The GObamaUSA Change is Coming group was founded by Obama volunteers, Rob Martin and Evette Wilson, who were directed to do so while attending a national Obama for America Legacy Conference on December 6th and 7th in Chicago. The purpose of the conference, which was attended by approximately 250 staff and 100 volunteers from around the U.S., was to plan and implement the "2.0" issue-organizing version of the Obama for America party organization. To date, four meetings of the Richmond, Va.-based GObamaUSA Change is Coming group have been held and are summarized in this posting as is other organizational information.
Rob Martin (rmartin@brandsync.com) and Lisa Quigley (mjquigley@comcast.net) are day-to-day contacts for the GObamaUSA Change is Coming group that is based at 6243 River Road, Suite 6, Richmond, Va. 23229.
GOBAMA!
Learn how you can help the BarackObama.comYes We Can (Change our Destiny) project
Either attend the PRESS EVENT, sign up for the event at:http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/communityservice/gptc2cOR
If you can’t make the event in Chicago, please read below and see how you can effect change with a single click:
CLICK BELOW. LISTEN. BE INSPIRED. PASS IT ON. SIMPLE.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwspAagg8uwHow this movement began: 53 year old Steven Miles Sulkin, Chicago producer and founder of the "Yes We Can (Change our Destiny) Project," was so encouraged by the phenomenon of the 10’s of millions of people who were inspired by President Elect Obama to bring about change to our world, that he has put aside nearly all of his responsibilities and has vowed to devote himself to help keep that potent force alive. He believes our world needs us now more then ever, to, as the famous quote says, "ask not what our country can do for us…"The group's mission statement was inspired by what President Elect Obama said on November 4th at Grant Park: We have an opportunity to put our hands “on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope for a better day.”Project #1: Create a video that begins to bend the arc of our immediate future by inspiring millions to understand that if they act together as a group to help our world, that “Yes We Can (Change our Destiny).”Spurred on by supporters and friends, self-funded with money he doesn't have and shouldn't have spent, Steven brought in 40 of the nation's top video artists, musicians and "philosophical confidants" and on December 7th at The Chicago Recording Company, created in a marathon 17 hour session, the "Yes We Can (Change our Destiny)" video. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwspAagg8uwThe film is so compelling that it is already becoming a visual and musical rallying cry for change post the election, much as Will.I.Am's video inspired a nation to bring about change before the election.Steven is confident that this video along with other events in Washington D.C. during the inaugural will re-ignite the 4 million people coming to D.C., and that in turn will re-engage the country and the world to bring about real change our world so desperately needs.Steven will be attending the inaugural in Washington D.C. He wants no fame or fortune. He just wants to make an impact on this world and feels that this project is his calling; that his entire life has been on a path for this moment.PRESS EVENT: Yes We Can (Change our Destiny)Thursday, January 8th, 2008Chicago Recording Company232 E. Ohio StreetChicago, IL 60611Studio 410:30am - 11:30amInvited: The Chicago news media, both print and television, all musicians, artists, engineers, and friends involved in this project, Obama supporters from BarackObama.com, and all those who want to effect change in our world, are invited. SPACE IS VERY LIMITED. Please R.S.V.P as soon as possible.The purpose of the event is to officially launch the "Yes We Can (Change our Destiny) Project" which is dedicated to the belief that there are numerous destinies in our collective future and we, through our actions or inactions, choose a path for our lives. Our goal is to re-ignite the passion inspired by President Elect Barack Obama to be actively involved in the shaping of our collective future.Please R.S.V.P. to Steve.Sulkin@MBMProductions.comOr on this website in the event section.Thank you once again everyone for your incredible talent and dedication to this project and please continue to help the video go viral by forwarding it to everyone you know and asking them to do the same.This is an official BarackObama.com event through the BarackObama.com website.Watch the video. Pass it on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwspAagg8uwPeace,Steven Miles Sulkin
Include, Respect and Empower!
There were approximately 60 people in attendance Saturday at our Irving St. Library 'Change is Coming' meeting.
Opening Remarks- As one might expect the meeting opened with congratulations all around for our incredible efforts on behalf or the Obama campaign and an acknowledgement that in spite of the President Elects' inspirational leadership much of the change needed in our country needs to happen with the support and efforts from local grassroots organizations.
Change Video/DVD- Next on the agenda was scheduled to be a 10 Minute DVD presentation from the campaign but since the DVD hadn't arrived and because the general consensus was that the content of the DVD was likely; 'Thanks for your efforts', 'Your continued involvement is important', 'Your efforts moving forward are vital' etc. and since we had clearly come together in the spirit of what was likely conveyed in the DVD we moved forward.
History of Change- There was a brief overview of examples of grassroots citizens organizations creating change throughout the history of our country i.e. The American Revolution, The Women's Suffragette Movement, Labor Movement, Civil Rights Movement, The 18 Year Old Right to Vote. It was pointed out that this particular moment in our nation's history could well be the most significant moment since the birth of our nation.
On Saturday, December 13, 2008 I hosted a Victory Now Change house party at my home. While I only had 5 guest, we had a very good discussion on a broad range of issue that we felt will have the greatest impact on our community and our country.
We discussed reaching out to our Republican counterparts during future house meetings since the issues being discussed affect all Americans and not just Democrats. We also believe it may be wise to join forces with the members of house party groups in our surrounding area to add emphasis of like type issues.
Our top 4 issues include:
i. We believe that the federal and state government to should limit new home construction if there is more than a certain percentage of available houses in the area. Continued building is causing the market to be oversaturated and is driving down the value of existing homes. New homes could still be built if the construction would replace an existing home.
ii. We believe that banks should be encouraged to loans in default to extend the loan term and set a fixed interest rate. An entry should be made on the borrower’s credit reporting to reflect this renegotiation of terms.
iii. We would also like to ask that these borrowers who are in default be required to have their finances reviewed by a non-profit credit counseling agency prior to being considered for restructuring to see if the default is as a result of bad lending or poor personal financial management.
i. Americans who can afford it should be provided additional options to pay for an upgrade to their coverage which would include addition service.
ii. We think there should be a not for profit organization designated to oversee this universal healthcare program. As long as for profit insurance companies are involved medical care in America will continue to deteriorate.
iii. We would like to see these benefits limited to citizens who are paying their far share (taxes) to support the needs of our country. We cannot continue to provide people (non-resident and non-tax paying Americans) a free ride.
iv. We would like to see an overhaul of the Medicare/Medicaid that would streamline the program and provide patients with the proper treatment for their doctor’s diagnosis.
v. We would like to see oversight to speed the implementation of online medical record that would speed patient treatment and reduce cost.
i. Period of Transition from deployed troops from Combat to Civilian
ii. Medical care
iii. Job Training and Placement
iv. Housing Assistance
i. Need to inventory and replace inadequate, worn and outdated equipment
1. Provide the manufacture of MRAPs assistance to speed production and deployment of MRAPs to combat zones to replace the outdated and inadequate HUMVEEs.
a. Perhaps as a condition of an auto industry bailout the big 3 auto makers could be enlisted to improve production
ii. Need to immediately return all National Guard troops to the U.S. These troops are designed to protect and defend our homeland.
1. Many of our troops currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have been over-utilized and need to be replaced.
2. Need to consider at least a limited draft that would require young men to serve a period of two years in what could be called a non-deployable ready reserve. At least a percentage of these draftees would elect to re-enlist and would then be deployable. The others would incur a 5 year inactive reserve commitment.
a. In return we should offer them a 4-year college education at one of their state’s universities.
i. Home or neighborhood officing
1. Using broadband to perform administrative duties from home or community office.
2. Create jobs converting uninhabited buildings that are available in nearly all communities to be used as individual office space with IT support and an office environment.
a. Worker or employer would basically rent an office space within the community.
3. Reduce daily commute times from 2 or more hours to just a few minutes.
a. Reduce carbon emissions
b. Reduce Fuel Consumption
c. Reduce Highway and public transportation congestion.
d. Reduce employee stress
e. Increase involvement in the family and community
ii. Four day work weeks
iii. Limiting businesses and retail to 6-day weeks
i. Mandatory conversion of truck stops with in window power/heat/air and communications.
ii. Change from Interstate trucking to Regional trucking using increased rail transportation of goods.
iii. Development of more efficient trucks
As a group we agreed that during this holiday season that it would be difficult to develop and conduct a public service project other than those we are already involved in. We did discuss contacting our respective cities to see what committees or boards have openings and submitting an application to serve on one or more of these committees.
· Salvation Army Angel Tree
· Operation Care Dallas – Christmas Gift 2008(Worlds Largest Homeless Christmas party) http://www.operationcaredallas.org/
· Projected for 2009
o MS Walk in Fort Worth – Team Txnerd
o Salvation Army
o Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
New Beginnings
Riverside for Change met for the first time on December 13, 2008 to discuss how we could enact Barack's vision by working as a positive force in our local community. We gathered in small groups based on issues most important to us and explored ways that we might use our available resources to improve folks' lives in nearby neighborhoods.
Key Findings
As the groups joined together to discuss our findings, several key issues and avenues for action emerged. If you're interested in reading more about this discussion, please view the complete post.
01 The Economy | 02 Education | 03 Healthcare | 04 Energy
Planned Service Event
Our service event will take place in early January. We will plan a food + donations drive in Riverside and then serve folks at a local pantry. We will use existing community networks we have ties to in order to have as large an impact as possible. More details to follow. If you're interested in being included in our project, please email casie.simpson@gmail.com.
Thanks to everyone who made Saturday's SF Change is Coming meeting a success! About 140 of us gathered to reflect on our campaign successes, identify the issues we feel are most urgent, and plan community service events.
We used small group discussions to identify the following urgent issues we'd like to work on. Our top issues included:
We also signed up to complete service projects before Inaguration on January 20th, including volunteering at the food bank, soup kitchen, and habitat restoration.
Many of us are wondering what kind of structure will grow out of the Obama campaign. Sean Hughes, who attended a recent meeting in Chicago with 320 other Obama for America organizers, told us that Obama for America will transform into a new national organization. This new organization ("Obama for America v2.0") will serve as a vehicle for two-way communication between the Obama administration and the grassroots. We'll hear more details about the new organization as they evolve.
I co-hosted a Change is Coming event Saturday with some friends in Springfield Illinois. We met one block away from the Old State Capitol Building where many of us heard Obama announce his campaign nearly two years ago.
Over 20 of us discussed our top issues including global warming/energy, health care, education, and taking action in the community. For our service activity we're planning to volunteer at a winter overflow shelter for the homeless.
A picture is in the extended text.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/ObamaCrossroads
Yours at the Crossroads of Change,
Brian Prax
Tonight I attended a very special house party. It wasn't a typical house party, it wasn't held in a house, nor was it a party. More than 25 people came to Cafe Kili in Temple Terrace. For team members who worked with Field Organizer's Genora Reed, Sheila Cherizard Donovan Nwokeji and Jill Stracko, Cafe Kili was our satellite North Tampa Field Office, our outpost, our home. Special, because Patrick and Rose, the owners, are Kenyans; they opened their shop to us, even opening for us on their one day off; they sacrificed their only day of rest to help the Obama Campaign, they gave more than any of us had been asked to give. You see, their son died in Iraq - the first Kenyan-American to die in service to our country. They knew the importance of our mission, they knew we needed the Change Barack Obama would bring; a man whose Kenyan heritage was part of their family and their countries, Kenya and America.
We listened to the message from the incoming Administration; we listened to our Field Organizers, Sheila Cherizard and Ryan Metcalf and from Jerid Fox, Biji Anchery and others who attested to the resolve of every individual who contributed their precious time canvassing, phone banking and registering voters. People who worked the Early Vote, Vote by Mail and finally the Get Out The Vote campaigns, the local candidate literature drops and even on Election Day were canvassing or driving people to the polls. We shared stories of the recent past while at the same time looked forward to, and planned for the future.
The Obama Administration has developed Obama 2.0, tech speak for the next phase. This Presidency is like no other in our generation. They built a network of communities, of neighborhoods; they spent countless hours and many millions of dollars to wake the sleeping giant of Democrats and Progressives in America. Scores of volunteers and organizers, who maybe until now had not realized their potential, who rose to the challenge, who now are recognized in their own towns as citizens engaged in the process of government; who found their voice. We can and we will Change the face of politics in America.
There will be one more house party, this one in a house and it is a party. Dr. Alayne Unterberger is a proud community organizer, who as one of the founders of the Florida Institute for Community Studies, was chosen to introduce Senator Hillary Clinton during the Florida campaign effort. She has worked to educate a community who others have ignored, her organization teaches English, conducts AIDS education and testing, provides health assessments for those at risk of Diabetes and offers after school child care. Her center is even a "Safe Place" chartered by the State of Florida is so committed to being the "Change We have been Waiting For" that she has opened her home to the campaign once again, this time not as a staging location for canvassers, but to continue to Change America has been waiting for effort.
If you can, please join us Monday, December 15th at 7pm to be a part of the Change which has come to America, to continue your service to your neighborhood, or to begin your journey of civic engagement.
Whether you are a Democrat, an Independent, an informed Republican, a Green Party member, or any associated with any other affiliation, you can bring Change to America, you can make a difference. Your community needs you. Tampa needs you, Temple Terrace needs you, and your neighbor needs you. Come to find out how you can make a difference.
Visit BarackObama.com search events for your zip code on a regular basis. We are out here, waiting for you, welcoming you, engaged in service to our community.
Wishing you Peace,
Lisa Montelione
What issues are most important to your group?: Environment, particularly important in the upper delaware watershed which provides drinking water to 25 million people, and there are many threats including a gas drilling gold rush, pipeline and powerline expansions, loss of farm land and development.
Other issues include sustainable local agriculture, permaculture, energy production, education, healthcare, Supreme Court appointments, Cabinet level appointments (members of group are against Joel Klein for DOE), ineffectivenes and lack of participation in local democratic party, federal deficit. Who are your local officials and representatives? Does anyone in your group have connections to them?:The group encompasses people from two states and 4 counties (Delaware and Sullivan in NY and Pike and Wayne in PA). We have contacts with local reps. How will you build relationships with your representatives and let them know which issues are important to you?: We discussed infiltrating the local democratic committees. What are your local media outlets? Do you have any relationships with the local media?: We will contact the local newspapers including the River Reporter, Hancock Herald, Wayne Independent. We have relationships with them. How do you plan to publicize your actions and amplify your voices?: We will encourage members to invite new people to join. What will you do even before Barack Obama is President? Describe the service event your group has committed to before inauguration:
The group discussed two actions.
One involves publicising the existence of the local group as a conduit for communications of local issues to local representatives and the Obama organization. This entails distributing flyers, posters and links at local libraries to the group's blog and whatever other mechanism the Obama organization develops to funnel up communication. We encourage you to create such a system, through multiple online and offline media, to fulfill the promise of increased transparency and local democratic participation. The second event, potentially scheduled for 1/19 would be a celabaration of the innauguration in the courthouse square of Honesdale, the county seat of Wayne County.
YES WE CAN! DC for Obama Volunteer Summit
Nearly 200 campaign volunteers from across the Washington, DC, area came together to decide the role they want to play to help realize the vision that President Elect Obama articulated during the election. The volunteers were convened at a "Yes We Can Summit" on Saturday, December 13, at George Washington University by DC for Obama, a volunteer organization that mobilized several thousand DC-area supporters to knock on more than 100,000 doors for Barack Obama during the presidential campaign. Participants at the "Yes We Can Summit" set priorities for the future of the local grassroots organization. In small groups, the Obama supporters worked with facilitators to share their experience from the campaign and discuss the issues on which they'd like to work. Electronic keypad polling was used to identify the collective goals of the group. The “Yes We Can Summit” used a methodology developed by the nonprofit organization AmericaSpeaks called a 21st Century Town Meeting, which integrates technology with authentic deliberation to help groups identify collective priorities. Who Participated?
Local and National IssuesParticipants were asked to use their polling keypads to identify the local and national issues about which they were most passionate. Health care received the most support, followed by foreign policy/national security/Iraq, energy/environment, economy/jobs, and education. Other national issues received less support, including international development and housing/poverty. The local issue that received by far the greatest support was education and youth issues (almost twice as many votes as any other). Voting rights, homelessness and poverty, health care, affordable housing, crime/public safety, and community vitality received moderate support. More than half of participants said they were most interested in working on national policy advocacy with 22% saying they were most interested in local community service projects and 18% saying they were most interested in local policy advocacy. Optimism about Making an ImpactForty-five percent of participants said they were “very optimistic” about the ability of local volunteers to make a meaningful contribution. Forty-four percent said they were “optimistic.” Elevent percent said they were :neutral” and one percent said they were “very pessimistic.” Memories and HopesSummit participants began the day by sharing their favorite memories of the campaign and their greatest hopes for the future. Examples of favorite memories included:
Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion of hopes for the future included:
One Year Vision for the FutureSummit participants spent time working in small groups to develop a one year vision for the organization. The following large-group themes emerged from the discussions:Promote national and local advocacyDevelop a large and diverse grassroots membershipPartner with local organizations to address underserved communities on education, health care and povertyAct as a clearinghouse for local and national civic associationsCollaborate with the administrationRecruit and retain volunteers for community service projectsUse metrics to ensure vision is being implementedEighty eight percent of participants said they were “supportive” or “very supportive” of the vision. Community Service ProjectsFollowing a presentation from the chair of the DC for Obama Community Service Committee, participants discussed the criteria that should be used to select Community Service projects and identified potential projects that could be taken on that could show a meaningful impact in the next year. Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion about Community Service criteria included:
Hundreds of ideas were generated for Community Service projects through the table discussions. While each of these ideas will be read by the Community Service committee, a set of projects were identified as being most common from across the room. Participants used their polling keypads to identify the projects among this list that they preferred. By far the project that received the greatest support from participants was to create and support tutoring and mentoring programs for youth with measurable results. This was followed by building job training programs (specifically green jobs), registering, educating and empowering voters, and developing relationships with specific schools and letting school officials tell us what they need. Other priorities that received less support included surveying weaknesses in DC health care system and volunteering to fill in the gaps, and cleaning up and beautifying neighborhoods.Nineteen percent of participants said their top priority project was not among the room-wide list. Advocacy ProjectsFollowing a presentation from the chair of the DC for Obama Advocacy Committee, participants discussed the criteria that should be used to select Advocacy projects and identified potential projects that could be taken on that could show a meaningful impact in the next year. Room-wide themes that emerged from the discussion about Advocacy criteria included:
Hundreds of ideas were generated for Advocacy projects through the table discussions. While each of these ideas will be read by the Advocacy committee, a set of projects were identified as being most common from across the room. Participants used their polling keypads to identify the projects among this list that they preferred.The two advocacy projects that received the strongest support were promoting DC voting rights and advocating for affordable housing, homeless services and poverty support. These were followed by working to improve health care and improving global perceptions of America through foreign aid and diplomacy. Advocacy projects that received less support included advancing community education on tipics such as financial literacy and parental involvement, increasing funding on education reform, supporting HIV/AIDS organizations that provide testing and services, increasing support for tutoring and mentoring programs for DC students, and rallying DC residents to increase the rate of recycling.Eight percent of participants said their top project was not among the list of room-wide themes. Our NameParticipants at the Summit decided to consider a new name for the organization. After talking about the kind of message that their name should convey, they generated 16 options in addition to DC for Obama:
Following a series of votes to identify top choices, the two names that received the greatest support were Yes We Can DC (48%) and DC for Obama (44%). Commitments and EvaluationsAt the end of the day, participants signed up to participate on DC for Obama committees and made personal commitments for the future. Participants were also asked to use their polling keypads to answer two final evaluation questions. 85% of participants rated the meeting as “very good” or “good” with the remaining participants rating it “fair.” 84% of participants said they were “very committed” or “committed” to the outcomes of the day’s meeting with 12% saying they were “somewhat committed” and 4% saying they were “unsure” or “not committed.”Special ThanksSpecial thanks to the College Democrats of George Washington University for helping to support the event and to AmericaSpeaks for donating keypad polling technology as well as staff support. Thanks to the dozens of volunteers who made the Summit possible and who will continue to be the heart and soul of DC for Obama.
On Saturday morning I finished preparing for our Change Is Coming gathering at our home in Chester, then drove up to Richmond for their meeting at the old HQ. On the way, I received a call from a reporter from Channel 12 news who wanted to attend our house meeting. I told her about the Richmond meeting, and encouraged her to attend.
When I arrived at the old HQ building on Marshall Street, I had a flashback to November 5. That day I helped Wilson, our field organizer, return our office equipment and supplies to the HQ for distribution to local schools. Other volunteers were doing the same, and more volunteers were sorting supplies and cleaning up. We all were on a high from election night - BEAMING! Returning to the building brought all of those memories back. How grand!
There was lively and interesting discussion at the Richmond meeting, and Channel 12 aired clips from the meeting on the 11 p.m. newscast. After the meeting I headed back to Chester for our own gathering.
We were privileged to have Evette who attended the Obama For America 2.0 convention in Chicago participate and report on the national plans for the next steps. We spend over two productive hours defining important issues; noting our personal and professional contacts with elected officials, media and community organizations; and planning a local food drive to take place between December 26 and January 15.
We also signed up to help contact the Chester campaign volunteers to reconvene online in a Facebook group which we will use as a launching pad and bulletin board, at least until we see what resources the national organization will provide us.
What a great group of people we have here in Chester!
2008-1213 Saturday, 1-3PM, Specialty Bakery, Santa Clara CA
takeaways: one thing new & surprising
notes
Round 1: Janet, Maria, Leo
Round 2: Larry, Olivera, Bill
Round 3, all group
Barack is asking us to stay in the game…it is only the beginning!!!
If you have not yet signed up to attend one of the 4,000 + "Change is Coming" events around the country, it's not too late.
Hi ~ I so look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.
This gathering will be a celebration of our historic victory against politics as usual, and a festive holiday diner party.
After so many months of hard work attending meetings, canvassing, making phone calls, writing checks, traveling to other states,
and pressing for change in America, it is still surreal that we did it...and you made it happened,
you are responsible for this extraordinary historic experience called:
Barack is our next president!
Nikki Sutton and the transition team is in place and running. They want to hear from us regarding details on issues that are important to each one of us.
Barack is calling for community organizers all over the country to continue establishing relationships with local elected officials to press for change.
He has requested we take on a community service project before inauguration day to let them know we are not going away.
Bring your ideas to the party.
Also, we will be playing "Dirty Grab", a gift exchange game. If you would like to join in, bring a wrapped gift.
Recycled presents are encouraged, shop in your own closet. Gift to be $15 or less in value.
Barry and I will be cooking for you tomorrow and we are delighted you have signed up to attend.
Obama '08,
We Don't Have to Wait!
Maria Isabel has sent you an invitation to 'Change IsComing - Houston 6th Ward House Party' -- click here toview the invitation and submit your response: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsxb5r
"We are one people, and our time for change has come!"
~ Barack Obama
Hello, fellow change-agents. I have been involved in grass roots internet efforts before, but not in the political arena. My husband Benny and I were very pleased with the outcome of this historical Presidential Campaign. The impact of the hope and positive energy generated by this momentous victory cannot be underestimated - in the same tradition as Ralph Waldo Emerson's "shot heard around the world."
Benny and I were not as active in the Presidential Campaign as many of you were. It's a new concept for us, I guess. We gave a little money (we have been hit hard by the economy as have many of you) and Benny put up a sign in our yard - we live in a high visibility location. But I have to say I am so impressed with the efforts and sacrifices and service given by so many grass roots people in this campaign. I have subsequently kept track of some of the emails and news from the President-elect's transition team. So when I heard about the Change is Coming event, I decided to look up one in our area and couldn't find any!
I felt that someone needed to do something, just in case people in our area did want to meet one another. So I signed Benny and myself up to host an event, and I opened this account. I hope this answers some of your questions about us.
I'm not really sure what to do or have at the Change is Coming Event, but I think it will be a great opportunity for people to meet one another and begin to establish or add to a collaborative community for change in our area.
Jeanne and Benny Winstead
Change is Coming - Utah and Utahn's working together to get our country back on track.
Description:
Saturday, December 13th 9:30 and 11:30 am
Sunday, December 14th 1:30 pm
Time: Saturday, 9:30 am and 11:30 am and Sunday, 1:30pm
(Same event hosted 3 different times)
Location: Salt Lake City Public Library 210 East 400 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Direct from the Office of the President Elect Barack Obama we will be showing the DVD "Change is Coming."
We will also take time to discuss the issues that are most important to you, what you can do to support President Elect Barack's agenda, and how you can continue to make an impact in your community.
This event will be fun and personal. We will give everyone a chance to participate should they be so inclined. Now is the time to put aside partisanship and politics, find common ground, and work together.
This meeting is open to the Public those who might not have been involved in the Presidential campaign, even those who might have supported someone other than President Elect Barack Obama. The challenges we face demand we be as inclusive as possible. It'll take the whole country working together to get our country back on track. We will also discuss and plan a Obama Inauguration party with dinner and dancing. Come and be part of the move for change.
The vast majority of those participating in the November 25th Mercer for Obama meet-up had participated actively in the 2008 campaign for change, many having worked in multiple states. After 90 minutes of discussion, in both sub-groups and plenary, about whether and how to continue this citizens’ movement, the following principles drew broad and often unanimous agreement:
1. The Mercer for Obama network should continue in active existence, to press for change in the spirit of the “post-partisan” campaign this year that has catapulted Barack Obama into the White House. The largest number of active volunteers in this movement surely identify themselves as Democrats, but many see themselves as nonpartisan and some adhere to a venerable tradition of the Republican Party. The Mercer for Obama network will continue, therefore, as a separate and distinct entity, not as an affiliate or arm of the Democratic Party organization.
Congratulations one and all! Victory is sweet.
Next steps:
1. US Senate - road to 60
a. Georgia - runoff election - make phone calls for Jim Martin
b. Minnesota - Al Franken is in recount, so far less than 200 votes out of more than 2 million separate the two candidates.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMpTmr96V5hKIfyHT4Av4jsVQgrQD94M80203
2. Orange County Democratic Party - 2008-2012 organizational meeting Saturday, December 6
FLORIDA -- officially Orange County Democratic Executive Committee (OCDEC)
http://www.orangedemocrats.com/
http://www.orangedemocrats.com/page.asp?PageId=396
3. Change is Coming House Meeting - weekend of December 13-14.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
