On Tuesday November 4th, Neighborhood Teams from Longmont to Carbondale met to celebrate our work over the past year and plan next steps on organizing for health insurance reform. The event in Grand Junction had 90 attendees. At the Capitol Hill event in Denver, volunteer Venita Currie signed-in more than 80 people.
West Denver Regional Field Director, Alfredo Fletes, and Community Organizer Pat Salazar-Vine were very happy with how many people came to their event. Pat has been working for health insurance reform with Organizing for America for months, and this was a wonderful confirmation of her hard work.
I loved the event. It gave me a renewed sense of optimism about the President and being an advocate of his legislative agenda. It was great to connect with some folks from the Obama campaign, and even more so, to say that I'm an active and involved part of what will eventually change the country.
Neighborhood Team Leader Laura Avant helped attendees sign-up to volunteer for “Finish Line” phone banks. Everyone was eager to take part in these events because they will send a strong message to our members of Congress when they need to hear from us the most – right before the votes!
Volunteers also shared stories from election night 2008, remembering how wonderful it felt to see our hard work culminate in real change by electing President Barack Obama. Everyone agreed that these memories are an important source of motivation as we move forward and continue to fight for change. Send a quick e-mail to OFAColorado@dnc.org to join up with the Neighborhood Team active in your area.
Update: Health Insurance Reform passes the House of Representatives!
Join us for a thank you event this Thursday, November 9th.
Last week Organizing for America volunteers across Colorado accomplished something incredible. In just one day, we motivated thousands of our neighbors to play an active role in the shaping of health insurance reform. In Denver, we started the day watching our east coast friends heat up “the thermometer” – a graphic on BarackObama.com that tracked our progress towards the goal of 100,000 calls to congress. You could feel the anticipation.
Regional Field Director Anand Singh got the day started by training health reformers on how to make the most out of our phone calls. Before long the office was bustling.
Out on the Western Slope, the Day of Action coincided with OFA Grand Junction’s weekly “Women 2 Women” phone bank. The women cheered and chanted "Get A Mop, Get A Mop!" along with live webcast to OFA volunteers referencing President Obama’s call to help clean up the health care system. At one point during the webcast, Neighborhood Team Leader Kathi Roy shouted:
We love you Mr. President, but you're cutting into our call time! We have over 700 women in Western Colorado to call, and we need to call through the entire list tonight, so please wrap this up!
Back on the Front Range, “Women 2 Women” had some competition from “Students 2 Students.” Nicole Shook and Emily McKenzie from East High School coordinated their own phone bank of high school volunteers. Nicole and Emily are committed to getting other students involved and their hard work paid off.
It was an inspiring day all across Colorado. We watched as that thermometer smashed our goal of 100,000 reaching more than 300,000! That work was possible because Coloradans like you decided that it was time for congress to deliver on health insurance reform. We want you to be a part of it too! Send a quick e-mail to OFAColorado@dnc.org to be put in contact with your local team.
From Gabe Lifton-Zoline, the new Colorado State Director for Organizing for America:
Since Inauguration Day, Organizing for America has been dedicated to making real the change we fought for during the election. But to be successful, we need to hear from you -- your effort and commitment are the backbone of this movement and this organization. That's why I'm so excited to announce that we're back on the ground in Colorado and, starting this week, we'll be hosting Listening Tour Town Halls across the state.Will you make your voice heard and join us on the Listening Tour? At Listening Tour meetings, you'll get a chance to meet new state staff members, hear about some lessons learned during the general election, and offer your thoughts on how we can organize Colorado going forward. Your ideas will be used to write a Colorado-specific plan for Organizing for America in 2009 and beyond. The campaign brought an unprecedented number of new voices into the process -- we need to make sure those voices remain at the center of the debate as the President and Congress work on providing solutions for our economy. But these meetings are not just for folks who were involved in the campaign -- we're hopeful that every Coloradan will get involved. We can't stop growing our movement now. We've never had a better opportunity to shape our future -- and just like during the election, we'll do it from the bottom up. Sign up now to attend a Listening Tour event.I look forward to seeing you, Gabe Gabe Lifton-Zoline Colorado State Director Organizing for America P.S. -- If you can't make it to a Listening Tour event, you can still get involved with Organizing for America in Colorado. Let us know how you'd like to see Colorado organized.
Today David Plouffe sent out the following message to supporters, inviting them to attend one the many grassroots house meetings taking place throughout the country later this month:
Exactly one month ago, you made history by giving all Americans a real opportunity for change. Now it's time to start preparing and working for change in our communities. On December 13th and 14th, supporters are coming together in every part of the country to reflect on what we've accomplished and plan the future of this movement. Your ideas and feedback will be collected and used to guide this movement in the months and years ahead. Join your friends and neighbors -- sign up to host or attend a Change is Coming house meeting near you. Since the election, the challenges we face -- and our responsibility to take action -- have only gotten more urgent. You can connect with fellow supporters, make progress on the issues you care about, and help shape the future of your community and our country. Learn what you can do now to support President-elect Obama's agenda for change and continue to make a difference in your community. Take the first important step by hosting or attending a Change is Coming house meeting. Sign up right now. To get our country back on track, it will take all of us working together. Barack and Joe have a clear agenda and an unprecedented opportunity for change. But they can't do it alone. Will you join us at a house meeting and help plan the next steps for this movement? Thanks, David David Plouffe Campaign Manager Obama for America
"I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you." - Barack Obama, Election Night 2008
Read the full speech, as prepared for delivery . . .
Ginger the staging location director told me about what today means to her:
We've been practicing today for the past two weeks, and we have this down to a fine tuned machine. Barack has elevated this whole area, and empowered this community. I'm inspired by the passion and the people who walk in here step by step. Today I would say we had at least fifty brand new people we've never seen before. I am so proud to be a part of this.
Have you voted already? Share your voting story with us and then come help get others out to vote. If you haven't voted, there are only five hours left until polls close. Find your polling location .
"As you make these connections, I know you understand the historic nature of this election. I would argue that this election ranks up there with 1860 and 1932 as two of the most transformational elections of our time. I don't care if you live to be 100. We're going to look back on the year 2008 and we are going to say we were part of that effort. That was the year we changed America. That was the year we gave America new hope."
Coloradans aren't the only people working to help Barack win the Rocky Mountain State -- thousands of volunteers from states such as Utah, Maine, New York, South Dakota and even Alaska have traveled to Colorado and are knocking on doors and calling folks to get out the vote.
I spoke with a couple of Californians who had arrived in Denver yesterday. Danielle told me why she came to Colorado for the last few days.
There wasn't much we could do in California so we decided to come to Colorado. This is our big push to get people to vote -- to not be complacent, to not get over confident about Barack being ahead in the polls. We're making people to get out and vote and just do everything we can to make sure we actually win.
Angelo, another Californian, had just returned from knocking on doors when I spoke to him. He told me about one of the people he had met while canvassing.
There was a Republican on my list who I started talking to. He had voted Republican his entire life but he was on the fence -- he didn't like McCain but he didn't know anything about Obama. I know a bit about Obama, I'm not going to say I'm an expert in any way. But I talked to him. I asked him what mattered to him and tried to put it into context -- that it would help you and the ones you care about more if you vote for Obama rather than McCain. And he said he would vote for Barack.
It's not to late to join the campaign. Sign up to volunteer.
On average, Colorado gets 300 days of sun per year. Volunteers have taken full advantage of two of those days by knocking on doors all over the Rocky Mountain State.
Others are getting their warmth from the energy inside the staging locations where they are making phone calls and helping to run the biggest grassroots campaign Colorado has ever seen.
Lynn has been volunteering in Denver for months and will be there through the end. She told me about the importance of the last four days:
It's important to volunteer at any time, but the last couple days are crucial. We are keeping up the sustained effort for Barack and Mark Udall and we need every volunteer we can get. We're not getting complacent, we are keeping our momentum that we've built through the past few months so that we can make sure Barack wins on Tuesday.
This office has become a community and it's this marvelous world of spirit and enthusiasm and filled with wonderful people. Seeing the smiles around the offices, being a part of something so, it has probably extended my life.
There are two more days of sunshine and two more days of campaigning, and there's still time to help out today. Visit a staging location near you and help Barack win Colorado this Tuesday!
If you don't live in Colorado, find a GOTV event near you to volunteer today.
Colorado, I have just two words for you: three days. Three days. After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George W. Bush, 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky shores of Maine to sunshine of California, we are three days away from bringing fundamental change to the United States of America.
Don't believe for a second that this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power will concede anything without a fight, we're going to have to work like our future depends on it these last few days, because it does. But I know this Colorado, the time for change has come, we have a righteous wind at our backs. And these last few days, if you will knock on some doors for me, if you will make some phone calls for me, if you will stand with me and fight by my side, then I promise you we will not just win Pueblo, we will not just win Colorado, but you and I together we are going to win this election and we are going to change the country and we are going to change the world.
We had over 100 phone bankers and nearly 100 canvassers, including about 18 people who came in and hadn't even signed up to canvass. It's a wonderful thing.
We had teenagers phonebanking, we even had an 11 year-old making calls with her dad. Everyone had such an upbeat positive attitude, it has been great.
"This is the last day! He's 30 so I can't punish him, but he said 'Mom, I promise I will.'"
"God forbid something should happen on the fourth, machines break down, you forget your ID, it would be horrible.Less than three days left. It's time. We need you and it's the most important thing in the world right now."
"We need somebody who is intelligent, compassionate and has moral fiber. This is a man who, when other people play partisanship like a sport, he doesn't think like that, he doesn't work like that, and he doesn't live like that.Look what we've lost. We can get it back with the team we have."
"McKay is standing there and says 'What do we do now?' Well what we're going to do is work on the green energy economy, we're going to help our veterans, we're going to help working people, we're going to pass the children's health insurance program, and we're going to end the war in Iraq honorably and responsibly. We're going to end it."
"I'm so ashamed of my party, especially the last four years. So I drive my little green Prius and drive all the old folks to the polls to early vote."
I voted early on October 25th, in Englewood at the Civic Center. It was great! Thanks for the most fantastic campaign in history! -Patty You are so organized, and so are we! We've voted, and so have our neighbors. You should see the cars lined up for the mail-in ballot drop offs. It's great! -Mary My vote is in and so are five friends'! -Homer
I voted at the County building -- 200 Oak Street in Fort Collins this morning! I dropped off my husband's absentee ballot (another vote for Obama!) and figured while I was there, since there wasn't much of a wait, I'd vote! I was all decked out in my halloween costume, which made a lot of the workers there smile as I joked "I don't look like myself today!" when presenting them with my ID. -Margie
