Floridian am a little more familiar with what happened here. There is an argument that the Republican legislature and Gov. changed the date here and the state Democrats were innocent bystanders. I say that many other states have had the contests for the Democratic and Republican parties held on separate dates. Since when do Republicans tell Democrats how to run their party? Let's face it, FL Democrats went along because it sounded like a good idea to them too and didn't take the DNC seriously.
If you remember many states were moving up primaries and it was getting out of hand. There are 50 states and everyone can't be first. The national parties had to lay down the rules to stop states from moving up their dates. FL and Michigan basically snubbed their noses at the DNC. The DNC on their part got upset and acted irrationally to show them and make apoint. They sure did show the states, and now there's this mess because the party both at the national and state level acted like children, tit for tat. As far as I'm concerned, the state and national Democratic party can do fundraisers and raise the money needed for a new primary. There is new energy in the Democratic party, let them try to tap into some of it.
Natural consequences are always the best learning experience. Neither the state or national Democratic party will learn from this unless they feel some of the pain at a personal level for the bad choices they both made. If the party at both at the national and state level cannot accept personal responsibility for their actions, what kind of a message to do they send to the American people?
Just saw a promo on MSNBC that they will have a profile on Sen Obama tonight (2/20) at 10 PM. Pass it on to everyone you know.
Hillary claims she is the most experienced candidate I received an email on Hillary's "experience" that shows it is not as great as she would like for us to believe. Here it is:
Hillary's Resume
Hillary Clinton has been telling America that she is the most qualified candidate for president based on her 'record,' which she says includes her eight years in the White House as First Lady - or 'co-president' - and her seven years in the Senate.
Here is a reminder of what that record includes:
- As First Lady, Hillary assumed authority over Health Care Reform, a process that cost the taxpayers over $13 million. She told both Bill Bradley and Patrick Moynihan, key votes needed to pass her legislation, that she would 'demonize' anyone who opposed it. But it was opposed; she couldn't even get it to a vote in a Congress controlled by her own party. (And in the next election, her party lost control of both the House and Senate.)
- Hillary assumed authority over selecting a female Attorney General. Her first two recommendations, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, were forced to withdraw their names from consideration. She then choseJanet Reno. Janet Reno has since been described by Bill himself as 'my worst mistake.'
- Hillary recommended Lani Guanier for head of the Civil Rights Commission. When Guanier's radical views became known, her name had to be withdrawn.
- Hillary recommended her former law partners, Web Hubbell, Vince Foster, and William Kennedy for positions in the Justice Department, White House staff, and the Treasury, respectively. Hubbell was later imprisoned, Foster committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign.
- Hillary also recommended a close friend of the Clintons, Craig Livingstone, for the position of director of White House security. When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of up to 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (“Filegate”) and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, both Hillary and her husband denied knowing him. FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene confirmed in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 1996, both the drug use and Hillary's involvement in hiring Livingstone. After that, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office, after serving seven presidents for over thirty years.
- In order to open “slots” in the White House for her friends the Thomasons (to whom millions of dollars in travel contracts could be awarded), Hillary had the entire staff of the White House Travel Office fired; they were reported to the FBI for 'gross mismanagement' and their reputations ruined. After a thirty-month investigation, only one, Billy Dale, was charged with a crime - mixing personal money with White House funds when he cashed checks. The jury acquitted him in less than two hours.
- Another of Hillary's assumed duties was directing the 'bimbo eruption squad' and scandal defense: ---- She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit. ---- She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor. After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr's investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs. ---- Then they had to settle with Paula Jones after all. ---- And Bill lost his law license for lying to the grand jury ---- And Bill was impeached by the House. ---- And Hillary almost got herself indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice (she avoided it mostly because she repeated, 'I do not recall,' 'I have no recollection,' and 'I don't know' 56 times under oath).
- Hillary decided to seek election to the Senate in a state she had never lived in. Her husband pardoned FALN terrorists in order to get Latino support and the New Square Hassidim to get Jewish support. Hillary also had Bill pardon her brother's clients, for a small fee, to get financial support.
- Then Hillary left the White House, but later had to return $200,000 in White House furniture, china, and artwork she had stolen.
- In the campaign for the Senate, Hillary played the 'woman card' by portraying her opponent (Lazio) as a bully picking on her. - Hillary's husband further protected her by asking the National Archives to withhold from the public until 2012 many records of their time in the White House, including much of Hillary's correspondence and her calendars. (There are ongoing lawsuits to force the release of those records.)
- As the junior Senator from New York, Hillary has passed no major legislation. She has deferred to the senior Senator (Schumer) to tend to the needs of New Yorkers, even on the hot issue of medical problems of workers involved in the cleanup of Ground Zero after 9/11.
- Hillary's one notable vote; supporting the plan to invade Iraq, she has since disavowed.
Here is the link:
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/167/story/160923.html
The article is in Spanish. For the English speakers, it sets the record straight about the Fox 26 video.
It says in a nutshell that Obama found the offensive the Cuban flag with the Che picture superimposed. It says they are disappointed by the picture because it is offensive to Cubans as well as other north Americans and does not represent Obama's view. It went on to say that the office belongs to vounteers over which the campaign has no control. It further says that Barack Obama has always been clear that his Cuban policy has always been guided by one principle: freedom for the Cuban people. The rest of the article talks about an attempt to talk to the volunteer Maria Isabel whose office was depicted. According to the article, Maria Isabel is Cuban-American. She says that she is sorry that she is the news, that she does not watch the news and doesn't have time to talk about the flag in her office.
This article is great news for Obama supporters. It sets the record straight and will help in the battle to counter all the negative emails that have been floating around in the Cuban-American community.
I'm trying to get the word out, so people can use this information to help counter the upset in the Cuban American community over the Houston Fox 26 video .Some how I missed this and I'm not sure if you all have seen it, so I'm forwarding it to everyone. The campaign did issue something on Feb12 about the Cuban flag with Che's picture that was hanging in an Obama volunteer's office. I guess we can forward this with the link to help counter the anger and backlash in the Cuban-American community.
Here's the link:
http://factcheck.barackobama.com/factcheck/2008/02/12/on_reports_of_an_inappropriate.php
Here's what it says:
On Reports of an Inappropriate Flag in a Texas Obama OfficeFebruary 12, 2008
"This is a volunteer office that is not in any way controlled by the Obama campaign. We were disappointed to see this picture because it is both offensive to many Cuban-Americans -- and Americans of all backgrounds -- and because it does not reflect Senator Obama’s views. Barack Obama has been very clear in putting forward a Cuba policy that is based on one principle: freedom for the Cuban people." -- Obama Campaign
From Houston Fox News:
"The office featured in this video is funded by volunteers of the Barack Obama Campaign and is not an official headquarters for his campaign."
Below is an AP report in Spanish which says that the Governor of PR supports Obama. That caucus is June 7. There are 63 delegates at stake. He also is one of the 8 super delagates that PR has.It goes on to discuss his reasons for supporting Obama, one which has to do with local issues. One is Obama's position on issues pertaining to the island's status, another is his willingness to clean up the mess the Navy left in Vieques from years of bombing/target practice and help Vieques recover economically.
Gobernador de Puerto Rico respalda a ObamaThe Associated PressSAN JUAN --El gobernador de Puerto Rico Aníbal Acevedo Vilá anunció el miércoles su apoyo al senador Barack Obama como candidato a la presidencia de Estados Unidos por el Partido Demócrata.Dijo que su respaldo responde al compromiso del candidato con un proceso "genuino y transparente de autodeterminación" para Puerto Rico que reconozca las tres alternativas de estatus que defienden los residentes en la isla."Valida la alternativa de realizar una asamblea constituyente", dijo el gobernador en un comunicado sobre el compromiso de Obama.El candidato demócrata también le expresó a Acevedo Vilá en una carta el martes su rechazo al informe sobre estatus emitido por el grupo interagencial de la Casa Blanca.Su contrincante, Hillary Clinton, ha apoyado el informe que, entre otras cosas, reafirma que Puerto Rico está sujeto al poder del Congreso de Estados Unidos bajo la cláusula territorial de la Constitución de ese país.El Gobernador hizo pública la misiva que le envió Obama, en la que le expresó la "vital importancia" que tiene Puerto Rico para su país y destacó que "los puertorriqueños han hecho incalculables contribuciones a los Estados Unidos de América"."Esta es la primera vez que un candidato presidencial hace un compromiso tan contundente sobre toda una gama de temas de alto interés para los puertorriqueños", manifestó.Acevedo Vilá es uno de los ocho súper delegados de la isla a la convención Demócrata. Puerto Rico tiene 63 votos en esa asamblea.Los residentes de Puerto Rico no pueden votar por el presidente de Estados Unidos.El Gobernador destacó que Obama también se comprometió a trabajar "de cerca" para mejorar la participación de Puerto Rico en el programa Medicaid y todos los programas federales de asistencia médica y cuidados de salud.Además se comprometió con "lograr un nivel aceptable de limpieza en los terrenos de la isla municipio de Vieques", que la Marina estadounidense utilizó durante 60 años como polígono. La Marina salió de Vieques en el 2003, tras una larga lucha de la sociedad civil."Trabajaré para evaluar y ampliar el plan existente para el uso de los terrenos que anteriormente pertenecían a la Marina de Guerra de Estados Unidos, otorgando prioridad al mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de los residentes, y el desarrollo económico sostenible de la isla de Vieques", señaló.El Gobernador sostuvo que los compromisos asumidos por Obama con Vieques demuestran que "aquellos que han recurrido a tácticas de miedo diciendo que nuestra postura sobre Vieques ha afectado nuestra relación con los Estados Unidos se equivocan"Afirmó que "cuando juntos tenemos la capacidad de hacer un reclamo justo, podemos exigir y ganar respeto a los más altos niveles".
My mom in Miami sent me an email with an attachment wich has a video of a campaign office in Houston that has hanging on the wall a Cuban flag with Che Guevara's picture superimposed.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=5700252&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
My mom who has already contributed to Obama and supports him is now all upset.
This video has the potential to undermine all the work that I've been doing with family and friends in the Cuban American community.
We need some sort of response to this. If anyone has any ideas, please help me.
In a WSJ article published yesterday, Peggy Noonan makes the case that Obama is the stronger candidate to beat John McCAin. she asserts that the Democrats aren't recognizing what we have in Barrack Obama. Read the full article. The link is below.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120241915915951669-lMyQjAxMDI4MDAyODQwMTg5Wj.html
