There is a lot of crazy in the air of late. What with Ms. Palin and all of the sillyness that has gone along with her. But, we need to remain detached from that sillyness and focus on what is really important. Mr. Obama doesn't need his supporter's screaming and hollering and not paying attention. What he needs is people who stay on task. That means registering new voters, making phone calls, and making sure that the money spigot remains open.
All week-end long there was an incessant chatter going on about Ms. Palin and her continued lying and who was going to do the first interview. Even Mr. McCain didn't know, apparently. But, the truth of the matter is that Mr. Obama has a staff working on all of the bigger issue items for him. We really don't need to spend our time and energy that way. What is needed is for all of us to redouble our effort to ensure that The Change that we all need and want come to fruition.
Hello everyone:
I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and discuss plans and ideas for Veteran activities before the election.
My name is Chris Frandsen, I live in Austin, Tx. I am a 1969 West Point grad and Vietnam veteran. I served on active duty until 1978 and served in Berlin(before the wall came down) Vietnam, Greece and Ft Benning and Ft Ord in the US. As a civilian I worked for FMC and was the TRADOC marketing manger and the Roll Out manager for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. I ended up in Austin with Tracor which today is BAE. Leaving the defense world I managed the technical recruiting effort at Management Recuriters of Austin for 11 years, then worked for Apple and owned and operated a retail parent teacher store. I am committed to getting Barack Obama elected as our next president of the United States for a myriad of reasons with my concern for our military services and veterans being primary. I have volunteered to be a Co-Chair of the Texas Veterans for Obama group.
Here is a list of the things we are planning. Your comments and ideas as welcome.
Tuesday
Paula, my favorite Republican, favorite political sparring partner, called to say that she's thinking about voting for Obama. Shocker!! This woman used to be a county republican chairperson and she's going to see Barack in Lubbock. Big Wow!
Wednesday
Paula left phone messages for all of her friends, "I've had a religious experience. Call me."
The call back went like this. "Paula, what kind of religious experience are you talking about? You're an old time Baptist - you can't have any "new" experiences. You've had them all." "Not like this. I watched Obama's speech in Houston last night and he addressed every question I had. I figured it was a sign and I went to the polls this morning and voted for him."
ScoreBoard
For Obama Involvement: 1-Hutto; 2-Lexington + their grown kids and relatives
Undecided Vote: 1-Rockdale, strongly leaning - Family members will follow.
Conversions: 1-Paula "Hard-Ass Republican" VOTED EARLY FOR BO
Local Contacts: 2-Want to Volunteer
Texas matters - for the first time in umpteen years. It came as a bit of a shock to most of us.
About 2 weeks ago panic mode set in...What do I do? Where do I go? Who do I call? Where can I get signs? I've got a good idea-what do I do with it? What doors do I knock on? How can I find Obama supporters in this area?
I'm in Taylor, Texas, on the eastern edge of Williamson County. Very red, very rural, we're kind of the gateway to East Texas and the southern U.S.. Democrats are considered a sub-species in this area and I don't know any of them.
After a quick slap in the face, I brought myself back to reality. I can only do, what I can do and I did.
I scheduled an organizing party here, for Friday, cleaned house, planned food and went to every Austin gathering that I could - just to pick up credible info.. That credible info led me to the new headquarters office that was supposedly having a "soft" opening for volunteers to get everything they needed. Twice on Wednesday, I drove 100 miles round trip. Didn't get anything except the name of our county coordinator and an email address. It's a start. I went home and banged out an ignorant, "please help me" missive and waited.
Friday rolls around, 25 people rsvp'd for this organizing party and I don't know what the hell I'm organizing. The phone rings; Fade to birds singing and sun shining. Orrin Evans, our county rep and my super hero of the day, is on the line. He'll be at our meeting.
Little house, big party, lots of nice people full of enthusiasm and Orrin lays out the plan and the brand new precinct captains software. Full credit to the IT people - the techies are gonna win this election for us. Amazing stuff.
Saturday I couldn't get logged into the amazing precinct captain site-sent out an SOS.
Sunday, 2p, our Wilco office is having it's grand opening and precinct captain training sessions. Techies got my sign in problem fixed, I got trained, did some hookin up and headed home.
Stopped at Home Depot and was chased down by an employee that wanted to know where I got my Obama button. Talked awhile and gave her my card to get in touch for more info.
While I'm cruisin the aisles looking for stakes for yard signs, a long lost friend calls. When I tell her what I've been doing, she goes, "I think he's my guy too. I'm having a hard time getting away from being a republican. I respect McCain but he scares me too. My kid's in the Army and he's been to Iraq too many times." Great conversation that will be continued.
Also stopped at the grocery store in Taylor, and a couple came clear across the parking lot to find out how to get a bumper sticker. Gave her my card and told them I had a couple of bumper stickers - just send me their address.
Almost as soon as I got home I got emails from both of these people. Visibility creates outreach. Sent them some good info and contacts to get them involved in their precincts and mailed buttons and bumper stickers to them.
GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the biggest challenges in getting involved in a political campaign is understanding the issues. Some come quite easy because they impact you, your family, or a friend. For example, my wife is a teacher in a growing district. As a result, I get a lot of information about the issues that impact her and the kids she spends her days with. Myself, I work in the financial aid industry and have a great appreciation for what it takes to achieve a degree and become the citizen you dream of being.
Were do I struggle. Taxes. I listen to talk radio, Sunday morning new shows, MSNBC, FOX, CNN, etc. I know there is an issue with our current system of taxation and in particular the “capital gains” tax.
