There are still LARGE numbers of people who have not yet turned in their vote by mail ballots. It's not too late to benefit from this.
Watch the video that shows how to vote by mail. http://wa-democrats.org/vote
or for the same video on vimeo:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voting/absentee/howtoabsentee.aspx
Chinese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF1M2Mn75nE&fmt=18
Hearing impaired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JnFoeZgwOA
Secretary of State Sam Reed brags about removing 400,000 names from the voting records. I did some checking and I'm uneasy about the figures I found.
The Washington State Voter Registration Database was launched in January 2006, as required by the Help America Voter Act.
On this page: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/vrdb/VRDBFaq.aspxthere is a graphic showing voter registration database transactionsThe first two categories can be disregarded because they fluctuate month-to-month depending on voter activity. However the next three are stable and do not add up to 400,000
Canceled a duplicate registration 2006-July 2008 = 53,782Cancelled deceased voters 2006-July 2008 = 85,884Cancelled felon registrations 2006-July 2008 = 8,807Total = 148,433
Where are the other quarter million voters? Why aren't they accounted for in the numbers the Sec. of State tracks? What criteria were used to remove the voters?
Will poll voters be in for a rude surprise when they discover they aren't registered this November?
Is your name one of the quarter million names purged from the voter rolls without explanation?
Check here to make sure: http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/VoterVault/Pages/VoterVaultDetails.aspxPass this information to your friends in WA State. Protecting our voter registration is the responsibility of each and every one of us.
Don't let a Republican Secretary of State steal this election. Vote for Jason Osgood this November. Let's get someone in that office who is computer savvy and dedicated to election integrity.
Voter registration is easy but an essential part of Senator Obama’s race for the White House. If you are interested, please join us. Just wear your Obama swag*, put on some sun lotion, wear comfortable shoes and bring your enthusiasm. Devon will be conducting a quick voter registration 101 before you head out into the crowds.
The Essentials:
Location: Fremont Fair
Meeting Location: Washington State Dems Booth
Contact Person: Devon at 206-295-1709
Dates & Times: Saturday 21 June noon to 3 p.m. & Sunday 22 June 1 to 4 p.m.
We’ll be meeting at the Washington State Democrats booth (exact location of booth to be determined but in Downtown Fremont 34th and Fremont Ave). Just ask for “Devon”. If you are unable to locate the booth, please phone Devon at 206-295-1709. Also, you can keep your stuff at the WA Dems booth. Stay for the entire time or just for a bit, but please sign up on mybarackobama.com.
Saturday 21 June noon to 3 p.m. http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/447y
Sunday 22 June 1 to 4 p.m. http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/447d
We suggest taking the bus to Fremont since the Fair can be very crowded.
Bus routes 26, 28, 31 and 74 stop right in Fremont. To look at bus schedules to/from Fremont, click here.
For more information on the 43rd Legislative District Grassroots for Obama and other great volunteer opportunities, click here
For more information on the Fremont Fair, click here
Any questions, contact us at 43forObama@gmail.com
Cheers,
Your 43rd Legislative District Grassroots for Obama Team
PS we have Obama Washington t-shirts designed by a local Seattle artist and printed in Ballard available for $20 suggested donation. All proceeds go back into making more swag and to other 43for Obama Grassroots voter registration efforts.
We’ll be registering people to vote and showing our support for Obama at the upcoming University District Street Fair!
Registering people to vote is easy, fun and fulfilling!!! Just wear comfy shoes, put on some sunscreen, wear your Obama swag and meet up at the Washington State Democrats booth at the fair.
Saturday 17 May: Register Voters at the University District Street Fair, 12-3pm
Sunday 18 May: Register Voters at the University District Street Fair, 12-3pm
I’ll be giving a quick “registering people to vote 101”, then we’ll head out into the fair in pairs. You can keep your stuff at the WA Dems booth. Even if you can only stay for some of the time, please sign up on mybarackobama.com (links above) or email us at 43forObama@gmail.com.
The essentials:
University District Street Fair
Friday & Saturday 17 & 18 May
12 to 3 p.m.
Meeting spot: Washington State Democrats Booth
Located on 42nd Street East of 15th near Orange King
Booth Number: Blue 42S38
Contact person: Devon
Devon’s mobile number: 206-295-1709
If you have more questions or would like to purchase a locally designed Obama t-shirt or Obama buttons to wear at the U-District Street Fair* contact us at 43forObama@gmail.com
Cheers
Your 43rd Grassroots LD Obama Team
www.43forObama.org
*all proceeds go back into making more buttons and t-shirts which are distributed to underswagged areas
43rd Legislative District Obama Supporters,
Some of you have wondered what the plan is going forward and what to expect at the April 5 caucus meeting. Here are some answers.
But first, to have one contact point for grassroots Obama organizing in our area, all emails to and from the 43rd Legislative District for Obama team will be via 43forObama@gmail.com . This email account will be checked daily. From now on, please send all questions, comments, communication, and leads on volunteers to 43forObama@gmail.com.
In this email, we will cover these important topics:
1. Legislative District delegate trainings
2. Delegate and Alternate contact information
3. 43rd Legislative District Caucus Information
4. MybarackObama.com groups
5. Volunteering
6. T-shirt designs
7. Unsubscribing
2. Delegate and Alternate Contact Information
4. mybarackobama.com groups
We know some may not want to be included in our emails any longer, if so please email 43forObama@gmail.com with your name and contact information we will remove you from our list.
Thank you for your continued support!
Cheers The 43rd Legislative District Team Andy, Chris, Devon, Heidi, Jen, Michelle, Nick & Rose
Give Peaceful a Chance, Australian Financial Review, 26 February 2008 Writing the story of his childhood, Barack Obama narrates an incident in which his father was drinking in a local bar, when a white man abruptly announced that he shouldn’t have to drink “next to a nigger”. The bar fell silent, expecting a fight. Instead, Obama’s father “walked over to the man, smiled, and proceeded to lecture him about the folly of bigotry, the promise of the American dream, and the universal rights of man”. When the speech finished, the white man reached into his pocket and handed over a hundred dollars on the spot; so ashamed of himself he wanted to purchase forgiveness.
Eighteen months ago, Presidential prediction markets had Obama just a 1 in 50 shot of winning the nomination. Now, he is a 4 in 5 chance of being the Democratic nominee. Obama’s meteoric rise can be traced to two themes – hope and bipartisanship. But how has he managed to turn apparent platitudes into rallying cries? And could a little of the Obama magic rub off on Australia’s politicians?
Obama’s ability to use powerful rhetoric to inspire others has drawn comparisons with John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Abraham Lincoln. Few doubt that he is one of the best speakers of his generation. Yet the critics argue that stirring oratory matters less than solid public policy. So long as you get the ideas right, who cares whether you can make a crowd laugh and cry?
The problem with this critique is that it misses the point that successful politics is about building and maintaining coalitions. This is particularly true of the United States president, but also to a lesser extent of the Australian Prime Minister, who generally must win over a hostile Senate in order to pass legislation.
Creating broad-based coalitions is difficult if you regard your political opponents as knaves and ideologues. What is striking about Obama is that he goes out of his way to see the reasonableness in the other side’s positions. “Spend time actually talking to Americans”, he writes in his most recent book, “and you discover that most evangelicals are more tolerant than the media would have us believe, most secularists more spiritual. Most rich people want the poor to succeed, and most of the poor are both more self-critical and hold higher aspiration than the popular culture allows.”
Recognising that your political opponents are actually striving towards a better world sounds simple; but it is surprising how rarely it is done in Australia. Most federal politicians, and most federal political staffers, have no friendships with anyone from another party. This lack of social contact makes it easy for them to caricature and stereotype their opponents; and stymies the attempt to build lasting political coalitions for change.
What many political players miss is that it is possible to respect and understand your opponents’ perspectives without compromising your own beliefs. Obama has one of the most left-wing voting records in the Senate, but that hasn’t stopped him from criticising the left-wing Daily Kos blog for its ad hominem style. In Australia, one wishes that more politicians walked into Question Time aiming to ‘disagree without being disagreeable’.
While the Rudd government has quickly demonstrated its commitment to rigorous public policy, it would be good to see it governing in both poetry and prose. The bipartisan ‘war cabinet’ to address Indigenous disadvantage is a useful start, but more could be done that unites the values of both left and right. Cutting back on middle-class welfare, improving the performance of schools in disadvantaged areas, improving the incentives for low-skill workers to join the labour market, and carrying out a raft of randomised trials are all initiatives that should be able to transcend the political divide. Yet without bipartisan support, it is easy to see how vested interests will torpedo them one by one.
How positive should we be about the politics of hope and bipartisanship in Australia? To answer this question, I searched the parliamentary database for speeches by Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard and Kevin Rudd, looking to see how often each used “hope” and “bipartisan”. To account for the number of speeches they had given, I then normalised this using other common parliamentary words: “speaker” and “member”. A rough proxy, to be sure, but one that might nonetheless give insights into the rhetorical priorities of Australia’s last four Prime Ministers.
According to this simple metric, Bob Hawke is the Prime Minister who has spoken most about hope, while Kevin Rudd is the Prime Minister who has spoken most about bipartisanship (Paul Keating scores lowest on both measures). Perhaps Rudd’s speechwriting team should take a leaf from Hawke’s book. And maybe they can learn from Obama’s style, and find fresh ways to tap into the fundamental optimism of the Australian people.
Dr Andrew Leigh is an economist in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University.
http://andrewleigh.com/?p=1803
So we won a huge victory. Time to rest on our laurels?
Thank you,
Your 43rd Legislative District Team
Andy, Chris, Devon, Heidi, Jen, Michelle, Nick and Rose
Why has Obama won your vote?
This is my reason.
First of all, let me set something straight, I'm not extremely liberal. In fact I would almost view myself as a left-wing libertarian. I am also not a hardcore democrat. In other words, I am more or less an in dependent. Upon each election, I will vote for the single candidate who stands for what I believe in the most. This election, the candidate who manifests my beliefs is Senator Barack Obama. Why Obama?:
Spread the word Senator Obama will be in Seattle this Friday 8 February - Key Arena doors open 11 a.m. This event is free and open to the public. However, an RSVP is strongly encouraged. To RSVP please visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/seattle or call (206) 529-3859.
If you're able to volunteer please contact any of the following Field Organizers
Also don't forget to attend your caucus this Saturday! Washington State Democratic Party does not count the primary so if you want your voice to be heard for the Democratic Presidential Candidate you must attend your caucus in person. Go to www.wa-democrats.org to locate your precinct and caucus location.
The 43rd Legislative District in Seattle, Washington has finalized the caucus locations for the Saturday February 9th Washington State caucus.
Please note - some of the caucus locations have changed!!!!!
Please go to the 43rd Legislative District's website and double check that your location has not changed. http://www.43rddems.org/2008Caucuses.aspx As of today, the state Democratic party website does not reflect these changes!!!
If you have any questions or are interested in helping out with the grassroots organizing in Washington for Obama, please contact me at devonabdallah@yahoo.com! Obama is counting on all of us to win and we still need more people to help out in Washington!!!
Please remember you must attend your caucus for your vote to count for the Presidential Candidate. Washington state democratic party does not use the primary!!! You must attend your caucus.
Cheers Devon
Eastern Washington was Obama country Friday night as over 100 supporters packed into our new Spokane office for its grand opening and to see Washington state campaign chair Rep. Adam Smith. With a crowd that spilled outside and people peering into the window, Adam explained just how pivotal Washington is going to be.
University of Washington Husky Union Building (HUB) Auditorium
With special guests Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith
For questions or to RSVP please call 206-529-3859 or email washington@barackobama.com
Breaking news from the conference call with Campaign Manager David Plouffe: A new online fundraising contest is being launched that will grant the members of the My.BarackObama.com groups that raise the most money through the end of the week the opportunity to participate in a personal conference call with Senator Barack Obama and Campaign Manager David Plouffe. Be on the lookout for more information from the My.BarackObama.com team.
State of the Campaign
Barack Obama's Schedule: On Monday, Barack Obama received the endorsement of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association. Tuesday, he’s speaking at Change to Win in Chicago. Wednesday, he can be seen live on the NBC/NECN/New Hampshire Public Radio/New Hampshire Democratic Party debate, which will be broadcast live on MSNBC at 9pm EST. Following the debate he’ll head to New York, where he’ll participate in a live interview on ABC’s The View at 11am EST on Thursday before leading a major rally in Washington Square Park. On Friday, he speaks at Howard University’s Convocation and participates in the CBC Issues Forum in Washington, DC.
