On Sunday, August 9, in West Chester, PA, OFA did phonebanking for the President's health care reform principles.
This time we phoned people in our state but not our immediate area. We got more answered phones and virtually everyone who answered declared support for the Obama principles. Nearly all agreed to phone their representatives in Congress. As a result, the phonebank was a high energy event.
Call your reps in Congress AND since they are in their home district offices during the summer recess, pay them a visit. You can get the phone number and address for home district offices at
http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm
Let them know that you support the President’s health care reform principles.
On Sunday, August 2, OFA in Chester County, PA had a busy day. First, we did phone banking for a few hours in West Chester. Then some of us travelled to the National Constitution Center for the Health Care Town Meeting with Senator Arlen Specter and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.
That happened to be the day that over four inches of rain fell in the Delaware Valley, closing the Schuylkill Expressway. Our trip became a tour of the western suburbs.
1. The acoustics of the meeting location were awful: high ceiling, very reflective surfaces, a booming sound. Unless you were right in front of one of the public address system speakers, you probably could not understand what was said. I moved around until I found a spot to listen.
A loud group will gain more attention than a listening group, no matter what their relative sizes. But Senator Specter and Secretary Sebelius are veterans of public service: they know this. What we don’t want is for Senator Specter, in particular, to think that only the loud, negative people care.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_simple?source=topnav
On Sunday, August 2, OFA will do a phone bank for the President's health care reform principles in West Chester, PA.
This is the time for all of us to put pressure on the Congress. In addition to gaining declarations of support for health care reform, we must prevail upon the people that we call to phone and/or email their members of Congress with a strong message of support for the President's health care reform principles.
When phone banking, be ready to provide the phone numbers for your US Senators and all locally-based Congresspersons.
The final step for any person that we reach through phone banking is for him or her to report the results of their own calls to Congress. You can give the following instructions:
Have you heard the health care reform bill is coming together? It is by no means a done deal. President Obama needs us to lobby for his 3 principles of reform. We can not control every detail in the plan (and this wouldn't be much of a democracy if we could), but we can help keep it on the track the President laid out. The three principles:
1) REDUCE COSTS
2) GUARANTEE CHOICE (including a public plan option)
3) ENSURE AFFORABLE CARE FOR ALL
Many of us are not as intimately familiar with the legislative process as a lobbyist but the next couple weeks will be critical. To make our impact we need everyone's help. There are 1500 past volunteers in our area that we need to contact next week. Yes, it needs to be next week. Organizing For America wants each of them (and us) to contact all of their congressman to request that they support the health care bill and the reform principles. While lobbyists have made this kind of effort for years, a grassroots organization directed by the President's goals has not. Let's make history together again! We need to fill up our congressmans' voice mail with messages of support for the President's health care reform principles. If you want health care reform. Next week will be the chance to keep it on track and influence the legislation. "There's going to be a major debate over the next three weeks, and don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you saying we can't change the health care system. We have no choice but to change the health care system because right now it's broken for too many Americans." - Barack Obama When can you make time in your schedule to help?
Calling for Obama on election day...
http://pictures.match.com/pictures/11/14/61114I.jpeg
GOTV Phone Banking Experience on Nov 4th:
Dear Friends,
(At 9:22 pm) -- We just broke one million calls for the day, once again showing the power of this movement, but polls are still open in critical battleground states like Montana and Nevada and the night is still young. Supporters around the country keep calling to ensure voters know where to go to vote. The calls you make in the next hour could make the difference in the outcome of these states.
We are closing in on our goal for 1.2 million calls for Election Day and these are the calls that will bring us to victory. Make calls to Montana and Nevada now.
(Later on ... before the anouncement)
We're still awaiting the final results tonight (As of Nov 4th 2008 later at night), but one thing is clear -- this grassroots movement can never be underestimated.
Thank you to everyone who helped us make an astounding 1,053,791 calls today!
I know it wasn't easy and many of you kept calling long after you were tired and your voice had grown hoarse, but your calls to get our supporters out the polls helped tip the scales in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.We've shut down our calling campaigns for the night, incredibly proud of the record amount of calls made today. You gave it your all and we couldn't have asked for more.Thank you again for everything you've done. You've been with Barack Obama every step of this journey. This is your night.
Obama For America
+++
PS. I joined the GOTV phonebanking organized by the Obama campaign along with the Local Union UNITE HERE! at 33 Harrisson Ave, Chinatown (downtown Boston). We made calls to Virginia towns of Yorktown, Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, Petersburg and Kilmarnorck and to New Hampshire towns of Exeter and Hudson from 9am to 4pm
Results: Obama won both Virginia (52% to 47) and New Hampshire (55% to 44)
OBAMA-BIDEN 08'
On Thursday I did about three hours of calling registered democrats and undecided voters letting them know about Gov. Gregior coming to the Croation Center in Anacortes. I will also be doing phone calls and anything else the campaign needs me to do starting at 12pm tomarrow. We are in the last 24 of the campaign! Its almost here!
Even if you were just thinking about doing it, Do it! Its really not as bad as it sounds!
On Sunday, I volunteered to call people in an attempt to help get out the vote. First time I ever volunteered for a political cause, if you don't count my short stint as a Young Democrat. Admittedly, I did not do much back then. Prompted by my work in Head Start and in community mental health, I had assumed that other Dems were as dedicated to caring for their neighbors as I was and as the platform(s) promote, and boy was I wrong. Never had I experienced such open, mean-spiritedness --directed not only at opponents, but also at other Dems. One or two of the other folks in the group were cool, but I still decided I hated politics there and then (after 3 - 5 meetings). Thereafter, while I kept myself informed and voted, I did not participate otherwise. Until Barack's speech on race, that is.
After that speech, I gave money to a political candidate for the first time. And then I gave again. Finally, I phoned people in Missouri this past Sunday to help get out the vote.
I finally tried phone banking and it was so easy! I wish I had found the time to do it all these weeks. But when push comes to shove I finally did it and I'm glad I did. I appreciated that I only had 1 eratic call. Half of the calls were wrong numbers or voice mail. Those who responded either were taking a message for the intended caller or have already voted absentee for Obama.
I hope we can continue to do what we can to get Obama into the Oval office. We still have an uphill battle that is not yet over.
For a volunteer, sometimes canvassing and making phone calls can feel like a strange endeavor. Sometimes people have already made up their minds, or they're undecided but don't want to talk about politics. Why try to talk to people who might rather be left alone?
Because it all leads up to now. Because some people were undecided and curious; they just wanted to hear what someone else had to say. Because that conversation can plant a seed in someone's head. Because now the campaign knows who is on board and who isn't, and it's just a matter of getting out the vote. All the voters Barack needs have been identified--now it's just a matter of getting them to the polls. This video breaks down what Get-Out-the-Vote is all about, and how important it is:
Never been involved before? "Get out the vote" sound like something different or intimidating? Get-out-the-vote is actually even simpler than normal volunteering. All you have to do is remind people to vote! And make sure they have a way to the polls, and encourage them to vote early! As I said before, there's not much convincing--these voters have been identified as Barack supporters. Click HERE to sign up to help out in the last couple days.
Reminding voters, and driving from the office to the polls, and providing food and drink for other volunteers doesn't sound too hard, does it? Sign up now. Maybe you'll be treated to some Get-out-the-vote cookies, like these ones in the Mansfield office!
Do you want to say you were around when history happened? Or do you want to say you were a part of history?
So I just spent the last 2 hours calling battleground states. Unfortunately, almost everyone I spoke with was downright rude, between people hanging up on me or actually yelling at me, I was starting to get frustrated. But then I think about the few that I reached that are supporters of the Obama movement who thank me for the good work I'm doing and it makes me feel a bit better.
Maybe because I'm a lifelong junkie of politics, but whenever I got campaign calls in the past, I was never rude to people. I understand they probably get a ton of phone calls, being in a battleground state and all, but is there any reason to lack enough decency to see the person on the other end is just doing a volunteer job? There's polite ways to say "no thank you"...there is absolutely no reason to yell at the person at the other end.
This is the stark difference between Obama's supporters and McCain supporters and it honestly speaks volumes about the way the campaigns have conducted themselves. Obama and his supporters are always courteous and thank people for their time and even remind EVERYONE to vote, not just our supporters but anyone we come into contact with. However, McCain supporters resort to nasty remarks about Barack being a "dictator" or make comments about how they're supporting McCain because he's Irish, just like the "black people are voting for Barack"...this falls RIGHT inline with the rallies.
With all of the McCain supporters I encounter, I never bash the man, I actually said that I had respect for him until he turned his campaign ugly, nasty and dangerous. I wish that the McCain supporters can give our guy due credit and some respect in return. But I guess when you have the Palins of the world up there as the cheerleader for hatred, what else can I expect? At one rally, you hear HOPE, OPTIMISM, the other you hear racist chants, death threats, pessimism and fear. This is exactly why this country has not moved forward.
When you have the knowledge (as McCain does) and you spew out this hatred and lies to supporters who may not be educating themselves on issues, you are being extremely dangerous. To incite fear, anger, violence in people or to pass off ridiculous lies as truth is extremely dangerous.
The past 8 years all we've been told is to FEAR FEAR FEAR. I don't know about the rest of my country, but I am tired of people telling me the future is bleak, that we need to fear other countries, that life is just plain awful. I choose to believe that better days are ahead, and with Barack at the helm, with his sense of optimism and his fresh set of eyes for the problems we face, maybe we can finally get past the FEAR that's been instilled in our psyche for 8 years.
I have never been so moved enough to volunteer my time for a campaign. I have never felt a connection with a candidate where I felt that I should work on their behalf. Barack has changed this for me. This is the most important election of my life and of yours and of our country's.
I can't wait for Tuesday. My birthday's on Thursday next week and I hope I can have a happy 29th birthday with MY President-elect, Sen. Barack Obama. God knows that my last few birthdays around Presidential elections have not been the happiest. Tuesday, I believe that will change.
The other evening, armed with my cell-phone, I went halfway across town to join about a dozen complete (though quite friendly) strangers to do some phone-banking. I can hear you now: "You did what? I can't even get you to go to the movies." Well, I did. These are desperate times. Faced with the specter of another Republican president, even us de-motivated, low-energy, depressed peoples are restless and unable to sit still. We've learned the hard way what can happen when we assume no one could possibly vote twice for the same idiot a village in Texas has been looking for. The village can't believe it either. <diatribe over>The house, tucked down a side-court off a minor cross road, was easily identified by the row of cars in front all sporting Obama/Biden spots, linked to corresponding signs on the lawn and in the windows. I was welcomed at the front door; the greeter took me to a table in the den for a 10-minute briefing. All around me, on the sofa, in every corner, in the two bedrooms and scattered about the back yard, women and men sat with phones to ears and a few pages in front of them. I found a recently vacated patio love seat, cushions still warm from the previous phone-banker, and set to work in the quickly chilling air. We were contacting supporters, so I shouldn't have been so surprised when most of the people I talked to said they'd already voted, or contributed last week and/or were ready to join us for another round of calling this weekend. Still, I was charmed, encouraged and thrilled. And I've signed up for two more shifts this weekend.
originally posted on <a href="http://lakinkhan.blogspot.com/">Rhymes with Bacon</a>
I went down to Pima County Democratic HQ for a phone bank shift yesterday, my first time. I had previously made some calls from home using the online tools and wanted to compare the experiences.
It was fun and inspiring to see the people and the energy at party HQ, and I found it easier to be focused on making many calls in a short time.
But ultimately I decided that calling from home makes me more effective because I'm more comfortable. So I'm going to contribute to the AZ Call Team with renewed vigor.
Anyone know of any phone banks set up in Toronto on Nov. 4 (or earlier)? Skype and/or Vonage offers cheap ways to call the US.
We had an amazing Fundraiser this past weekend. It was held at Margarido House in Oakland, CA, the first Northern CA LEED certified home-this means its super "green." It is a beautiful home that is a great example of what homes and businesses could be in a sustainable environment under Barack Obama.
We raised over $5000, had over 100 guests touring the home and just hanging out, there were loads of young kids racing around, live music, and such a great Obama vibe. Several guests and donors came to me to thank us for giving them a place to participate. One man siad he wanted to give and support the campaign but just didn't know how. Finally, this was a place that he could "plug in."
When people say they don't have time, I now ask if they have any money to give instead. If they say they have no money I ask what extra time might they have, even if just 30 minutes for a few phone calls.
I am a mother of two small children and work full time. Perhaps I am not like a normal person as I am more than willing to sacrifice my time and relationships for this brief period to help make history. This is too important. If we don't have time now, when will we have time?
