Bobby Kennedy gave a remarkable prediction back in 1968· Tim Russert used this is this week's "Meet The Press"· Pretty interesting huh???
Ted-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Attorney General Robert F· Kennedy told the world that the United States - despite Alabama violence - is moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be President in 40 years·"There's no question about it," the Attorney General said· "In the next 40 years a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother has·" Kennedy said that prejudice exists and probably will continue to exist ··· "But we have tried to make progress and we are making progress· ··· We are not going to accept the status quo·"
Just for a moment I hope you will take in the historic importance of last night's primaries. It has been over 200 years in the making. We shown ourselves, our country and indeed the the entire world that race does not matter anymore. We have finally joined the 21st century and I am proud to be an American. Yes, I'll say it, for the first time in my life I'm proud to be an American.
Seventeen months ago people were laughing at us. "Never" they thought. This country is hungry for change, we deserve it and Barack Obama has delivered us to a great place. I have to be honest, last night I cried. This is and again I stress the point, a huge ground-breaking historic event. The world was stunned, they never thought that we would let an African-American in this country become the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America.
To each of you I say thank you, thank you, thank you; we did it. This was the first election in history where we actually changed and shaped it's outcome. Social networking pages such as Myspace, facebook and websites and blogs such as these have enabled us to take this all the way to November. We are in a great place, a quantam leap forward from where we were even yesterday. Spread the word, spread the joy and share the hope.
Yes We Can... Yes We Did... Yes We Will!!
Ted Tucker
I am beyond upset with yesterday's election. Do you people realize that we are now OFFICIALLY the laughing stock of the country. We are the butt of all racist remarks across this land and it makes me sick. I have never in my life been more ashamed of my state than I am right now. All across CNN and other news channels, they're telling the world that Kentucky is not an affluent society nor are we educated. And the sad thing is, they are ABSOLUTELY right. Kentucky wants to party like it's 1899, so you know what? GO FOR IT. Knock yourself out and have a great time. Let's continue to let the world think that we are a bunch of inbred, rednecks, not wearing shoes and sleeping with our cousins... that's a great image to have. Let's let the world know that we can't think for ourselves, that we rely on the way things have been taught for so long and that part of these "learned behaviors" even come from our churches. Let's let the world know how STUPID we are!!! I am fed up with this mentality, I am fed up with Southern thinking, I am fed up with REDNECKS and I am FED UP WITH THIS "GREAT" STATE. To hell with it all!!!
Thank God for Oregon!!!!
Ted
Muhlenberg for Obama
Mary won't take no for an answer.
One of the many ways Mary helps the Obama campaign is by calling ministers in Kentucky and encouraging them to endorse Barack. When one hung up on her, she called right back and told him she had to go see him. She headed over, and by the end of the meeting not only had landed his endorsement, but had him telling his congregation on Sunday how important it was for them to vote for Barack.
A self-proclaimed "grandmama for Obama," Mary was called three weeks ago by another volunteer in the campaign and asked to volunteer. She immediately agreed, and has since become a tireless volunteer and a precinct leader in Louisville. Perhaps what's most remarkable is that Mary hasn't always been involved in the political process: at the age of 59, she's a first-time voter.
"I felt [politicians] couldn't touch me," Mary explains. "But something about Barack Obama inspires me. He explains things to me and works for me. He's the real deal."
Besides going to churches and calling ministers, Mary canvasses, recruits volunteers, and makes phone calls: on her day off this week from her part-time job working in child counseling, she made 92 phone calls.
Mary wishes she could help even more. "I love it! I wish I could do it all day, every day," Mary says. "I think he's wonderful and special." She says there is nothing like "seeing everyone so excited and enthused."
We don't all have the energy of this extraordinary grandma, but we can all help in our own way. For the next three days, local volunteers like Mary will be going door to door to help Get Out the Vote throughout Kentucky. No matter where you are, you can help right now by making calls to undecided voters in Kentucky. The Kentucky calling campaign runs until 9:00 PM EDT tonight.
Having witnessed from close range the stunning effectiveness of the Republican machine at shaving just enough votes in key places in many recent campaign cycles, the Clintons set out to use their hard-won savvy. Arguably comfortable with their data and their sense of how the trends would develop they set out confidently atop a well-tuned campaign machine with a distinctive message implicit in the Senator's campaign for the nomination. It ran something along the lines: The Republican old boy network can't attack the patriotism of a female U.S. Senator who voted to support Bush's Iraq mission.
Yes, it would take work. Still, the country was in a mood to reverse course, the political pendulum was swinging back, and the attacks that had been launched during President Clinton's term in office had cemented Hillary's celebrity, as demonstrated by her success running for the Senate in a "new" home state. Now, having carefully orchestrated her voting record and honed her campaigning and rhetorical skills in the interim, (and make no mistake about it, the skill-set needed to campaign effectively is distinct from what's needed to actually be President,) the Senator Clinton could take back the White House. The Clintons are campaigning with the Rove tactical toolset, targeting whatever gives them leverage within specific groups to shave a few points off their opponent(s) in carefully selected spots, trying to apply just enough pressure to energize specific voters, while the Obama vision of "strength through unity" dictates reliance on an appeal to selflessness, turning on voters who have not been engaged, and a reliance on the intelligence of the voters to consider the issues we must confront, like it or not.
Spotlight on Sound-bites
And now, as Andrew Sullivan has been documenting insightfully for months, those differences are being tested, and the soundness of the forecasts has come to dominate the limelight. The Obama message, which critics have derided via sound-bites combat, is at once both complex and simple, and judging by recent history that's a real gamble. Why craft policy papers and present your stand on the issues in nuanced ways? Simple talking points are what has won elections, after all.
Why? Because Obama has faith in Americans. He has worked alongside the men and women who did not complete college. He understands that it's not indicative of their intelligence, that there are brilliant thinkers scattered throughout rural and urban areas of the U.S., that it's possible to talk to people who have had different opportunities without deprecating their wisdom. In other words, he knows that data-analysis and statistics which refer to groups of voters inevitably diminish the richness of those individuals.
Senator Clinton has recently suggested, for example, that other journalists refer to an Associated Press story including, "how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." Most of those 'uneducated' white voters are capable of hearing the underlying text, and being insulted at the implication that their support is linked to their educational level in a sort of class-based oppression that's familiar to them, but not welcome. Visit any Union hall, or construction site, and you will find that most know who among their "peers" is conversant with the subtleties of any major issue, that there are on-site pundits without college degrees who garner more respect than most of the talking heads and media experts. No, not everybody agrees with them, the differences are present, but that's just the point: differences ARE present, and Senator Clinton arrogantly lumps all of them together as though none will notice.
Obama's experience
Senator Obama, having spent more time in the last 35 years associating with less-educated people, respects the diversity and intelligence of the people he has met. He knows college and grad school afforded him opportunities denied many who don't get that experience, and that while it's not unusual for folks to gravitate to the familiar it's foolish to underestimate individuals based solely, for instance, on their level of education. Sullivan cites an event filled with predominantly black donors and activists, when Obama recounted how a supporter greeted him at the anniversary of Martin Luther King's march on Selma."That was a great celebration of African-American history," the supporter said.
To which Obama immediately responded: "No, no, no, no, no. That was not a great celebration of African-American history. That was a celebration of American history."
Barack Obama's vision of a country increasingly united can be likened to the recognition that while copper is a soft metal which can become brittle, and zinc is also brittle, mixing them yields: brass (which is stronger than either separately) - or that while hydrogen and oxygen are prone to combustion, they can be combined into something entirely different that can even be used to quench fire. Each element has a purpose and place of its own, yet alloys have yielded some of the most interesting, durable, and useful discoveries in human history.
What will the voters believe in?
So, we watch the man who seeks to restore our strength by creating an alloy of people test his vision of unity against the proven tactics of divide and conquer. He trusts the voters to think, to act for the good of the whole, to respond in ways that resonate with patriotism that once rallied the nation to put a man on the moon. Can Obama's demonstrated regard for the value of individuals result in the unified strength of his vision? Time will tell; but there can be no doubt now that the country and the world will be well-served by any and all who prefer creating synergistic coalitions over isolation, ruinous conflicts that squander both lives and resources, or self-serving personal agendas.
DIGG it!
I went to see Barack at his Louisville rally. It was amazing. It was inspiring. Did I mention it was amazing and inspiring? For those of you not familiar with downtown Louisville, I will attempt to paint a picture for you. The convention center probably takes up a good two city blocks. I tried to park at the Hyatt but the lot was full so I made my way to the Marriott and parked there.
The doors were not supposed to open until 5:00 PM. Senator Obama was scheduled to speak at 7:00 PM. I was there at 4:00 PM and the line already stretched from the entrance to the convention center, around the corner, around the convention center, past the Marriott, past the Hyatt, past the convention center itself. It was amazing. The weather was perfect, the crowd was energetic and everything was well organzized. I was as excited as a kid at Christmas.
Once inside, I signed in and we made our way up the escalator to a packed foyer where there was yet another line. This was the security checkpoint. The only problem here was once we were at the top and safely off the escalator, the volunteer staff had not been monitoring closely enough the number of people going up. No one could move and people were still on the escalator trying to get off. People were literally balancing themselves on the rails on either side. It could have been disastrous. Finally, they shut them down and the crowd was able to move about safely.
Inside the exhibit hall where Barack was going to be speaking the crowd was energetic and ready for something amazing. By my estimate (though this is only an estimate) I would say they had between 10 and 12,000 people in a standing room only atmosphere. The fire marshal actually turned away roughly 2,000 people still waiting to get inside.
Kentucky congressman, Ben Chandler spoke and then an employee from the Ford Motor Plant spoke. He announced that he would soon be laid off as well as thousands of other local workers for Ford. Then, he introduced Barack. It took about three minutes or so from the time of his introduction to the time that Barack actually made it to the podium. It was electric. He was gracious, warm and excited. He spoke approximately 41 minutes on topics ranging from healthcare to economic reform, to fuel costs. He covered everything. He even made a joke about being Dick Cheney's cousin.
It was an amazing evening. Once we made it back to our car and got out of the parking garage and onto the street, the police blocked the road. I thought they were going to let other traffic through but no one was coming. It was then that a parade of cars, police cars, secret service came whizzing by. Instantly, everone began honking, waving, looking out their windows and sun roofs. His motorcade went right by us. He too was smiling and waving. If someone had been there and not known that Senator Obama had just spoke, they would have thought that everyone had either lost thier minds or that this was this rudest place in America to drive because you couldn't hear ANYTHING but horns, horns and more horns!!!
Here's a link to the video of the event:
http://www.wave3.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=2479561&at1=News&h1=RAW:
Enjoy,
With the incredible night we had in North Carolina and Indiana, many people are saying Hillary is over, finished, done, outta here... blah blah blah. I think she is too but let's not let up. We need to keep fighting like we have all along. Our friends in West Virginia will vote Tuesday, then next Tuesday it's up to us here in Kentucky and our friends in Oregon. Most people agree that we CANNOT win West Vriginia and Kentucky... they are Clinton strongholds. YES WE CAN!!! We need your help though. Volunteer in your area. Make phone calls, go door to door, tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your church groups, hand out fliers... whatever it takes. Let's just make this happen. Here's a thought to the fact that we can't win West Virginia and Kentucky... Maybe just maybe, the fact that the media, political figures, advisors, bloggers, the Pope, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny etc are telling her it's time to call it quits--that can actually help us. People will not want to vote for a "loser" Likewise, Hillary supporters may think "what's the use of voting" and not show up. Republicans CANNOT vote in this (Kentucky's) primary so they CANNOT vote for Hillary in the Limbaugh Effect.
So come on people, let's show em that Kentucky chooses HOPE!!!
As I write this, tomorrow's primaries have yet to happen. Right now, tomorrow is full of hope.... full of promise and full of potential. Tomorrow can be the day that we finally put the Wright controversy to rest. Tomorrow can be the day that we essentially wrap this up. Tomorrow CAN BE that day because tomorrow hasn't happened yet but let me tell you about today.
Today was like most days. I went to work and went about my life as usual. Nothing exciting, just the same ole same ole. After work, I was on my way to run errands, workout and see some friends. Along the way I decided to stop by the Owensboro Obama Headquarters and introduce myself. I was out of town when they opened and today was the first chance I had. Like most local HQ's, this one was nothing grand... an empty storefront that had obviously seen better days. There were a few tables, a few chairs, a couple of computers, some signs on the windows and walls and the distinct smell of an old building that feels neglected. I walked in and there were four people there beside myself. Three volunteers and an older man that appeared to just be passing time. One of the volunteers was on the phone sitting in the floor, one was on the computer and the other was a make-shift desk by the door talking to the elderly gentleman. I made small talk with the girl after she got off the phone. "How are things going?" "What do you think about tomorrow?" That sort of thing. Then I talked to the (I am assuming) head of the Owensboro office. He was really nice and had even read a few of the blogs I have posted. I introduced myself, he introduced himself and I offered to help out in any way they needed and I left. That's it. Done. Over. Nothing earth shattering happened, there was no parade... no hoop-la... nothing. But I left there with a smile on my face because I was HOME. It's people like me... people like you... people like the 3 volunteers in the office and people like the elderly gentleman sitting in the chair that are going to make this possible. It's people like all of us that are tired of the way things have done and it's people like us that demand change and will not settle for anything less.
So what about tomorrow (or today as most of you will be reading this)? Who knows? I know we can do this and I know we will do this. Will we wrap it up with Indiana and North Carolina? I hope so. I think so but as I said at the beginning... tomorrow hasn't happened yet. Regardless of the outcome, this is our time and this is our country and Barack Obama is our next President. Let me encourage each of you to do all you can to help our country and to help our candidate. We are a strong people when we want to be.
Yes we can, Yes we will and Yes we are!!!
Regards,
THOUGHT YOU ALL SHOULD READ THIS...
THANKS,
~TED~
Kentucky SD Attacked for Supporting Obamaby SaintCogWed Apr 30, 2008 at 08:09:59 AM PDTUPDATE: Within 30 minutes of this Diary hitting Kos, we raised over $2,500.00 for Congressman Chandler for supporting Barack Obama. As of 11:15 PDT, we are over $4,000.00. Think we can hit 5K? Yes We Can!! And Yes We Did. You can view the running tally here. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to show Super Delegates this kind of support, especially when they come under fire. Other Super Delegates take notice.OK, here's the deal. As long as this diary is on the rec list, the fundraising goal for Congressman Chandler goes up in $1,000 incremenets. Let's show these Super Delegates what happens when they support Obama, even when it's not politically expedient for them. Let's hit $6,000! Keep it going!!SaintCog's diary :: ::Yesterday Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler had the courage to come out in support of Barack Obama, despite the long odds against him winning the state's primary. This was an embarrassment to the Hillary campaign that an elected SD would put the reputation with his own constituents at stake to support the candidate he believed would make the better candidate, president or both.Today Representative Chandler is feeling the heat for this endorsement. According to Poltico Chandler's phone has been ringing off the hook since yesterday receiving numeros vitriolic complaints, many with offensive racial slurs, about his endorsement of Senator Obama. As of 2:30 PM yesterday, he had received 300 phone calls opposing his decision and only 5 calls in support.We need to take action on this. Call Representative Chandler's office (especially if you are a Kentucky resident) and let him know that you support his decision to endorse the next President of the United States, Barack Obama!D.C. Office for federal legislation issues or Washington, D.C.
1504 Longworth HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202)-225-4706 Fax: (202)-225-2122Press Contact: Stephanie Pepper Phone: (202)-225-4706 Fax: (202)-225-2122DONATE TO BEN CHANDLER'S CAMPAIGN TO SHOW SUPPORT TO ALL OBAMA SUPERDELEGATESI just spoke with the campaign manager for Congressman Chandler. She said that their website will be up and running within the weeK, and there will be a link for donations.In the meantime, we can donate to him via his ActBlue page or by mailing him physical donation checks to the following address:Chandler for Congress PO Box 12678 Lexington, KY 40583We need to show all superdelegates that Supporting Barack Obama for President not only poses no risk to them, but will ultimately benefit them in real terms. We can only do this through our donation efforts.[Update x2] Wow, the rec list. I am always so happy to see how we at Kos respond immediately and decisively - it's reflective of the candidate we support. I would like to use this rec'd diary to drop an early plug for a voter registration website that I and a group of us across the country are starting - VoteZip. org. It's not ready to be launched officially yet, but I thought I'd give everyone on Kos a heads up. Please check it out and tell us what you think.
There will be a group of us going to Henderson this Saturday to do some canvassing. If you want to join us and get a little experience under your belt, you are more than welcome!!!
Meet at the parking lot behind the County Courthouse (faces N. Elm & 1stSt):County Courthouse20 North Main StreetHenderson, KY 42420-3120Google Map:http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=20%20North%20Main%20Street%20Henderson%2C%20KY%2042420-3120&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wlWe will have canvassing groups leaving at 10am and 2pm, and a PrecinctLeader Training session at 1pm. For the groups that leave for the 10amcanvass, they will need to be back in the parking lot by 1pm for thetraining.
Though, I'm sure no malice was intended, in a campaign that has turned into so much about words... his should have been chosen more carefully. Read and see what you think. At the bottom, I have included links to Senator Mitch McConnell who was there. He should have denounced Davis' remarks. Let him know you agree. Send an email to Davis as well demanding he personally apologize and I've also included a link to Governor Beshear (a democrat). Ask him to denounce those remarks and urge him to endorse Senator Obama.Thanks,Ted (Kentucky)
PS Join our group, Muhlenberg for Obama"That Boy's Finger Does Not Need to Be on the Button"While the putatively "liberal" media hyperventilate about a few words Barack Obama uttered in San Francisco last Sunday, lost in the din were the remarks at a fundraising dinner for Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and his compatriot Representative Geoff Davis who represents the good people of Northern Kentucky. Senator McConnell called Obama "incredibly naive" and Representative Davis called him a "snake oil salesman." But the truly offensive and, yes, "elitist," statement came from Davis when he said: "I'm going to tell you something. That boy's finger does not need to be on the button.The good news is that Davis's campaign manager, immediately recognizingthe racist nature of his boss's words, delivered an unambiguous apology to Obama's Senate office. The bad news is that the reconstituted Solid South under one-party Republican rule has not shaken its old Jim Crow roots.READ THE REST HEREhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/that-boys-finger-does-not_b_96865.htmlhttp://geoffdavis. house. gov/Contact. aspxhttp://mcconnell. senate. gov/contact. cfmhttp://www. governor. ky. gov/contact. html
