Organizing for America | Tahoe for Obama

Tahoe for Obama

This group is for backers of Obama from Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas or people who love Lake Tahoe. More at Turn Tahoe Blue

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See our website!!!

By Christa Darlington - Mar 16th, 2009 at 1:46 am EDT

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We have a new website where you can hear all about our activities- check it out at

www.ofasierrafoothills.org

We have had our rest, now it is time to change hope into action!

~Christa Darlington and the Sierra Foothills team

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RENO DELEGATION BLOGGING >>

By Billy RENObama! - Aug 23rd, 2008 at 2:26 am EDT

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RENObama! Rock Stars!, Xiomara Rodriguez--who will address the Dem Convention Wednesday night--one of the delegates from Reno and Barb Muscutt and Dave Baker who are convention volunteers in Denver are live blogging at the RENObama! blog. Background info at RENObama Rock Stars! page.

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Dem Convention Themes Hit Unity, Security, Change - See You There!

By Roseville City School Board Member - Aug 14th, 2008 at 3:36 am EDT

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Dem convention themes hit unity, security, change

Associated Press - August 11, 2008 10:54 AM ET

DENVER (AP) - Democrats announced the nightly themes for their Denver convention today, stressing unity, security and change.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, co-chair of the convention, said the theme for the August 25th opening night will be "One Nation," with a speech by Michelle Obama.

The August 26th theme is "Renewing America's Promise" with a speech by Sen. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama's chief rival for the presidential nomination.

On August 27th, the theme is "Securing America's Future" with an acceptance speech by Obama's still-unannounced vice presidential candidate.

The theme for August 28th, the night Obama formally accepts the nomination at the Denver Broncos' football stadium, is "Change You Can Believe In."

Party officials also said elected leaders, policy experts and convention speakers will respond to voter questions during an "America's Town Hall" segment on each of the convention's first three nights.

Text and video questions can be submitted online at http://www.DemConvention.com/townhall through August 27th.

Residents of Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Raleigh, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and Tampa, Florida, will be able to record questions or individual stories during "open call" sessions. Times and locations for the recording sessions have not been announced.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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open thread: MICHELLE

By Billy RENObama! - Aug 9th, 2008 at 4:23 pm EDT

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Here's a place where you can add your thoughts, stories, hopes, dreams and well-wishes about Michelle Obama.

This photo is from Michelle's visit to Reno in August 2007. At that meeting in Pioneer Center she moved mountains.

Hit "Comments" to tell us your story or your feelings about the next first lady of the land, Michelle Obama.

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Sacramentans, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado Support Obama in Election

By Roseville City School Board Member - Jul 13th, 2008 at 2:21 am EDT

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Sacramentans strongly support Obama in election
July 11, 2008

A majority of Sacramentans have stated they will vote for Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States, according to a recently-released Sacramento State survey. While 52 percent would vote for Senator Obama, 35 percent stated they would vote for Senator John McCain and 12 percent did not yet know for whom they would cast their vote.

The survey, conducted by Sacramento State professor Amy Liu and her students through the Institute for Social Research, was taken in late February and early March. Area residents were asked for whom they would vote if Obama and McCain receive the nod from their respective parties.

In addition, residents were asked about the issues they will take into account when they head to the polls this November. The economy (22 percent) and the war in Iraq (20 percent) are the two most important issues. However, Republicans are more concerned about national security and terrorism (12 percent) than health care (5 percent), while Democrats feel health care (15 percent) is a more important issue than security and terrorism (2 percent).

Obama is favored by area residents who find the economy (61 percent vs. 26 percent) and affordable health care (63 percent vs. 25 percent) to be big problems and who believe the war is not worth it (70 percent vs. 18 percent). McCain draws a great deal of support from those who are deeply concerned about national security and terrorism (79 percent vs. 12 percent), border control and immigration (54 percent vs. 31 percent) and who think the war is worthwhile (71 percent vs. 17 percent).

Other findings include:
• While 52 percent of residents support Obama, he is favored to a greater extent by Hispanics (64 percent) and other non-white residents (66 percent), those age 40 or younger (61 percent), those with college degrees(58 percent) and women (56 percent).
• Fully 80 percent of Democrats say they would favor Obama, while 68 percent of Republicans favor McCain.
• Area residents who believe the U.S. should set a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq are more likely to vote for Obama (73 percent) than McCain (18 percent). On the other hand, McCain draws a great deal of support from those who believe we should keep our troops in Iraq until we have achieved our goal there (66 percent for McCain vs. 20 percent for Obama).
• More Republicans would vote for Obama (22 percent) than Democrats would vote for McCain (11 percent). Independents and those with other party affiliations would choose Obama (50 percent) over McCain (34 percent).

The survey was a computer-assisted telephone survey of 1,200 randomly selected adults from Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado counties. It has a margin of error of 3 percent.

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Latino Leanings

By Roseville City School Board Member - Jun 15th, 2008 at 5:18 pm EDT

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Latino leanings

Many Latinos backing Obama now that Clinton's bowed out
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer of the San Bernadino Sun
Article Launched: 06/14/2008 10:02:37 PM PDT

Even though they strongly backed Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination, many Latinos appear to have quickly warmed to Barack Obama's historic quest to capture the White House.
Latinos voted for Clinton over Obama by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to an analysis of exit polls throughout the primary season by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Now that the Illinois senator has clinched the nomination, many Clinton loyalists have shifted their allegiance to Obama.

Obama enjoys a 33 percentage point advantage over McCain among Latino registered voters nationwide, according to a Gallup Poll summary of surveys taken in May.

"To me, he's head and shoulders above McCain," said Felix Diaz, a 73-year-old Victorville resident. "I think the rest of the Hispanic community feels the same way."

While many Latinos expressed great admiration for McCain's accomplishments as a decorated veteran, several voiced reservations about his ability to lead the country during a time of domestic and international turmoil.

"McCain is an awesome person. He's a former POW," said Irma Escobar, a 52-year-old special-education teacher who lives in Fontana. "But when I look at him, I look at four more years of Bush."

Escobar, a Republican most of her life, said she is crossing party lines to support Obama.

Even though she was a child at the time, Escobar said Obama's candidacy reminds her of the hope and idealism embodied in the presidency of John F. Kennedy.

"Obama is lighting the fire in the youth of today," Escobar said. "That's what reminds me of Kennedy. And it reminds me of Camelot."

Blanca Ortega, an 18-year-old student at Cal State San Bernardino, is fired up about seeing a minority become commander in chief.

"I think it's great that this country is starting to evolve and have different races in higher positions," Ortega said. "That will help us grow as a country."

But it hasn't been easy for some die-hard Clinton supporters to embrace Obama.

Business owner Lynda Gonzalez said she is disturbed by Obama's long-term relationship with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose racially charged sermons have been criticized as unpatriotic and offensive.

Even though Obama has severed ties with Wright, Gonzalez is irked by the candidate's association with the controversial preacher.

"How can you sit there for 20 years and hear this stuff and not get up and walk away?" Gonzalez said.

Still, Gonzalez can't bring herself to vote for McCain.

"I don't want a war anymore, and I blame the Republicans for this economy," the 46-year-old Bloomington resident said.

McCain supporters admit they will have a tough time pulling Latinos into the Republican column in November.

Fifty-seven percent of Latino registered voters call themselves Democrats or say they lean to the Democratic Party, while 23 percent align with the Republican Party, according to a recent Pew nationwide survey.

"Latinos are not a group that Senator McCain will concede to the Democrats," said Hector Barajas, spokesman for the McCain campaign in California.

McCain has a strong military background and a record of leadership on issues such as immigration reform, Barajas said.

McCain was a chief proponent of legislation to create a path to citizenship for most of the nation's estimated 12million illegal immigrants. But right-wing criticism during the primary campaign led the Arizona senator to harden his views on illegal immigration.

He now talks about securing the U.S-Mexico border before helping illegal immigrants already in the country.

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Super Delegate Explanation

By Roseville City School Board Member - May 27th, 2008 at 6:59 pm EDT

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Super Delegates Explanation
2008 Democratic Presidential Race

The Democratic Party has three types of delegates; two types are elected at the state level. The third is less well publicized or understood: the super-delegate.

What Are Political Party Delegates?
Delegates are people who attend a political party national convention and who elect the party nominee. Some states select delegates during a Presidential primary and others during caucuses; some states also have a state convention where national convention delegates are selected. Some delegates represent state congressional districts; some are "at large" and represent the entire state. The Democratic party also has a third type: super-delegates. A super-delegate is a leader in the National Democratic Party who has a vote at the national convention; they not selected by state party members.

A candidate needs 2,026 delegates to cinch the nomination. Pledged (with pledged super delegates as of May 27, 2008) delegate estimate:
Obama - 1,661 Delegates with 307 Super Delegates = 1,978 (needs 48 more)
Clinton - 1,500 Delegates with 283 Super Delegates = 1,783 (needs 243 more)

Who Are Super-Delegates?
Super-delegates (approximately 850 in 2008) include the following:

* Elected members of the Democratic National Committee (~450)
* Democratic Governors
* Democratic US Senators and US Representatives (including non-voting delegates)
* Distinguished party leaders (current and former Presidents and Vice Presidents; former Democratic leaders of the Senate and House; former DNC chairmen)
* Unpledged "add-on's" chosen by the DNC

Source: Green Papers

Rationale For Super-Delegates
The Democratic Party established this system in part in response to the nomination of George McGovern in 1972. McGovern took only one state and had only 37.5 percent of the popular vote. Then in 1976, Jimmy Carter was a dark-horse candidate with little national experience.

The purpose of the super-delegate system is to act as a check on ideologically extreme or inexperienced candidates. It also gives power to people who have a vested interested in party policies: elected leaders. Because the primary and caucus voters do not have to be active members of the party (in New Hampshire they can sign up and sign out going-and-coming at the polls), the super-delegate system has been called a safety-value.

Importance of Super-Delegates

The Democratic Party allocates delegates based on a state's Presidential vote in the prior three elections and the number of electors. In addition, states that hold their primaries or caucuses later in the cycle receive bonus delegates.

It has been 30 years since the Democratic Party had a cliffhanger going into the Convention. If there is no clear winner after state primaries and caucuses, then the super-delegates -- who are bound only by their consciences -- will decide the nominee.

Source: uspolitics.about.com

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Obama Has More Character than McCain but Not According to Ruben Navarrette

By Roseville City School Board Member - May 17th, 2008 at 2:58 am EDT

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Ruben Navarrette: Character will help McCain earn Hispanic votes
By Ruben Navarrette syndicated columnist
Article Created: 05/14/2008 11:37:16 AM PDT

FOR MANY CONSERVATIVES, Sen. John McCain is not their favorite Republican. They think he's built a career at their expense, painting them as fools and bigots. They resent his holier-than-thou attitude. And they're not inclined to trust anyone who has been so fawned over by the national media.

Curiously, a lot of liberal Democrats feel the same way about McCain. He isn't their favorite Republican either -- but it's because they know he'll be tough to beat in November. They would have preferred to run against someone more extreme and easier to demonize. That's not John McCain.

I first met McCain 10 years ago when I was a working at the Arizona Republic. What I remember is that, in a political climate where so many elected officials -- Republican and Democrat alike -- were wearing themselves out pandering to racists who demanded action on illegal immigration, McCain was one of the few who didn't play that game.

In 1998, while Texas Gov. George W. Bush made headlines for earning an impressive 49 percent of the Hispanic vote in his re-election, McCain walked off with an unheard-of 65 percent in his Senate re-election bid. Six years later, he did even better, earning around 70 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Most political observers don't expect McCain to match those numbers in a national election, but half of that -- 35 percent -- is a definite possibility. With that kind of support among
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Hispanics, McCain could win the White House.

And so Democrats are doing everything they can to distort McCain's record. Some are actually accusing McCain of not doing enough for immigration reform. In fact, they might even try to compare McCain to nativists such as Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who competed with the Arizona senator for the GOP nomination.

Good luck. The two men seem to detest one another. They even tangled last summer when McCain dismissed Tancredo's views on what makes someone an American as "beyond my realm of thinking."

Hispanics in Arizona who have known McCain for years weren't surprised by that exchange. When I ask them to explain what draws Hispanics to McCain, I hear the same things: his independence, his convictions, his courage and his moderate stance on issues. Then, of course, there is his military service and his heroic suffering as a prisoner of war.

"If you look at Latino families, we've all got someone who has been in the military," said Ruben Alvarez, a McCain supporter and principal at the Molera Alvarez Group, a public affairs firm in Phoenix. "The fact that McCain is so patriotic is a draw for many Latinos."

Another Hispanic Republican called McCain the original compassionate conservative, someone who wore that label before there ever was a label. And, she said, as someone who has faced his share of challenges in life, McCain's compassion bleeds over to anyone picked on or preyed upon. At the moment, Hispanics are under fire thanks to an immigration debate that doesn't bother to distinguish between recent immigrants and U.S. citizens -- as long as they have Spanish surnames.

But there's another factor that helps explain McCain's appeal to Hispanics -- he's spent 20 years quietly recruiting them into his campaigns and building up personal relationships in that Arizona community.

Bettina Nava met McCain more than 15 years ago, and served as state director for his Senate office in Arizona for three years. Now based at a consulting firm in Phoenix, Nava was recently named one of 11 campaign managers for McCain. She's in charge of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

"What initially drew me to McCain was that I have never met anyone who loved his country more," Nava told me. "He honors his commitments. For Latinos, I don't know that we've always viewed government that way. There is always a lot of lip service. But at least with this guy, we get a straight shooter."

McCain marked Cinco de Mayo by launching his Hispanic outreach effort, which includes a Spanish-language Web site. Those gimmicks don't hurt. But what is really going to help McCain win Hispanic support in November is the same thing that has earned him so much of it up to now.

It's called character, and Hispanics -- like many other Americans -- may not always be able to define it. But they know it when they see it.

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National Council of La Raza in San Diego July 12-15 - Has Obama Accepted An Invite?

By Roseville City School Board Member - May 16th, 2008 at 1:33 am EDT

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McCain accepts questionable invitation

Hi Barack Obama Bloggers,
I go to the National Council of La Raza Conference every year and they are an awesome organization and Al Garza (read on) has it totally wrong. I suggest that our next President of the U.S.- Barack Obama should also accept his invitation to the all important NCLR Conference in San Diego, Ca this year from July 12-15, 2008. All three candidates are also attending the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in Washington D.C. from June 25-28, 2008. As a Chicano elected official I support Barack Obama and the Barack Obama website should have a endorsement list of Latino elected officials as John Kerry did fours years ago. We need more Latino elected officials to be visible during this campaign as they are the grass root organizers of the community! Again read this article I found on the blogante site:

"John McCain is generating outrage among a border watch organization for accepting an invitation to a controversial Hispanic group.

Al Garza, national executive director of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, is expressing outrage over Senator McCain's (R-Arizona) planned attendance to the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza. Garza claims the group espouses the re-conquering of the southwestern United States for assimilation back into Mexico.

"They have one thing in mind, and that is the re-conquering of the United States," he maintains. "Although they are attempting to dupe the United States American citizen to believe that this is in fact an American movement of Hispanic descent to educate and inspire Hispanics," Garza notes.

Garza says in fact the issue has nothing to do with Hispanic Americans at all. "If you notice very carefully, they are catering not to the Hispanic per se, although they're using the term Hispanic," he continues. "They're in fact catering to illegal immigrants who want open borders."

He believes McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, is not serving the best interests of American citizens by accepting an invitation from La Raza."

from Rene Aguilera, Roseville City School District Board Member

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Obama Needs to be cautious with Latinos

By Roseville City School Board Member - May 14th, 2008 at 3:57 pm EDT

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Obama needs to be cautious with Latinos

Gebe MartinezWed May 14, 5:44 AM ET

When Barack Obama strolled over to the "barrio" last week, he took a calculated risk.

There, in the left corner of the House chamber where Hispanic Democrats gather during floor votes, the presidential candidate walked into territory dominated by fierce loyalists of his Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Protocol demanded that Obama not be too pushy, not too ready to act as the "presumptive nominee," especially on a day when Clinton had vowed to stay in the presidential race despite Obama's growing tally of votes for the party nomination.

But he is going to need the Latino leaders -- really need them -- if he heads the Democratic ticket this year. And the Congressional Hispanic Caucus knows it.

Never before has the Hispanic vote been in such high demand in a presidential race, nor has the Hispanic Caucus been so poised to play a significant role.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain -- going against the grain of his party's conservatives -- used Cinco de Mayo to reach out to Latinos and unveil a new Spanish-language website.

Clinton got more popular votes than Obama in Arizona, California and Texas, and she won the Nevada caucus because of her huge margin of support among Latinos.

So Obama's delicate courtship of the Hispanic lawmakers -- who favor Clinton by a 4-1 ratio -- underscored how vital Latinos will be in picking the next president. When Obama comes calling again, Hispanics will demand that Latino faces and issues be at the forefront of the Democrats' fall campaign.

Compared with Clinton, Obama will have to work at winning Latino support "probably twice as hard to have significant success," said Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and key Clinton ally.

Menendez emphasized that Clinton's Hispanic supporters in Congress are "not ready" to switch to Obama. (Democratic Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, the last uncommitted House Hispanic superdelegate, just declared for Clinton, who won his southwest Texas district in the March primary.)

"Should Sen. Obama be the nominee, McCain will only be competitive if there's a lack of a [Democratic campaign] plan, vision, a message and a campaign that understands Latino voters," Menendez added.
In other words, Hispanics expect money to be spent on Latino staffers, consultants and major media buys in Latino-vote-rich areas to address the disproportionate challenges facing them.

Like other voters, Hispanics want affordable health care. But first, they need an economic stimulus for neighborhood businesses and others who are underemployed so they can have access to health care, said Democratic Rep. Hilda L. Solis, another Clinton supporter from California.

"Obama needs to embrace us more closely and really celebrate our heritage," Solis said, acknowledging that an Obama nomination would be a "big switcheroo" for Clinton's Latino loyalists. "We have always been taken for granted [by Democratic nominees]. Now is the opportunity to change that cycle."

Obama ally Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) has already broached the subject with the Obama campaign.

"As soon as the smoke clears" from the Obama-Clinton battle, Grijalva expects the Illinois senator to spend "some quality time" with the Hispanic Caucus to start building a mutually beneficial relationship.

"It's a great opportunity, not only for the Obama campaign but for the Democratic Party, to solidify that base," Grijalva said. "We are poised to become bigger players in the political arena. Our party has to make that investment" in the Hispanic communities so that down-ballot Democrats also benefit.

Already this year, Latinos have proved their increased political clout.

In 2000, the Hispanic share of the vote was 5.4 percent. This year, Latinos make up about 9 percent of eligible voters. The record-breaking turnout in Democratic primaries and caucuses has included unprecedented numbers of Latino voters.

"McCain took Florida because of the Hispanic vote," a win that set him on the path toward the GOP nomination, said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. Clinton "is still in the race because of the Hispanic vote. We have defined the race."

NALEO, the National Council of La Raza, Univision Communications and other groups are behind the national "Ya es Hora" ("It's Time") campaign, which last year mobilized more than 1 million legal permanent residents to apply for U.S. citizenship. Its voter turnout program for the general election will be focused in California, New York, Texas, Florida, Colorado and Arizona.

Latinos' large presence in states that were competitive in the 2004 election -- such as Florida, New Mexico and Nevada -- has Democrats and Republicans agreeing that Hispanics could be "the swing vote" in tightly contested states.

"This year, we have a new generation of Latinos who are turning 18, who are doing so when they know it matters," Vargas said.

And McCain knows they matter. The Republican must take at least 40 percent of the Hispanic vote to win the White House.

The Arizona senator used to be admired in the Latino community for sponsoring broad immigration reforms that would enforce the borders and offer earned legalization for illegal immigrants. But he raised the ire of Hispanics last year when he backed away from his own bill in order to appease party conservatives.

Now, with immigration having failed as a wedge issue in recent special elections, McCain is inching back to the positions he held before this campaign.

On Cinco de Mayo, the Republican candidate called for a "humane and compassionate" approach to securing the borders. He recognized "the important friendship" between the U.S. and Mexico and the contributions Mexican-Americans have made "to our society, culture, security and economy." The presumptive GOP nominee also said he will attend in July the convention of the National Council of La Raza, the civil rights group that is demonized by immigration hard-liners.

The Democrats' focus "needs to be on who our opponent is going to be, and that's McCain. He's a Trojan horse. He looks like he's bearing gifts, but there's nothing in the horse," Solis said.

Menendez said a ticket with both Democratic candidates (no order specified) would "guarantee overwhelming turnout and support of the Latino community."

Obama, meanwhile, needs to earn Latinos' trust.

"I don't think there's any question Barack Obama is going to reach out to the Hispanic community," said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), who backs Obama. "I know that he's going to reach out and hold the support that Sen. Clinton has had and say, 'I need you.'"

Gebe Martinez is a longtime journalist in Washington and a frequent lecturer and commentator on the policy and politics of Capitol Hill.

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Media, Internet court young Latino swing vote

By Roseville City School Board Member - Apr 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pm EDT

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Media, Internet court young Latino swing vote

Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Take two twentysomething Latinos with a taste for politics, give them a crash course in news reporting, equip them with video cameras and press credentials, "embed" them at the Democratic and Republican conventions this summer and let 'er rip. That's the idea cooked up by the nonprofit Voto Latino and SíTV, the cable and Internet company geared to young English-speaking Latinos.

The collaboration, dubbed "Crash the Parties '08," has already drawn dozens of online applications from wannabe-embedded reporters. The two who are ultimately chosen will produce newscasts, video blogs and interviews with candidates and convention delegates for a growing audience of hip, bicultural Latinos who may not be all that plugged in yet to the political process.

"Young people aren't participating because they don't really know how the process works," said María Teresa Petersen, director of Voto Latino, a media-savvy, nonpartisan voter registration group. "What better way to engage than to have someone who looks like them and talks like them to break the process down?"

The project is part of a new surge of attention being paid to young Latinos, who are shaping up to be this election's "soccer moms," a decisive group of swing voters, as well as a coveted market demographic of "new media" consumers. Of the nation's 18 million eligible Latino voters, half are under 40, and tens of thousands more reach voting age every month, according to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington DC.

Other media companies are also interested in the burgeoning market:

-- The online social networking company MySpace launched a bilingual site, MySpace Latino, last week, with virtual communities geared toward soccer, music, fashion and other Hispanic "passion points," according to managing director Victor Kong. Politics doesn't yet merit its own community on the site, he said, but the company did team up with MTV earlier this year to produce presidential "town hall meetings" that include a focus on Latino issues.

-- The Spanish-language media company ImpreMedia, which publishes the San Francisco weekly newspaper El Mensajero, the Los Angeles daily La Opinión and others, also is rolling out a Web portal this week to link the news and entertainment content of all its print and Internet products, intended especially for younger Latinos, who use the Internet more readily than their parents.

Those endeavors are part of a larger courtship of the fast-growing young Latino audience. Marketers and political campaigns are increasingly reaching them through interactive media, using social networking, text messaging and - in the case of "Crash the Parties" - asking viewers to nominate and vote, a la American Idol, for the folks who will cover the political conventions.

"In reaching this segment, there has to be an interactive component," said Patricia Gaitán, a board member of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. "The SíTV method is right on target and in a fashion that's going to resonate for them."

One SíTV hopeful is Christopher Timbó Temblador, a sociology major at San Jose State University who has worked as a congressional intern, blogs regularly and volunteers as a college adviser at a local high school.

"I'm very direct and I'm real," said Temblador, 22, making the case for why he should go to the Democratic convention to ask tough questions about education, immigration and health care policy. "Being the son of immigrants, I can talk about being raised in poverty and striving to get my education, but I also understand what's going on at the federal level and how to use all the resources of the media."

Sacramento political strategist Sam Rodríguez believes the growth of the Latino electorate - combined with contested primaries and galvanizing issues - may create "a perfect storm" that engages young Latino voters such as Temblador. And he says sending them off to cover the campaign for SíTV is a brilliant strategy.

"I have familia in California, San Antonio, Puerto Rico and Philadelphia, all between 17 and 35, who are completely jazzed up about this primary," said Rodríguez. "What SíTV has come up with is innovative, it's thinking outside the box."

Contestants have until May 6 to upload a video discussing why they should represent young Latinos at the conventions. Then viewers can vote and those votes will be considered by a panel of judges, including actress Rosario Dawson, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and CNN anchor Rick Sánchez, who will also train and mentor the two young reporters.
Online resources

More information about the contest can be found at www.crashtheparties08.com.

E-mail Tyche Hendricks at thendricks@sfchronicle.com.

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NEW COMMERCIAL: Moment

By Zachary Scott Edwards - Jan 10th, 2008 at 2:49 pm EST

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Here is our new commercial airing in Nevada. This is our moment to stand up. Get involved.

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Foreign Policy Summit in Reno

By Zachary Scott Edwards - Jan 9th, 2008 at 11:45 pm EST

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The Obama campaign in Nevada is proud to announce that this Friday morning, January 11th; we will be holding a foreign policy summit in Reno with two of Barack’s top foreign policy advisors, General Tony McPeak and Pulitzer Prize winning author, Samantha Power. They will be meeting with Reno residents to discuss Barack Obama’s judgment to lead and his vision for a strong and principled new direction for American foreign policy.

Get more details and RSVP here.

General McPeak is a retired four-star general and was the Air Force Chief of Staff during the first gulf war.

Check out this video from his last visit to the Silver State for a town hall meeting in Pahrump.

Get more details and RSVP here.

Samantha Power is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide” and a professor of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard.

Check out this video from her last visit to Las Vegas when she attended a foreign policy house party in Sun City.

This is a going to be a really special event for Northern Nevada residents, and we hope you can make it out this Friday, January 11th-- the doors open at 9:45 AM. Get more details and RSVP here.

There isn’t much time before the January 19th Nevada caucus—now is the time to Stand Up and Get Involved. Together we take back Washington.

Join Us and Our Movement for Change.

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Community Leaders in Nevada- Bob Fulkerson

By Zachary Scott Edwards - Jan 2nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm EST

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Today the Obama campaign in Nevada released a list of community leaders that will be using their grassroots networks to further strengthen the work we are doing here in the Silver State. The work of these activists and leaders, and their support of Barack Obama, further highlights Barack’s electability and the strong desire for change that only he can bring.

We will be featuring some of these profiles and highlighting the work of some of Nevada’s finest grassroots agents for change.

Bob Fulkerson

“When I was in college I taught at the Reno Sparks Indian colony. The work I did there professionally involved a kitty litter mine that would have put an open pit mine right next to the colony. The noise, the dust, the pollution --everything would have been a disaster for the tribe. So we worked on that together with a number of other organizations, and we prevailed. In the end it was the only mine that had ever been denied a permit in Nevada.

I also founded the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN). PLAN is a nonprofit organization I started in 1994 that tries to bring together potentially competing and disparate interest of the progressive movement to forge common campaigns on issues relating to social and economic justice. We do a lot of work on immigration, minimum wage, and health care reform. We have a major water campaign, and we are looking at natural resource issues across the state.

I thought long and hard about who to support in the presidential race this year, and in the end, it was clear to me that Barack would be the most capable of healing the deep wounds we have in this country, and pulling people together. It was really, in the end, the clear idea that Barack is going to pull this country together… it resonated with me. And it really comes down to who is going to move your heart, and who is going to move this country. And it was really clear to me that it was Barack Obama.”

Bob was interviewed by the website Leadership for a Changing World where he discussed his commitment to social, economic, and political justice.

Leadership comes in many forms. How would you describe your leadership style?

Bob Fulkerson:
“I guess my leadership style could be defined as collaborative and evolving. Collaboration involves following and walking side by side, and if you’re out in front in the traditional leadership sense you better look behind you—there might not be anyone following! That said, it’s important to speak one’s truth, to be clear about the direction you feel needs to be taken. Which reminds me, one of the best questions a leader should be asking is “are we headed in the right direction?” Listen to what others are saying, then be able change your mind, shift ground, or stand firm. It’s the leadership dance. It’s fun and fascinating.”

Bridgeport, CT
There is so much division in this country and in politics. What advice would you give others who want to create similar "unlikely coalitions"?

Bob Fulkerson:
“I would say that trust is the essential building block and building that trust through one-on-one relationships is key, and that takes time. Also, try to reach beyond ideology and dogma and understand that you are not going to agree with this person or this organization on all of the issues. That’s not what it’s about anyway. The coalitions that I’m interesting in building are about bringing together competing and disparate organizations to aggregate their power that results in achieving concrete social justice victories. So it’s essential that you are able to let these organizations you’re trying to bring to the table know that it’s in their self-interest to be involved with organizations they may not get along with. Conflict is inevitable in any relationship, especially in a coalition, so the time needs to be taken to deepen and cultivate personal relationships across your institutions. Go out, have coffee with these leaders and grassroots people from different organizations that you’re trying to pull together, meet with them one-on-one, and then start bringing them together and create some shared values. It doesn’t have to be a manifesto, but at least there will be shared values you can coalesce around, such as a mission statement.

Again, building trust and relationships needs to happen first, before the issues are even mentioned. Trust and relationships are the foundation of a coalition, and you must continually rebuild it.”

The Obama grassroots is growing everyday with the help of activists like Bob Fulkerson. Check out who else is supporting the Obama campaign in Nevada and what they are doing everyday to make a difference for our residents.

There are just a few short weeks until the January 19th Nevada caucuses. Join Our Movement for Change and Let’s Go Change the World!

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ND Senator and Former Governor Latest to See the Light...

By vette58 - Jan 1st, 2008 at 4:08 am EST

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Senator Obama continues to pick up endorsements around the Country as our leaders begin to visualize Senator Obama's audacity of HOPE...

North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad announced this morning that he is endorsing Barack Obama`s presidential campaign.

Conrad has been a senator since 1986, and says he hasn`t endorsed anyone in a Democratic presidential primary before. But Conrad says he believes Obama has the greatest potential among the Democratic presidential candidates to unite the country and inspire people.

He says Obama also has a good understanding of the challenges the country faces and will move the country in the right direction.

"I also think he`ll help bring the change that our country requires. He absolutely understands the imperative to reform health care, to reduce our dependence on foreign energy, restore fiscal discipline, and to conduct a foreign policy that rebuilds respect for America," says Conrad.

He also says he`ll be campaigning with Obama this weekend in Iowa.

http://www.kqcd.com/News_Stories.asp?news=14491

Former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles says he's backing Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president.

Knowles says Obama is electable.

The two-term governor says Obama has a vision for tackling America's toughest challenges at home and abroad.

Knowles says that includes ending the war in Iraq, keeping promises to military veterans and making health care affordable.

Knowles also says Obama can reach across party lines and unite people to bring change.

Knowles served two terms as governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002.

http://www.ktva.com/topstory/ci_7831730

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WHY OBAMA? #10: Healthcare

By Billy RENObama! - Dec 21st, 2007 at 3:26 am EST

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WHY OBAMA? #10: Healthcare

"On the honesty question, when it comes to health care mandates, the edge goes to Obama."

The great health care mandate debate is a sideshow. Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards insist that forcing individuals to buy a policy is crucial to providing universal health care or something close to it. Rival Barack Obama disagrees. A mandate may be necessary to force those who refuse to sign up once affordable options are available, he says, but that step should come at the end of the march to universal care, not at the beginning.

The debate has degenerated into arguments over who is or isn't being honest with voters. The question voters should focus on is which candidate, if elected, can convince enough Republicans - who will use words like "confiscation" to describe any mandate - to go along with a plan. The next question should be: Is this plan the best and most affordable path to universal coverage?

On the honesty question, when it comes to health care mandates, the edge goes to Obama. He rightly says they force people to buy something before they know what it will cost and how good it will be, and many won't comply.

Because of those difficulties, Mrs. Clinton's own plan would probably leave out millions.

SOURCES:

Don't get sidetracked by the mandate debate - Concord Monitor (New Hampshire), 7 Dec 2007.
PDF of article for printing.

Obama's Health Care Plan in detail

Clinton Attack on Obama Overlooks Some Realities New York Times, 5 Dec 07.

RENObama! | WHY OBAMA? | Submit your own "Why Obama?" | Official Issues Page

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WHY OBAMA? #9: Religion

By Billy RENObama! - Dec 19th, 2007 at 12:38 am EST

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WHY OBAMA? #9: Religion
Barack Hussein Obama is not a Muslim.

I'm rooted in the Christian tradition.
"I Have A Deep Faith" - Chicago Sun-Times, 5 Apr 2004

"I came here to Barack Obama's elementary school in Jakarta looking for what some are calling an Islamic madrassa ... like the ones that teach hate and violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan," Vause said on the "Situation Room" Monday. "I've been to those madrassas in Pakistan ... this school is nothing like that."

"It's not (an) Islamic school. It's general," Winadijanto said. "There is a lot of Christians, Buddhists, also Confucian. ... So that's a mixed school."

Obama has noted in his two books, "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," that he spent two years in a Muslim school and another two years in a Catholic school while living in Indonesia from age 6 to 10.

Urban Myths:
Claim: Illinois senator Barack Obama is a "radical, ideological Muslim."
Status: False

All of the claims about Senator Obama's faith and education raised in the Insight Magazine story and repeated on Fox News are false. Senator Obama was raised in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother. Obama's stepfather worked for a U.S. oil company, and sent his stepson to two years of Catholic school, as well as two years of public school.

-Barack Obama's Senatorial Web site.

Clinton Chairwoman Dismissed Over E-mail on Obama
Though her name still appears on the Clinton campaign's Website.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign dismissed an eastern Iowa county chairwoman on Wednesday in light of an e-mail she forwarded warning that rival Barack Obama was a Muslim intent on destroying the United States. ... Anamosa Democrat Judy Rose, who served as Clinton's Jones County chairwoman, forwarded the e-mail on Nov. 21 to eight people, including Jones County Democratic Party Chairman Gary Hart and a Clinton campaign aide.

The Clinton aide, Ryan Callanan, replied after receiving the e-mail from Rose. "It's racist and ignorant," he wrote, according to a message chain provided by the campaign. "I can't believe that people believe this stuff."

SOURCES:

CNN debunks false report about Obama - CNN, 23 Jan 2007
PDF of article for printing.

CNN Debunks False Obama 'Madrassa' Smear -Think Progress, 22 Jan 2007

Snobes Urban Legends 23 Jan 2007
PDF of article for printing.

Clinton chairwoman dismissed over e-mail on Obama 6 Dec 2007
PDF of article for printing.

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WHY OBAMA? #8: Planted Questions

By Billy RENObama! - Dec 19th, 2007 at 12:34 am EST

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WHY OBAMA? #8: Audience
Obama does not plant questions in the audience.

GRINNELL, Iowa - Remember the story of the college sophomore who asked a planted question to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton?

There she was, standing a stone's throw from Senator Barack Obama at a rally here tonight at Grinnell College. When it came time to take questions from the crowd, Mr. Obama smiled as he made a reference to the incident, assuring his audience that his questions were not prearranged, predetermined or planted.

As he shook hands along the rope line, he paused to talk briefly with her. In a quiet voice, she asked about the trajectory of his political career. Leaning close, he said, "I lucked out," before ticking through his path: long-shot Senate candidate, keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention and, now, a presidential candidate.

SOURCES:

Mum's the Word for Student Who Asked Clinton Question -New York Times, 4 Dec 2007
PDF of article for printing.

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CNN: N Hampshire: Clinton -5, Obama +8

By Billy RENObama! - Dec 12th, 2007 at 6:05 pm EST

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CNN Poll: Obama catches Clinton in New Hampshire

A month before New Hampshire primary, Obama, Clinton tie in new poll

Poll: Clinton's support among Democratic women slips in New Hampshire

43 percent of state Dems, 55 percent of GOP voters still undecided, poll says

By Mark Preston

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Barack Obama has chipped away at Hillary Clinton's lead in New Hampshire locking the Democrats in a statistical tie a month before the first presidential primary, according to a CNN/WMUR Poll released Wednesday.

Clinton has dropped 5 percentage points since a previous CNN/WMUR survey in November, while Obama has gained 8 percentage points, according to the poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

Clinton is now at 31 percent to Obama's 30 percent. New Hampshire's primary is set for January 8.

Clinton's 5-percentage point drop appears to have been largely due to the loss of support among women.

"Clinton's support among Democratic women in New Hampshire has dropped from 43 percent to 33 percent," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "By contrast, her support among men dropped only 1 point to 27 percent in that same time period."Chart: Track support for Clinton and Obama since June »

Clinton is still viewed by Democratic primary voters as having the most experience and the best chance of beating the Republican presidential nominee. But Obama is seen as more likable, more believable and more likely to unite the country. Watch how polls could affect Clinton's campaign »

Among Republicans, the poll reveals that despite Mike Huckabee's meteoric rise in some Iowa and national surveys, the former Arkansas governor has yet to catch fire in New Hampshire. Huckabee remains in single digits at 9 percent, up 4 percentage points from November. But he still trails ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 23 percentage points.

Romney remains in the lead in New Hampshire with 32 percent, according to the poll, followed by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona who are tied with 19 percent.

Despite Romney's double-digit edge over his nearest competitors, and the seemingly two-way Democratic battle between Clinton and Obama, Holland said Granite State victories are still up for grabs.

"This race is not over by a long shot," said Holland. "Forty-three percent of Democratic primary voters, and a whopping 55 percent of GOP voters, say they are still trying to make up their minds."

That's good news for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who trails Democratic front-runners by 14 percentage points, and Giuliani and McCain, who both hope to derail Romney with a win in New Hampshire.

Still, the poll is welcome news for Romney, who has watched his numbers drop in Iowa as Huckabee has moved into first place in recent Hawkeye State polls.

This survey could indicate that for now, Romney has successfully erected a firewall in New Hampshire built largely by early organizing and public support from prominent Republicans in the state, such as Sen. Judd Gregg.

Amid a week of good poll news for Huckabee, this survey will be disappointing as it shows his brand of social conservatism does not appear to be catching on with the traditionally fiscal conservative New Hampshire Republicans. The Republicans surveyed in this poll ranked Huckabee fourth (10 percent) behind Romney (32 percent), McCain (21 percent) and Giuliani (13 percent) when asked which of the GOP presidential hopefuls represented their values.

The poll also had bad news for former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who garnered a tiny 1 percent among New Hampshire Republicans who responded to the poll.

A Thompson spokesman told CNN on Tuesday that a strategic decision had been made to focus all of the campaign's attention on Iowa until the January 3 caucuses.

The poll of 354 likely Republican primary voters, and 378 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted from December 6 through December 10. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

© 2007 Cable News Network.

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WHY OBAMA? #7: Integrity

By Billy RENObama! - Dec 11th, 2007 at 8:20 pm EST

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WHY OBAMA? #7: Integrity
Clinton fundraising scandals: 1996 & 2007.

2007: A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Norman Hsu, a top Democratic fundraiser and former fugitive accused of cheating investors of at least $20 million and using some of the money to make illegal donations to political candidates including Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Hsu's work on Clinton's behalf has been an embarrassment for her presidential campaign, which has returned more than $800,000 to donors whose contributions were linked to him.

1996: Twenty-two people were eventually convicted for fraud or for funneling Asian funds into the United States elections. A number of the convictions came against longtime Clinton-Gore friends and political appointees.

Four days prior to Wang Jun's White House visit, the Clinton Administration granted Poly Technologies import permits that would allow the shipment of over 100,000 semi-automatic weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition to a Detroit company (China Jiang An) that had ties to the Chinese military. Robert Sanders, a U.S. lawyer representing the company, could not explain why the special permits were granted. "All of a sudden, there was a breakthrough," Sanders said. "I can't account for it."

Barack takes $0 from PACs and lobbyisists.

SOURCES:

Hsu Indicted in Federal Court -AP, 4 Dec 2007
PDF of article for printing.

1996 United States campaign finance controversy: Wikipedia.

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