Just heard that Michelle will be coming to Seattle for an event for Chris Gregoire on July 17
http://tinyurl.com/5rrk49
I haven't seen Michelle speak so I am excited that she is coming. I have seen Chris Gregoire speak four times in person this year actually, and I met her as well. Of course I gave her one of our YES WA CAN buttons. I hope she wears it to impress Michelle. ;-)
Cheap seats for the event are $200. Kind of spendy I know but Gregoire needs our help! Plus, as the flyer puts it...The Future First Lady!
I spent the most beautiful day this year so far at the Clallam County Convention. It was a strange experience but one I am happy I experienced.
I had been elected delegate from my precinct and most of the day was spent seating almost 400 delegates. Some for HRC and the most for Obama. There was a chance to change votes after delegates from both sides had a chance to speak. Obama ended up with 69.5% of the vote and HRC 30%, there were some undecided.
A black woman spoke about how OBAMA is not black, she stressed the fact that he is as much white as black but the man is a true American. He has the many colors of America running through his blood. She received the most votes of all the 24 elected to the next level.
Another delegate that was elected to move on had used his frequent flyer miles to fly to Texas and volunteer, he was in charge of four precints and said it was a wonderful experience.
One of the really good things about this convention all though it ran long and they did not get through all the agenda items is that it was easy to discuss politics with the people in the room because they were like minded. I think most of us have gotten out of practice discussing politics because if they disagree with you they call you unpatriotic.
I was elected with I think 120 votes and that moves me to the next convention in Shelton on May 17th. I am looking forward to it.
Here is a difficult-to-find page from the Washington State party site to contact some of our uncommitted super delegates: http://www.wa-democrats.org/index.php?page=display&id=277
Here is what I said to them (find your own words to be more effective)
Regards, Richard
By my count that make it 11 victories in a row! http://vote.wa.gov/elections/wei/results.aspx
I started the TUKWILAforOBAMA group with the intention of getting local folks connected with eachother. Tukwila, WA is not a huge place, but I'm sure there are more than just a few people living here that feel Barack Obama should be the next president.
So, join this group and keep in touch with eachother through the blog for now. Events to come...
This past Saturday all the candidates, the debates, the issues and the reality of this election became a reality for me...and it was amazing. Saturday, February 9th was caucus day in Washington State. Since I've never 'caucused' before, I had no idea what to expect. Let me tell you more...
In election mailers going out to residents in upcoming primary states, Clinton says that Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes by $1 trillion. What she doesn't say is that Obama hasn't officially proposed that, and the tax hike would only affect the top 6% of the population.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/youve_got_mailers.html
If you know anyone voting in NE, LA, ME, or WA, let them know that the mailer is a gross misrepresentation of what Obama wants to do as president.
Although I live in GA, I was originally from WA. If it were not for your programs in ABA so many years ago, I would not have been able to communicate in these posts now. I ask that you continue supporting autistic youths by voting for Barack Obama this Friday!
ABA programs for autism have been a wildshot depending on the state you are residing. I hope Obama is considering ABA because he does have a PDF for autism. I would like to see ABA spread more uniformly accross the nation. For example, my brother was given ABA in WA, but in NC, ABA wasn't used and he regressed, then it's been a battle here in GA. So please, vote Obama and encourage him to support ABA.
A Post from My Mother! Please share with your Mother!
My name is Debbie Aldrich, the reason I'm supporting Barack Obama for President is because of my children!
I was very involved in politics as a national delegate, state committee woman and even an elector in 2000. My husband had a heart attack and almost died and I made a deal with him that I would get out of party politics if he would get out of hospital politics and I retired. As JFK told my Father-in-Law when he recruited him to start the Children's Clinic at NIH, "You'll be in Washington, where it's politics" Bob replied to JFK that he was in hospital academia, nuff said. Heart attacks occur. But, my daughter and her husband, who has been working on the Obama campaign for about a year, asked me to come back and help and I came out of retirement with my husband's blessings. I told the campaign that I had not been this inspired since JFK!!
I grew up in Southern Maryland and our schools were segregated until I was in the 9th grade (the same year President Kennedy was killed). I sat at the lunch table with the first four black girls that came to our school and was harassed for doing so. By the time I was a senior our school was fully segregated but some students left school, some went to private schools. Strange, because a lot of our Fathers worked for the government at the same level with no problems.I moved to Washington DC to go to college and work 1967 to 1971 where I met my husband going to Medical School (one of our first dates was to Woodstock). We were activist in the civil rights movement, against the War, burned my bra and left just after Earth Day to move out west. We were tear gassed at least four times. When Martin Luther King was killed I lived in the heart of DC and my black room mate and I laid on the floor hearing gun shots while building were burning around us.
When my husband Aand I moved to Washington State we continued to be activist and helped stop a nuclear power plant here dragging my baby girls to hearings and to the music festivals I helped produce to raise the money for our cause. My mentor in this cause had me take a resolution to my first Caucus in Washington State for this. So, I became active in the Democrats and again my young children came along to all the rallies and fundraisers I helped with. The kids got see got to go see Dukakis and even though I was his delegate we worked with Jesse Jackson's people to win Washington State in the general election. My daughter was in her teens and the youngest member of the Rainbow when we marched with Jesse Jackson at the border with Canada against NAFTA.
My daughter and her husband may someday have a child who will be of mixed race; White, Native American and Black. I want a future for my grandchildren that I have been hoping and fighting for all my life! Like President Kennedy, Obama could bring recruit the brightest people (like my Father-in-Law was) to the government to serve our country and to help solve our problems of now. Barack Obama is the one person who I think can bring this future to us for the better of the environment, economy, world affairs, out of the war, into a life we have all been working for!!!
Sincerely,
Debbie Aldrich
A Mother Of Hope!
Blog group: PIMP
I am reposting a blog from Andrew Bartkus. It is great guidance on guiding our super delegates. Write up a nice short note, and feel free to paste it to each delegate. Andrew's guidance is great. Please ACT ASAP - Endorsements can emerge at any time!!
ALL DELEGATE EMAILS ARE POSTED BELOW - CLICK ON 'READ MORE' TO SEE THEM.
Post from Andrew Bartkus's Blog: Let Washington state superdelegates know where you stand!By bartkusa - Feb 3rd, 2008 at 6:51 am EST Also listed in: 4 groups Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content Tags: washington wa superdelegates gotv Washington state has 17 superdelegates. Currently, five have endorsed Clinton, and two have endorsed Obama. I urge you to get in contact with superdelegates that represent your area, and let them know who you want them to vote for at the national convention.
>This dispatch is from the energetic an enthusiastic Emilie from Redmond who organized an Obama entry at the Monroe Fair Days Parade on Saturday 08-25-2007:
Hi Everyone,Thanks for helping to make the Monroe parade an Obama visibility success. 8 people marched, with Nate and Courtney joining for their first Obama eventand driving all the way up from Dupont. The picture was taken after theparade so it doesn't show but it was a big parade with lots of spectators.We handed out 500 flyers (ran out), and many bumper stickers, buttons andrally signs. The crowd was noticeably less politically aware or moreRepublican than the Shoreline parade spectators. I noticed one of the 7judges was clapping wildly! We were the only presidential campaign in theparade and hopefully made some more Obama aware._____Once again, Obama supporters in all parts of Washington State are getting out there and doing the work that needs to be done at the grassroots level. The energy is amazing, and as Emilie states and as I have experienced, OBAMA SUPPORTERS ARE THE ONLY ONES OUT AT THE LOCAL LEVELS RIGHT NOW! We need to strike while the fire is hot and the opportunity is available - the public support of every day ordinary citizens like you and me is making a difference.There's another Parade taking Place today in Elma, WA, which is located in Grays Harbor County (central coastal region). I hope to be able to report on that soon. Sincerely, Amy Maurer
I just got off the phone with Angela Berg, who, despite her teacher's salary, contributed $100 to this campaign.
Angela was a bit out of breath. She'd just received a phone call from Barack.
"I can't believe it. I'm so excited, not just because I got to speak with Senator Obama, but because this whole campaign is so different," she said.
No one has ever asked me to be a part of a campaign before-- not locally, not statewide, not nationally. And frankly, I've never wanted to be involved in a campaign before this. I think the way this campaign is bringing in people through the the website, through MySpace, through Facebook, getting new people involved, it's revolutionary in that way.
Angela said she's always been interested in politics, but never took the extra step of participating (beyond voting) because she always felt like "it was a choice between the lesser of two evils." She saw Barack at the DNC in 2004 and then read his books, and, she says, "the more I learned about him, the more excited I got."
"He’s so unbelievably fresh and real and logical," says Angela. "Everything I think politics should be, but has not been."
Angela was inspired to give after reading some of the thousands of stories that have been posted on BarackObama.com in the past few days.
I was reading other people’s stories of why they felt inspired, and I was crying. My husband came home and I told him I’d been crying for the last half hour. When you read other people's stories, people saying 'I'm a single mother,' 'I'm a retired army officer,' when you see all the different types of people represented, that gives me so much hope. It's not just people like me; it's all different kinds of people that identify and connect with Barack and his campaign. People whose stories we’d never know. But now we can know and see that we really are all in this together.
She decided to give $100. "We’re not wealthy, but we wanted to be significant," she said. "I said if I believe in something this strongly, I cant be idle, I have to be proactive."
I asked Angela if she felt like she could sustain her energy and passion. "Absolutely," she said. "I'm not losing any steam whatsoever. Any chance I get to talk about him and spread the word."
Recently, Angela and her colleagues held an end of the school year banquet. She began talking to another teacher about Barack. Soon, a few others overheard the conversation and joined in.
Once I started talking about getting involved in the campaign, it was amazing to see how many secretaries, janitors, teachers, and support staff all came to join in the conversation and share their support for Obama.One secretary said to me, "So, do you really think he's got it?"And I said, "I do, I think he's our hope."
Once I started talking about getting involved in the campaign, it was amazing to see how many secretaries, janitors, teachers, and support staff all came to join in the conversation and share their support for Obama.
One secretary said to me, "So, do you really think he's got it?"
And I said, "I do, I think he's our hope."
Angela will begin her eighth year of teaching next fall. She started teaching right out of college because, "I know it will sound cliche, but I wanted to make a difference."
A lot of people drop out of teaching after the first couple years, because it can be an extremely difficult job," she said. "It's not great every day, but the high moments keep you going. They inspire me to be a better person. I feel like I can change things by leading by example, and I think that's part of why I respect Senator Obama-- he leads by example.
Angela plans to keep staying involved and give more when she can.
"One of my favorite quotes," she said, "is 'There are people who have money and there are people who are rich.'"
"I feel like-- by teaching and by getting involved in things like this campaign-- I live richly."
UPDATE: Here's an audio recording of the conversation Angela had with Barack
David Marshack was kind of enough to swiftly submit the following notes from our meeting last night:
Coordinating Committee meeting, March 21, 2007
We agreed to organize and conduct three kinds of activities over the next ten months:
1. Identifying Democratic voters who had attended previous caucuses and contacting them personally to educate them about Obama and elicit their support for Obama at the 2008 caucus (facilitated by Brian)2. Identifying other voters who might be likely to support Obama (i.e., other Democrats who had supported Dean in 2004, Green Party folks who might be engaged by Obama's uniqueness) and contacting them personally to educate them about Obama and elicit their support for Obama at the2008 caucus (facilitated by Dan and David)3. Having articulate, knowledgeable Obama supporters at major local events from April 2007 through the caucus date; for example, an Obama table at the Saturday market (facilitated by Stephanie and Darleen)
1. Identifying Democratic voters who had attended previous caucuses and contacting them personally to educate them about Obama and elicit their support for Obama at the 2008 caucus (facilitated by Brian)
2. Identifying other voters who might be likely to support Obama (i.e., other Democrats who had supported Dean in 2004, Green Party folks who might be engaged by Obama's uniqueness) and contacting them personally to educate them about Obama and elicit their support for Obama at the
2008 caucus (facilitated by Dan and David)
3. Having articulate, knowledgeable Obama supporters at major local events from April 2007 through the caucus date; for example, an Obama table at the Saturday market (facilitated by Stephanie and Darleen)
We also agreed on the need for the following:
1. Training for Obama supporters who planned to talk with voters about Obama, so we can learn about (1) his accomplishments and (2) his qualities of electability and practice our "pitch"—to take place in the weeks after our next whole group meeting on April 18) 2. Training for how to gather supporters from other candidates at the caucus itself—to take place next fall and in January 2008
2. Training for how to gather supporters from other candidates at the caucus itself—to take place next fall and in January 2008
NEXT MEETING—an open meeting for all who wish to take part— April 18, 6:30 PM at a location to be announced.
Submitted by David Marshak 3/22/07
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I am the admin for the Washington (Grant County) for Obama group. Grant County is a vastly Republican county but I know that there are people here who are Democrats like me and others who are disappointed with the current administration.
There obviously are no Grant County, Washington, supporters of Senator Obama on this website besides myself so though I haven't been active online in the Washington (Grant County) for Obama blog I am working offline to garner some interest in our favorite candidate.
To donate to Barack Obama's campaign as a group, we have created this profile to show our collective efforts. Your donations will go directly to Barack Obama; however, your dollars will show him why he should come visit us in Washington State.
Let's donate - Washington!
Link
I just thought to look at the Washington State Democratic Party web site and found this. I think that some folks may want to do this so that we have Obama supporters in from the beginning!
Susanne
Join Us for Our Crab Feed and PCO Training
From Washington State Democratic Party website at: Link Presidents' Day, the Washington State Democrats are hosting their annual Crab Feed and Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) training in Lacey. The Crab Feed features special guest Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana (left).
PCOs are the Demoratic Party representatives for their neighborhoods. They work with their local Party organizations to communicate Democratic Party values and positions to their neighbors. Anybody is welcome to attend our training, whether they are a PCO or not.
click here for more informationclick here to purchase ticketslearn about becoming a PCO
PCOs, or precinct committee officers, are the building block of the Democratic Party. They are the grassroots organizing base for all of our activities. PCOs are essential to Party work, because they personally communicate the Democratic Party message to people in each neighborhood across the state.
PCOs are elected officials of the Democratic Party; they are the Democratic representative for their precinct. A precinct may contain several blocks in an urban area or consist of a group of houses near one another in a rural setting.
To become an elected PCO, you must be voted into office during the primary election in even-numbered election years. The deadline to apply to be placed on the 2006 primary election ballot has already passed, so you cannot apply to become an elected PCO again until 2008.
However, there are other ways that you can help. If there is no PCO for the precinct that you live in, the chair of your local Democratic organization can appoint you to serve as an appointed PCO. Likewise, the chair can appoint you to serve as a PCO in a precinct that you do not live in. These PCOs are called acting PCOs. Our goal is to have every precinct represented by a PCO, so appointed and acting PCOs are essential to our mission.
We hope that you will join us as a PCO! To learn more about the structure of the Democratic Party and where PCOs fit in the process, click here. Also, click here to contact the chair for your local Democratic organization.
On February 13, 2007 the "Rainier Beach, SouthEast Seattle supporters of Senator Barack Obama for President in Year 2008" group on "BarackObama.com" was initiated. The following is my suggestion for the mission statement or charter for the group. Your suggestions are welcome.
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This forum is not moderated. (There is a similiar moderated group). Local Rainier Beach supporters of Barack Obama for President in 2008. This local group is physically located in SouthEast Seattle, Washington. Local bloggers of all experience levels are encouraged to participate and be active. Let's organize the community. We also welcome advice from experienced political organizers who wish to further the cause of the candidate thru virtual participation and posts. Let's get out the vote!
I anticipate that with the growing support and recognition of the candidate that many of the existing groups on "BarackObama.com" will become very large. In order to facilitate connections, smaller groups such as that above will become necessary.
