Wisconsin for Barack (Central WI Chapter)

First HEALTHCARE PUSH, OFA MEETING, for Portage and Wood Counties

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:13:06 EDT

Untitled Document

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaforamerica/gGGM4d

PLEASE,

Listen to the video link above and then I'd like to request that those from the executive board of the PCD who can would please come and attend the first OFA Healthcare PUSH Event at Emy J's today from 5 to 8PM: It will not be a waste of time, but rather a brainstorming and sharing session of ideas and knowledge about how to help President Barack Obama's Healthcare Initiative and Plan to pass a comprehensive Healthcare bill to save billions and give the American all the people a chance to have good and dependable and complete coverage on Healthcare. In the end, such a healthcare bill will strengthen our economy and our country for now and decades to come.

My name is Jim Waisbrot and I would like you to read this invitation and info regarding an OFA Health Care meeting, taking place on June 8th at Emy J's from 5 to 8pm in Stevens Point .

James Waisbrot has sent you an invitation to 'Health Care Organizing Kickoff' -- click here to view the invitation and submit your response:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpcbwh OR EVEN BETTER EMAIL ME FROM YOU"RE EMAIL ADDRESS OUTSIDE OF BARACK OBAMA.COM AND I WILL EMAIL YOU AN INVITE TO BE ADDED TO MY PAGE, JUST EMAIL ME AT waisbrot.jim@gmail.com!

From Jim: Please sign up on the link if you wish to be involved (even if you can not attend Mon. night) or want to be an email member who participates on your own at home with updates from me as well as other OFA staff thru the Barack Obama Website. Jim also welcomes anyone else at the meeting that may want to help in actual organization of group and hopes there will be some of these leaders and organizers in the community who wish to help.

Meet to discuss Obama's Health Care Bill Goals and how we will help to get it passed this year. Plan outreach to encourage people to contact legislators to support and vote for a bill that will: 1 Reduce costs for families, business, and government 2. Provide choice in coverage and providers, and 3 Provide quality affordable Healthcare for all. Now is the time and the status quo is not acceptable.

Also to brainstorm on how a food-drive, rally, and a walk, might help with this effort or what other healthcare/sustainability event might be better and what it might be.

I will be at Emy J's from 5pm to 8pm for people to come and participate on Monday June 8.

I hope you will consider coming to this event and helping with the calling, canvassing, organizing, planning, emailing, and/or letter writing involved at your own pace in this effort and remind you that participation is a reward as well as the information we learn in these campaigns and the friends we make as a result of doing such work. Some of you may even want to be people who simply help by cooking for volunteers too - believe me you are always appreciated and wanted for this too!

Here is the Example Agenda For the Meeting:

OUR AGENDA TODAY FOR JUNE 8 th , 2009 :

5:00 Arrival and greeting everyone Begin by signing in on form passed out.

5:05 Welcome and Introductions

6:15 Share Personal Stories Also, write out healthcare stories.

6:35 Explanation of Brainstorming Activity

6:45 Brainstorming Take a look at handouts and Flyers from Sustainability Ideas to Health Events and other Community Activities Already Happening Around June 27.

7:30 Formulate a Plan of Action: for Brainstormed Event/Walk and Rally.

This is with a future action to be taken and reported back to our organizing group of volunteers and planed with the help of volunteer leaders, who can sign up tonight and say what how they will help. All members will be kept up-to-date on goals and requested volunteer actions through the barackobnama.com website.

Possible Needed Volunteer co-Coordinators for :

(1.) Managing a Canvas to inform people about the healthcare Plan in Portage and possibly Wood county(s).

(2.) Managing the online and any sitePhone Bank calling: to get people to attend a Walk and a rally or other event brainstormed.

(3.) Planning and organizing the Event or Rally at the end of a Walk where public speakers will/could be present to inform the public about The Healthcare Initiative and the progress made on Capital Hill.

(4.) Organized calling and e-mailing to U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators to let them know we want them tosupport the Healthcare Plan/Bill.

8:00 Reporting to OFA Result to Obama Campaign and Close of Meeting.

MORE: Health Care Local Mobilization: What is it all About?

OFA Organizers had a Conference Call with President Barack Obama.

Want to hear it? Check out youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPWtZLR3OBo

His goals for the plan are to:

• Reduce costs for families, business, and government (Government needs it to cut health care costs)

• Provide choice in coverage and providers

• Provide quality affordable care for all in 2009 (Businesses need it to survive)

President Obama says that if we don't get Healthcare Legislation this year we won't get it.

Our GOAL is to Promote that Healthcare Reform is NEEDED. And that it CAN HAPPEN.

WE MUST Pressure your Congressional and Senate Representatives to support government initiatives and policy bills on Healthcare Reform.

ALL people want action, not delaying actions ON THIS ISSUE.

ALL people want to the government to reign in health care costs.

ALL people SHOULD TRUST their neighbors and co-workers more than the “talking heads on TV.”

The goal OF THE OFA CAMPAIGN HEALTHCARE is also to reasonably present the case for need and ability to succeed on HEALTHCARE REFORM,

And to inform people in every United States community about this issue and collect their own stories.

And to get the people in every U.S Community to mobilize for an Event and Rally plus the possible National Healthcare Service Event to show Congressional leaders we are all serious about the IMPORTANCE OF HEALTHCARE REFORM and are holding them accountable for any failure they may have to come up with a solution for Healthcare Reform and that we will exercise our right to show our displeasure at the polls as each congressional leader comes up for re-election if they do ignore the importance of HEALTHCARE REFORM NOW.

A letter/email campaign and phone calls to Congressional leaders, and to the United States Representative Congressional House Members and Senate Members wil also be sponsored by the OFA!

Mitch Stewart is the Dir of OFA

• 46 M are uninsured

• Premiums are increasing 4 times faster than wages

• Special interests are blocking Healthcare Reform for profit.

What can YOU DO?

To Do:

(1.) If you have any questions about the meeting between you can contact the volunteer host Jim Waisbrot at 715-544-0583 or email him at waisbrot.jim@gmail.com . We would like to request that you go the www.barackobama.com website , specifically http://www.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpcbwh .

Please just check the Yes, I would like to volunteer checkbox, fill out all information requested and then comment if you like to send a question, idea, comment, suggestion, or even a healthcare news/video link to the event host, Jim Waisbrot.

Jim also blogs for Obama OFA campaign and his posts will keep you more informed about what is happening.

That way, if you wish, you can be involved in the future or an email member who participates on your own at home through the website and receive updates from the Stevens Point Event Organizer, Jim Waisbrot, as well as other OFA staff.

(2.) Attend/ June 6-9 kickoff – watch message from president, talk about 3 goals, strategize for local support, plan Service Event for June 27 th , Plan outreach to continuously promote plan. Join together as volunteers and co-coordinator to get the job done.

Natalie Foster – PR person

On line tools include host/organizer :

• Event tool – for June 6 th and other events, has guide for hosts (MINE IS JUNE 9 TH ).

• Call tools – to call supporters near you, ready for a June 27 th event

• Call tools to call voters near your – walk lists, call lists, like election

• HC Action Center – online network to help you write letters to editors, call congressmen, etc.

David Plouffe – Election Coordinator

What we won was the Opportunity to Make Change. Now is the time to take advantage of that opportunity. Plan to live part of your life helping the president. Put a lot of pressure on followers. Ask a lot of them. Need passionate people, intelligent informed people. This is our moment. Demand health care reform. This is our moment. There is HUGE interest in this. Get a LOT of troops behind you, at all levels and kinds of support.

Hope you will choose to participate.

James T. Waisbrot

-Past member of Anthea Watson's Obama Campaign in Stevens Point

-Blue Team Leader Sam Cornale's Obama Campaign in Stevens Point

-Executive member at large Portage County Democrats ( Stevens Point )

-MREA, member

-ICE (Inter-Faith for the Earth), member

-Progressive Action Network of Central Wisconsin , email member mostly at this time

-FarmShed, email member

-Fair Wisconsin, volunteer and member.

-Human Rights Campaign, member.

P.S. Here are a couple of sheets you can fill out and think about before the meeting:

BRAINSTORMING ANSWER SHEET

Where do you see the need for Health care reform in your City?

Are there any particular Healthcare concerns that affect your community?

Has anyone ever volunteered at a community Health center in your community? What was it like? Could we set a service project there?

Are there any healthcare related organizations in your community that utilize volunteers.? How can we work with these organizations?

How does our project relate to getting Healthcare Reform Passed?

WHAT IS THE FAVORITE EVENT chosen by our group of volunteers today?

President Obama’s Notre Dame University Address 17th May 2009 - by James Waisbrot

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:46:23 EDT

President Obama's Notre Dame University Address 17th May 2009

youtube entire video link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwJPOfIQKwA

Bill Press / Huff Post: "President Obama did not change water into wine. But he almost did. Instead, Obama changed what protesters tried to make an ugly scene about abortion into a triumphant message about faith-based politics".

Telling Thoughts:The President's speech embodies one of the finest attempts in appealing to the humanity and rationality of mankind I have been privileged to hear.

President Barack Obama gave the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame yesterday, May 17, 2009. His comments were very thoughtful and insightful - I've shared some quotes below:

"When we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do - that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground."

"In this world of competing claims about what is right and what is true, have confidence in the values with which you've been raised and educated. Be unafraid to speak your mind when those values are at stake. Hold firm to your faith and allow it to guide you on your journey. Stand as a lighthouse."

"Remember too that the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt. It is the belief in things not seen. It is beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us, and those of us who believe must trust that His wisdom is greater than our own.This doubt should not push us away from our faith. But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, and cause us to be wary of self-righteousness."

"For if there is one law that we can be most certain of, it is the law that binds people of all faiths and no faith together.
It is no coincidence that it exists in Christianity and Judaism; in Islam and Hinduism; in Buddhism and humanism. It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. To serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this Earth."

Dear United States Citizens and citizens of the world-TEST post to link to facebook or other blogs - from JIM WAISBROT

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:55:22 EDT

Dear United States Citizens and citizens of the world,

We knew healthcare reform would face fierce opposition -- and it's begun. As we speak, the same people behind the notorious "swift boat" ads of 2004 are already pumping millions of dollars into deceptive television ads. Their plan is simple: torpedo healthcare reform before it sees the light of day by scaring the public and distorting the President's approach.

We need the resources to take them head on with an urgent, grassroots campaign to pass real healthcare reform in 2009.

When the swift boaters flood the airwaves with distortions, we'll flood the streets with volunteers armed with facts. When they send lobbyists to tell Congress to back down, we'll send millions of calls, letters, and stories from real Americans asking them to stand up.

Please donate $5 or more by midnight Sunday to fight back against these phony attacks and take our message of reform to the American people.

The swift boaters are once again trying to sell the American people short. As during the election, we deserve a serious conversation -- not fear-mongering and deceit. You and I see the importance of healthcare reform every day. We can't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to face one of America's greatest challenges head on.

Passing real healthcare reform will be the toughest, most important challenge we've faced together since electing Barack Obama President.

But it's also a big reason we fought so hard to get here. I know that by working together, and speaking with one, determined voice, we can prevail over the cynics and defenders of the status quo. America's families are counting on us to do just that.

Donate $5 or more to defend healthcare reform today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/defendhealthcare

Thank you,

David Plouffe

Hey gals and fellows, pay attention: Obama seeks after judicial restraint. -- Blog/Post from Jim Waisbrot

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:09:27 EDT

SOURCE: Title: “Obama seeks judicial restraint”, Blogspot: Politics, Law, Media: Illusory Tenant. Website Link: http://illusorytenant.blogspot.com/2009/05/obama-seeks-after-judicial-restraint.html Good as of: May 16, 2009. Posted as of: May 8, 2009. Hey gals and fellows, pay attention: Obama seeks after judicial restraint. -- Blog/Post from Jim Waisbrot

Hand had evidently broadened his intellectual horizons; his article showed a heightened empathy for the economic and social arguments supporting a more interventionist role for the state.

— Gerald Gunther, Learned Hand, p. 123

When President Barack Obama mentioned he was looking for judges in possession of "empathy," many political conservatives quickly assumed that empathy was code for "activist." And "activist" in turn is a secret word for "judges who make decisions we don't care for."

The article referenced above appeared in 1908 in the Harvard Law Review, written by Learned Hand, who most observers consider America's greatest judge that never made it to the Supreme Court.

Learned Hand spent his 50-year career as a judge on the federal district and circuit courts in New York, earning a reputation as the very model of "judicial restraint," which we are told by those same conservatives is the conceptual opposite of "judicial activism."

Hand's essay criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for its decision in Lochner v. New York. In Lochner the Court, relying on theories of laissez-faire capitalism, used the doctrine of substantive due process to strike down a law regulating maximum working hours for bakers.

The Lochner majority reasoned that the law ran afoul of a constitutional freedom to make contracts that it discovered somewhere within the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court downplayed the "relative strategic advantages of the two parties to the contract," as Hand put it, "of whom one is under the pressure of absolute want, while the other is not."

In other words, Learned Hand's empathy lay to the side of the journeyman bakers, whose interests were protected by their elected representatives, those who had imposed the maximum employee working hours as against the rapacious corporate baking concerns.

While the empathetic Judge Hand leveled more particular legal criticisms of Lochner, his own overarching philosophical concern — as it continued to be throughout his long career — was directed toward the phenomenon of a tiny group of unelected, life-tenured judges capriciously invalidating the democratically expressed will of the people, which Learned Hand regarded as almost a form of tyranny.

Sound familiar? Sounds practically like the late Tom DeLay.*

In opposition to that potential, Hand practiced not "judicial activism" but "judicial restraint," which is precisely the attitude conservatives will tell you they value most in a judge. And in Learned Hand's case, it had quite a lot to do with empathy for the human objects of judicial decisions, a concern which Obama apparently shares.

So when conservatives are ultimately presented with President Obama's forthcoming nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, perhaps they should be careful about what it is they're not wishing for.

“A good Read (Check the links too): Obama first president to actually read Bible”-From Jim Waisbrot

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:05:19 EDT

SOURCE: Title: Obama first president to actually read Bible, Blogspot: Politics, Law, Media: Illusory Tenant. WebsiteLink: http://illusorytenant.blogspot.com/2009/05/obama-first-president-to-actually-read.html Good as of: May 16, 2009. Posted as of: May 7, 2009 “A good Read (Check the links too): Obama first president to actually read Bible”

-From Jim Waisbrot

The twits on [“tee-vee's”] "Fox & Friends" were in quite a snit this morning, along with the professional Christians at the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and all because Obama takes Jesus of Nazareth at his word:

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

[It] looks pretty straightforward to me. And "their reward" sounds more than a little ominous, doesn't it. Be very afraid, ye hypocrites.

Local wingnut and prominent Christian James T. Harris writes:

This president honors God with his pen, but his heart is far from Him. Evidently Obama doesn't pray.

"Evidently [,]" That's rich. So Harris is an empiricist now?

And they called it Bush Derangement Syndrome. Who knew Christianity was some sort of public piousness competition.

“Gableman drives a judicial Fiat, but Shirley Abrahamson correctly emphasizes as a threshold matter in her own concurring opinion.”- From Jim Waisbrot

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:01:19 EDT

SOURCE: Title: ”Gableman drives a judicial Fiat”, Blogspot: Politics, Law, Media: illusory Tenan., Website link: http://illusorytenant.blogspot.com/2009/01/gableman-drives-judicial-fiat.html Site Good as of: May 16, 2009. Original Posting: January 29, 2009. “Gableman drives a judicial Fiat, but Shirley Abrahamson correctly emphasizes as a threshold matter in her own concurring opinion.”- From Jim Waisbrot

Recently minted Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman this morning throws down his inaugural written opinion for the court, a partly concurring, partly dissenting contribution to a decision called Plastics Engineering Co. v. Liberty Mutual* ("Plenco").

Plenco is not a case that came up through the Wisconsin State courts. Rather, it's a federal asbestos injury/insurance lawsuit and the reason the Wisconsin Supreme Court was asked to address it is because the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago requested clarification of certain generally applicable questions of Wisconsin law that might have a bearing on the federal courts' eventual disposition in Plenco.

In other words, the federal Seventh Circuit is not going to unilaterally forge ahead with its own potentially unique interpretations of Wisconsin law that is currently unclear which may affect not only the specific Plenco controversy but also future Wisconsin litigation just in case the Wisconsin courts would have decided those questions of State (as opposed to federal) law differently.

Therefore, the Seventh Circuit "certified" to the Wisconsin Supreme Court three broad questions in insurance law.

As Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson correctly emphasizes as a threshold matter in her own concurring opinion, Wisconsin has a separate statute (§ 821.01) dealing with the Supreme Court's function under such circumstances.

That is, it is not to decide the merits of the particular case (i.e., find in favor of one or the other parties), but rather clarify Wisconsin law generally so as the federal court itself might decide the merits of the dispute before it, consistent with those broader clarifications.

A danger in determining the particular merits of Plenco, the Chief Justice suggests, is that if and when one of the parties ultimately loses in federal court, it can come back into a Wisconsin jurisdiction with a readymade Supreme Court decision in hand, a circumstance that is inconsistent with — if not contrary to — § 821.01.

As the C.J. observes:

Because the majority tries so hard to limit its opinion to the language of the insurance policies at issue and the particularized facts of the instant case, I am concerned that the majority opinion has not responded to the certified questions of law but has instead decided the merits of the instant case.

Perhaps eager to demonstrate his repeatedly advertised commitment to the "plain language of the law," Gableman, laboring in solitary dissent, goes even further, for all intents and purposes actually finding in favor of the insurance company, Liberty Mutual (surprise).

Unfortunately, he's apparently disregarded the plain language of
§ 821.01 (he never once mentions it) which is, somewhat ironically, a legislative directive intended to limit the role of the State courts, such limited role being yet another of Gableman's campaign planks.

To be sure, Chief Justice Abrahamson's approach is considerably more in accord with so-called conservative judicial principles (more specifically, "judicial restraint"). On the other hand, should the Chief Justice Abrahamson's stated concerns come to fruition back home again in Wisconsin, Justice Gableman's lone dissent will likely be of little avail.

* 2009 WI 13 (.pdf; 55 pgs.) [.html version]

To Start Understanding the “Scope of underinsured motorist insurance limited by Wisconsin Supreme Court” – From Jim Waisbrot.

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:56:13 EDT

SOURCE: By Alex De Grand, Legal Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin. Title: Scope of underinsured motorist insurance limited by Wisconsin Supreme Court. Website link: http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&contentid=77446 Good as of: May 16, 2009. To Start Understanding the “Scope of underinsured motorist insurance limited by Wisconsin Supreme Court” – From Jim Waisbrot.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court reaffirmed on Jan. 28 a contentious 2004 holding that interprets an underinsured motorist (UIM) insurance policy against the insured.

In Lisowski v. Hastings Mutual Insurance Co., 2009 WI 11, the insurance company rejected a claim filed by the policyholder’s son after he sustained injuries in a vehicle driven by a friend. The car involved belonged to policyholder Dennis Lisowski, but the insurance in question was taken out for a tractor used in his business.

Hastings’ obligation to pay hinged on whether the coverage of Lisowski’s son followed him wherever the injury occurred or if it extended only to incidents occurring with the tractor, the vehicle specified on the policy.

Rejecting the Lisowski’s claim, Hastings cited language within the UIM endorsement and the main body of the policy for support. The Lisowskis argued that these passages were not as clear cut as Hastings asserted and that ambiguous provisions must be read in favor of the insured.

Confronted with similar facts and policy language in Crandall v. Society Insurance, 2004 WI App. 34, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that the insurance provisions unambiguously restricted UIM coverage to occupants of covered autos.

In this case, the court of appeals initially asked the supreme court to modify, limit, or overrule Crandall, but the high court would not accept the invitation. The court of appeals held that it was compelled to follow its precedent and ruled for Hastings.

The majority opinion

Finally before the supreme court, a majority opinion authored by Justice N. Patrick Crooks affirmed Crandall. The court said that coverage limiting an insured to just those vehicles listed on the policy is clearly based on language of the UIM endorsement stating “for a covered auto” and the declarations page restricting coverage to autos specified as “covered.”

The court dismissed Lisowski’s arguments that “for a covered auto” in the UIM endorsement is merely introductory language with no substantive effect and that the endorsement changed the “covered auto” requirements of the declarations page. The court said that an endorsement only changes portions of a policy with which it conflicts and in this instance, “for a covered auto” has a substantive effect that is entirely consistent with the declarations page.

Quoting Crandall, the court further observed that the policy in question was taken out for a business purpose and “[i]t would be unexpected for this kind of policy to cover [the insured] and his family under circumstances wholly unrelated to [his] business.”

The court turned away the Lisowski’s efforts to find ambiguity in the inconsistent reference to a “covered auto” in the endorsement and the coverage definitions. The court found no discrepancies, stating that policy terms are not read in isolation.

Likewise, the court defused the Lisowski’s argument that “for a covered auto” should be deemed an exclusion and construed narrowly against Hastings under Wis. Stat. § 632.32 (5) (j). The court said that even if it were to find an exclusion, it complies with the statutory requirements imposed by § 632.32.

Dissent

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissented, joined by Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson. Bradley criticized the majority for ignoring essential portions of the policy and upending traditional insurance law.

Dennis Lisowski’s son was a family member residing at his father’s home, making him a Class I insured, Bradley said. Class I insureds have long been accorded coverage that follows them and not the vehicle.

Even the Hastings policy recognized the special status of Class I insureds, Bradley noted. The Hastings policy did not require Lisowski’s son to occupy a covered auto to receive coverage – that requirement is imposed on Class II insureds. The majority failed to give meaning to every part of the policy and consequently erased the established distinction between Class I and Class II insureds, she said.

Bradley also faulted the majority for disregarding the “obvious conflict between the covered auto language and the grant of coverage in the UIM endorsement.” She noted that when the court of appeals sought modification or reversal of Crandall, it said “for a covered auto” was merely introductory language and “plainly inconsistent with the provisions that follow it.”

“Although the majority proclaims that the language is clear and unambiguous, it does not necessarily make it so,” Bradley wrote. “Instead, all too often this court finds policy language unambiguous which then obviates the need for further meaningful analysis. I am reminded of the words of a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll: ‘I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.’

“Just because Wisconsin courts thrice proclaim that this language is clear and unambiguous, it makes [it] no more true than was the proclamation in Carroll’s poem,” she said.

By Alex De Grand, Legal Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin

C.J. Abrahamson Cites Foreign Law

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:43:42 EDT

SOURCE: Title: C.J. Abrahamson Cites Foreign Law, Gop3.com: The Triumvirate, Fighting Like Warriors and Thinking Right , Website link: http://gop3.com/2008/12/23/cj-abrahamson-cites-foreign-law/ Good as of: May 16, 2009.

C.J. Abrahamson Cites Foreign Law -from James Waibrot

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As you may know, April 2009 will feature another election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Incumbent Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson will face the voters in her bid for a fourth ten-year term on the state’s high court. As with Justice Butler last year, I will be using GOP3.com in the coming months as a platform to critique the Chief’s jurisprudence and to comment on the race.

Today marks the start of a conversation on this blog about the Chief’s judicial philosophy, especially as expressed in her past activities, writings, and opinions. Christmas is great for many reasons, but one of them is that it allows me the free time to blog more extensive, in-depth research. So here, without further ado, is a research memorandum on Chief Justice Abrahamson’s use of decisions by foreign courts in deciding Wisconsin cases.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson has issued a bold call for greater use and citation of foreign law in Wisconsin court decisions. In her article All the World’s a Courtroom: Judging in the New Millennium (26 Hofstra Law Review 273 – 1997), she argues that American courts should begin citing court decisions from other countries:

“Why do the political borders continue to matter so much for the American legal system? Are we lawyers and judges suffering from legal xenophobia? …
“[W]hen courts from around the world have written well-reasoned and provocative opinions in support of a position at odds with our familiar American views, we would do well to read carefully and take notes. …
“Why shouldn’t our experiences as American comparatists embolden more American lawyers and judges to explore the law of non-American jurisdictions in the same spirit? Why shouldn’t we take advantage of the comparatist instincts learned in our law schools and practiced in our courts by venturing farther afield?
“[W]e can cross the divide separating us from other jurisdictions around the world. And if we do so with the modest intent to borrow ideas on classifying, discussing, and solving a particular problem, we should not be deterred by unfamiliarity with foreign legal systems. We may fail to understand a particular system of law or even misinterpret some foreign decisions. Nevertheless, we may also find unexpected answers or new challenges to domestic legal issues. … In fact, foreign opinions could function like superstar amicus briefs, offering otherwise unavailable viewpoints, delivered from unique perspectives, by some of the world’s leading legal minds. …
“I suggest that American courts, although they rightly view themselves as independent, can surely strengthen and better convey their message if they are willing to broaden their vision. Hence, we should not deride a party who cites Canadian law. We should be citing Canadian law ourselves, along with law from the rest of the world. …
“[T]he world is now our courtroom.”

Several years earlier, she had written, “We can learn from the legal systems of other countries. Judges around the world have come to know about and learn from our legal system and our case law. We must be less provincial and must learn about theirs. Cases arising in Europe, Africa and Asia offer important lessons for us.” The Consumer and the Courts, 74 Judicature 93, 95 (1991). The Chief Justice’s beliefs on this matter are more than mere rhetoric. Her desire to see foreign law cited in American cases has influenced her own work on the Court:

This is most pronounced in her opinion in the Court’s most important statutory interpretation case, where she authored what might be labeled “the Canadian concurrence.” Discussing her approach to statutory interpretation, C.J. Abrahamson says, “I agree with the approach the Canadian courts take.” She then cites two decisions from the court of appeal for Ontario and one case from the Supreme Court of Canada arguing for statutory interpretation based on “total context.” Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane County, 2004 WI 58, ¶ 70.

In a majority opinion, C.J. Abrahamson compares Wisconsin statutes to Canadian laws. Foley v. City of West Allis, 113 Wis.2d 475, 487 n.9 (1983). Criticizing textualism, C.J. Abrahamson quotes a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel arguing for greater use of extrinsic sources in judicial interpretation. Fox v. Catholic Knights Ins. Soc., 2003 WI 37, ¶ 43, n.13 (Abrahamson, C.J., concurring). Discussing durable powers of attorney, C.J. Abrahamson says that “this area of law may be one in which we can learn from the experiences of other countries, especially England, Australia, and New Zealand.” Russ ex rel. Schwartz v. Russ, 2007 WI 83, ¶ 56 (Abrahamson, C.J., concurring). Though in none of these cases was the foreign law the deciding factor, her other writings speak very highly of the use of foreign law in American courts.

In praise of Chief Justice Abrahamson’s “perspective,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California has written (Ronald M. George, A Dedication to Shirley Abrahamson, 67 Alb. L. Rev. 647, 649 (2004)):

On an even more global scale, Chief Justice Abrahamson has shown herself to be intellectually curious and open-minded about ways in which she can apply the laws, decisions, and nuances of other states and nations to her own judicial body of work. She embraces the refreshing notion that narrow and provincial interpretations of the law do not make for good jurisprudence. As a human being, she can be modest and unassuming; as a jurist, those qualities translate into her generous respect for the legal systems of other states and cultures. … Aware, as always, of the rapidly-evolving legal landscape throughout the world, Chief Justice Abrahamson firmly believes that as jurists we have no choice but to adopt a global perspective.

Though Chief Justice Abrahamson’s comments and opinions are troubling standing alone, they are much more so when considered as part of the broader movement in the law towards citation of foreign decisions. Her article is part of a larger effort by judicial liberals to justify the influence of foreign courts in American jurisprudence. This judicial philosophy has even reached the Supreme Court of the United States, where opinions have cited decisions from the European Court of Human Rights, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, among others. In a major address, left-leaning Dean Harold Koh of Yale Law School described the Court’s majority as “transnationalist.” Echoing Chief Justice Abrahamson, he said that “U.S. courts should not simply look to whether something furthers the U.S. system. Now we are asking the question whether the U.S. should look to the promotion of an international system.”

Not everyone agrees with Chief Justice Abrahamson and the judicial liberals. Many prominent American jurists and scholars believe that America is a unique nation, and that her courts should refuse the twin temptations of judicial activism and foreign citations. These analysts believe foreign law is a way for American judicial activists to impose other nations’ values on Americans. Wisconsin voters should keep C.J. Abrahamson’s record on this matter in their minds as they consider whether to support her in April.

Dear Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson,

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:36:56 EDT

The letter Chief Justice Shirley Abramson doesn’t get, and that goes instead to my state representatives.

Dear state representative I want you to read what I would like to day to Shirley Abrahmson:

Dear Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson,

I did phone calling for you through the portage county office with some of the other portage county democrats in Stevens Point Wisconsin.

I am so glad, YOU HELD THE POSITION AND KEPT IT!

I called for you from the Portage County Democratic group and am so glad you won. Please I didn't get a chance to talk to you about the specifics, but for being against outside interests that do not work in our state. I hope you will continue to make sure insurance agencies do not shrink coverage because one who caused the accidents insurance has coverage too.

I was in a car accident in Wisconsin and owe American Family Insurance and they forced me into an agreement to pay 50 dollars a month when I was only on disability and as a result I may now not be able to bankrupt this bill and although I can't afford to pay it and know in a perfect world I could. Can American Family make as now a result of me having paid 50 dollars a month when I could barely afford it a contractual reason that they should be able to make me pay for another 10 years. They had me sign something when I was paying… Also if I didn’t sign, they somehow made it where the DMV would not allow me to drive my car because I could not have my car license.

P.S. Now I am going bankrupt for the second time in my life first time it was on only “only 2,500” dollars worth of credit card debt I couldn’t control. This time it is for “over 10,000” in unsecured debt along with an accident payment from an insurance company I can’t afford being over 30,000 in debt if I also count the part that is a destructed pole by the accident of the person I hit or hit me, and then hit a pole as a result of me not going through that red stop sign that should have been a stop light. When I was a member of the Wood County Traffic Commission as a student leader – one of two for the out lying counties, I attended the traffic commission decisions with a vote. I told the commission in the county near rapids this time with the help of a few DOT friends – you need a light, not a stop sign there. They didn’t listen – I hope everything stayed alright – I almost died and had requested they look into it as is my right and the law, I sure hop the he’ll they did.

You know as a reflect back on what my family has always taught me I remember – always have insurance to drive – I never realized until I learned the hard way what might just happen on some emotional level - I could see the poor pathway but not feel the consequence! I am both glad for the insurance industries existence even as private to help measure risk and then insure me and it’s my fault I wasn’t insured. I wouldn’t be able to bankrupt if the insurance company couldn’t afford to loose what I know owe them-thank God they invest soundly! ( Something I should learn from the insurance company too…) Now the government helps me pay my insurance by forcing the insurance agency to let me pay SR-22, and I am covered but pay less. I wish I would’ve had this before the accident based on my income and have been advised to apply. I also wish/see that Shirley Abramson has not bowed down to out of state special interest groups like in the area of insurance, where insurance companies are saying they should be able to say that is there is say a 200,000 and the first insured had 200,000 in insurance, while the accident at fault insured had 100,000 that their the company of the first insured’s liability to pay out should only be the 100,000 left needed to cover what they originally promised. Shirley Abrahamson points out the original insured pay premiums for 200,000 in her decisions and that the other 100,000 means the obligation between the insurance companies to solve the problem is 300,000 – 200,000 from the insured, and up to 100,000 from the at fault accident insured and that for the one company to say they can pay less or deny coverage on more than a 100,000 when the premiums were for 200,000 is not fair and not right and that that insurance company will cover up to what it promised to cover for the premiums it charged.

ONCE AGAIN, I SAY YEAH and YAHOO FOR THE ELECTION OF SHIRLEY ABRAHSON ONCE AGAIN AS WISCONSIN’s SEPREME COURT JUSTICE. I want the people to know and realize that and I want the Wisconsin Democrats to remember that next time SHRLEY ABRAHMSON runs for re-election!

Sincerely,

James T. Waisbrot

“I was there, when Sen. Barack Obama Spoke at Campaign Event in Green Bay, Wisconsin” -I still remember! -Jim Waisbrot (now Portage County Democrat district 7)

James Waisbrot PCD and OFA — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:24:06 EDT

“I was there, when Sen. Barack Obama Spoke at Campaign Event in Green Bay, Wisconsin - I still remember!”

- Jim Waisbrot (now Portage County Democrat, member-at-large on the executive board, District 7)

SOURCE: Washington Post, Title: Sen. Barack Obama Speaks at Campaign Event in Green Bay, Wisconsin. WebsiteLink: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092201500_5.html Good as of: May 16, 2009.

Sen. Barack Obama Speaks at Campaign Event in Green Bay, Wisconsin

CQ Transcripts Wire
Monday, September 22, 2008; 2:36 PM

SPEAKER: SEN. BARACK OBAMA, D-ILL.

[On the Need for the End of the era of greed and responsibility on Wall Street and in Washington.]:

[*] OBAMA: The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has led us to a perilous moment. They said they wanted to let the market run free but instead they let it run wild, and in doing so, they tramped our core values of fairness, balance, and responsibility to one another. As a result, we are facing a financial crisis as profound as any we have faced since the Great Depression. As a result, your jobs, your savings, and your economic security are now at risk.

This week, we must work quickly, in a bipartisan fashion, to resolve this crisis and avert an even broader economic catastrophe. And as we do act, Washington must recognize that true economic recovery requires addressing not just the crisis on Wall Street, but the crisis on Main Street that so many of you have been feeling in your own lives long before the news of last week. We need a plan that helps families stay in their homes, and workers keep their jobs; a plan that gives hardworking Americans relief instead of using taxpayer dollars to reward CEOs on Wall Street. And we cannot give a blank check to Washington with no oversight and accountability when no oversight and accountability is what got us into this mess in the first place.

But no matter what solution we finally decide on this week, it is absolutely imperative that we get to work immediately on reforming the broken politics and the broken government that allowed this to crisis to happen in the first place.

We did not arrive at this moment by some accident of history. We are in this mess because of a bankrupt philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to the rest of us.

We're here because for too long, the doors of Washington have been thrown open to an army of lobbyists and special interests who've turned our government into a game only they can afford to play - who have shredded consumer protections, fought against common-sense regulations and rules of the road, and distorted our economy so that it works for them instead of you.

We are here because an ethic of irresponsibility has swept through our government, leaving politicians with the belief that they can waste billions and billions of your money on no-bid contracts for friends and contributors, slip pork projects into bills during the dead of night, and spend billions on corporate tax breaks we can't afford and old programs that we don't need.

[And today, even as Congress debates an emergency plan to save our economy from the verge of collapse…]:

And today, even as Congress debates an emergency plan to save our economy from the verge of collapse, there are reports that lobbyists and CEOs are already lining up to figure out what's in it for them; to find out how they can get theirs.

Green Bay, enough is enough.

I began this race for the presidency as the one candidate who hasn't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know this - if we want a government that puts the needs of middle-class families before the whims of lobbyists and politicians; if we want to grow this economy and prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again, then the ways of Washington must change. We must reform our lobbyist-driven politics. We must reform the waste and abuse in our government. We must reform the rules of the road that let Wall Street run wild and stuck Main Street with the bill. We must change Washington now.

This has been our message from the day we began this campaign. Our opponent, on the other hand, has spent much of the last nineteen months arguing that what qualifies him to be President are the decades he's spent in Washington.

But with forty-two days left, he's had a sudden change of heart. An election-time conversion. After twenty-six years in Washington - years where he voted for the same trickle-down, on-your-own policies that got us into this mess - he now claims that he's the one who can clean it up.

Well let's be clear. When it comes to regulatory reform, Senator McCain has fought time and time again against the common-sense rules of the road that could've prevented this crisis. His economic plan was written by Phil Gramm, the architect in the US Senate of the de- regulatory steps that helped cause this mess. Even knowing what we know now, Senator McCain said in an interview just last night that de-regulation actually helped grow our economy. Well that might be true for the profits of a few CEOs, but it's certainly not true for America's prosperity.

When it comes to taking on the special interests, my opponent sounds like Fighting Bob Lafollette. But he acts like a guy who's spent three decades of his life in Washington. He's put seven of the biggest corporate lobbyists in charge of his campaign - lobbyists for the insurance industry and the oil industry; for foreign governments and Freddie and Fannie Mac, who paid his campaign manager nearly $2 million to defend them against stricter regulations. I guess they got their money's worth.

And rest assured, those lobbyists who are working day and night to elect my opponent aren't doing it to put themselves out of business.

When it comes to reforming government waste and spending, Senator McCain talks a lot about earmarks. And while he deserves credit for not requesting many of those earmarks during his time in Congress, what he never mentions is that he voted for 144 billion dollars worth in just six years; or that he voted for four out of the five Bush budgets that have been filled with special interests giveaways and left us with the largest deficit in history.

The truth is, our earmark system in Washington is fraught with abuse. It badly needs reform - which is why I didn't request a single earmark last year, why I've released all my previous requests for the public to see, and why I've pledged to slash earmarks by more than half when I am President.

But let's not pretend, as John McCain does, that proposing the elimination of 18 billion dollars of earmarks will make up for the more than 300 billion additional dollars he wants to spend on tax breaks for big corporations and multi-millionaires that don't need them and weren't asking for them - more than 300 billion dollars at a time when taxpayers are being asked to help finance two wars and a historic financial bailout. That's some pretty creative math, but it doesn't add up to is change. And change in Washington is what we need right now.

This change will not be easy. It will require reforming our politics by taking power away from the lobbyists who kill good ideas and good plans with secret meetings and campaign checks. It will require reforming our government by taking on the spending habits of both parties and going after the tax havens and loopholes that big corporations use to avoid paying their fare share while you pay more. And it will require reforming our out-dated, unfair regulatory system that favors Wall Street over Main Street but has ended up hurting both.

[On Reforming our Politics…]:

But I am ready to reform our politics because I've done it before. I've spent my career taking on lobbyists and their money, and I've won. When I was a state Senator in Illinois, if you wanted a favor, there was actually a law that let you give campaign cash to politicians for their own personal use. In the State House, they called it business-as-usual. I called it legalized bribery, and while it didn't make me the most popular guy in Springfield, I put an end to it. I brought Democrats and Republicans together, and we passed the first ethics reform in twenty-five years.

When I got to Washington, Jack Abramoff and his lobbyist pals had engaged in some of the worst corruption since Watergate. I led the fight for reform in my party, and let me tell you - not everyone in my party was too happy about it. When I proposed forcing lobbyists to disclose who they're raising money from and who in Congress they're funneling it to, I had a few choice words directed my way on the floor of the Senate. But we got it done, and we banned gifts from lobbyists, and discounted rides on their corporate jets. And I'm the only candidate in this race who can say that Washington lobbyists do not fund my campaign, you do - with donations of $100, and $10, and $5.

I also joined with one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress to end the abuse that allowed no-bid contracts to waste taxpayer dollars instead of using them to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Katrina. And we worked together to put the federal government's checkbook online - so you can see how and where Washington is spending trillions of dollars of your money.

For years, I have also pushed for reform of the same loose regulations and lax oversight that could've prevented the crisis we're in. It was two years ago that I introduced legislation to stop mortgage transactions that promoted fraud, risk or abuse. It was one year ago that I called on our Treasury Secretary and our Fed Chairman to bring every stakeholder together and find a solution to the subprime mortgage meltdown before it got worse. In March, when John McCain was saying "I'm always for less regulation," I called for a new, 21st century regulatory framework to restore accountability, transparency, and trust in our financial markets.

These are the types of reform I will pursue beginning on my very first day in office as President of the United States - political reform, government reform, and regulatory reform.

First, I'll reform our special interest-driven politics. When I am President, I will start by closing the revolving door in the White House that has allowed people to use their Administration job as a stepping stone to further their lobbying careers.

I'll make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama Administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer, or your bank account - it's about serving your country. When you walk into my administration, you will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to your former employer for two years. And when you leave, you will not be able to lobby my Administration - ever. I will also institute an absolute gift ban so that no registered lobbyist can curry favor with members of my administration based on how much they can spend on a fancy dinner.

[On Making Government Transparent:]

I'll make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people's business. As Justice Louis Brandeis once said, sunlight is the greatest disinfectant. As President, I will make it impossible for Congressmen or lobbyists to slip pork-barrel projects or corporate welfare into laws when no one is looking because when I am president, meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public. No more secrecy.

When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as President, you will have five days to look online and find out what's in it before I sign it. When there are meetings between lobbyists and a government agency, we will put as many as possible online for every American to watch. When there is a tax bill being debated in Congress, you will know the names of the corporations that would benefit and how much money they would get. And we will put every corporate tax break and every pork-barrel project online for every American to see. You will know who asked for them and you can cast your vote accordingly.

The second set of reforms I'll make will eliminate the waste, fraud, and abuse in our government.

if ( show_doubleclick_ad && ( adTemplate & INLINE_ARTICLE_AD ) == INLINE_ARTICLE_AD && inlineAdGraf ) { placeAd('ARTICLE',commercialNode,20,'inline=y;',true) ; } We are facing the largest deficit in history. We are facing the largest government bailout in history. And we are also facing some of the greatest challenges in our history. All of this will cost money - to fix our health care system, and our schools, and build a new energy economy. And the only way we can do all this without leaving our children with an even larger debt is if Washington starts taking responsibility for every dime that it spends.

We can start by ending a war in Iraq that is costing us $10 billion a month when the Iraqi government is sitting on a $79 billion surplus. We should also stop sending fifteen billion dollars a year in overpayments to insurance companies for Medicare and go after tens of billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid fraud. We need to stop sending three billion a year to banks that provide student loans the government could provide for less, and hundreds of millions a year in subsidies to agribusiness that can survive just fine without your tax dollars and use some of the money to help family farmers who are struggling. I will put an end to this waste when I am President.

I am not a Democrat who believes that we can or should defend every government program just because it's there. There are some that don't work like we had hoped - like the Bush Administration's billion- dollar-a-year reading program that hasn't improved our children's reading. And there are some that have been duplicated by other programs that we just need to cut back - like waste at the Economic Development Agency and the Export-Import Bank that has become little more than a fund for corporate welfare.

I understand there are parts of these programs worth defending and politicians of both parties who will do so. But if we hope to meet the challenges of our time, we must make difficult choices. As President, I will go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line, and I will eliminate the programs that don't work and aren't needed.

As for the programs we do need, I will make them work better and cost less. I will create a High-Performance Team that evaluates every agency and every office based on how well they're serving the American taxpayer. We will fire government managers who aren't getting results, we will cut funding for programs that are wasting your money, and we will use technology and lessons from the private sector to improve efficiency across every level of government - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

I will also save billions of dollars by cutting private contractors and improving management of the hundreds of billions of dollars our government spends on private contracts, and I will end the abuse of no-bid contracts for good. One employee of a former Halliburton subsidiary actually admitted that he was ordered to put his company's logo on towels provided to U.S. troops because our government - our tax dollars - would pay for it no matter how much it cost. That is wasteful, that is wrong, and that will end when I am President.

And for all his talk about earmark abuse, what Senator McCain doesn't mention these days is the corporate abuse of our tax system - abuse that has cost far more than earmarks ever have. In 2003, loopholes and tax breaks allowed 28 major corporations to actually have negative tax liabilities. We lose $100 billion every year because corporations get to set up mailboxes offshore so they can avoid paying a dime of taxes in America. Imagine if you got to do that? There is a building right now in the Cayman Islands that is the address for 18,000 corporations. Well that is either the biggest building in the world or the biggest sham in the world, and I think we know which one it is. I will shut down those offshore tax havens and all those corporate loopholes as President, because you shouldn't have to pay higher taxes because some big corporation cut corners to avoid paying theirs. All of us have a responsibility to pay our fair share. That's putting country first.

Finally, the third set of reforms I will pursue are the updated, common-sense regulations of the financial market that I've been calling for since March; rules of the road that will make Wall Street fair, open, and honest; that will ensure a crisis like this can never happen again.

I've outlined six principles that such reforms should follow. First, if you're a financial institution that can borrow from the government, you should be subject to government oversight and supervision. Taxpayers who have now been called upon to spend nearly a trillion dollars to save our economy from the excesses of Wall Street have every right to expect that financial institutions are not taking excessive risks.

Second, we need to reform requirements on all regulated financial institutions, investigate rating agencies and potential conflicts of interest with the people they are rating, and establish transparency requirements that demand full disclosure by financial institutions to shareholders.

Third, we need to streamline our overlapping and competing regulatory agencies that cannot oversee the large and complex institutions that dominate the financial landscape.

Fourth, we need to regulate institutions for what they do, not what they are. Over the last few years, commercial banks and thrift institutions were subject to guidelines on subprime mortgages that did not apply to mortgage brokers and companies. This regulatory framework failed to protect homeowners, and made no sense for our financial system.

Fifth, we need to crack down on trading activity that crosses the line to market manipulation. We need regulators that actually enforce the rules instead of overlooking them. The SEC should investigate and punish all market manipulation.

Sixth, we must establish a process that identifies systemic risks to the financial system like the crisis that has overtaken our economy. We need a standing financial market advisory group to meet regularly and provide advice to the President, Congress, and regulators on the state of our financial markets and the risks they face. It's time to anticipate risks before they erupt into a full- blown crisis.

These are the principles that should guide the reforms we need to establish a 21st century regulatory system - a system that recognizes our free market economy has only worked because we have guided the market's invisible hand with a higher principle - that America prospers when all Americans can prosper.

To restore this prosperity, we must change Washington. We must reform our regulations, our politics, and our government, but we will not be able to make these changes with the same policies, the same lobbyists, or the same Washington culture that allows politicians and special interests to set their own agenda.

That's exactly what we will get from John McCain. After twenty- six years of being part of this Washington culture, all that he has changed is his slogan for the fall campaign. And the people in charge of that campaign prove that if we elect John McCain, it's not a team of mavericks we'll be sending to the White House - it's a team of lobbyists.

We can't afford four more years of that kind of politics. We need real change.

It won't be easy. The kind of change we're looking for never is. What we are up against is a very powerful, entrenched status quo in Washington who will say anything and do anything and fight with everything they've got to keep things just the way are.

But I feel good about our chances, because I've got something more powerful than they do: I've got you. In this campaign, you have already shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.

Change has always come from places like Wisconsin - the state where the progressive movement was born; where laws were passed to regulate the railroads and insurance companies; laws that protected consumers and the safety of factory workers. It was a movement rooted in a principle that was known as the Wisconsin Idea - the idea that government works best in the hands of the people, not the special interests; that your voices should speak louder than the whispers of lobbyists.

That's the Wisconsin idea. That's the America idea. And that's the kind of government we need right now.

So if you want the next four years in Washington to look just like the last eight, then I am not your candidate. But if you want real change - if you want to shine a bright light into the backrooms of Washington; if you want to replace the special interests with your interests, if you want a government that costs less and works better for everyday Americans, then I ask you to knock on some doors, and make some calls, and talk to your neighbors, and give me your vote on November 4th. And if you do, I promise you - we will change America together. Thank you.

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Russ Feingold: Every Vote Makes a Difference

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:38:04 EDT

Joseph from HQ made stops up to the Fox River Valley Yesterday to swing by a pair of campus events with U.S. Russ Feingold. Here's what he found:

In front of two packed houses at Lawrence University in Appleton and University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh, Senator Russ Feingold encouraged students and non-students alike to give one final push in these last but crucial days of the campaign. At this point in the game, the most important thing a supporter can do to get Barack elected, is to help get out the vote, he told the cheering crowds.

Fiengold -- on a tour of six central Wisconsin college campuses this week -- set out to rally supporters and encourage them all to vote early. "It's important that as many people as possible are available to help on election day," Fiengold said.

The three-term U.S. Senator pointed to the first time he was elected as an example for why every ounce of help makes a difference. "In 1982, I ran for the State Senate. I was 29, running against a well-established 83 year-old incumbent. I knocked on over 15,000 doors and at first count, I had lost by 19 votes. After three weeks of recounting, I ended up winning by 31 votes. The only reason I'm here today is because of the hard work my supporters gave me a the last minute."

Take it as a lesson learned, he emphasized. "I need you to push at the last minute to get the kind of victory we need."

Working for Change in Kenosha

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:19:04 EDT

Here's another dispatch from Joseph here at HQ -- this time from Kenosha

When Richard first heard Barack Obama speak two years ago, he felt like he had stepped into a time machine and transported back to the 1970s, a time Richard remembers, as one filled with hope and endless possibilities.

"I felt we had hope for a change. When I left the rally, I felt enlightened...Barack was a breath of fresh air."

The long-time Kenosa resident is joined by Jeremy in holding hope for a better future. The economics student is a former Republican who grew disillusioned with the divisive politics of the GOP and John McCain. He points to Barack's ability to bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans as a necessary and crucial step to helping America reach its potential.

"I feel that Barack's absolutely inclusive of all people. He's the leader that wil make decisions that help everyone in this country. Seeing Colin Powell support Obama was something else. He's a former hero of mine and to see him support someone I believe in is amazing."

He believes this campaign is about not only the economy, but also social issues. "Whether it's for LGBT rights or people with disabilities, I know Obama will do great work on that."

Richard, who suffers from a disability, complete's the circle:

"As handicapped people, we're not treated equally. I think Barack will make it better for everyone, for all human beings in this country."

Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office, invite your friends and family to vote early or reach out to voters today!

Wausau Daily Herald Endorses Barack

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:42:55 EDT

The distinctly different challenges the United States faces today demand a deliberative, steady and thoughtful leader who will guide our nation through what are sure to be a very perilous next four years.

Barack Obama is the man for that job.

[...]

We base our endorsement not just upon Obama's promise of hope and change, but also upon his positions on issues of importance to Americans.

Read the entire editorial here.

Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office, invite you friends and family to vote early or reach out to voters today!

"We have to Work like Our Future Depends on it this Last Week, Because it does Depend on it this Week"

Ian Jungbacker — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:15:45 EDT

See the whole speech here.

Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office, invite you friends and family to vote early or reach out to voters today!

Bringing Hope to Janesville!

Ian Jungbacker — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:27:00 EDT
Joseph from HQ brings us another update from the road.

The Milton Street campaign office in Janesville has a unique buzz about it. Sure, it looks like your typical office -- mounds of paraphernalia posted on all the walls and windows, papers strewn about and empty boxes of candy stacked by the recycling bin -- but the people who volunteer in this office give it a much different feel.

Trying to sit down with any of the volunteers for a brief interview proves to be a small challenge. Every two minutes someone new walks into the office asking for a yard sign, stickers, or information on how to vote early. As one volunteer tends to the visitor, another walks in and is cared for by a second volunteer. The chatter brings the office to life; every sentence ends with an upwards, positive inflection. In a city that has been hit hard by the GM plant closing, this campaign has taken on a special meaning -- there's a cautious hope in the air.

John has lived in Janesville his entire life - over 40 years. He voted for Barack Obama in the primaries, inspired by his economic policy. "His message is really important here in Janesville, he says. John's brother has worked at GM for over 20 years and has been hit hard by news of the closing. John was encouraged by Barack's emphasis on having the federal government assist the auto industry:

"Janesville has been making SUVs; our hope is that another product could be lined up. It's something that speaks to us because the economy is in precarious shape."

"Just seeing the decay of the middle class" spurns Lisa, another dedicated volunteer at this office, as she explains why she and her husband got involved in a political campaign for the first time in their lives. "I heard Barack speak and he stirred something in me like never before." Lisa wants to see the America she remembers returned:

"He made me feel like there was hope for this country, the country I grew up in, the one my father fought for in World War Two."

The Kenosha News Endorses Barack Obama

Ian Jungbacker — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:12:56 EDT

We strongly encourage readers to vote for Barack Obama for president.

[...]

By contrast [to McCain's campaign], Obama has been steady, thoughtful and inspirational. His "change-we-can-believe-in" campaign inspired thousands of people to get involved in politics for the first time. He's a Harvard lawyer, but he worked as a community organizer and consumer advocate before he went to law school. He has risen from humble beginnings to run for president.

In this brilliant campaign, he has earned our vote.

You can find the whole editorial here.

Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office, invite you friends and family to vote early or reach out to voters today!

Looking at the Big Picture in Wisconsin Rapids

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:10:18 EDT
Here's another dispatch from Joseph from HQ -- this one comes from a recent stop in Wisconsin Rapids.

Nationwide, Barack Obama has inspired a generation of young Americans to get involved in the political process. Evidence of this is on full display at the Wisconsin Rapids field office. Walk in at 5:00 p.m. on any given day and you'll find Jamie working the phones tirelessly.

The 23 year-old University of Wisconsin graduate is an "intense" observer of politics. Having started out as a Republican in high school, she's now heavily involved in the campaign to get Barack Obama elected to the White House. She's doing so because she wants to see America live up to its promise:

"While Obama will have a heavy burden, I think he's better positioned to help our image abroad."

Having studied abroad and graduating with a degree in International Studies, Jamie is keeping a close eye on what this election means for America's position in the world. And she's not alone.

Sitting a couple feet over from her is Debby, a retired social worker who has also chosen to support Obama because of his foreign policy:

"The war is a major issue. I have been primarily concerned about people being killed in Iraq."

She means it. Debby, like Barack, has been against the War in Iraq since it began in 2003. Now she and her like-minded neighbors make phone calls every Sunday night to help promote Obama's plan to end the war responsibly. It's the first time Debby has been this involved in a presidential campaign and she attributes who motivation to Obama's youth and energy.

Join Jamie, Debby and the thousands of supporters around Wisconsin working for change this election season!Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office, invite you friends and family to vote early or reach out to voters today!

Barack Obama is Endorsed by the La Crosse Tribune

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:50:20 EDT

The La Crosse Tribune endorses Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrat from Illinois, to provide the change in leadership, hope and vision we need to restore faith in our future and restore trust among our world partners.

[...]

Obama combines the discipline of pay-as-you-go budgeting with plans to reinvest in our crumbling national infrastructure and reduce our carbon emissions by 80 percent by the middle of this century -- a more thoughtful, visionary approach to an energy policy than simply crying, "Drill, Baby, Drill."

[...]

We believe Barack Obama will provide the leadership and inspiration we need.

Check out the whole endorsement. For a look back on Barack's visit to La Crosse earlier this month, click here and here.

Write a letter to the editor of you local newspaper and tell them why you support Barack!

Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office, invite you friends and family to vote early or reach out to voters today!

The Chippewa Herald Endorses Barack Obama

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:12:09 EDT

Americans feel the need for new leadership, a renewal of our national spirit, and a desperate need to pull together in tough times.
This election is about such needs, not individual planks in a campaign platform. That's why the Herald endorses Barack Obama for president.
[...]
Restoring health to the nation's economy will be even more difficult considering the mess that the nation finds itself in at this point. It will likely require patience, sacrifice and a positive attitude from the American people. That will require inspirational leadership from the nation's president, and there is every reason to believe that is Obama's greatest strength.

Read the whole editorial here.

Help get out the vote for Barack Obama today -- find your local Campaign for Change office or invite you friends and family to vote early today!

Adams County is Ready for Change

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:49:32 EDT
Joseph from HQ is winding his way through the heat of America's Dairyland on his tour of the Badger State. He stopped by the Campaign for Change office in Adams County to check out what's been going on in central Wisconsin.

Adams may be a small town, but the folks here are pulling a herculean effort to bring a change to America.

"After the primaries, there was an expectation that Clinton supporters wouldn't come out for Obama," says Steve. "But there was none of that -- people jumped in to help Obama. I can't believe the number of volunteers we have."

It's not enough that this small town is focused on painting its own county blue on November 4th -- they're lending a hand to surrounding districts including Madison and Milwaukee.

So involved are they in helping Madison out, many will be voting early. "I'll be voting early because we're all going to Madison on Election Day to help get out the vote, says Bonnie, a frequent volunteer in the Adams office.

It's something Bonnie doesn't take for granted:

"Some people tell me they're not going to vote. But I tell them, 'you have to think ahead for your children and grandchildren."

Karen, a seasoned volunteer, has been phoning voters in Madison to encourage them to vote early "because lines will be long" on Election Day.

"I spoke to one man in La Crosse who waited four hours to vote in 2004. He got fed up and went home without voting, The voter turnout will be tremendous this year, and it's important to vote early."

It's incredible to see such a motivated community bringing change to neighboring communities. Help them make a difference. Call neighbors, volunteer, help get out the vote.

Don't delay! Email your friends and family today to vote early!

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Endorses Barack Obama

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:45:26 EDT

The Bush administration has bumbled from crisis to crisis for nearly eight years, competence gone AWOL. The nation needs resuscitating change like a new baby needs that first breath of air.

Two would-be successors pledge it. But Barack Obama is more believable. We recommend him to be the 44th president of the United States.

Obama's vision and potential to be that change agent trump his relative lack of experience, though the experience he possesses is valuable. The maturity and calm demeanor he has exhibited these past two years in the public spotlight and earlier, speak to able, careful, inclusive leadership. And he is simply the better of the two on the issues.

Read the whole editorial here.

Get involved! Help get out the vote for Barack Obama!

A Look at the Campaign for Change in Sauk County

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:33:10 EDT
Joseph from HQ sends more news from the road making a quick swing through Baraboo for a frop-by the Campaign for Change office in Sauk County. Here's what he found:

Throughout this campaign, Barack Obama has encouraged people to take ownership of the political process. That's exactly what a close-knit team of volunteers in Baraboo are doing.

Cynthia, a Michigan native who has lived in Baraboo for the past five years, volunteers three days a week, "I assist in the office. It's almost therapeutic."

Cynthia enjoys the bottom-up, grassroots approach that Obama has inspired. "I think Barack emphasizes we will work together, not I".

Working together has become a trademark for this team. "This team's done very well. They meet every Monday night and they all attend. They have taken on ownership of their roles," says Sarah, the Sauk County field organizer.

Team Leader Susan, a retired first-grade teacher is the architect of the team. Having volunteered on the Kerry campaign in 2004 she tapped her fellow '04 teammates to help Obama, and they were all eager to pitch in. "It's been a wonderful experience ever since," she says.

As fellow team member Nick, a 16-year resident of Baraboo, says, it's only natural in these circumstances:

You know when people are focused on something good, it's a momentous occasion. I've never seen anything like it in Baraboo before.

Join Cynthia, Susan and Nick in taking politics into your own hands -- get your friends to vote early or find the nearest Campaign for Change office and volunteer to Get out the Vote!

Vote With Your Friends!

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:54:57 EDT

There's still time to get your friends involved in Barack's movement for change.

Arrange a time to vote early with your friends today!

Barack is Endorsed by the Stevens Point Journal

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:38:01 EDT
The Stevens Point Journal is the latest Wisconsin newspaper to endorse Barack Obama:

[Obama's] campaign is rooted in providing hope and inspiring Americans to find new solutions to combat problems in this new century. This philosophy is important considering the challenges the next president will face during the next four years, among them crafting a new strategy for Iraq and a financial system in tatters in part because of the skewing of wealth into fewer hands.

Obama also has excited people about the democratic process like few candidates in recent memory. Millions of potential voters considered "on the fringe" -- young adults, African Americans and Latinos -- have been energized to become involved and active in government.

Join the movement for change -- sign up to help get out the vote today!

Voices for Change: Jean Marie in Madison

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:54:57 EDT

Our friend Joseph here at Wisconsin HQ is traveling around Wisconsin talking with some of the amazing volunteers who have made Barack's movement for change possible. Joseph will be filing reports from all over the Badger state during the next few days -- stop by for more great stories of remarkable people working for change.

Like many Obama supporters across the state, Jean Marie was inspired by Barack's message of hope and change to get involved in politics for the first time in her life.

I watched the primaries, and for Barack Obama to be our choice - I sat there in awe. I couldn't be more thrilled to do what it takes to get him elected.

Jean Marie -- a nurse at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and mother of four -- soon learned that she wasn't alone in her excitement for Barack's message of change. After visiting Barack's website and seeing an invitation to attend the opening of the Monroe Street Campaign for Change office in Madison, she chose to attend, and expected only a handful of people to attend.

But the place was packed -- overflowing onto the street, more than anyone could have imagined.

And she hasn't looked back since. Having logged over 800 phone calls since September, she has become an integral part of the campaign in Wisconsin. She's a phone bank virtuoso, using the phones to persuade folks from around the state to join Barack's movement for change, all the while recruiting out-of-state supporters to Drive to Wisconsin for Election Day

Jean Marie gets her energy from the people she speaks with. Her most memorable call was with Lois, a 74 year-old life-long Republican. Jean Marie was expecting the call to be hostile, but found that both Lois and her husband were leaning towards Obama.

After asking her why, we talked and we talked. This kind of work is about people's stories. Lois is courageous to be open-minded to think of changing her life-long affiliation.

Perhaps it's these kind of calls that help Jean Marie believe that "change is possible to take this titanic country and steer it in the right direction." She's keenly aware that there are still 11 long days left in this campaign. "We can't take anything for granted."

And so she will continue to be welcome fixture at the Monroe Street campaign office. Working overtime to get out the vote in Wisconsin, Jean Marie is no doubt an inspiration to those around her. Like so many others, she has taken ownership of this campaign.

There's only a few days left to join Join Jean Marie -- sign up to win Wisconsin for Barack today!

Gov. Janet Napolitano Barnstorms through Wisconsin

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:53:49 EDT
Arziona Governor Janet Napolitano began a tour of Wisconsin yesterday by stopping by the Campaign for Change's Madison field office.

From the Badger Herald:

“Wisconsin is a battleground state, and we have got to get the vote out,” Napolitano said. Napolitano emphasized the differences between Obama and Republican John McCain, who is also from Arizona, saying their economic policies differ greatly, with McCain giving tax cuts to the wealthy while Obama focuses more on the middle class.

Gov. Napolitano and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar also headlined the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's annual Elanor Roosevelt Dinner last night. From Wispolitics.com:

Napolitano said Eleanor Roosevelt’s call to women in 1933 to engage in the political process as never before and to unite to solve the nation’s problems remains essential to “the new New Deal that we’re going to inaugurate in this country in January.”

She recalled her work as chairwoman of the Democratic Party’s national platform committee, where she served with U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, in calling the Obama-Biden ticket “the strongest on women’s issues in history.”

Napolitano will be making appearances today in Stevens Point, Appleton, West Bend and Oak Creek.

Barack Obama's Message to First Americans

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:20:23 EDT

News from Around Wisconsin

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:31:08 EDT
Former Republican State Senator Barbara Lorman of Jefferson County is endorsing Barack Obama. The trailblazing Lorman was the first Republican woman to serve in the state Senate and the first woman from any party to win re-election to the body.

From the Capital Times:

"I'm a lifelong Republican, but Senator Obama is the right leader for our country and will deliver the change we need," she says. "After taking a careful look at the qualities of both McCain and Obama and who would be best for our country, I found that Senator Obama's ability to bridge the partisan divide to work toward solid solutions that will get our nation back on the right track meant he is the right choice this November."

Lorman joins Republicans from all over the state in supporting Barack.

Early voting is a big hit in Milwaukee, according to WTMJ-4:

There are only two weeks until Election Day, but why wait?

You can vote now if you're ready.

An unprecedented number of people have already cast their ballot in Milwaukee.

The city is seeing 500 early voters a day, and they're not alone. It's been busy at city halls and town halls all across the state.

Don't wait! Vote today ... and bring your friends!

The Jefferson County Union was at UW-Whitewater yesterday, where Gov. Doyle recalled how he came to support Barack during Wisconsin's February primary:

[I]n my case, my two sons - one in his early thirties and one in his late twenties, along with my daughters-in-law - just kept after me to support (Obama)."

Doyle noted that at first, he gave his children pat answers.

"But then I decided I needed to look through their eyes, not necessarily my eyes," the governor recalled. "In their eyes, Barack Obama showed he was a candidate that could build a great future. He was a candidate that represented getting past political fights that have gone on for 40 years. The divisions that happened in the 1960s have been fighting for 40 years. With Obama, we had a candidate that was a candidate that showed us what the future could be."

And last, but not least, the Capital Times became the second Wisconsin newspaper to endorse Barack.

Read the whole editorial here.

Around Wisconsin: Campaign for Change is in Full Swing!

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:02:11 EDT
With only two weeks left until Wisconsin goes to the polls the Campaign for Change is charging to the finish line at full speed.

Here's some news from around the Badger State:

In Janesville the Gazette has a wonderful profile on the flurry of activity buzzing around the local Obama Campaign for Change office:

[Gina] Smith, 56, of Janesville is among hundreds of volunteers across the state who are spending several hours each week making phone calls and going door-to-door in their communities, talking to voters about Obama.

"(The local campaign headquarters) is the up-close and personal connection between the campaign and the community," said Phil Walzak, communications director for the Obama campaign in Wisconsin. "It's the vehicle by which our campaign talks to voters on a one-on-one basis. It's the home base for activity."

The Obama campaign is "robust" in Wisconsin with 50 offices across the state, not only in areas that are Democratic strongholds but also in areas that are staunchly Republican, he said. And the success of the campaign in a battleground state such as Wisconsin depends on volunteers who week after week spread the word about Obama, he said.

In Racine the Journal Times reports on a visit to the local Campaign for Change office by Gov. Jim Doyle. The paper notes that Barack's movement for change won't just stop on November 4th:

Earlier, while waiting for [Gov.] Doyle to appear, Obama volunteer Brent Nance of Caledonia said the grass-roots organization working on Obama's behalf will be active even beyond Nov. 4.

"Obama is taking his training (as a community political organizer) and spreading it nationwide," said Nance, an Obama "team member" for a segment of Caledonia. Each city has a set of teams, he explained, that work together and become acquainted with each other during the campaign.

"When the election is over, we'll still have a network," Nance said. "So when the next election happens, we don't have to start all over. You will see them more active on local issues."

And up in the Northwoods folks in Rhinelander welcomed Gov. Chet Culver of Iowa:

Democratic Governor Chet Culver spoke to nearly 50 people at the Rhinelander District Library this afternoon.

Culver emphasized Barack Obama's concern for Wisconsin's agriculture, small communities and renewable energy.

The Governor says the last 18 days of the election are important here in Wisconsin. "We've got work to do. And that's why I'm crisscrossing Iowa and criss crossing Wisconsina and working with my fellow Governors like Jim Doyle and others who are so excited about Barack Obama's candidacy."

Obama supporters at today's event say it's important to have other politicians endorse the candidates in smaller communities.

Alan Vanraalte, an Obama supporter, says, "I think it's absolutely vital that they do. if it weren't the candidates would be spread pretty thin and they need to go to where the population centers are."

There are only two weeks left to experience the beginning of Barack's movement for change!

Sing up to volunteer to canvass this weekend or for a get out the vote shift.

Charlie Bell of the Milwaukee Bucks Wants You to Get Out and Vote

Ian Jungbacker — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:22:17 EDT

"Obama is and will remain the friend of our veterans"

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:19:30 EDT
A retired Navy captain in Brussels writes a letter to the editor of the Green Bay Press-Gazette this morning:

BRUSSELS -- We all appreciate our right and privilege to vote in local, state or federal elections; it is, however, also our duty to be informed as well as we can. Unfortunately, many rely purely on the candidates' ads and even on unsubstantiated rumors.

As a retired Navy captain and former national program director at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., I remain quite interested in whatever affects our veterans. I researched the voting records of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama on matters affecting our veterans; the difference is staggering.

McCain voted consistently against bills that improved funding for veterans and the Veterans Administration. Just as an example, McCain opposed the 21st Century GI bill because it was too generous; and in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, McCain voted against increasing funding for veterans health care.

In contrast, Obama co-sponsored and voted for the new GI Bill of Rights, and he helped pass 10 key veterans bills and sponsored 36 additional veterans bills since 2007. In 65 percent of the pro-veterans bills, Obama was able to get co-sponsorship from Republicans.

Obama is and will remain the friend of our veterans who have earned and deserve our support.

Dr. Joseph E. Binard

Write a letter to the editor of you local newspaper here!

Every Day is Election Day

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:13:01 EDT
The Superior Telegram reminds it's readers that they can vote early:

[Y]ou don't even have to wait until election day. City of Superior residents can go to the Government Center and vote absentee in the City Clerk's office or county residents can contact their town or village clerk for an absentee ballot. You don't have to be going out of town or traveling to justify casting an absentee ballot. Anyone can vote absentee for any reason. And if you are concerned about waiting in long lines on Election Day, you are encouraged to vote absentee. Election officials are predicting a record turnout and the Superior City Clerk's office has extra help on hand now to assist early voters.

The same is true all over Wisconsin. Head on over to your municipal clerk's office to get either register or vote early.

Find your municipal clerk's office!

Sen. John Kerry is Getting Wisconsin Out to Vote Early

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:26:26 EDT
On Tuesday Sen. John Kerry barn-stormed through Wisconsin to promote early voting with rallies in Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Madison and Mineral Point.

Kerry kicked off the tour in Milwaukee with a well-attended morning rally at Red Arrow Park. The Massachusetts Senator and former Democratic Presidential nominee thanked Wisconsin for narrowly going in his favor in 2004 and reminded the crowd that his margin of victory boiled down to a scant two votes per ward.

That's why Wisconsin needs to vote early, Kerry said. Voting early is convenient, easy, keeps voters from having to wait in long lines on Election Day and, most importantly, frees supporters to help volunteer to get other folks out to the polls on November 4th.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Speaking to several hundred supporters of Democratic nominee Barack Obama in downtown Milwaukee, Kerry reminded rally attendees that the last election turned on one state: Ohio, which President Bush won by about 59,000 votes.

"We're not going to let that happen this time, folks," Kerry said, later adding: "Let's go vote and get the job done."

Following the rally about 350 voters made their ways across the street to vote at the Zeidler Building.

Check out some pictures from the event:

Kerry took his early vote message up to students in Oshkosh with another outdoor rally at UW-O's Reeve Memorial Union.

From the Oshkosh Northwestern:

UWO sophomore Amy Gearhart, 19, vice president of Students for Barack Obama and membership director for UWO's College Democrats, said students will play a critical role in this election.

"It was the students who turned out to vote for Gordon Hintz in 2006. It was the student who showed up to the primaries to make Barack Obama the democratic nominee for president. And it is the students that will put Barack Obama over the top in Wisconsin for the general election," Gearhart said.

Much more after the jump…

Read More!

Women's Weekend of Action: On the Road with Sarah Weddington

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:14:34 EDT

With a smile and wit the size of her native Lone Star state, Sarah Weddington knows how to tell a story - and the trail-blazing lawyer has more than a few to tell.

Weddington was only 26 years old when she took her first contested case all the way to the Supreme Court, a stunning accomplishment that was only obscured by the magnitude of the case she won: Roe v. Wade.

Now she's a law professor at the University of Texas, but has always been active in fighting for women.

"I want to tell you why this election is so important to me," she told a gathering at Beloit College. "It's the Supreme Court." Weddington estimates that the next President will be responsible for two - maybe even three - appointments to the highest court in the country. "And women have come so far in my lifetime - and we have such a long way yet to go - to turn back now."

Recalling her childhood in Texas, Weddington remembered when women's basketball was a half-court game where "traveling was called if you dribbled more than twice" and where women were only allowed three career options: teaching, nursing, and being a secretary.

Not only did Weddington break through barriers in the legal profession, but she also went on to serve in the Texas State Assembly where she mentored a legislative assistant by the name of Anne Richards who famously went on to become the first woman Governor of Texas.

But Weddington and pioneering women like her were able to break through the glass ceilings of the past because the American legal system began to recognize that women deserve to be an equal footing with men - and the only person who is going to appoint Supreme Court Justices that will continue to protect women's rights is going to be Barack Obama.

"Wisconsin is so important this election," Weddington told Beloit, "and I can't wait to be a party back in Texas on Election Night and hear the voice on the TV announce 'And we're going to call Wisconsin for Obama!'"

Check out the photo's from the entire Women's Tour featuring Sarah Weddington and Congresswomen Susan Davis and Betty McCollum:

Sen. Russ Feingold gets out the Early Vote in Racine and Kenosha!

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:26:51 EDT
Sen. Russ Feingold made stops at the city halls in Racine and Kenosha yesterday to meet with supporters who were voting early for Barack Obama. "Voting early in Wisconsin is easy, it's convenient, and it frees you up to help get others out to vote on Election Day," Sen. Feingold said.

About 50 people turned out at each event, many of whom used the opportunity to drop by their municipal clerk's offices to vote early.

The event came on a day when the Campaign for Change sent out an email featuring a video of Barack urging Wisconsin voters to take advantage of the early voting option in Wisconsin.

Obama supporters online are also getting into the early voting act - check out how to vote early in Janesville at RockNetRoots Commentary.

Sen. Feingold told both crowds how important it was to vote by recalling his first campaign for state Senate. "I knocked on over 15,000 doors and at 4:00 in the morning on election night I thought I had lost by 18 votes," he explained. "I even gave a concession speech to the 12 people who were still around. But after three weeks of recounts it turned out that I actually won by 31 votes."

Every vote counts, Sen. Feingold reiterated - especially early votes!

Invite your friends to vote early today!

Check out some pictures from the events:

Wisconsin State Journal Endorses Barack!

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:12:21 EDT

America is at a pivotal point in its history -- a difficult time that demands talented leadership to renew our nation's spirit and pull us together to meet the incredible challenges ahead.

The right leader for the time is Barack Obama.

The Wisconsin State Journal endorses the dynamic and youthful senator from Illinois for president.

Far more than his opponent, Obama represents a new direction. He has shown he can inspire and lead people to action. And his relatively short time in corrupt, self-absorbed, terribly-failed Washington, D.C., may actually be a key strength. Obama is not stuck in the status quo of the Capitol crowd or its long-failed Congress.

Read the rest of the endorsement after the jump...

Read More!

Women's Weekend of Action: On the Road with Rep. Betty McCollum

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:19:14 EDT

Following the event at UW-Parkside the Sarah Weddington and Reps. Davis and McCollum made the drive down to Beloit College to participate in a Women's Issues Forum at the small liberal arts school.

At the forum Congresswoman Betty McCollum, who represents the St. Paul, Minnesota area in Washington, told a story of campaigning with Barack in the final days of the Iowa Caucus last December.

After a long day on the campaign bus the day following Christmas the crew decided to make an unscheduled stop at the nearest convenience store. When the bus pulled into the parking lot, people began to crowd around and were joined by others from the area as a line of Iowans began to form to meet Barack.

"Towards the end there was a little four-year old girl who was dragging her father by the hand to get into line." Barack went down the line, person-by-person, shaking hands and speaking with every person until he got reach this small girl and her father. "Then he got down on a knee and started talking to this four year-old girl," McCollum said.

"That really told me something about Barack," the Congresswoman continued. "It told me that he respected everyone. That little girl couldn't caucus, but Barack literally got down to her level to talk to her."

McCollum, who sits on the House Appropriations committee, said that the brief moment in Iowa was indicative of how Barack Obama would work for the American people on the host of issues that need solutions. She reminded the audience of Obama's painful experience fighting with an insurance company as his mother was dying of cancer. "That's how Barack's going to look at health care reform," she said. "He going to look at plan and ask, 'How is this going to help the person who is need of care."

It's also how he looks at education. "Barack knows we can't ask young kids to go to schools to hear adults say, 'You're important to us and we respect you, but - by the way - the roof leaks.'"

After the forum the Weddington, Davis, and McCollum made the quick trip down to the Beloit field office to meet and speak with volunteers before the evening phone bank. They arrived to discover a pair of Beloit College students helping paint large yard signs for the campaign and the two congresswomen could resist picking up a brush to help them out.

Here's a few photos from the scene:

Women's Weekend of Action: On the Road with Rep. Susan Davis

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:13:42 EDT

The Campaign for Change's Women's Weekend of Action got started yesterday with phone banks and canvasses around Wisconsin. Thousands of supporters and volunteers helped spread the message by making phone calls, knocking on doors and having personal conversations with their neighbors about the issues that matter to them.
And this weekend they had some help from a trio of extraordinary women who came to Wisconsin to share their stories and talk about women's issues.

Reps. Susan Davis of California and Betty McCollum of Minnesota were joined by Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who successfully argued Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court. The women went on a whirlwind tour of Southeastern Wisconsin yesterday making stops in Racine, Kenosha, Beloit, and Madison.

At UW-Parkside an even mix of women and men gathered to hear Davis, McCollum and Weddington and to ask a few questions. The women were greeted with a standing ovation upon their arrival and were asked questions frequently accompanied with words of thanks in recognition of their individual accomplishments.

Congresswoman Davis, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee and represents a sizable chunk of San Diego, told the crowd that this was actually the first time she had traveled to Wisconsin. "The trees here are beautiful," she remarked. "The palm trees back home don't change color."

Davis spoke of how of her family gently nudged her into supporting Barack during the primaries. Her son had been a supporter and she later discovered her husband had been quietly donating to the campaign. "But the more I looked into it, the more I found that Barack was very concerned about women's issues."

Pay equity, in particular.

"The most important women's issues always end up being economic," Rep. Davis said, noting that Barack Obama is the only candidate that will be fighting to win women equal pay for equal work.

The California Congresswoman was asked about how women can assume leadership roles in their communities. "You already have," Davis replied. "Just by being here. You're going to go out and talk about being here today with your friends and family - and they'll notice that you're active and care about your community."

Talk to people often enough, Davis continued, and they'll eventually start coming to you about events or taking action in your community. "It's really all about talking to people."

An Alaskan's Perspective must read

Chris in Taylor Co. — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:37:02 EDT

If you haven't read this person's blog you must.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com

McCain Rally Mosinee

Chris in Taylor Co. — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:30:27 EDT

I attended this rally out of curiousity. Right from the beginning it was a pain as attendees were required to pick up in person their tickets which means two hours of driving for me. I attended Obama's LaCrosse rally and it was RSVP via computer. Much nicer. Of course the Republican requred ID check and to sign a paper stating we'd vote for McCain. So this all started out as a big lie for me.
I showed up early and couldn't find where it was until I spotted the news trucks. No signs, no people to follow. There was maybe 200 people there when I got there. Then we stood in line two hours, not moving. Protesters showed up and despite the heckling were very good. Even allowed giddy teenage girls to have their pictures taken with them holding their McCain signs. Several times the crass comments made had me close to joining the protesters.
Another strange thing was in line I only saw one non-white person. Walk into the hangar and all the black folks were security. Once inside the "sheep pen" they took the few people of color and put them up in the VIP to be sure they'd get on televison and photographs.
At Obama's rally there was such a swirl of people of all races it was wonderful! So this seemed very strange.
We stood there for another 2 hours! McCain's bus was there yet he flew in on his fancy jet. Who is riding in the bus? What a waste of money!
Right before the McCain jet landed the organizers passed out a huge amount of handpainted signs to the VIPs. These people didn't make the signs. You could tell they were all made by the same few people. What a joke! Left overs got passed to the sheep pen where I was.
Another surprise is unlike at Obama's rally I was within 30 feet of the podium. The crowd was really small. They thought it was huge but they obviously hadn't been to Obama's ;).
McCain landed and his wife spoke and he spoke and 20 minutes later was working the crowd and then left.
He was really pushing Palin also and the crowd was crazy for her. It makes me wonder if they see how he totters around and do they even understand all it takes is one stroke, hip fracture or death and she's President? Do they UNDERSTAND this???
I came away from it all even more determined to work for Obama!

"When it comes to protecting the interest of sportsmen, Barack Obama is the clear choice"

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:41:18 EDT
Check out this great commentary from yesterday's Ashland Daily Press:

Senator Obama has said repeatedly that the Second Amendment created an individual right to own and use firearms and that as president he would protect the rights of hunters and law abiding Americans to own and use firearm for sport and to protect their families.

The real difference between the candidates concerns fish and wildlife habitat conservation programs and public access to hunting and fishing. The Bush administration, with the support of Senator John McCain, has greatly reduced key conservation programs. Here are just a few examples: In its 2009 budget proposal for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bush Administration has sought a 66 percent increase in the cost of a duck stamp for hunters, while simultaneously slashing the land acquisition budget under the Land and Water Conservation Fund by more than 70 percent. This shifts the burden for wetlands and wildlife habitat acquisitions almost entirely on the back of waterfowl hunters.

[...]

While many sportsmen only seem to be concerned about gun control, the very reason we own guns is being diminished and we unknowingly end up voting against our own interests. When it comes to protecting the interest of sportsmen, Barack Obama is the clear choice.

Jump on the Call with Hillary Clinton!

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:45:10 EDT

This weekend Sen. Hillary Clinton will kick-off the Campaign for Change's Women's Weekend of Action with a special conference call with Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Sign-up here to join us at any one of our Campaign for Change offices across the state. Sen. Clinton will be calling in at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday, October 11th to help fire up volunteers before they get ready take Barack's message of change into their communities.

It's a special event that's happening exclusively in Wisconsin, so stop in this Saturday!

Obama Supporters at the Bayfield Apple Festival!

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:05:31 EDT
The annual Bayfield Apple Festival is a rite of autumn that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the shore of Lake Superior for a classic slice of small town Wisconsin -- and Obama supporters were out to help spread the word.

Paul, who helped run the Obama table at the Apple Festival sends us word from last weekend's event:

With spectacular weather, through the booth we saw an estimated 50,000 Wisconsin (and other Midwestern) voters over three days and the response was overwhelmingly positive. On Saturday alone we distributed over 7,500 Obama - Biden stickers and buttons to wear by the crowd. There was an absolute sea of people wearing their support for Barack in an extraordinary display for a non-political event (a guy from Missouri remarked to me "Wow, Wisconsin really loves Obama"). Providing information about local open houses, voting locations, volunteer sign-ups, collecting contributions, etc. The volunteers were rightfully very proud of what they accomplished.

Here are some the picture Paul sent us:

The Real McCain...scary!!

Chris in Taylor Co. — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:18:32 EDT
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain/

Game Day in Madison: Badgers vs. Ohio State

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:46:02 EDT
Kick-off for one of the biggest football games of the year is less than an hour from now, but as anyone who has followed Wisconsin football knows game day starts hours before the team takes the field.

Especially when Big Ten rival Ohio State comes to Madison.

Members of the UW chapter of Students for Barack Obama spent a gorgeous afternoon registering voters around Camp Randall Stadium and spreading Barack's meassage of change to the Badger faithful -- and while they had tremendous success registering first-time voters and students who moved at the beginning of the school year.

Since Camp Randall was covered, we decided to take a look around the nighborhood to take in the sights and sound of one of the best tail-gating experiences in American sports and see if we could find some support for Barack.

Have a look at some scenes from the day in Madison below...

Go Badgers!

If Obama wins McCain is VP, If McCain wins Obama is VP - by the Constitution...

scozad — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:37:48 EDT
If Obama wins McCain is VP, If McCain wins Obama is VP - by the Constitution... That's how the Constitution says it works - by using the Electoral College.

Read it for yourself.

U.S. Constitution
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

Article 2 Section 1
(Electoral College)
".....In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President."

Gee It looks like the person running for president DOESN'T get to choose the VP! The person with the second highest votes in the Electoral College is the VP. Which means Constitutionally - while Bush is President Gore should have been VP! Chew on that one for a while... It means for who knows how long we haven't been electing president/vice president correctly by the Constitution.

Interesting huh?

"The first presidential candidate to choose his vice-presidential candidate was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States

Palin - another Dick Cheny!

scozad — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:37:07 EDT
Palin - doesn't even know what Article 1 nor Article 2 of the Constitution says (neither does Cheny for that matter)... In he debate she said she Agreed with Dick Cheney that the VP position is more part of the Legislative branch and that the Consitition gives the VP more Legislative power. Um... WONG missy!

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

Article 1 Section 3
"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."
"The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States."

Article 2 Section 1
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:"

Sorry Cheny/Palin - Yout part of the EXECUTIVE branch - NOT legislative branch!

Oh and look what we have here:
"In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President."

Guess what the person running for president DOESN'T get to choose the VP! Looks like it's by vote - Which means the one with the most votes is president the one with the second amount of votes is VP.

"In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected."

This covers everything about the Vice President in our Constitution.

Bailout BIll BAD for WE THE PEOPLE

scozad — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:35:23 EDT

This week BOTH the House and Senate passed the biggest corruption bill this year! The Wall Street Bailout Bill. And yes Obama, McCain and Senator Herb Kohl helped do this too us. At least Senator Russ Feingold had the GONADS to vote against it. I'm sorry but I WILL not vote for someone who bends the American people over a barrel. Notice how they didn't tout all the PORK that went into this bill! And McCain and Obama BOTH touting they will stop the pork. Really? You didn't this week! We just can't take you at your word can we? And don't give me this "Obama will take care of it once he is in office." like Bill Cosby said "RIGHT!"
I know most people here WILL NOT want to hear this - but you had better start understanding this for this countries sake!

Both the House and Senate has SOLD US OUT! They BOTH passed this bailout bill - which IS bad for America! (see Ref: 2) How about all the PORK they "slid" into this thing that they haven't told us about (see Ref: 1)! We can't trust McCain, nor Obama to lead this country! Heck we can't even trust ANY of our Representatives or Senators! They just bent us over the provebrial barrel. Where are they going to get the money to pay for this thing? China isn't going to lend us anymore money! (See ref:3). Folks this country is BANKRUPT! The sooner we wake up and realize this the sooner we can get this country back together again.

Ref: 1
-------------
Spoonful of pork may help bitter economic pill go down
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/bailout.pork/index.html

"Deduction of state and local sales taxes: The measure allows citizens who do not pay state income taxes to deduct the amount of sales tax they pay over a year from their federal income tax for two additional years. States that benefit include Texas, Nevada, Florida, Washington and Wyoming. The measure would cost taxpayers $3.3 billion."
-- So now they don't pay ANY tax to their state! How will the state survive? Now the states will be dependant on FEDERAL money! Not the way our founding fathers set up this country!

"A refund of excise taxes to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for rum: A $13.50 per gallon excise tax is placed on rum imported into the United States. The measure extends to December 31, 2009, a refund of $13.25 per gallon tax back to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which are both U.S. territories. The refund has been in place since the early '90s. The measure would cost taxpayers $192 million."
-- Great MORE big Tax cuts!

Ref: 2
------------
Revamped economic bailout passes House
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/03/house.bailout/index.html

"Provisions related to film and television productions: In order to keep movie production in the U.S., production companies would be allowed to deduct the cost of producing the films from their taxes. Rep. Diane Watson, D-California, has been one of the program's biggest supporters. The measure would cost taxpayers $478 million over 10 years."
-- Hollywood is TAX FREE! More for BIG Corporations!

$700B bailout passes - President Bush poised to quickly sign historic $700 billion plan into law.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/03/house.bailout/index.html

Ref: 3
-----------
China banks told to halt lending to US banks-SCMP
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSPEK16693720080925

Road Trip with Howard Dean: Platteville

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:28:18 EDT

UW-Platteville was the final stop on Howard Dean's Tuesday tour though southern Wisconsin, where he spoke to a standing room only audience at the Pioneer Student Center just after dinner time.
The crowd was a healthy mix of students - some donning "Pioneers for Progress" t-shirts - and older locals looking to learn more about Barack Obama and get involved in the his movement for change.

UW-Platteville student and U.S. Army veteran Eli Caywood began the program by discussing his experience as a soldier in both Iraq and Afghanistan and why he believed Barack Obama is the only candidate that will end American engagement in Iraq responsibly. Caywood spoke movingly about his service to our country and the need to reclaim America's standing as the moral authority in the international community - receiving a standing ovation of thanks from the crowd when he finished.

State Rep. Phil Garthwaite followed by thanking Gov. Dean for implementing the 50 State Strategy in the Democratic Party, noting that he was living proof of the progress that can be made when Democrats take their message to all everyone, everywhere. In 2006 Garthwaite became the first Democrat to win his local state assembly seat since 1912.

"The 50 State Strategy is now the 99 District Strategy in Wisconsin," Garthwaite declared.

Taking Barack's message of change to everyone in Wisconsin became one of Dean's principle themes during his talk to UW-Platteville.
Dean encouraged the students in attendance to not only get involved in Obama's campaign, but to start thinking about the impact they can make at the state and local level. "Spreading a message takes time," Dean said. "So does working for change."

Check out some photos from the Dean's road trip:

Get involved today!

Volunteer!
Sign up with Wisconsin Students for Barack Obama!
Sign up with Wisconsin Veterans for Barack Obama!

Road Trip with Howard Dean: Monroe

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:49:11 EDT

The second stop on Howard Dean's Wisconsin Road Trip was Monroe where he spoke with over 70 local Democrats at the Minhas Craft Brewery, a traditional Bavarian-style brewery that has been a downtown staple since before Wisconsin was granted statehood in 1848.

The brewery is located just a few short blocks away from one of the most scenic town squares in Wisconsin, where dozens of local businesses and restaurants surround a stunning Romanesque municipal building in the heart of the town.

It was an ideal place for Gov. Dean to deliver his message that Barack Obama is the only person running for President who will fight for the best interests of Middle America.

"You have a candidate the economy starts in Monroe," Dean said, referring to Obama; "and you have another that thinks the economy starts on Wall Street. Well, guess what? America wasn't created on Wall Street."

"Barack Obama is the candidate of the future and John McCain is the candidate of the past and we can't afford four more years like the ones that just passed."

Reminding the crowd that he was once the Governor of one of the most rural states in the Union, Dean reflected on the struggles of rural Americans in tough economic times. "The problems of America are particularly acute in rural America … It is tougher and tougher to keep small towns together" during economic downturns.

Barack Obama will work to enhance the quality of life in rural America by developing an 21st Century infrastructure and provide incentives for teachers and health care providers to establish roots small town America, Dean said.

Learn more about Barack Obama's plan for rural America here!

Road Trip with Howard Dean: Janesville

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:50:03 EDT
On Tuesday DNC Chairman Howard Dean kicked off a two-day whirlwind tour through Wisconsin at the UAW Labor Hall in Janesville. Well over 200 people - including over 40 students from Janesville Parker High School -- packed the auditorium to hear Chairman Dean discuss a variety of subjects ranging from the candidates' solutions to providing health care to the country to the importance constant civic engagement.

Janesville is Wisconsin's quintessential blue-collar small town. For years the local economy has been anchored by the GM auto plant, but earlier this summer General Motors announced that it was going to be closing the facility no later than 2010. The announcement hit the community hard - and while many members of the community have not given up hope that they can save the facility, most folks in Janesville are understandably anxious about the future.

Not surprisingly, most of the Union brothers and sisters that packed UAW Local 95'S Walter P. Reuther Labor Hall were looking for a change.

Matt, an intern in the Janesville office, explained that voters in Janesville are turning that desire for change into action by registering voters in huge numbers. "We used to get about 15 registrations a week during the summer," Matt said. "Now we're getting about that many a day."

Gov. Dean was introduced by Joel Sheldon - who has worked for GM for 23 years and has followed politics all his life, but decided that this year he was going to finally get involved. "I just can't sit idly by," he told the audience. "I don't know if we'll be able to retire."

Read more and Check out a link to WisconsinEye's coverage of the event after the jump…

Read More!

Neighbor to Neighbor: Get Started Today!

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:03:43 EDT
With just over 30 days before Wisconsin goes to the polls, it's never been more important to reach out to voters in your neighborhood -- and the most convenient way to tell your story of support for Barack Obama to others is through the campaign's Neighbor to Neighbor tool. Neighbor to Neighbor lets you knock on doors or call voters in your neighbor from the comfort of your own home on your own time and allows anyone to transform a few spare moments of downtime into time spent working for change:

Check it out:

It's quick, it's easier and the weekend is a perfect time to get a hold of people. Get started today!

"The American Promise"

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:58:19 EDT
We just have to share this video of some of the candid behind the scenes moments during the DNC Convention in Denver.

Enjoy!

Barack Obama in La Crosse

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:25:47 EDT

After being introduced by Nikki Brown, Barack Obama took the stage to a wild eruption of applause from the crowd shaking hands with dozens of supporters as he made his way to the podium.

"What an extraordinary town! I hear some of you were camping out last night!" Barack noted, with a smile a wave to the UW-L students who had spent the night waiting in line to the event. "You get extra credit for that!"

Obama thanked Nikki Brown and the previous speakers before focusing on the subject he came to La Crosse to discuss: the current financial crisis on Wall Street.

Barack reassured the people of La Crosse -- just two blocks from the city's very own Main Street -- that Americans can pull out of the current economic downturn with fiscally responsible economic principles that will help all Americans -- not just the wealthy.

But Obama also wanted to send a message to the people of La Crosse that now is a time to remain confident in America's ability to rise above the tumult of the current economic climate:

This is one of those moments. I realize you're cynical and fed up with politics. I understand that you're disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask you to believe - believe in this country and your ability to change it. I ask you what has been asked of the American people in times of trial and turmoil throughout history - what was asked at the beginning of the greatest financial crisis this nation ever endured. In his first fireside chat, Franklin Roosevelt told his fellow Americans that "..there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. Let us unite in banishing fear. Together, we cannot fail."

America, together, we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. Not when there are families who can't afford to see a doctor, or send their child to college, or pay their bills at the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we had for ourselves.

Check out some photos of the event courtesy of the campaign's traveling new media team:

Read the whole speech after the jump...

Read More!

Yesterday with Barack: Nikki from La Crosse

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:07:31 EDT
Yesterday Nikki Brown a working mother of three from La Crosse whose family has felt the pinch of the recent economic hard times, introduced Barack Obama to the crowd of nearly 15,000.

In her remarks she told her own story of how Barack's vision for the country's future will help her families and millions just like her's around the country.

Read her remarks after the pictures:

Good morning. My name is Nikki Brown and I am a department manager here in La Crosse.

I have a wonderful husband Dan and beautiful daughters Madison, Taylor and Payton. And every day when I wake up in the morning I think about the welfare of my family. I think about the two mortgages and the constantly rising costs of everything from groceries to gasoline while our income just doesn't grow. That is why I'm thrilled the Barack Obama's Making Work Pay tax credit will help provide our family with $1000 in tax relief.

I think about my youngest and oldest daughters, who like me, have a kidney disease called PDK. We may face transplants and procedures which will impact our health and our lives. But I also think about the financial impact. Even with decent insurance the bills keep stacking up month to month and you just feel like you're moving back instead of forward. I would like to see the day when our medical bills no longer eat away at our monthly budget. That is why I'm thrilled that Barack Obama has a health care plan that will reduce health care costs by $2500 for families like mine.

Read the rest of her introduction and a brief analysis of how Barack's plan will help the Browns after the jump...

Read More!

Today in La Crosse: First in Line: Joe, Marques, Vanesssa, DeAndre and Sean from UW-L

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:04:25 EDT
It's hard to say exactly just when today's amazing rally in La Crosse actually started.

Technically speaking, the gates were to open at 8:00 a.m. this morning - but for a few UW-La Crosse students the rally start at 8:00 p.m. the evening before.

From left to right: Marques from Milwaukee; Joe from St. Paul, MN; Vanessa from Milwaukee; and Sean from Madison. Far Right: DeAndre from Milwaukee

A small group of students were so excited to see Barack in their neighborhood that they spent the night waiting in line to guarantee a great place to see the rally. Each of them had their own reasons: DeAndre wanted to witness history and Sean admitted through a smile that he was also motivated by earning the bragging rights of the first in line.

And all of the students - to a person - seconded their friend Joe's comment: "This is something we believe in. We believe Barack can make some great changes in this country. We wouldn't be sleeping on the concrete if we didn't think he could."

For all but one of the students this was going to be their first Obama event -- Vanessa actually got to see Barack this summer while she was studying abroad in Berlin!

So what kinds of change are these young voters looking for?

"Jobs," said Joe. "I want to know that I'm going to have a job after college."

"I want to know when higher education is going to be a right and not a privilege," Marques added.

"And health care!" DeAndre let out - while Sean gentled jostled a left arm in a sling.

Getting Ready for Tomorrow's Rally in La Crosse

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:26:51 EDT
La Crosse is getting fired up for tomorrow's rally with Barack.

From the La Crosse Tribune:

Sen. Barack Obama's announcement he will visit

La Crosse this week electrified local campaign volunteers.

Wednesday's rally will be the presidential candidate's fourth visit to Wisconsin since the Democratic convention, but his first campaign stop in La Crosse.

About 35 volunteers worked Monday at the Sixth Street campaign headquarters to express a variety of messages in red and blue tempera paint: There were seniors, students and women, all 4 Obama. There were (hearts) for Obama. And proclamations that yes, we can.

[...]

Obama volunteer Barb Reithel said the campaign headquarters has been constantly busy since the announcement, and had gone through nearly 1,000 yard signs.

Bob Weeth has volunteered for political campaigns since 1972, when he worked for Richard Nixon because he promised to end the war in Vietnam.

Thirty-six years later, he's counting on Obama to end the one in Iraq.

At the Obama headquarters, Weeth provided the tunes from a laptop plugged into an amplifier. A Dem Franchize Boyz rap faded into James Brown, who gave way to Four Non Blondes. The diversity of the mix reflected the crowd.

Melissa Noth, 26, and her 17-year-old sister, Samantha Nardini, decided Sunday to volunteer after hearing Obama was coming to town.

"I like that he's all about change," Nardini said.

"Obama really seems to care about the common person," Noth added.

Rosemarie Link painted a "Seniors for Obama" sign. The 71-year-old said she's spent the past couple of weeks making phone calls.

"It's a really important time -- not so much for me as my children and grandchildren," she said. "That's who I'm volunteering for."

The rally will be held downtown at the corner of 2nd and Pearl Streets beside the La Crosse Center. The program starts at 10:00 a.m. -- but it's a good idea to get there much earlier.

Wisconsin Sportsmen Explain Why They Support Barack Obama

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:41:51 EDT
Hunters and anglers all over Wisconsin are finding out that Barack Obama is the only candidate that will respect and enhance the traditions of voters who enjoy the great outdoors. Here's just a sample of what they're saying:

"I am an avid sportsman and demand that my rights be protected. However, I also believe that our country has too many other issues. I know Mr. Obama will do a fine job keeping my rights as a sportsman intact, And more importantly make the changes we need as a country."

Windal in Portage County

"Barack Obama is a strong supporter of our world class fishing opportunities in Wisconsin and he promotes excellent stewardship of our wildlife habitat."

Pat in Bayfield County

"As a hunter I believe Democrats have always supported sustainable natural resources and protection of the environment rather than corporate interests."

Jason in Dane County

"He stands for the working people of this great nation and not only cares about being able to continue to have firearms and be able to hunt but also to assure that there will be a place where we can still do so on public land that is not under the control of oil companies and other big business."

Tom in Bayfield County

Join Wisconsin Sportsmen and Sportswomen for Obama today and tell your story!

Barack in La Crosse: the Details

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:38:47 EDT

This morning we brought you news that Barack Obama will be in La Crosse this Wednesday.

Now we have details:

Downtown La Crosse
Intersection at Pearl and 2nd Street (beside the La Crosse Center)
La Crosse, WI

Public Entrance: 2nd and Main Street

Wednesday, October 1st
Gates Open: 8:00 a.m.
Program Begins: 10:00 a.m.

Click here to RSVP!

Barack Obama is Coming to La Crosse this Wednesday!

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:25:58 EDT
Mark your calenders, Wisconsin!

From the Campaign:

MADISON, Wis.-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will return to Wisconsin Wednesday for the third time in the month of September. Coming off a commanding debate performance Friday, Obama will continue to make his case for the change we need at a rally in the La Crosse area. The event will be free and open to the public. No ticket is required, however an RSVP at www.barackobama.com is strongly encouraged. Further details of the event will be announced as they become available.

Senator Obama last visited Wisconsin on Monday, September 22, when he unveiled a plan to reform the greed and excesses of Washington in Green Bay. Other recent stops in the state include a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee along with a Sunday picnic style event in Eau Claire on August 24.

Stop by here for more details as they become available!

Madison Registration Deputization

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:47:37 EDT

Almost 50 people showed up today at the Campaign for Change's UW-Madison office on Henry Street to become voter registrars.

Supporters of all ages piled into the office at noon for a short class conducted by a representative from the Madison Clerk of Courts office who went over the ins and outs of registering voters in Wisconsin's capital. Now everyone who attended the meeting is able to register new voters in the city of Madison and are set to help register thousands of student and first-time voters.

Check out some more photos from the scene just a block off of State Street:

If you are already a voter registration deputy in your hometown (or statewide!) or have an interest in becoming one, contact your local Campaign for Change office!

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "From our view, edge to Obama"

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:28:07 EDT
In an editorial today, Wisconsin's largest newspaper declared Barack Obama the winner of last night's debate.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The topic was foreign policy, with undercurrents of the financial crisis now consuming the attentions of the U.S. Congress. This main topic, woven as it is with national security, was one in which John McCain was thought to have an edge over Barack Obama. He made every attempt to paint the Illinois senator as naïve. He mostly failed.

[...]

And whether the invasion of Iraq was the right thing to do is far from the academic question McCain wanted to make it out to be. It goes to judgment. The next president may have to make more fateful decisions about sending troops into harm's way. The presidential debate on Iraq has to be about more than whether the surge worked.

[...]

On the economy, McCain attempted to distance himself from the last eight years of the Bush Administration. Obama sought to remind voters that McCain, though a maverick in key areas, stood with the president on most of the issues.

The pundits score debates on whether anyone hit it one out of the park, the number of gotchas tallied. No one did hit one out of the park but that kind of scoring is wrong in any case. Voters should simply see how candidates' views mesh with their own.

And on that score, there was plenty to judge. From our view, edge to Obama.

Neighbor to Neighbor in the News!

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:45:19 EDT
WISN ran a great report on the Obama Campaign's Neighbor to Neighbor online voter contact tool last night:

Amy Kortbein has been canvassing for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, and said the online tool has been making campaigning accessible for new demographics.

"I have a lot of friends who are working moms, who are stay-at-home moms and their husbands who are working that are all using this 'Neighbor to Neighbor' application," said Kortbein.

The Web sites give the volunteers everything they need to do the volunteering from home, and do it in a way one University of Wisconsin-Madison professor said could be pivotal to turnout.

You can catch the video here.

If you're interested in reaching out to voters in your neighborhood or from the comfort of your own home, check out this brief video describing the Neighbor to Neighbor program:

Thousands of voters in Wisconsin -- just like Amy -- are already using Neighbor to Neighbor to help win the Badger State for Barack. It only takes a minute to learn and lets you work for change on your own schedule.

Sign up to use the Neighbor to Neighbor tool today!

Students for Barack Obama: Elizabeth Levine

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:52:24 EDT
The Isthmus has a great article about Elizabeth Levine, one of the all-star interns in the Madison who has been working tirelessly for the campaign:

Elizabeth Levine spends almost every waking moment outside of class at the Madison Field Headquarters of Barack Obama's campaign. Though she's too young to vote, she sees it as a way to make a real difference.

"A lot of people feel like very small fish in a very big pond," says Levine, 17, a senior at West High. "It's not just the people on top that can make a difference."

Levine is one of dozens of Madison high school students actively engaged in Obama's statewide Campaign for Change. She works as an unpaid intern, through a program run by the campaign for high school and college students. Collectively, they make the Monroe Street campaign office ground zero for one of the most youth-centric campaigns this state has ever seen.

This fall, high school students from throughout the Madison area are devoting at least 15 hours each week -- and some considerably more -- to Obama's Wisconsin campaign. Nationally, Obama's campaign cites as one of its goals to support "a new generation of leadership that believes, like Sen. Obama, that real change comes from the ground up."

More after the jump...

Read More!

Joe Biden with Cudahy's Bravest

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:42:34 EDT

Joe Biden's talk to firefighters in Cudahy focused on an issue that is clearly very close to collective heart of the Biden family: fighting for the brave men and women who work every day to serve and protect the lives of others.

Jill Biden kicked off the discussion by recalling the evening several years ago when her home was struck by lightening and subsequently was enveloped in a five alarm fire. Jill recalled the speed and urgency with which the local firefighters rushed to rescue.

Joe Biden followed his wife by thanking firefighters everywhere for their service to their communities and to his family in particular.

Biden marveled at what our country now asks of it's firefighters, whom no longer must simply fight fires, but are now also asked to be on the front lines of potential terrorist attacks.

Being a first-responder in the 21st Century means responding to global problems, Biden said -- and firefighters can't accomplish that goal without help from outside of their communities.

Biden called this country's commitment to it's public safety officers a "sacred obligation" -- one that has not been met by the current administration in the wake of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Joe walked among the crowd as he spoke, pausing his discussion from time to time to laugh with the audience. When he concluded his remarks -- with a pledge to fight for first-responders like Cudahy's bravest -- Biden took the time to meet with all of the men and women who wished to speak with him (and posing for a few pictures along the way).

Check out the pictures from the event:

Cudahy Fire Fighters Welcome Joe and Jill Biden!

Ian Jungbacker — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:34:13 EDT
Fire fighters of all ages in Cudahy anxiously awaited a pair of special guests for their lunch fish fry this afternoon -- Joe and Jill Biden, who stopped by for the meal with the members of the Milwaukee suburb's bravest today.

Over 100 firefighters and their families gathered for the Friday fish lunch and to hear Joe Biden -- a founding member of the Congressional Fire Caucus -- discuss the deep personal ties his family has to the fire-fighting community.

Firefighters from Cudahy's Fire Station #2 on Ramsey Ave. were joined by a few of their firefighting brothers from around the Milwaukee area and elsewhere in Wisconsin. Guests began arriving to the station just after 10:00 this morning and began lunch shortly thereafter.

Mayor Ryan McCue led the fire station in a blessing before the meal and the Cudahy fire department's very own Mark Siggelkow introduced Joe and Jill Biden, who arrived after spending the morning meeting with Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili in Milwaukee.

Check out some photos from the event:

Women's Wednesday: Madison

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:40:10 EDT

Last night in Madison over 60 women of all ages dropped by the local Campaign for Change field office to reach out to other women voters over the phone.

Becky Carroll, the national director of Women for Obama, kicked off a phone bank that managed to make hundreds of phone calls over the course of the evening.

Check out some pictures from the evening:

The weekly phone bank is part of the the Wisconsin Women's Week of Action, a series of events that is bringing women together to share their support for Barack.

This weekend the Campaign for Change will be organizing canvasses and Get the Facts house parties across Wisconsin. Find one in your neighborhood by clicking here today!

High School Night!

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:36:18 EDT
Last night, in Campaign for Change offices all across Wisconsin, high school students -- many of whom are not yet old enough to vote -- came together to make their voices heard by getting on the phone and reaching out to voters.

Every Tuesday from now until the election is High School Night at offices across Wisconsin. It's the perfect opportunity for young people to get together with their friends and get involved in shaping their futures.

It's also a perfect example of how Barack Obama is energizing America's next generation of leadership by giving them an essential role in this movement for change. Everyone is welcome -- you don't have to be class president to help elect the next President of the United States.

Take a look at the scene from Madison last night:

Barack Obama in Green Bay: "Change has Always Come from Places Like Wisconsin"

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:39:59 EDT
Barack's speech in Green Bay yesterday was a major address that outlined in specific detail the change that is needed on Wall Street and in Washington before Americans on Main Street can have their faith restored in our financial and political institutions.

Check it out:

Listen to an MP3 of the speech and to read the prepared remarks after the jump...

Read More!

Barack Obama in Green Bay: Getting Fired Up!

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:52:18 EDT
At 9:00 a.m. the doors to the Resch Center opened and hundred supporters from around Packerland filed into the arena.

Hundreds of union members, veterans, and students of all ages found a spot in the Lambeau Field parking lot just across Oneida Street. Despite an earlier morning fog which lingered just long enough to create an overcast, volunteers kept the crowd fired up with a chants cordial banter as attendees signed-up to help get out the vote in the weeks ahead.

Once inside outstanding volunteers like Ed from De Pere (pictured, left) helped folks find their seats around the Resch Center. Many of the early arrivals who had skipped breakfast took advantage of a few open concessions stands to munch on a brat or two before the program began.

Shortly after 11:00 a.m. Chairman of the Oneida Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Jerry Danforth kicked off the program with an invocation. Following suit was Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton -- a long-time Green Bay resident -- who stepped up to the podium to announce the Wisconsin Campaign for Change's Women's Week of Action, a week-long series of house parties and events where women supporters will have to opportunity to reach out and tell their stories to other women in Wisconsin.

More After the jump...

Read More!

Barack Obama in Green Bay: Northern Michigan College Dems

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:26:14 EDT

Clockwise from top, right: Stephen from Appleton; Tom from Marquette, MI;
Kendra from Marquette, MI; Zoe from Detroit, MI; Alicia from Marinette.

One of the most excited groups to make the trip to Green Bay yesterday was the Northern Michigan University College Dems, who left the NMU campus in the Upper Peninsula at 4:00 a.m. to make a six hour drive to Brown County that required a few detours to pick up several members who spent the weekend canvassing for several local candidates up north.

All of the NMU college Dems could barely contain their enthusiasm -- and not just because they had finally made it to the event after a long journey to the Resch Center. All reported an unprecedented spike in energy and interest at school. "There's far more activity this year," Stephen observed.

"Much more than two years ago," Alicia added.

"There's even more than back in 2004!" Zoe appended.

And the college Dems are taking advantage of this climate by talking to their friends, registering their fellow students (they have ambitious goals that they're close to reaching) and getting involved in local campaigns all across the UP and Wisconsin Northwoods.

"We're all failing out of college!" quipped Kendra to the laughter of the rest of her friends. "We just think this so important and there isn't much time left to do something about it."

First in Line: Aly & Katie from Kimberly with Barack Obama in Green Bay

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:43:59 EDT

Katie (right) and Aly are friends from from Kimberly who made the drive up to Green Bay yesterday, arriving at the Resch Center at 4:45 a.m. to be the first in line to see Barack's speech.

"We were thinking about camping out!" said Aly, who saw Barack speak in Oshkosh during the Wisconsin primary.

Both girls are nursing students at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton who said they were drawn to Barack's American Opportunity Tax Credit plan to make college affordable to all young people. "I feel like [Barack] will help me with my education more than anything," Katie said.

As future nurses, both Aly and Katie are concerned with health care in America -- not only how they will be personally covered, but also for their future patients.

They were also are apprehensive about the current state of the economy and how the future fiscal condition of the country would help or hinder them finish their education and afford health care.

Once inside the two students grabbed seats right next to the floor of the Resch Center and waited anxiously for the program to begin.

Heartland Change Tour: Fort Atkinson

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:51:26 EDT

From WIBA:

[Mary Ann] Steppke showed up at the Café Carpe, a bar overlooking the Rock River in Fort Atkinson about 40 miles east of Madison, to hear Tuesday from Democratic officials who were on a "Heartland Change Tour" across the state to talk about rural issues.
The tour is part of a concerted effort in Wisconsin to connect with small-town voters, especially anyone among the coveted group of undecideds. Obama has also opened campaign offices in places where Democrats have never tried to compete before, including Jefferson, Ashland, Beaver Dam and Ladysmith.
State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Wineke said he hoped the meetings in Fort, as the locals call it, and other small towns would help drive turnout for Democrats in counties that have narrowly voted Republican in the past.
"What if we can drive up those numbers 3 or 4 or 5 percent in those areas?" he said. "That could be the difference between winning and losing."

Michelle Obama is Coming to Wisconsin on Monday!

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:01:38 EDT

Fresh on the heels of the news that Barack will be in Green Bay next week -- Michelle Obama will also be barnstorming through the Badger State on Monday, with events in Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

While her husband is in Green Bay Monday, Michelle Obama will be appearing in three other Wisconsin cities the same day -- Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau.
Michelle Obama will hold an economic roundtable discussion with working women in Wausau, the campaign announced, and host rallies in Milwaukee and Madison.

Check back here for more details as they become available!

UPDATED:

Madison
WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION RALLY WITH MICHELLE OBAMA

GAR Memorial Park at Camp Randall
1440 Monroe Street
Madison, WI 53711

Media Access: 8:30 am
Doors open: 9:00 am
Program begins: 10:00 am

RSVP

***

West Allis
WOMEN'S WEEK OF ACTION RALLY WITH MICHELLE OBAMA

West Allis Central High School Field House
8516 West Lincoln Ave
West Allis, WI 53227

Doors Open: 3:30 PM

RSVP

New Details on Barack's Monday Visit to Green Bay

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:38:16 EDT

From the Journal Sentinel :
Barack Obama's appearance at Green Bay's Resch Center Monday is free and open to the public and will not be ticketed, according to the campaign. Doors open at 9 a.m. and the program begins at noon. The campaign said it was encouraging attendees to RSVP online at [here].

Barack Obama's Coming to Green Bay!

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:42:40 EDT

MADISON, Wis. -- Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama plans to speak in Green Bay on Monday.
His campaign released no details of the stop. The visit will mark the third time Obama has appeared in Wisconsin in the last month. He spoke in Eau Claire on Aug. 24 and in Milwaukee on Labor Day.

Check back here as more details become available!

Thursday Gems

Obama grandmama — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:15:57 EDT
Election Awareness:
Election Day Mess

Obama Watch:
Good 'ole Boys
Endorsing Obama
Obama calls out McCain on abortion
A Conservative for Obama
Confronting an Economic Crisis

McC Attacks:
Tax Tally Trickery

McCain related:
Bizarre McCain Remarks Appear to Reject Spain As Ally
McCain Meant To Reject Spain Meeting
McCain Source
ABC: McCain lied about financial crisis
John McCain and the Lying Game
McCain: Fire SEC Chairman Cox
McCain Secretly Plans New Tax on Middle Class
Actions Speak Louder than Words
MCCAIN V OBAMA: 'FUNDAMENTAL' PROBLEM

Palin Factor:
Palin pick means McCain is like Bush
Former Federal Prosecutor Speaks Out About Palin
Transparency Proposal Already Exists in D.C.

The Traditional Race to the White House:
No Time for a Maverick

The Global View on the Race to the White House:
U.S. Court Is Now Guiding Fewer Nations

Media Mess-up:
"She looks like an angry woman"

Heads Up:
The Privilege of 'White'
How You Ended The War

On the Lighter Side:
Members of the Dead to play fundraiser for Obama

Joe Biden at the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:03:12 EDT

We just couldn't resist this video!
Last week Joe Biden visited a clamorous crowd in Green Bay, where he talked about his days playing football in his youth. Today Joe made a stop to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Take a look:

Just a reminder: since the are play at night this Sunday, you have the chance to spend a beautiful afternoon canvassing for Barack this weekend. Stop by you local Campaign for Change office and help your neighbors work for change today!

Wisconsin Veterans Hit the Road for Barack Obama

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:03:33 EDT

The Campaign for Change will be touring Wisconsin discussing what Barack Obama plans to do for our Nation's veterans. Here's the press release:

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Veterans for Obama will tour the state this week, discussing Senator Barack Obama's record of support for Veterans and why we must elect Obama president on Nov. 4. This statewide roll-out will include a traveling caravan of Veterans leadership from the Vietnam Era through the current conflict in Iraq. At each stop the Wisconsin Veterans for Obama will discuss their support for Senator Obama with local veterans and elected officials.
At two stops, Wausau and Stevens Point, they will be joined by Admiral John B. Nathman and Obama Foreign Policy Advisor Sarah Sewall. Retired Brigadier General Robert Cocroft will join the Tour in Waukesha.
In February 2009, 3,500 National Guard members from Wisconsin will ship out to Iraq, the largest Wisconsin National Guard Deployment since World War II. This deployment will greatly affect Wisconsin's Veterans Trust Fund and future funding for veterans in Wisconsin. Members of the Wisconsin National Guard and Reserves will be on the Tour speaking about this deployment and how Senator Obama will help these Veteran heroes when they return home.
Obama has a strong record of standing up for our Veterans. He co-sponsored and consistently supported the GI Bill, which McCain campaigned against, and Obama promises to fund fully Veterans Health Care, which McCain has repeatedly voted against. Obama also has a plan to responsibly transition us out of Iraq, and he will rebuild our alliances and restore America's standing in the world.

You can find the entire tour schedule after the jump...
Read More!

Wisconsin Obama Victory Depends on Your Letter to the Editor; Lake Geneva Supporter Writes a Great Opinion/Editorial

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:19:30 EDT
ENCOURAGING THOSE WHO HAVEN'T WRITTEN SEVERAL OF THEIR OWN to support Obama, a very effective technique but time is running out; please use EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, a reference work in your library, indispensable in this effort, especially to call ahead and ask to publish your longer Opinion/Editorial, 600-800 words, to really make your case in Wisconsin!
[posted by [Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News]

by Donna Roepenack, published in Lake Geneva and in Kenosha
Vote With Conscience for All Americans
When I hear one of the candidates for President say, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong," I have to speak out. It is so important in this campaign for Americans, whether Democrat, Republican, or Independent, to think long and hard about the state our country is in. Regardless of party, we should study the issues, and when we go into the booth to vote on November 4th, make our decision based on a good knowledge of the real facts and not campaign rhetoric. Too often, voters stubbornly vote along party lines instead of what is the best for America.
This year has to be different. We must be informed and vote our conscience. We must check out facts presented for the truth. I researched the following information and it can be verified at the sites noted:
The unemployment rate is up to 6.1%, a five-year high, this quarter and more than 10 percent of Americans are unemployed or underemployed, a nearly 25-percent increase from one year earlier (Wall Street Journal). More than a half million Americans (530,000) have been subject to mass layoffs in the last year. Real estate foreclosures in the U.S. were up 75 percent in 2007. The overall rate in the U.S. was 10.3 per 1,000 households. Eight states ended the year with foreclosure rates of more than 15 per 1,000 households (CBS News), yet Exxon-Mobil smashed the record for highest profits ever made by a public U.S. company by posting a net profit of $40.6 billion in 2007.
To put these figures in perspective, Exxon made $77,245 per minute in 2007—that’s more money generated per minute than 70 percent of Americans earned all year according to the Census Bureau (Center for American Progress).Over the past nine months, global food prices have soared 40 percent, while food reserves are at 30-year lows (CNN Money). Energy prices were up 6.6% in the month, led by a 10.1% jump in gas prices. That left gasoline prices up nearly a third from a year earlier.
Many people, tired of politics as usual, think nothing will be done any differently when one of our candidates becomes President in 2008.
I urge all of you to think carefully about how the past eight years have affected 95% of the American population, and that John McCain has the same economic policies that President Bush has had.
McCain thinks multimillionaires are members of the middle class, homeowners are to blame for the housing crisis, and Big Oil needs more tax breaks.
Barack Obama will put the middle class first. He’ll pass a middle class tax cut that gives 95% of working Americans a tax cut of up to $1,000—and he’ll give families an emergency energy rebate to help folks cope with rising gas prices. For example, in the $38 to $66 thousand salary bracket, McCain's plan gives a tax break of $31. Obama's plan gives a break of $1042.
In the $603 thousand to 2.8 million brackets, McCain's plan gives a tax break of $45,361 while Obama's plan will tax them $119,574 more (Tax Policy Center.org)! He will tax the big oil companies on their record profits, and put that money to use for the middle class. He’ll offer students a $4,000 tax break to pay for tuition in exchange for doing 100 hours of community service. And he’ll raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation. He will eliminate income tax for seniors making less than $50,000 per year. He will eliminate oil and gas loopholes. And there is so much more.
Check out the Major Tax Revisions Chart at Tax Policy Center.org ( a non-partisan research firm that reports factual, proven, information to the American consumer) where there is a comparison chart showing the two candidates economic policies.
Barack Obama is the clear choice for American families. Barack Obama has been working for the poor and the middle class all of his adult life, and I hope that Americans will reach deep inside their conscience and have a spirit of love for ALL the people in our great country when they vote on November 4th.
When this candidate spoke on Labor Day, I heard and will forever remember these words, “If there’s a poor child out there that’s my child; If there’s a man out there who lost his job, that’s my brother. If there’s a senior out there in trouble, that’s my grandparent; If there’s a woman out there without health care, that’s my sister.”
Vote your conscience for the largest majority of the American people. You really can make a difference!

A Concerned Citizen
Donna Roepenack Lake Geneva WI donnamike@wi.rr.com 262-248-1822

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in Wausau!

Ian Jungbacker — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:12:38 EDT
From the Wausau Daily Herald:

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius cast Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as the true candidate of change who can help people in the Wausau area navigate difficult economic times.
"The pain has finally trickled up to Wall Street from Main Street," Sebelius, a Democrat, said Wednesday to about 100 people at the Wausau Business Development Center.
The Kansas governor said Obama -- who grew up in Hawaii but was also raised by his Kansas grandparents -- understands the plight of regular people and will offer real change and relief.

UPDATED: Gov. Sebelius' trip to Wisconsin is now all over the place!
*Here's video from WKOW of the Kansas Governor's event in Sun Prairie.
*WKBT has extended video of her speaking in La Crosse.

Gov. Doyle Backs the Obama/Biden Great Lakes Plan

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:29:31 EDT
From the Journal-Sentinel:

Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday he welcomes Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's $5 billion plan to begin restoration of the Great Lakes.
"Barack Obama understands we have to make fundamental changes, and one of them is the way that the Republicans have dealt with the lakes," Doyle said in a conference call with reporters.
He was talking about President Bush's plan four years ago to bring together regional leaders and scientists to draft a blueprint to protect the world's largest freshwater system. That blueprint, which took more than a year to craft, has since largely gone unfunded.
Obama's plan calls for $5 billion over 10 years to address critical Great Lakes issues such as sewer overflows, invasive species and toxic hotspots. The money would come from rollbacks of existing tax breaks to oil and gas companies, according to his aides. Obama is also planning to designate a federal Great Lakes boss to help coordinate existing federal, state and local Great Lakes programs.
[...]
Conservationists said they are encouraged that presidential candidates appear to be taking Great Lakes issues seriously.
"The release of Senator Obama's plan indicates that the presidential candidates are getting serious about Great Lakes restoration. We look forward to the candidates trying to outdo each other on who is going to stand up for the millions of people, businesses and communities who rely on the Great Lakes 365 days a year," said Jeff Skelding, national campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, which represents about 100 environmental groups and other conservation-related organizations.

"Plan for Change"

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:42:36 EDT

Yesterday Barack spoke to a crowd in Golden, Colorado on the recent series of troubling economic news.
Today he's taking that message to the airwaves with "Plan for Change," a two-minute TV ad that outlines his plan to strengthen the American economy.
Have a look:

"Real Change"

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:40:29 EDT

The Obama-Biden Plan for the Great Lakes

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:00:09 EDT

CHICAGO, IL - Today, the Obama-Biden campaign announced the Obama-Biden Great Lakes Restoration Plan. The plan calls for new federal funding of $5 billion to jumpstart Great Lakes Restoration, designates a Great Lakes Coordinator to coordinate Federal, State, and Local agencies and requires full implementation of the Great Lakes Compact.
You can read the fact sheet here: LINK
Governor Jim Doyle, the Chairman of the Great Lakes Governors said, "America deserves to have a President who understands that supporting the Great Lakes isn't just about scoring points during the election year, it's about preserving our environment and protecting a vital economic engine in the Midwest. Our states need a partner in the White House like Barack Obama who has a proven track record of protecting the Great Lakes and advocating for our sportsmen, our tourism industry and our jobs. The Obama-Biden plan gives us in the Great Lakes states the support and change we need to grow our economy and secure our future."

More after the jump...
Read More!

Tuesday Gems

Obama grandmama — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:36:38 EDT
Take Action Now!
Please Help Pass the 'Protect Our Children Act' ~ only a few day to write your Senator

Obama Watch:
Obama's Pans to Woo Women Voters
Linwood Holton today endorsed Obama for president
Obama ad on women's pay

Way to Go Joe:
St. Clair Shores, Michigan

McC Attacks:
Jewish voters complain of anti-Obama poll

McCain related:
McCain: Bomb. Bomb. Bomb.
McCain's Radical Agenda
54 Fact Checks on McCain
McCain's Integrity
McCain Would Privatize Social Security
Amid McCain's new status, old scandals stir
The Ugly New McCain
Is McCain a Crook?
Their Brand is Collapse
Conservatives Turn on McCain/Palin
Stop Lying About Obama's Health Care Plan

Palin Factor:
The Final Distraction

The Internet Race to the White House:
Are You a REAL Volunteer or just a Keyboard Rabble-Rouser?

The Traditional Race to the White House:
The Candidates on International Diplomacy and Immigration

Voter Awareness:
88 Years Later
Virginia Orders 200,000 Additional Voter Registration Forms
Lose your house, lose your vote
Voter suppression in GA due to illegal requirement

Heads Up:
Obama Files Suit Over Alleged MI Voter Suppression Plan
Financial Russian Roulette
The Cost Of Forgetting Life Before Roe

DNC:
Senator No is facing his toughest foe, Senator O

Students for Barack Obama Campus Kick-off in Full Swing!

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:23:35 EDT

The youth vote in Wisconsin is always important and the Campaign for Change is working with Students for Barack Obama groups on campuses across the state to fire up young voters.
From the Capital Times:

The collegiate push to get Sen. Barack Obama into the White House begins in Wisconsin Tuesday, with rallies planned in Madison and Milwaukee.
Rallies organized by Students for Barack Obama are scheduled at 7 p.m. in the Humanities Building on the UW-Madison campus and at 6 p.m. in Union Ballroom West on the UW-Milwaukee campus.
Other kickoffs this week are at UW-Stout's Memorial Student Center and at Reeve Underground at UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday, UW-Superior and UW-Green Bay on Thursday and Alverno College on Friday.
The rallies, held in conjunction with College Democrats, will feature student speakers and will also have voter registration stations so student voters can register to vote.
"This is such an important election for our generation," said Bryon Eagon, state coordinator of the Students for Barack Obama campaign. "By getting involved with their campus chapters, students can really play a huge role in deciding the future of our country."

Find a Campus Kickoff event at you school by clicking here!

Protecting the Great Lakes

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:25:15 EDT

Barack Obama is releasing more details about his plan to protect the Great Lakes. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is promising to push for $5 billion in new funds to protect and restore the Great Lakes if he gets elected in November.
[...]
The announcement comes days after Obama and McCain sent representatives to a Great Lakes restoration conference in downtown Milwaukee. Representatives from both camps talked about their candidate's respective commitment to the world's largest freshwater system, but both were short on specifics during the three-day event.
Obama plans to get specific with his campaign promises today. Beyond a $5 billion federal trust fund designed to "jump-start" Great Lakes restoration efforts in partnership with state and local governments, Obama is committing to a "zero tolerance" policy for invasive species to stem the steady degradation of the Great Lakes because of unwanted species such as the zebra and quagga mussels.
The Great Lakes are now home to more than 180 invasive species, and science shows the overwhelming majority of invaders in recent decades have arrived in the ship-steadying ballast tanks of overseas freighters.
Obama also plans to designate a Great Lakes czar to coordinate existing federal programs with authority over Great Lakes management issues.
[...]
"In the same way this country recognized the need to restore the Everglades, we see this as a priority for the Obama administration," Heather Zichal, energy and environment policy director for the Obama campaign, said late Monday. "We need to recognize this as a great national treasure that needs to be protected. It's the largest freshwater system on the planet, and therefore we need to put the power of the federal government behind restoration."

To learn more about Barack's plans to protect our natural resources, sign up with Wisconsin Conservationists for Obama.

Heartland Change Tour Coming to Beaver Dam Tomorrow!

Ian Jungbacker — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:27:58 EDT

The Beaver Dam Daily Citizen got word that the Heartland Change Tour bus is going to be in town tomorrow. Take a look:

MADISON -- Barack Obama's Wisconsin Campaign for Change "Heartland Change Tour II" returns to Wisconsin this week.
The bus will stop in Waupun on Tuesday, with campaign staff joining local supporters and elected officials to discuss Obama's and McCain's records as they relate to Rural Wisconsin.
During the Waupun stop, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke and Wisconsin Policy Director Peter Harrell will hold a Heartland Change Breakfast Roundtable Discussion at 10 a.m. at the Chit Chat Cafe, 324 E. Main St.

Voices for Change: Susan in Milwaukee

Ian Jungbacker — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:19:12 EDT

Susan in Milwaukee is an Obama Team member with a wonderful on her role in the campaign: for her, being an Obama Organizing Team member is just the beginning of working for change in her community:

This whole Obama campaign at the local level is based on his community organizing model and its a wonderful model that respects and empowers and includes all people who want to be involved in helping the campaign and helping their communities for the long haul. This campaign is organized not only to elect Obama President, but to mobilize a movement for change that will continue beyond the election, to help implement Obama's agenda when he is elected, to continue to work on local issues that we all care about, and to work on other campaigns to elect progressive candidates.
I was trained to be an Obama Organizing Fellow in June and now I'm an Obama Team Member and the training for both positions was quite similar, both based on the principles used by Obama when he was a community organizer. Through the training all of us have come to know our own life stories better and we see how our own stories led us to connect deeply to this campaign. I am inspired to be part of a history-making campaign and would not have been quite so inspired if I had not been helped to see that my earlier experiences related to the civil rights movement and then the anti-war and women's movement are placed in the context of Obama's rise to prominence. It's still an uphill battle, but if everyone becomes a part of this movement and devotes all the available hours they have to this campaign, we can win.

Join Susan and the hundreds of Obama Organizing Team members all across Wisconsin -- stop by a Camapaign for Change office in your neighborhood today!

Wisconsin Sportmen for Obama

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:46:39 EDT

From the Appleton Post-Crescent:

Democratic Barack Obama's presidential campaign has countered Republican John McCain's attempts to win the sportsmen's vote.
The Obama campaign launched a committee late last week to reach gun owners, hunters and sportsmen in the state. The organization, led by U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, has members in rural and urban communities, including in Neenah with Denny Lauer.

To join Congressman Kind and other Wisconsin Sportsmen for Obama, just click here!

Weekend Gems

Obama grandmama — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:12:04 EDT
Action ~ Send this to as many as you can:
John McCain's ads are LIES. Here's the video proof.
John McCain's health records must be released ~ sign the petition

Obama Watch:
Enough!
Koch backs Obama, calls Palin 'scary'
The Obamas Have a Rabbi in the Family

Barack's Latest Ad:
"It's Over" Ad
The McCain Gamble

Way to Go Hillary:
Hillary Clinton in Tampa, FL

McC Attacks:
Fact Check

McCain related:
McLobbyi$t.com
Stopping At Nothing To Win
Making America Stupid
2 High-Ranking McCain Campaign Officials Lobbied For 'Sex-For-Oil Companies'
The Maverick and the Celebrity Con Man
McCain's Fannie and Freddie Connections
The Budget According to McCain: Part I ~ a second look
Jukebox John keeps changing his tune

Palin Factor:
Gov. Palin's Worldview
Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes
A Police Chief, A Lawsuit And A Small-Town Mayor
Brian Ross' report on Palin and the library
As Mayor of Wasilla Left Trail of Bad Blood

The Traditional Race to the White House:
The Palin-Whatshisname Ticket

Bush 'n Company:
Woodward Charges Bush With 'Odd Detachment'
Cheney Scales New Heights of Hypocrisy

Media:
Alaska Women Rally Against Palin Are Threatened
Rage on the Radio ~ Bill Moyers
ABC investigates Sarah Palin's Troopergate problem

Heads Up:
Do The Facts Support John McCain?
Greenspan: America Can't Afford McCain's Tax Plan
Meet Charley James ~ writer's interview that exposes racist slur from Palin

DNC:
Ari Melber Slams McCain Sex Ed Ad

On the Lighter Side:
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL

Women's Wednesdays

Ian Jungbacker — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:42:24 EDT

Campaign for Change offices around Wisconsin will be hosting Women's Wednesday events every week throughout the rest of the election. It's a chance for women to get together, reach out to other women voters and spread the word about Barack's efforts to fight for pay equity, health care for Wisconsin's working families and women's rights.
The Campaign for Change got Women's Wednesdays rolling with a state-wide conference call last week. From the Green Bay Press Gazette:

A number of prominent democratic officeholders, including Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman and others, kicked-off a telephone campaign on Wednesday by focusing on issues such as health care and working women.
About 240 supporters were dialed in to find out how they can help out the campaign by hosting weekly house parties on Wednesdays, grass roots campaigning and a women's week of action slated for Sept. 22.
"Each state has its own strategies for identifying women … this has been developed within Wisconsin," said Phil Walzak, communications director for the Obama campaign in Wisconsin. "We are making sure that this demographic is learning about Barack Obama and his ideas."

Sign up for a Wisconsin Women's Wednesday event in your neighborhood today!

Wisconsin Heartland Change Tour is Back!

Ian Jungbacker — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:00:36 EDT

This weekend the Heartland Change Tour will be returning to Wisconsin, making stops in ten towns across the state. Wisconsin Campaign for Change Policy Director Peter Harrell will be traveling in the Heartland Change Tour RV, holding round table discussions with supporters and curious voters on the issues that matter to Wisconsin.
These informal discussion sessions have been held in diners, coffee shops, living rooms and back yards and are a great way to not only learn about what Barack Obama will do for the people of Wisconsin, but tell the campaign what you think.
Along the way Harrell will be joined by local elected officials and community leaders who have been working for change in their neighborhoods.
To learn more about and find a Heartland Change Tour event in your neighborhood, click here.

September 11, 2001

Judy and Mel Barwinske — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:07:18 EDT

We were in Denver. Colorado getting ready to go to work. Oh! A light commuter plane just hit a building in the World Trade Center. Simple as that, we went about our business of trying to get out the door. Then we looked a little closer at the tiny TV in our kitchen and said to each other. "That was no little plane! It would have just bounced off the building." Then the second plane came around the backside of World Trade Center and our lives were different. It was only 7am in Denver. Colorado. Where was our granddaughter? Where was our son?
Now we live in Pennsylvania and we have visited the Flight 93 site near Shankville, PA on the Fifth Anniversary of 9/11 on 9/11/06. It is a somber place in a quiet, open field. It is sad. Yet the Truth of what happened in the skies above Shanksville linger in the air. Heroism and Courage came out of the utter terror.
So as we remember This Day of 9/11, let us commit ourselves to finishing this task of honor.

Barack to School!

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:02:12 EDT

As students all across Wisconsin head back to the classroom this month, the Campaign for Change will be hosting "Barack to School!" events on college campuses throughout the state. These events are a great way for young voters to learn how they can organize fellow students and work for their future.
Barack Obama has inspired an entire generation of young Americans to work for change in their communities and there's no better place to start a lifetime of civic engagement than by registering friends and neighbors and getting out the vote on campus. The Campaign for Change will be working hard to get college students - many of whom will be voting in their first election - on board Barack's movement for change.
No political experience is necessary!
Obama's Campaign for Change is open is everyone with a desire to change America. We're looking for interns, volunteers, supporters and youthful enthusiasm in general. It's the work of so many young people that has been a major reason this campaign has come this far and we'll need these voices to get Barack Obama to the White House!
Stop by a "Barack to School!" event at your school and learn how you can get involved. It's the chance to change America while having your own life-changing experience.
Click here to find an event near you!

Matt and Haley in Janesville

Ian Jungbacker — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:33:45 EDT

Matt and his daughter Haley have been doing a ton of work in the Campaign for Change office in Janesville -- an whether its knocking on doors or decorating the office, they've both have a great time working for change in southern Wisconsin
Take a look at some of the photos Matt's taken over the last few weeks

Voices for Change: Margot in Viroqua

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:09:32 EDT

Margot has been working for change for over a year now in her hometown of Viroqua. That's her above with Barack during the recent barbecue Obama attended in Eau Claire. The photo Barack's holding was taken by Margot's father and is a family heirloom she wanted to share with Obama.
Here's Margot's story in her own words:
I helped canvass in Minnesota before their caucus and I held a "honk for Obama" sign on the main drag for 2 weekends straight before the primary here in WI. I felt very alone during the primaries but thankfully, that has changed!
I am now a volunteer at the Crawford/Vernon Democratic Headquarters here in Viroqua. I have become a state-wide voter registration deputy, registered 27 people so far, and have helped plan Convention watching parties, house parties, and recently a large fundraiser. And I am not alone anymore. Now that we have our own office, I get to talk to people from all walks of life on a daily basis and I am so elated and encouraged by the response we are getting.
Because of my involvement I recently had the opportunity to help at a small gathering in Eau Clair with Governor Doyle, Senator Feingold and Senator Barack Obama. I had the great pleasure of speaking with Senator Obama and have my picture taken with him. He took the time to connect with me one day before the Democratic Convention began and I was overwhelmed by the kindness he showed me. I know that I am working for the right candidate and that he appreciates everything volunteers are doing on this campaign's behalf.

There are thousands of fantastic volunteers across Wisconsin just like Margot. Stop by your local Campaign for Change field office and learn how you can make a change for America today!

Clips from Joe Biden's Visit to Green Bay

Ian Jungbacker — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:40:21 EDT

Joe Biden's campaign stop to Green Bay yesterday made a lot of headlines around Wisconsin and the country. Here are just a few:
From Katie Rosenberg at the Newsline 9 blog in Wausau:
Everyone was pumped up by the time Joe Biden came out. The enthusiastic crowd drowned out the speakers with cheers and clapping. Biden jumped right on the theme of the day, "Barack and I know why we're running," he said. "...we're going to restore the middle class and restore our place in the world." He also jumped on the republicans chiding, "This is not your father's republican party." At the Republican National Convention, Biden admonished, republican lawmakers ignored the issues. "The silence was deafening," he scolded. He attempted to paint a picture of an out of touch GOP that disregards the middle class by not talking about energy assistance, health care and college assistance.
Veterans sat in the seats directly behind Biden and if there was an audience theme, I think it was the war in Iraq. The crowd went absolutely wild when he talked about the war. "We will end this war in Iraq," he asserted. "We'll protect those who are going and take care of those coming home." Biden called veterans' benefits a sacred government obligation.

From ABC News:
The Green Bay Packers kick off their season tonight at Lambeau Field, so Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., stopped off this afternoon at Kroll's West, a restaurant & bar just across the street from the not-yet-frozen tundra. "You guys start early, huh?" Biden remarked when he walked into the crowded scene just after noon local time.
With ESPN showing highlights of former Packer Brett Favre's debut Sunday with the New York Jets, Biden toured the restaurant, regaling the Cheesehead faithful with the tale of how he - a Pennsylvania native - became a Packer fan himself. As the story goes, Biden took a liking to the green-and-gold back when he was a student at Wilmington's Archmere Academy, a Catholic school where a lot was riding on the outcome of Green Bay games...
"If the Packers won, we got out early," he told fans. "If the Packers lost, we got extra homework. We were all Packers fans. And back in those days, that was Jimmy Taylor, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr and those guys…"
[...]
One Packer fan in particular stood out, a gentleman five weeks away from his 100th birthday. Biden greeted the man just before exiting, leaving the fans free to enjoy their butter burgers, brats, cheese curds, and cold beverages...

From the Appleton Post-Crescent:
Biden found two fans in Gayle Vannes, a Minneapolis resident from Green Bay, and Green Bay resident Diane Dobberstein who promised the senator he had their vote when he stopped at their table.
"There was no hesitation at all," Dobberstein said. "I think we all want a change."
More after the jump...
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