I made 40 phone calls tonight to Washington State voters through my.BarackObama.com. I've done it more than a few times before, even though I really hate being on the phone, especially with strangers. If you're nervous, that goes away after the first time you reach a person at home. I really wonder if they put in a faux number to someone sitting there with a smile, who tells you that they're voting Obama, just to make you less nervous. Ok, I'm kidding. But every time I've called, the first person home is friendly.
Many were not home, or were the wrong number. Even those that are not voting for Barack either quickly end the call, or just hang up. I've not been yelled at, or had any real negative experiences.
Tomorrow, the effort will be GOTV, where you are calling committed voters, asking if they voted yet, and letting them know where to vote. All the info is right there on your computer screen.
If you can, make some calls. Or head to your local Democratic Party to help with local campaigns. Just don't let yourself wake up on November 5th, wondering what you could have done...
Like Ezra Klein, I just can't describe this, so I'm going to give you a quote, and ask you to read it.
“In a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long,” he said. “They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn’t buy it. And when it’s delivered by—it’s true that when it’s delivered by a forty-six-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism.”
Tonight was a special "Utah Call Team Conference Call", where Emily Murphy and Amy (didn't catch her last name) gave a quick training of the neighbor to neighbor calling tool available for supporters of Senator Obama to help the campaign. Because Utah is helping drive the effort in Colorado, there were a few special guests on before that training began.
Ray Rivera, the campaign's Colorado Director, introduced Roy Romer, former Colorado Governor. Roy talked about how we can win Colorado, but we have to reach everyone we can. Every call is critical. Sincere calls from out of state will be effective. He said: "We need you. It will be effective. There's nothing more important you can do for the campaign."
Ken Salazar came on and talked about how we can move the votes from 250 to 271 by winning in Colorado, and that win the election.
Amy Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota, talked about being in Wisconsin with Barack, and is now in Colorado. She told a story about how she got stopped by State Trooper, thinking she'd be given a ticket, and have to "take one for the team", and found out that it was just because the tags on her license plate were reversed, which was quite a relief to her. She said "You can make a difference, you taking the time out to make these calls WILL make the difference."
Ray came on again, and said that to win, we need to get 2.5 million Colorado voters to the polls, and we need to reach them at least 2 times to make that happen.
Amy came back on and stressed that nothing is more important right now than reaching out to neighbors, and personalizing Barack's message.
Emily then led the training, and the first thing she had to say is that if you can make it to Colorado for Get Out The Vote (GOTV), it will be fun.
Emily then walked us through Neighbor to Neighbor tool to show how it's used. If you come to the Phone Banking set up for this Saturday or Sunday, we'll be showing you how to use the web tool then, if you bring your laptop with you, or we can give you lists if you don't have one.
Each state's call script looks different, so if you switch states, make sure to read the script before you make the call. The web page is simple, and easy to use. You can even do it from home. Peak times are 6 to 9 PM, so if you can make calls during this time, please consider it. Even half an hour is great.
When looking at the script, you don't need to read it word for word, if it doesn't feel comfortable. However, each of the questions need to be answered, if possible, so try to make sure to fit them in when talking to the person you're calling.
You don't have to call every number you're given. If you don't get to the calls, they will go back into the queue.
It gets easier and easier as you use N2N. You'll probably even start to love making the calls, and it definitely becomes more comfortable after you've started.
Amy came back on and asked us to invite friends, family and neighbors to our own house, and pointed out that there's even a Host Guide available online.
Don't let November 4 pass you by. Your involvement does matter. Just ask Al Gore.
You can find my pictures of today's block party here:
http://d-squared.smugmug.com/gallery/6135476_ekN97//386048358_EL7k2
I have this recurring dream that I'm back in college and suddenly realize I'm supposed to be in a class. I struggle to find the class room, but it's been so long since I've been there, I can't find it. I go to the registrar's office and get my schedule, only to find that I'm so far behind, it's hopeless. I'm told this is not an uncommon dream. It leaves me with a profound sense of helplessness and remorse.
That's the same way I felt the day after the election in 2004. I was "active" in the election, talking to friends and urging people to vote, but I didn't volunteer. I'm a busy guy. I woke up to the news that we had four more years of Bush/Cheney, and that feeling of remorse has been with me ever since.
I can't handle having that experience again this year. We may still end up with "Four More Years", but I won't be awake to hear the news. I'll be too exhausted from helping the campaign.
I'm a realist, though. I know that as a Utahn, there are limits to the impact I can have on the presidential race. But this year there's Colorado! Colorado is one of the most important battleground states. There's a real chance our neighbors to the east can end up in the blue column on election night, but it's going to be close. Most polls show the state essentially tied.
When I heard about Drive For Change, I had to get involved. Drive For Change is all about giving Utahns a chance to really affect the election this year. So, last Friday I hopped into a car with some newfound friends for a weekend of canvassing.
Canvassing is a blast! You probably wouldn't think that if you hadn't done it before, but the energy you feel when you talk directly to voters is incredible. My favorite part was registering people who had never voted before. Many of these folks were almost shocked that somebody cared enough to knock on their door and help them participate in democracy. Their gratitude was so genuine and powerful, I knew I was doing something truly important. It kept me energized as I walked the neighborhoods.
When I woke up this morning, I felt great. I remembered having my "late for class" dream again. But this time, in my dream I was only slightly late for class, and it was the first day of the semester. The sensation I had was "just in time", instead of the usual "too late". I just hope I have the same feeling when I wake up the day after the election.
Greetings-
The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.
Haven't we had a mortgage crisis in our recent, collective memory? And didn't we bail them out? And didn't we all go about our business and lives the same as before?
We--collectively--have done the same things again. We, being the CEO's, the government and the citizens of the U.S. Doesn't an "if, then" apply here? If it happened before and we do the same thing, then we can expect the same results. If we buy in to the same solution, then we deserve the same fears, same results. I contend perceptions about the proposed solution being the only solution could change, but only without the rush to judgment Mr. Bush has said is imperative for the situation. Once again a culture of fear is perpetuated ensuring no philosophical choice will be made. Though, I believe perceptions are changing about a great many things with the current election and will continue to do so when Barack Obama is President, I can't help but wonder why we are not marching on Washington?
You see, I don't believe in "the"--the government, the CEO's, the citizens. These entities are not collectives, with magical forces that interact in society--though they may under the cloak under apathy or one of fear. They are, but structures made up of individuals, individuals who possess all of the wholly human qualities that the rest of us do--compassion, generosity, stewardship, leadership, and arrogance, greed, flawed ideas and ego. Let us use names, not titles so that each of "them" becomes one of us.
Our current crisis didn't happen overnight. Why should it be "solved" overnight? It was a process of bad decisions, cover-ups, excuses, and strategies on the part of Alan Fishman, Chuck Prince and James Cayne, to name a few, and blind acceptance, denial on our parts.
We have allowed the CEO's and companies to become "them"--a "them" we believe we are powerless against. I am not against wealth or corporations. I am against individuals who implement selfish business decisions and hide them, and then want someone to save them so that they can keep their swimming pools--instead of doing the American thing and struggling to make it right, to take a lower salary, to face angry stockholders. How is it they had the foresight to secure their personal assets, but could not for those of the many people who they were entrusted to represent?
Let's demand that Alan, Chuck and James are held to the same standards as each and every person who is part of bailing them out. This will only come with a change in perception, in our beliefs...throw away "the", "us" and "them".
My friends, I don't understand why a hardworking woman making $7 an hour has to pay $7000 to bailout Alan, Chuck or James so that he can keep his swimming pool at his second or third home.
You know, I was thinking there are a lot of people making $7 an hour who probably spent more than their budgets this year on clothes and gadgets, and need to be bailed out to pay for rent and their cars. Hear me out...since they keep the under-belly of America going picking out food, running our stores, serving our food, then it could bring ruin to our society, as we know it. How about a class-action request for a federal handout for them?
At the very least, the bailout should include a sliding scale for contributions, but I guess Alan, Chuck and James could find enough existing corporate loopholes and Congress People to support them so that they still wouldn't pay anything.
Stopping a Financial Crisis, the Swedish Way
By CARTER DOUGHERTYPublished: September 22, 2008http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/business/worldbusiness/23krona.html?em"Sweden did not just bail out its financial institutions by having the government take over the bad debts. It extracted pounds of flesh from bank shareholders before writing checks. Banks had to write down losses and issue warrants to the government.
That strategy held banks responsible and turned the government into an owner. When distressed assets were sold, the profits flowed to taxpayers, and the government was able to recoup more money later by selling its shares in the companies as well."
Please Take 5!
Really, how else would you explain this coincidence?
Yesterday, the Chinese were able to not only predict the outcome of their shuttle launch (success!) but were able to quote the astronauts before it even happened!
BEIJING (AP) - A news story describing a successful launch of China's long-awaited space mission and including detailed dialogue between astronauts launched on the Internet Thursday, hours before the rocket had even left the ground.
And just one day later, John McCain is able to announce that he's won tonight's debate, which won't occur for another 6 hours, as of this writing.
Although I try not to allow myself to become wrapped up in conspiracy theories, I really believe that what just happened is that the Chinese have invented a time travel machine, and somehow McCain convinced them to share it with him! Anyone have a better explanation?
While we're all wondering what McCain is thinking with this week's debate related theatrics, the real story is quietly slipping away. Many people have noted that the grand announcement came right in the middle of a pretty bad day for McCain. The Palin interview with Katie Couric. The message on the economy was muddled and incoherent.
But that's not the real story. As with any shell game, the point is to distract the audience long enough to hide something. The story that's been lost this week is Rick Davis's relationship with Freddie Mac.
Rick was able to land a nice gig -- $15K a month -- for absolutely nothing. Well, people don't generally pay for nothing, but he certainly wasn't doing much. He attended a breakfast or two, in exchange for the $15K a month to his lobbying firm, Davis Manafort.
See the full story at: http://www.newsweek.com/id/160561/output/print
So far, this ruse has been totally successful. I haven't heard a thing about this since Tuesday.
George Will writes in the Washington Post:
Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama.
Read the full article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092202583.html
George Will is by all accounts a pretty conservative guy, but he stands by his principles. I often disagree with him, but you have to respect that he believes in what he writes, and tends to be guided by facts.
While he certainly doesn't endorse Barack Obama, he does point out the flaws in McCain's reaction. That's certainly more than we've come to expect from the conservative elements of the press these days.
"I don't care," my Republican friend replied to my declaration that Sarah Palin doesn't believe in evolution, that she believes the invasion of Iraq was God's will, that she doesn't believe in a woman's right to choose.
He went on to say, "It comes down to [the fact that], I'd rather have corporations tell me what to do than the government."
Make no mistake about it: a great deal is at stake in this election. Yes the economy, war and peace, women’s rights, and the under-served are all important issues. But at an even more fundamental level we need to make the government responsive again. We need to take back law and policy-making from corporate lobbyists, from the interests of big business and the military-industrial complex.
Now is neither the time to rest on our laurels, nor fall prey to self-defeat and fear. We must rally for change.
My conversation with my Republican friend revealed even more about what "they" believe, and I learned even more about what I am willing to give. As a Chinese proverb goes: hold your friends close and your enemies closer.
My Republican friend called me back later that night at 1am his East Coast time to apologize, saying he didn't mean to upset me, to disappoint me, and that he promised not to talk politics if I wouldn't. I could only thank him for opening my eyes wider to the mission at hand, to the barriers, and for affirming my resolve. Just as I am thankful for George W. --for without the mess he--not God--led us into, we wouldn't be so open for change. And no I did not, will not promise not to talk politics---for too many fought and died for my relatively recent right to vote. I want a country that inspires us all to live more fully, respond rather than react, become more open, and care about more than simply who is reflected in the mirror.
I will continue to look to leaders who-like Confucius-believe, "a ruler should learn self-discipline, should govern his subjects by his own example, and should treat them with love and concern."
And remember, it was one of our own Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, who said: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." Speak up now. Let your voice be heard.
To start, our Utah for Obama office, staff and vols rock!
I made 35 calls to Colorado from the SL office tonight. It goes quick...it helps to apologize for calling after 730p or so.
People are leery of the blocked number from my mobile. I could hear the "Oh, Hi" lift from some upon saying, "I'm Cynthia, a volunteer calling from the Utah for Obama office". A good experience despite being cussed out by one man for calling on a Monday (Family night) at 5 minutes until 8p. Not family values I want to pass on. I respect his right to choose though and let him know that as I said bye. Several undecides--I just shared a couple of lines...I believe that we along with Senator Obama will bring about the change we need and deserve in America--not only for the short term, but for the long term, too.
Rock on Utah-
Cynthia
Included in the current language for the Bush Administration's financial bailout plan are:
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Read the full story at Huffpost:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/22/dirty-secret-of-the-bailo_n_128294.html
I think it would be nice if Senator Obama had these words handy, when the onslaught of criticism about the Democrats in Congress stalling the process begins.
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to really make a difference in the race this year. As a Utah Democrat, that rarest of breeds, I've been really frustrated through the last elections, knowing that it was virtually impossible to make a difference at the national level as a Utah Democrat.
So, I went to Camp Obama. My main motivation was to learn the skills needed to canvas successfully in Colorado. Colorado is a critical battleground state, and thanks to the Obama campaign's great organization, we all have a clear path to making a difference there.
Of the dozens and dozens (hundreds?) of people at Camp Obama, there were 8 or so folks from Park City. We found ourselves in a group mid-day, and decided to jump right in with a meeting to organize and direct our efforts this morning at Wasatch Bagels.
Cynthia pointed out that Park City for Obama already existed as a highly effective group, so the first thing we did was decide to join the group! We may be a little late, but we're very enthusiastic, and are trying to push hard these last 44 days to get as many trips to Colorado and calls made as possible. Park City is probably one of the best places in Utah to recruit volunteers with the enthusiasm t make the drive to Colorado, if we only let them know that they can make a difference!
We'll try to meet the same level of energy that we see in Park City for Obama already. The details of our meeting are in my extended post.
Volunteer Opportunities for the Obama ’08 Campaign in Utah
1) TRAVEL to COLORADO: Spend a weekend or two – over even a week or more if you can to
help us reach voters in our very important neighboring battleground state! Sign up at on our
website: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/utdrive4change
2) VOLUNTEER at our Salt Lake City OFFICE: Our Utah staff has loved having your help in their
offices and they look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks. Your family and friends
are also welcome to come along with you to volunteer. Our Utah HQ is located at: 780 E
South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. You can call us at: 801-983-7370 or email us at:
Utah@barackobama.com
3) DATA! Help improve our volunteer database by doing Data Entry @ the Obama
Headquarters from 12-5 Mon-Sat at our SLC HQ. Or join us for DATA NIGHT on Mondays
from 5-9pm.
4) Help contacts prospective VOLUNTEERS and VOTERS by making phone calls at our SLC HQ.
5) OR make CALLS from HOME. Join our Neighbor to Neighbor program. This unique online
program allows you to coordinate with our campaign to convince voters in your
neighborhood that we have identified as critical to victory to vote Democratic. Start today
by logging in to our new voter contact tool to find voters near you to reach out to. You can
go door to door or make calls at any time that’s convenient for you. Go to
my.barackobama.com/n2n to locate this neighbor to neighbor tool. There's no one who
knows your community better than you do, so help us build support for Barack Obama and
this movement for change by beginning in your own neighborhood.
To sign up or to more about this program, click: http://my.barackobama.com/n2n/
6) WEAR your Barack Obama pin wherever you are: I know some of you collected many
buttons at the convention. Now is the time to show them off! Wear your pin to strike up
conversation in line at the grocery store, the gas station or anywhere.
7) REGISTER new voters: Voter registration deadlines are coming up fast! We need to make
sure every Obama supporter can cast a ballot on November 4th! For more information on
registering to vote in Utah, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/utvrac
8) WRITE a letter to the editor: Tell others in your community why you support Senator
Obama for President. To submit a letter online to your local papers, enter your zip code
into our letter-writing tool: http://my.barackobama.com/wfoletters
9) Sign up for events in your neighborhood on our website http://utah.barackobama.com by
clicking on the Events tab in Utah. You may also organize an event such as hosting a Watch
Party to view to Vice Presidential Debates on September 26 or hosting a fundraiser to raise
money for the Obama ‘08 Campaign. You may set up events on the website as well as sign
up for events already created.
10) Make contributions to our local office or to the National Campaign online @
http://www.barackobama.com. Even a small amount makes a difference.
For more ways to get involved, visit our online “Action Center”:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/actioncenter
DON’T FORGET: MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA AND ALL
DEMOCRATS ON NOVEMBER 4TH!
If you have any questions about any of these, or want more information, please email: Danielle
Smith, Utah@barackobama.com, 801-419-8164.
WASHINGTON - Election Day will be something of an afterthought for tens of millions of Americans - they'll be voting well ahead of time.
In fact, six weeks out from Election Day, some voters in Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia already are done.
Nationwide, about a third of the electorate is expected to vote early this year, thanks to expanded early voting provisions and fewer restrictions on absentee voting, researchers project. In all, more than 30 states allow any registered voter to cast an early ballot, some in person and others by mail.
Greg Dearing, of Louisville, Ky., locked in his ballot for Barack Obama on Thursday.
"I'm usually a straight party voter," said Dearing, who will be vacationing in California on Nov. 4. "It would take something very far-fetched to make me regret my vote."
Early voting has been on the increase in recent years: In 2004, 22 percent of voters cast an early presidential ballot; in 2000, 16 percent voted early.
It's a trend that is fundamentally changing the home stretch of American political campaigns. October surprises? They'd better come in September if campaigns want to influence every vote. Get out the vote operations? They're already under way in some states.
"You can't hold your big guns right to the end," said Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Oregon. "When up to 25 or 30 percent of the electorate has already cast a ballot, it might not be wise to wait until the last minute" to make a game-changing play for votes.
Even the presidential debate series, which begins Friday and runs through Oct. 15, will come after many have voted. However, experts say the earliest voters tend to be party loyalists who wouldn't be swayed by debate performances anyway.
Across the nation, election officials are reporting high demand for absentee ballots. Ballots already are available in a few states, and they will be ready in about 20 more this week. By the first week of October, absentee voting will have started in all but a handful of states. In most states, all registered voters will be eligible to vote absentee, and a growing number will take advantage.
By the middle of last week, South Carolina had collected 84 ballots from voters living overseas or in the military, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the state Election Commission. In Louisville, polling stations opened Thursday, with voting restricted to those who will be unable to show up on Election Day. In Virginia, Fairfax County started accepting absentee ballots Friday.
None of the early votes will be counted until Election Day, and in some states it could take days or weeks to count all absentee ballots. But in most states, the campaigns will be able to determine well ahead of Nov. 4 who's voted early. Want the campaigns to stop bombarding you with fliers and phone calls? Vote early.
"That's one less person we need to put a get-out-the-vote call to and one less person we need to send a mailer to," said Nathan Treloar, communications director for the Iowa Republican Party.
Both presidential campaigns are pressing their supporters to vote early, trying to gain an advantage in a tight race. In past elections, the GOP has had a formidable "72-hour" program for getting voters to the polls in the final run-up to Election Day.
"What we have now is the 720-hour program," said Rich Beeson, political director for the Republican National Committee, which is coordinating get-out-the-vote efforts for John McCain's campaign. "It's a two-week program, and in some cases, it's a month."
Obama's campaign is targeting potential early voters state by state.
"We do everything we can to make sure our supporters know all the options available to them," said Jon Carson, Obama's national field director. "We've been building a massive ground game for all of this."
Absentee voting used to be reserved mainly for people who were unable to make it to the polls on Election Day, whether they were too sick to travel, away on business or serving in the military. State laws still vary, but most are relaxing such restrictions.
Oregon is 100 percent vote by mail, and Washington state is getting close. Early voting in Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee and Arizona could top 40 percent or even 50 percent of total votes cast.
Absentee voting starts in early October in Minnesota, and thousands already have requested ballots, including a few snowbirds who stopped by the Edina city clerk's office on their way out of town.
"People are parked out there in their RV's," said Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
Proponents say early voting is easy and convenient for people with increasingly busy lives.
"There is no line at your mailbox," said Karen Osborne, elections director in Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix. "It gives you extra time to look at the issues, and if you have an issue that you're not real familiar with, you can talk to others and make that decision in the comfort of your own home."
Others aren't so enamored.
"We understand some people really truly need absentee ballots but some folks are just plain lazy," said Kristine Schmidt, city clerk in Brookfield, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. "They don't want to be bothered by having to stand in line."
John Fortier, an early voting expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said early voting is not a panacea for increasing turnout.
"People like this. They like to vote by mail, they like the convenience," Fortier said. "But it tends to be the same people who voted at polling places."
He also cautioned that it could increase the potential for fraud.
"Once a ballot goes outside a polling place it loses some of the safeguards," Fortier said. "You don't have representatives from both parties watching over the process."
Early voting is relatively new in hotly contested Ohio, and it is already sparking controversy there. A small group of GOP-backed voters has filed a lawsuit against the Democratic secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner, over her interpretation of Ohio's absentee voting law.
Ohio changed its election law in 2005 to allow any registered voter to cast an absentee ballot, beginning Sept. 30. The deadline for registering isn't until Oct. 6, so Brunner ruled there is a six-day window in which voters can register and vote at the same time. The GOP maintains that a person must be registered for 30 days to get an absentee ballot.
Democrats are practically salivating at the thought of thousands of college students registering and voting for Obama - all in the same day.
"Voting is a two-step process in this country," said Gronke, the early voting expert. "The difficulty with young voters has always been getting them to do both steps."
Republicans, however, don't intend to cede the state's universities to the Democrats. "We've got a very aggressive plan that is going to be in place for that window," said the RNC's Beeson.
---
Associated Press writers Roger Alford in Louisville, Ky., Ryan J. Foley in Madison, Wis., Arthur H. Rotstein in Tucson, Ariz., Stephen Majors in Columbus, Ohio, and Jim Davenport in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.
On the Net:
The Early Voting Information Center: http://www.earlyvoting.net/index.php
· Introduction
· 5 new people joined up as part of our meeting this morning!
· Jenny and Dave Dorsey
· Russell Paskowski
· Chris Hayes
· Colleen Mendel
· We introduced them to what we learned at Camp Obama.
· Goals
· Personal goals
· Several of us discussed our personal goals, as a way to begin the conversation.
· Cynthia & Ed D. *each* set goals of:
· 75 calls per week
· 75 doors per week
· 2 parties
· 2 trips to Colorado
· Recruit 25 new volunteers.
· Ed S. set goals of:
· Canvas in Colorado each weekend between now and the election.
· Phone bank 2 nights a week.
· Sign up 50 new volunteers.
· Learn how to do training for my.barackobama.com and provide training for people in Park City.
· Deb set goals of:
· Phone banking 4 nights a week.
· Canvassing during the weekend.
· Canvas in Colorado 2 weekends.
· Allison set very lofty goals, and is involved with tons of everything!
· Will host home phone banking every Tuesday night at her house.
· Will provide some coaching as part of phone banking.
· Group goals
· To be individual, take action leaders with our group and the Utah for Obama office support, and showing others how to as well.
· Sign up people to go to Colorado and call Colorado.
· Registration and GOTV.
· Everyone will register and update goals and events on: http://my.barackobama.com
· Everyone will join "Park City for Obama" group.
· http://utah.barackobama.com/page/group/ParkCityforObama
· Activities
· Friday Oct 3, “House Party”
· Focus on new volunteers / gas money for Colorado canvassing.
· Distribute early voting forms.
· Ed D. will find out rules for collecting gas money donations.
· Wed 24th, Oct 1st Farmer’s Market
· Focus on new volunteers, early voting. Also collect donations for gas money.
· Allison will check out permission issues.
· Max will get Summit county forms to distribute.
· Allison will get Wasatch county forms forms to distribute.
· Ed D. will talk to vendors in advance to build support.
· Chris will staff on 1st, Allison both, Ed D. both, Max can fill in, Ed S. can fill in after 5.
· Park Silly, 28th of September
· Deb, Allison and Max will staff.
· Max will take lead on organizing.
· Russ is going to look into organizing a large "YCMAD " event, perhaps at City Park.
· Tuesday Night Phone Bank
· Allison will host a house phone bank every Tuesday night.
· See the Events section at Park City for Obama for directions and details.
· Recruiting
· Local canvassing is probably the best way to recruit new volunteers.
· Deliver the "YCMAD" message to Utah voters -- Colorado is the battleground!
· Attendees
· Ed Shirey
· Cynthia Bias-Thompson
· Ed DeSisto
· Jenny Dorsey
· Dave Dorsey
· Allison Seed
· Max Mendel
· Deb Settle
· Russ Paskoksi
· Special Thanks
· Wasatch Bagels!
· This was an informal meeting, but we took over two tables for an hour and a half, and Kreg VanStralen and the folks at Wasatch Bagels were very generous in allowing us to monopolize so much space on a busy Sunday morning.
· And to the interested people, friends who asked us questions just passing by.
