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I was a full time volunteer during the primaries in Kentucky. I called hundreds of people (I don't like making calls) and I've knocked on thousands of doors. I've attended community meetings, I've joined the local democrats in trying to get our local representatives elected, along with our representatives in the federal offices.
I was excited to hear that Obama was going to run a 50 state campaign. We're now a little over a month away from the election. and there is no Obama presence in Owensboro, Kentucky. There are no offices, there are no Obama staffers, there is nothing Obama related here.
I, like a lot of volunteers, donated time instead of money because, frankly, I don't have any money. Now that the general election is upon us, I don't even have the option of donating my time. There a lot of people in Owensboro who want to help. They also would like bumper stickers and yard signs, to show their support.
Right now, it seems the only way we can get yard signs here is to either donate $15.00 to the Obama campaign, or drive 45 miles north, canvass in Indiana, and knock on 50 doors. I don't have a problem knocking on 50 doors, or even 500 doors, but I can't afford to drive 50 miles to do it. I also can't afford to donate money to the campaign. It's why I donated my time.
There doesn't appear to be a bumper sticker option for Kentucky. Does the 50 state stratagy mean that he will accept donations from all states, but doesn't want to campaign in them all? Why are the only emails I'm getting asking me for money, when I can't find a local office for the campaign? Kentucky seemed so important in the primaries, but now, neither candidate is doing anything here except taking our money.
We are one of the poorest states in the Union. There is no presidential campaign going on here, except on the news. This is exatly what I expect from our candidates. History shows this to be the case, and I'm more than a little upset that Barack is doing it too. I thought he was different. It seems that, once again, during the Presidential election, neither candidate cares about Kentucky.
I think this campaign has infused innovation into the minds of many Americans simply from the prolific discussions that overflow with both positive and negative perspectives...but, in the spirit of unity, we have developed an enhanced ability to ‘hear’ opposing opinions and observations while we yet acknowledge their significance. The following portion of an email submission and the subsequent rebuttal from one of our group members is just such a situation.
I sent an email to local Obama Supporters, who may not be familiar with Tim Wise, and suggested they might want look him up...because his crusade and passion for fighting racism is powerful and awesome! Me, feeling that "Knowledge is Power!", shared both his article and a video that posted on YouTube, which he said was a response for those who still "can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples." The first example on his list was: “White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen, like Bristol Palin; and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter; and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because every family has challenges, even as black and Latino families with similar 'challenges' are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay”.
See his video (and others) on this subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Xe1kX7Wsc
Ms. Peanut said she objected “to this email. I happen to know that pregnant at 17 is pregnant at 17 -- and white or not, all of the negative connotations go with that. Please do not drive divisions between us.”
And, of course I apologized to her in so much as she was offended by this email and suggested that it is the controversy we are confronted with daily especially in this election year. Certainly, Mr. Wise's position is not intended to “drive a wedge between us” but to initiate the dialogue we absolutely must have if we are ever to get past these issues that are frequently used as divisive tools. I prayed that at some point Ms. Peanut could hear what Mr. Wise is actually saying...and, yes it is very difficult to hear and/or acknowledge but it is what some in our country are saying and what others in our country are trying to work through.
In Ms. Peanut’s final response, she said “Believe me, I am not responding because I am offended. I deeply believe that we -- you and I -- are united. We cannot be true followers of the policies and philosophies of Barack Obama and not be united by many common truths. You have done a beautiful job of working for Barack Obama's cause. I am so grateful to you for your leadership in Barack Obama's campaign. (deleted identifying information) so, I support our cause with donations to Barack's campaign. However, I still want to reach out and stand up for my cause, for Barack's cause, of unity.
In that light, I am firmly stating the position that, especially in the conservative south, that a pregnant teen at 17 is viewed with all the same negative connotations. There is no movement in the white communities in my experience to normalize that, Sarah Palin notwithstanding; indeed, we are lucky they don't try to stone the young women. I know this from very personal experience. Our difference is not with whites; it is with the conservative base, the fundamentalists on the right who believe that their fundamentalist views are right for and must be forced upon everyone through government.
Barack Obama said we should focus on the issues we have in common, that deeply affect and binds us all. He reminds us that we are one American people and we must solve together the problem of preventing all unwanted teen pregnancies, without regard to which shade of brown the woman is or what her income level is. That is the issue we should focus on.
We will drive away some white voters we need with divisive issues like the email you sent out. This is not the time to push any special interest agenda, no matter how vital or just it is. Your audience is as diverse as the crowds that Barack gathers. Please consider that Obama is the gatherer and the unifier of all types of voters: Republicans, Democrats, blue-collar, professional, Latinos, African Americans, Caucasians (and I formally reject the notion that "white" or "Caucasian" even exists except as a label that some people wish to cling to. I teach my children that there are no blacks and whites, only beautiful shades of brown). I believe he will belong to the world and to the ages, not just a few groups. His message is touching the lives of people even beyond America's borders. People around the world are hungry for unity. Look at the crowd he gathered in Berlin.
I grew up in the 60's. I remember when Dr. King was killed. After having spent part of my youth as a white person (a label put on me, not one I chose) in an all-Black school when I came to realize at a very young age that we are all brothers and sisters, I devoted my life to unity. I do not tolerate any inappropriate behavior, words, or thoughts from myself, or my children concerning race or any other perceived differences among people. The people in my life know to "never go there" regarding disrespect for any self-identified group of people. I choose to disassociate from those who promote hate-language of any type. Still, I despaired that there would ever be a way out of this mess of disunity we had created for ourselves. Then Barack Obama arrived on the scene, the great unifier who gave us hope that we can pull together as one people. That is the real hope he offers, that for once in our existence, we can empower ourselves to truly pull together as one people to do what all the powers in Washington cannot or have not done.
We cannot afford to lose one vote right now. Barack Obama is the right person with the right message, the right mission, the right wisdom, and the right abilities to lead our nation in the right direction for all Americans and to inspire the world to respond to its "better angels". The race for the Whitehouse is too close. It would be a dreadful, unthinkable shame to lose the promise of a Barack Obama presidency because we took our eyes off the prize. I wish you love, peace, and joy”
I don’t know if I agree with Ms. Peanut’s entire position, but I respect her right to say it and will give it much thought in the coming days.
What’s your spin? I would love to hear your comments.
Loveable
Read other writings: http://www.timwise.org/
Want to make a difference in this election? Want to be a part of History? Then come to Indiana and help us turn the Hoosier state blue for the first time in 44 years. The race here in Indiana is close. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to deliver our 11 electoral votes for Barack Obama on November 4th, but with your help, we can do just that and help put Barack Obama in the White House. We are neighbors. We share common values. We are facing challenges because of the failed Bush economic policies and we all share a common desire for change.
Go to http://in.barackobama.com/cometoindiana to signup
OR Can’t make the trip but want to help? Make calls from home at
my.barackobama.com and select the call Indiana campaign on your dashboard
As I watched the Republican Convention today, Tuesday, September 2, 2008, I was reminded of how Hitler came into power and the similarities presented by the Republican Party. Allow me to enumerate:
We MUST stand firm to tell truth to power. The whole world see what is happening in the leadership of our government and are begging for us to get it right and elect Barack Obama, President of the United States of America. Let's strengthen our resolve to make the right change for ourselves. As Barack said, ENOUGH! Let's echo that from every mountain, every molehill, and every valley; from sea to shing sea that Barack Obama is the ONLY Qualified choice for President!!
Robert Earl Lewis
USE THIS SITE TO GET ZIP CODES FOR EMAILS TO NEWSPAPERS, TV, MEDIA,,,ETC FOR OUR OPERATION SLAM DUNK.
For those new to this. Just use the Hit Em Where It Hurts form to send the emails.(thanks for such an easy idea Sam...lol) I think I was getting carried away and thinking too hard.....lol ....please dn't stop sending email and letters to your local newspapers/tv media also..
http://4zipcodes.com/
Don't forget to concentrate on the battleground states.
Oh, and let's all try to get at least 2 people we know to do the same since we only have the ten or so weeks left.
All of us together can work this miracle. It is already working in just the first two weeks....Thank to all of you...Good job on all the work you have put into this.
Now that we are down to only about 10 weeks, what do you guys think of emailing say about 25 a day each, or 20..Let me know what you think? Love your ideas and emails.
You don't know how much better I feel, not used to being disable like I have been for the last 4 years. I feel useful again, even though I can't physically go out and organize like I used to.
Imagine how happy and hopeful we'll all feel when we can refer to Barack as ...ahem.....tadoooooooooo....PRESIDENT OBAMA!
Thanks.....Terry Lee
Hello,,,,my name is Terry Syner....f/WV I have always noticed that the loudest or the richet get the most attention. I have also noted that the people hear something over and over via media and it becomes "to them" what is real. Eeveryone who has decided from this site is writing an 800 word (or less) op-ed, about the good of Obama and/or the danger to the welfare of our country from McCain,(in their own words and opinions). All of us send emails to any and all media, be it newspapers and/or tv. If your local news is like mine here in WV, politics consists of who made the most noise.....usually John McCain.
To make it simple...We only have to write one(1) oped, but a GOOD ONE,,,and to email it certain networks like FOX, I have threatened to boycott FOX if they don't question McCain's campaign like they obsessively do Obama's. We then simply.....copy and paste the same op-ed to each of the newspapers and television news departments.....and I mean SWAMP THEM....with our opinion. I'm thinking MILLIONS OF EMAILS TO THE MEDIA. I know there are many smart minds here. If we put our heads together we CAN MAKE THEM PAY ATTENTION. We are sending an op-ed every Monday and Friday.
Friday is a slow news day.....they won't expect it, and on Monday bombard them anew. I know it's a lot, but it is sooooooooooo worth the time. If they receive even just one a week from every Obama supporter at this site, they WILL sit up and take notice!
The only thing that can possibly stop Senator Obama from becoming President Obama is if people don't get out and vote, and believing all the $#@!@# from MOST of the media. There are many more of us FOR OBAMA thanthere is for the SNAKE OIL EXPRESS. Not counting those of us that are Independants and Republican, there are twice as many registered Democrats as there are Republicans. Getting everyone to the polls in November is the MUST in order to have our country back. PLEASE, ANY IDEAS?
Thanks to all of you nice and good hearted people for all your ideas and prayers.
START POSTING AND EMAILING!!!!!! Brothers and sister in unity.
Thanks again,,,,, Terry Lee....aka.......wvnervouswreck@yahoo.com
Hello again everyone,
I got an email from the Kentucky Democratic Party telling me the Democratic Office is now open, in the same place that Barack had his Primary Office. 805 Fredericka. I went there, Barack didn't have a presence there, it was a Bruce Lunsford office. Barack is supposed to have his office with David Boswell, the Democratic candidate for Congress, a bit closer to the river. I went and checked that out also, and the office wasn't open, even though I was there during the posted office hours, and I didn't see any sign of a Barack presense.
I still want to be involved, and enact much needed change in our Federal Government. I decided to volunteer to help Lunsford beat out Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell has been a senator for the past 24 years. He is now the Minority Leader in the Senate. He has been a strong backer of George Bush and his policies. He was instrumental in blocking a lot of Bill Clintons, and he was part of the crew that went after Clinton over the Monica Lewinski thing.
If you look at his record, you'll see, he hasn't been a very nice guy. After 24 years as a leader of our country, the best he's been able to do, makes him angry when he wakes up in the morning. If he can't do any better in 24 years then to induce self-rage, then he should get another job, or maybe go home and write a book or something. He shouldn't be in the position he's in. It's time for a change, and with Barack about to be our next President, it's time to put someone in there who will support the new Obama Administration, and not fight against it.
I'm going to the Organizing and Traiing Summit at the Kentucky Demacratic Headquarters in Frankfort on the 16th, and as I said earlier in this post, I'm going to volunteer for Lunsford. He does phone canvassing at night during the week, and door to door canvassing on Saturdays. So if you have some time, I ask all of you reading this to come over and help us make some phone calls in the evenings, and knock on some doors on Saturdays.
One last note, Governor Beshear is holding a Town Hall Meeting tonight at Apollo High School, starting at 6pm. It would be great if you could make it.
Thank You,
Rich
Unfortunately this is but a tip of the iceberg!
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws. *1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi." *2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban. *3
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned." *4
While Baracks movement for change inspired me, I find myself slowly being shown by this campaign that politics as usual will continue. From the pandering of the Clintons, the bipartisan hand holding and now the faith based initiative support, I find myself growing more and more distant from the original emphasis by the Obama movement.
If I wanted a conservative right winger finding ways to filter tax money into the hands of the myopic and stagnant republican party, I would just go and support the GOP.
In my opinion, this campaign is losing its way, losing its original identity.
How quickly the powers-at-be draw the others into their grasp once they get to the level and magnitude of this campaign.
Bobby Kennedy gave a remarkable prediction back in 1968· Tim Russert used this is this week's "Meet The Press"· Pretty interesting huh???
Ted-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Attorney General Robert F· Kennedy told the world that the United States - despite Alabama violence - is moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be President in 40 years·"There's no question about it," the Attorney General said· "In the next 40 years a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother has·" Kennedy said that prejudice exists and probably will continue to exist ··· "But we have tried to make progress and we are making progress· ··· We are not going to accept the status quo·"
I am happy to say, I was selected as the delegate from Caldwell County to represent our Senator Obama in Lexington on June 7.
I am so looking forward to the event, and wanted to share my happiness with you!
...and on we go...
Theresa Furtney-Hibbs
Don’t be discouraged by the election results in Kentucky. While most of Kentucky voted the way everyone expected them to vote, we didn’t. In our area, District 2, we did much better than we were projected to do. They said that Barack will only get 20 percent of the vote. He got 33 percent. They said that Barack will get 1 of the 5 delegates in our area, and he got 2.
That’s right. All of our hard work and effort paid off big time in the Owensboro area, and the surrounding counties. The volunteer turnout was fantastic, and the work effort was out of this world. The scheduled volunteer shifts were filled at over 200 percent. We not only did all the calls that we were scheduled to do, we had time to go through call lists for other areas. This happened at least three days in the last week before the election.
We covered all the canvassing we wanted to do, and then some. We were able to send people to Bowling Green and Henderson to help with their canvassing. In Owensboro, we had some canvassers go rouge on us, and canvassed their own areas on their own time, outside of our walking lists.
In the upcoming election, it will be Barack Obama against John McCain. In Kentucky, you can’t vote across party lines in the primaries. That means that any Republicans that support Barack, and yes, they are out there in Kentucky, could not vote. The Independents were in the same situation. We had quite a few volunteer shift hours covered by independents who wished they changed their affiliation before the election. One more thing to remember about the general election, Hillary won’t be taking our votes.
I hope to see the same kind of volunteer turnout for the general election that we saw during the primaries. The Democratic Party will have a headquarters open in Owensboro, probably sometime in August, and we will still need help. We have more voters to get registered, he have party affiliations to change, phone calls to make, and doors to knock on. We have to make sure Barack Obama wins the Presidency, and make sure a Democrat takes over Ron Lewis’s seat in the House, and we have to get rid of Mitch McConnell.
So, although it’s true that 21 percent of Kentucky said they didn’t vote for Barack because of his color, and that number will go up in the general election, it won’t go up as much as the number of people who will vote for Barack because he’s the best candidate to run for office in over 40 years. Change isn’t easy, and if you want it, you have to work for it.
Kentucky & Oregon Please piut an END to this Circus!
Remember That THE WORLD IS WATCHING...
Get 'er Done!
Jealous is PA...
Mary won't take no for an answer.
One of the many ways Mary helps the Obama campaign is by calling ministers in Kentucky and encouraging them to endorse Barack. When one hung up on her, she called right back and told him she had to go see him. She headed over, and by the end of the meeting not only had landed his endorsement, but had him telling his congregation on Sunday how important it was for them to vote for Barack.
A self-proclaimed "grandmama for Obama," Mary was called three weeks ago by another volunteer in the campaign and asked to volunteer. She immediately agreed, and has since become a tireless volunteer and a precinct leader in Louisville. Perhaps what's most remarkable is that Mary hasn't always been involved in the political process: at the age of 59, she's a first-time voter.
"I felt [politicians] couldn't touch me," Mary explains. "But something about Barack Obama inspires me. He explains things to me and works for me. He's the real deal."
Besides going to churches and calling ministers, Mary canvasses, recruits volunteers, and makes phone calls: on her day off this week from her part-time job working in child counseling, she made 92 phone calls.
Mary wishes she could help even more. "I love it! I wish I could do it all day, every day," Mary says. "I think he's wonderful and special." She says there is nothing like "seeing everyone so excited and enthused."
We don't all have the energy of this extraordinary grandma, but we can all help in our own way. For the next three days, local volunteers like Mary will be going door to door to help Get Out the Vote throughout Kentucky. No matter where you are, you can help right now by making calls to undecided voters in Kentucky. The Kentucky calling campaign runs until 9:00 PM EDT tonight.
Having witnessed from close range the stunning effectiveness of the Republican machine at shaving just enough votes in key places in many recent campaign cycles, the Clintons set out to use their hard-won savvy. Arguably comfortable with their data and their sense of how the trends would develop they set out confidently atop a well-tuned campaign machine with a distinctive message implicit in the Senator's campaign for the nomination. It ran something along the lines: The Republican old boy network can't attack the patriotism of a female U.S. Senator who voted to support Bush's Iraq mission.
Yes, it would take work. Still, the country was in a mood to reverse course, the political pendulum was swinging back, and the attacks that had been launched during President Clinton's term in office had cemented Hillary's celebrity, as demonstrated by her success running for the Senate in a "new" home state. Now, having carefully orchestrated her voting record and honed her campaigning and rhetorical skills in the interim, (and make no mistake about it, the skill-set needed to campaign effectively is distinct from what's needed to actually be President,) the Senator Clinton could take back the White House. The Clintons are campaigning with the Rove tactical toolset, targeting whatever gives them leverage within specific groups to shave a few points off their opponent(s) in carefully selected spots, trying to apply just enough pressure to energize specific voters, while the Obama vision of "strength through unity" dictates reliance on an appeal to selflessness, turning on voters who have not been engaged, and a reliance on the intelligence of the voters to consider the issues we must confront, like it or not.
Spotlight on Sound-bites
And now, as Andrew Sullivan has been documenting insightfully for months, those differences are being tested, and the soundness of the forecasts has come to dominate the limelight. The Obama message, which critics have derided via sound-bites combat, is at once both complex and simple, and judging by recent history that's a real gamble. Why craft policy papers and present your stand on the issues in nuanced ways? Simple talking points are what has won elections, after all.
Why? Because Obama has faith in Americans. He has worked alongside the men and women who did not complete college. He understands that it's not indicative of their intelligence, that there are brilliant thinkers scattered throughout rural and urban areas of the U.S., that it's possible to talk to people who have had different opportunities without deprecating their wisdom. In other words, he knows that data-analysis and statistics which refer to groups of voters inevitably diminish the richness of those individuals.
Senator Clinton has recently suggested, for example, that other journalists refer to an Associated Press story including, "how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." Most of those 'uneducated' white voters are capable of hearing the underlying text, and being insulted at the implication that their support is linked to their educational level in a sort of class-based oppression that's familiar to them, but not welcome. Visit any Union hall, or construction site, and you will find that most know who among their "peers" is conversant with the subtleties of any major issue, that there are on-site pundits without college degrees who garner more respect than most of the talking heads and media experts. No, not everybody agrees with them, the differences are present, but that's just the point: differences ARE present, and Senator Clinton arrogantly lumps all of them together as though none will notice.
Obama's experience
Senator Obama, having spent more time in the last 35 years associating with less-educated people, respects the diversity and intelligence of the people he has met. He knows college and grad school afforded him opportunities denied many who don't get that experience, and that while it's not unusual for folks to gravitate to the familiar it's foolish to underestimate individuals based solely, for instance, on their level of education. Sullivan cites an event filled with predominantly black donors and activists, when Obama recounted how a supporter greeted him at the anniversary of Martin Luther King's march on Selma."That was a great celebration of African-American history," the supporter said.
To which Obama immediately responded: "No, no, no, no, no. That was not a great celebration of African-American history. That was a celebration of American history."
Barack Obama's vision of a country increasingly united can be likened to the recognition that while copper is a soft metal which can become brittle, and zinc is also brittle, mixing them yields: brass (which is stronger than either separately) - or that while hydrogen and oxygen are prone to combustion, they can be combined into something entirely different that can even be used to quench fire. Each element has a purpose and place of its own, yet alloys have yielded some of the most interesting, durable, and useful discoveries in human history.
What will the voters believe in?
So, we watch the man who seeks to restore our strength by creating an alloy of people test his vision of unity against the proven tactics of divide and conquer. He trusts the voters to think, to act for the good of the whole, to respond in ways that resonate with patriotism that once rallied the nation to put a man on the moon. Can Obama's demonstrated regard for the value of individuals result in the unified strength of his vision? Time will tell; but there can be no doubt now that the country and the world will be well-served by any and all who prefer creating synergistic coalitions over isolation, ruinous conflicts that squander both lives and resources, or self-serving personal agendas.
DIGG it!
