Posts with the tag Generation Obama

GO at The Melting Pot

Tom Lloyd — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:27:00 EDT

On Wednesday, September 24th, GO-IDAHO hosted a meet ‘n’ greet mixer for students and young adults, and we had a great time. Due to the excellent hospitality afforded to us by the owners of the Melting Pot, we took over the patio for a warm, fall evening full of wine, cheese fondue, and politicking! We always know an event like that is a success when people are walking in off the street just because they saw our signs and wanted to become a part of the movement.

Some local supporters voiced their diverse opinions on why it matters so much to them that we elect Barack Obama:

- “As a student, it’s very important to me that we have a president who understands how hard it is to pay for college these days. I think more than any other candidate in my lifetime, Barack Obama knows what it’s like to be fresh out of college looking at a painful student loan debt.” – Justine, Student at Boise State University

- “The thing that drew me the most to Obama is his stance on immigration. When I listen to him, I can tell that he has lived outside the country and understands how hard it can be for families to be torn apart by a broken system.” – Chryssa, Advertising Professional

- “I support Barack Obama because we all need a breath of fresh air!” – Jenny, Student at Boise State University

- “I support Barack Obama because no candidate in my voting life has ever made me think he or she is really for the American people until now. He doesn’t take money from corporate fat cats who want to own his administration. He really will lead this country in a direction that favors its citizens - and he actually will do it, and he will CHANGE this country.” Lisa, Community Organizer

- “The reason I support Barack Obama is because he's inspirational at a time when people need a leader, not someone to fix their problems, but someone to inspire them to work harder, do more, use less, and come together to make a greater America.” Ahmad, IT Specialist

Sound like fun? We’d love to see you plan some other events in your own area of Idaho. Planning and hosting an event is easier than you’d think! Through the use of various new media tools (including my.barackobama.com, facebook, and myspace), we spread the word effectively and had a strong group of supporters. These supporters met other, like-minded young people and learned of some great upcoming canvasses and other campaign events in which they could get involved. If you’d like to get involved with GO-IDAHO, or would just like information on how to start your own group, you can find us through any of the following means:

1. Check my.barackobama.com to find, post, and host local events to support Obama;

2. Check our grassroots site, which has been active for longer than most of our volunteers and continues to keep timely updates: www.idahoforobama.org;

3. Join the GO-IDAHO myspace page at www.myspace.com/idahogo; and

4. Find our facebook page by searching Groups for “Generation Obama Idaho.”

GO-IDAHO's Mission Statement: As the next generation of civic, political, and social leaders in Idaho, we between the ages of 18 and 35 have the unique responsibility of framing the future of our remarkable state. The mission of the Idaho chapter of Generation Obama (GO-IDAHO) is to harness the enthusiasm and awareness that Barack Obama has brought to the young people of Idaho, and to translate that passion into active engagement of our peers, service to our community, and new voter turnout in November. Although we are often dismissed by our predecessors as being uninvolved, apathetic, and inexperienced idealists, the truth is that we wield an awe-inspiring power to effect real change throughout Idaho. GO-IDAHO intends to impact the 2008 election with a youth and new voter turnout that has not been seen before during our lifetimes, and to do so by demonstrating that our generation will no longer acquiesce to the negative politics of the past several decades. We will work positively and with all of the vigor and energy of our youth to ensure that Barack Obama is elected the next President of the United States of America.

A Call to Action

Tom Lloyd — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:33:51 EDT

It is a very busy time right now in the political arena, and it is about to get a lot busier. Accordingly, I feel it an appropriate time to reach out and jot down a few thoughts on the status of GO-IDAHO, the hopes we have for November, and, most importantly, why it is imperative that we all start working harder than ever to elect Barack Obama. Some of you will be reading this in an email, others on myspace, and still others on facebook. No matter how you have found us, connected with us, and/or kept up with us, I want to again welcome you to our movement. We've got a unique opportunity this election, and I am confident in Idaho's youth to turn some heads on November 4th.

We are less than two months from the day that our country will decide who will be the next president of these United States. I doubt that I am preaching to anyone but the choir here, but I feel it necessary to reiterate the importance of this election. The position of the Obama campaign from the very beginning (I've been with the movement for over a year now) has been to stay "above the fray" of the negative campaigning of the past. Doing so has often been very hard, as we've made our way through a very trying primary cycle into an even nastier general race. And when you consider how the past eight years have brought out the worst in our country, the challenge of remaining positive becomes even harder to master.

But what we have to remember is that all of that cynicism, negativity, and partisan bickering CAN be defeated in 2008. We, as the youngest people to go to the polls this year and as the future leaders of the state of Idaho and the United States of America, have a duty to each other, to our own kids, to our brothers and sisters, and to our elders, to make the statement that we demand CHANGE in the way politics and government are run in this country.

Many of you may be curious as to who I am, as the director of our GO-IDAHO group. As I said above, I have now been involved with the Obama campaign for a little over a year. I was initially approached by some old friends back in D.C. who asked if I'd head up an Idaho chapter of a group called Young Lawyers for Obama. After some careful thought and some heavy research into the candidate, I found myself being called by that same idea that Barack frequently attributes to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "The fierce urgency of now." I accepted the invitation, and soon integrated my efforts into the overall grassroots movement to elect Sen. Obama.

I remained an active volunteer throughout the primary season, and proudly shared some truly awe-inspiring moments on the journey. When we got news that Barack Obama would ACTUALLY be visiting Boise, the excitement was almost uncontrollable. Because of my consistent volunteer efforts, I had the distinct honor of being selected to drive in the motorcade that brought Obama and his staff from the airport to the Grove Hotel the night before his speech. While I did not drive the Senator, I did have three of his top advisors. I remember driving down Broadway (we took an interesting route) and being asked by one of the three gentlemen how many people I expected to show up. Having grown up in eastern Idaho and, therefore, having a healthy skepticism about the willingness of Democrats to show their faces in public, I answered, "I think we'll have a good four or five thousand." Without needing to go into much more detail, I'll only say that I shared in the profound disbelief when over 14,000 showed up the next morning. All I can remember thinking is, "We've done something here... we have changed Idaho politics forever."

Just a few days later we made history with (1) record attendance (2) at a caucus in every county in Idaho for the first time in history, (3) resulting in a larger percentage win for Barack Obama here than in any other state. Needless to say, this has been a very exciting time to be involved in politics in Idaho and to be involved in the Idaho Democratic Party. (Kudos must go to Kassie Cerami, TJ Thomson, Katie Whittier, Shelly Landry, Randy Johnson, and all other Idahoans that made caucuses appear in every county.)

When the general election began to heat up again, I knew that I had to reprise my role in the campaign, because I believe too strongly in the opportunity placed before us. I believe too strongly in the need for CHANGE in the direction of our country on so many fronts - from the economy, to our place in the international arena, to the irresponsible use of our brave men and women in the armed forces, to the future of energy production and use, to the risks confronting our beautiful environment in the next several years... need I continue? So when we all started to get underway, the campaign staff asked me to expand the Young Lawyers group to become a chapter of the GO movement. Again, after careful consideration about various factors in my own life, I accepted the challenge.

What a lot of people don't know, however, is that this isn't my job. I do what I can during my lunch hours, my evenings, and my weekends. I still have a 40+ hour/week job as a practicing attorney at a firm in downtown Boise. For something this important, it isn't about having time; it is about MAKING time.

And the success of our campaign is entirely dependent upon volunteer contributions of time, energy, and ideas. Not that this message isn't long enough already, I want to share two brief stories. Just the other day, we were doing voter registration drives at the Saturday Market and at Art in the Park in Boise. During the morning Market session, I had a new volunteer show up, Anna, who had been convinced to come along by another volunteer, Kelsey. Doing what we do can be intimidating, so I let the two of them pair up to add a bit of comfort for Anna in the new experience. By the end of the drive, Anna was completely into it and loving it. It's things like Anna's smile after two and a half hours of voter registration that reassure me we're doing the right thing here.

Just a couple of hours later, we'd moved our drive to the outskirts of the Art in the Park festival, and we were seeing some more great success. After about an hour or two, I had a gentleman come up to me because he'd been told by some other volunteers that I was the one in charge. He introduced himself as Jim and asked what he could do to help out. I interpreted that as a general question about volunteering overall, and began to give him my standard answer about coming into the office, joining our myspace pages, etc. Recognizing that I'd misunderstood his question, Jim cut me off saying, "No no no... I mean NOW. How can I help you right now?" Shocked, and inspired, I handed him a clipboard with voter registration cards and he went to work. Jim stayed that day for over two hours, having just happened to have been passing us on the street.

I tell these stories to emphasize that volunteering for this campaign is not something you should be afraid of doing; everyone... EVERYONE... has skills that we can utilize, but we need you to step up. We can't find the volunteer power on our own to turn this state and country around, but together WE CAN.

So I've asked before, but I want to encourage you to reach out to me to let me know how you think you can help in your community. Since this isn't a real job for me, I am somewhat bound to the Boise area. I can't travel around the state organizing younger volunteers because I like my paycheck! But if you're in Pocatello, or Moscow, or Idaho Falls, or Twin Falls, or Couer D'Alene, or Salmon, or McCall, or Lewiston, or Rigby, or Challis, or Rexburg... OR ANYWHERE and you think you can host some events (debate watching parties, etc.), organize some voter registration drives (at your local tailgate party for example), or just get a few volunteers to dawn some Obama gear and head out to do some community service, please let me know! And if you don't know where to start, but want to be involved, I will always be here as your resource. We have some really good ideas, we just need people who are willing to step up to make them happen. (Oh, and we also have a lot of fun, even though I haven't made that a real emphasis of this call to action. I should still say it!)

I've now made this message a bit longer than perhaps originally intended, but I want you to recognize that we want, need, and deeply appreciate your involvement. To conclude, in case you haven't seen or really considered it, I'm including the GO-IDAHO Mission Statement:

As the next generation of civic, political, and social leaders in Idaho, we between the ages of 18 and 35 have the unique responsibility of framing the future of our remarkable state. The mission of the Idaho chapter of Generation Obama (GO-IDAHO) is to harness the enthusiasm and awareness that Barack Obama has brought to the young people of Idaho, and to translate that passion into active engagement of our peers, service to our community, and new voter turnout in November. Although we are often dismissed by our predecessors as being uninvolved, apathetic, and inexperienced idealists, the truth is that we wield an awe-inspiring power to effect real change throughout Idaho. GO-IDAHO intends to impact the 2008 election with a youth and new voter turnout that has not been seen before during our lifetimes, and to do so by demonstrating that our generation will no longer acquiesce to the negative politics of the past several decades. We will work positively and with all of the vigor and energy of our youth to ensure that Barack Obama is elected the next President of the United States of America.

Take care everyone, and I hope to hear from you very soon! In the meantime, I've got a few upcoming events I'll be posting in the next day or so.

Best,

Tom

Why the Obama Campaign Can't Go Negative

jcantine — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:02:43 EDT

John McCain's pledge to avoid negative campaigning lasted just as long, it seems, as it took him to raise the money for his first ad. His followers have gone almost entirely negative, blasting Obama for being popular, for vacationing in Hawaii, for not being a real American citizen (ignoring the fact that Hawaii was made a state several years before Obama was born there) and so on.

Which has led to a desire within the Obama campaign to retaliate in kind. Emails and stories are circulating about Cindi McCain, about his military record, about whether or not he actually gave information to the Viet Cong after all, and about his not being a real American citizen (the Canal Zone issue). Many Obama followers, especially long-time Democrats who have seen their candidates smeared unmercifully, want the campaign to unload on McCain the way McCain has been unloading on Obama.

This is standard political strategy: instead of wasting time playing defense and trying to parry the outrageous attacks of your opponent, go on the offensive and hit him with equally outrageous attacks of your own. That kind of negative exchange leads to elections like the last two: a bitter, divided electorate goes to the polls and one side – usually the one who went negative first and better - wins a Pyrrhic, razor-thin victory.

But there is a reason why doing so would be disastrous for the Obama campaign: the rules have changed. The new factor in this election is the huge number of young, idealistic (or not-so-young, formerly disaffected) voters. They've been dubbed "Generation Obama," though they don't all fit the under-25 stereotype. They don't care about the way elections have been run in the past. They're not interested in capturing the White House for the Democrats, or righting past wrongs committed by the Republicans. What they want to is to change the world.

Generation Obama

chadlupkes — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:53:30 EDT

We're brainstorming on how we can coordinate Generation Obama between now and November on Left.Wikia. Please check out what we've built so far and help us develop these pages and resources.

Generation Obama Rumor Boston

BostonEric — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:57:12 EDT

Just came back from the Ben affleck / Jennifer Garner event at Rumor nightclub in Boston, MA.

It was a very good event! Well run, and there was a surprise guest.

Sen. John Kerry and his wife.

Talk was about Kerry's time in Pakistan, and India and Afghanistan and Turkey and his message from foreign countries about the hope that Obama becomes president and that the next 4 years is not a repeat of the Bush second term. That to honor our soldiers sacrifice and hard work we need to pull them out of a war that should never have taken place.

jennifer garner looked lovely - and had a very positive message about her hopes for her child, and her country.

Ben told of how there is nobody he sees on the political horizon that can match Obama in his mesage in his hope in his aspirations of making this country great and restoring our international image.

Amazing YouTube videos for Barack Obama

Julia — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:51:59 EST

http://barackobamaunite.blogspot.com/

One night a while back I stayed up really late watching amazing homemade YouTube videos of ordinary people inspring others to vote for Barack Obama. It's incredible. I posted a ton of them on this blog: http://barackobamaunite.blogspot.com/

Please check it out, it's really spectacular. I'm in the process of making my own video as well.

If you know of any other good ones let me know, I'm always trying to update it!

Health Care I

Julia — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:49:41 EST

I am going into medicine, probably also health care policy. I am glad to hear Mr. Obama's realistic view of our health care system. The fact that he doesn't have a simple solution pleases me, there is no realistic solution that is simple. We can rant and rave about universal health care, as I do frequently. But realistically, the juggar naut of big pharma, Kaiser and the rest means that change will be a bit slower. It must be bipartisan, I'm happy to hear Mr. Obama understand the complexities and acknowledge the need for bipartisan support. Unfortunately Mrs. Clinton sets up an idealistic slogan that refuses to acknowledge the need for a unified political front on health care. This realism and pragmatism of Mr. Obama in the venue of health care makes me think he will also be pragmatic in other sectors of our economy, and I trust him to be honest and truthful to the American public, and actually get things done. Thank you Mr. Obama.

Photos from 12/02 Boston Events

Rena — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:02:27 EST

I uploaded all of the photos from the Boston Countdown to Change event (at the Park Plaza Castle), and the Generation Obama fundraiser at VENU.

According to the reports, there were 2100 people at the first event, and the second sold out at 500. I shook the Senator's hand for the first time, which was pretty exciting for me, given I've been volunteering and donating like a crazy person. heh. I met a lot of new converts too: ran into some people from work who just started paying attention, took a picture for a girl from BU who is going to canvass for the first time next weekend.

Lots of new volunteers, lots of positive energy, and 3 city councilmen endorsed (though I think one had already). Very exciting to see how many young people are getting involved... even at the later event which was $100 to get in. People are getting fired up! Those who have doubted are coming around.

I was so excited when he shouted passionately that he needed us all in New Hampshire every weekend between now and the primary... and people were listening. I think we're building a solid base in Boston... on January 9th, all of those people will be informed and ready to mobilize in our own state.

Click on the photo for more!

Generation Obama Won't Make The Deaniac Mistake

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 02:26:13 EDT

http://www.counterpunch.org/giordano10012007.html

I've seen the emotion Obama generates, especially among the young. His phenomenal rally in NYC's Washington Square Park last Thursday evening was a case in point. So I've been worrying that he'll have hordes of young supporters invade Iowa to get out the vote for him on caucus night.

But word from the ground in Iowa is encouraging. Apparently the campaign is doing the grunt work, organizing networks of local supporters to do that all important job in that most important state.

So, come caucus night, it will be friends and neighbors rallying the troops not orange-stocking capped youngsters from elite precincts far away. All praise to the Deaniacs for their commitment, but netroots swagger didn't play well in the heartland. The attitude was "we are the sculptors and you are the clay"--and folks in Iowa took umbrage at that.

When we got "clean for Gene" (McCarthy) back in 1968 it was by way of respecting the people we were trying to reach. Generation Obama seems to understand the need for that. Barack certainly does.

Here is an indication of what might be happening under the radar as a result.

Thomas de Zengotita

Thomas de Zengotita is a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine. He teaches at The Dalton School and the Draper Graduate Program at New York University. His book Mediated was awarded the 2006 Marshall Mcluhan Award for outstanding work in the field from the Media Ecology Association

COMMENTS (8)

4 comments pending

BlackDemfromNH (See profile | I'm a fan of BlackDemfromNH)I am so pleased to read this blog as I have been furious with the mainstream media for generally ignoring this fact that Obama is consistently surpassing Hillary in donations, supporter enthusiasm, and grassroots effort. The polls are the easy way to look at the race, but not the accurate way. It doesn't paint the whole picture. How can they not point out the things that have been discussed here when these points are SO significant to what the possible outcome of this race may be? It is frustrating to see the lovefest the media tends to have for Mrs. Clinton, simply because she is supposed to be the "heir-apparent" to the presidency. Come election day, they will be eating crow, mark my words. Log in | posted 12:41 am on 10/01/2007 research (See profile | I'm a fan of research)What Deaniac mistake? Dean's "scream" was purely a conservative media creation. Watch it again. Log in | posted 10:33 pm on 09/30/2007 lafrance (See profile | I'm a fan of lafrance)A friend of mine who is a volunteer for obama and has been to Iowa and spoke with people in iowa say that Hillary's grassroots organization there is a joke. there are hardly any offices and barely staffed. That there are not many out on the ground canvassing and doing the hard work to shore up support. Seems she knows the establishment, inside the beltway trick and how to do corporate but, when it comes to the nitty gritty, on the ground organizing she is not doing what is needed.
On the other hand, Obama is cited as being the best organization running. He has a professional acting staff and volunteers in 30 offices in Iowa. the volunteers and the leaders on the ground go to camp Obama where they learn the right way of doing things.
they have hook ups with sister cities in Illinois. they go to Iowa, to a designated sister city for each area and are paired with a local volunteer and do canvassing.
it's suppose to be quite a organization and well run. This is going to make the difference.
The press has totally missed the story of the election by ignoring the grassroots on the ground organizing while they obsess over meaningless polls. Log in | posted 03:11 am on 09/30/2007 PrinceHal (See profile | I'm a fan of PrinceHal)I don't understand. Are we supposed to get all excited about the possibility that Obama could possibly whip Hillary for the nomination, thus giving us Democrats another unelectable candidate? We are getting to be one confident party, putting up two leading candidates who can, either one of them, win the nomination. That's great! And then?

Tell you what: Why don't we just settle it and run both of them on the same ticket? That way maybe we can look forward to the opposition giving us another couple of wars, another couple of Alito-type appointments, and a constitution (and world?) that's completely demolished, instead of just in fragments. Log in | Parent | posted 12:19 am on 10/01/2007 altohone (See profile | I'm a fan of altohone)
The lack of accuracy and shallow coverage in the corporate media suggests a preference for Clinton... a strong wake-up call for those in the democratic wing of the Democratic party.

As voting day nears, I have faith the people of Iowa and New Hampshire will question why Hillary has establishment support and even Bush thrusting her upon voters.

Simply imagining the type of campaign we'd be subjected to with another Clinton running turns my stomach... scandal rehash, real or invented, while major issues are ignored and the same ol faces duke it out accentuating differences in policy with Republicans that don't really exist... ughhh.

Electibility issues are ignored by Democrats at our own peril. The GOP can beat Hillary, even if she takes their side on Iraq and Iran to appear tough.

The pro-corporate DLC agenda she favors may never be mentioned in the press, but even if Hillary snows union leadership for endorsements, the rank and file know better. Her rhetoric doesn't match her actions, and Bill's stabs in the back won't be forgotten.

Log in | posted 05:10 pm on 09/29/2007 Zhonni (See profile | I'm a fan of Zhonni)I certainly hopes it works out for Obama. I am going to predict if he is within 5% of Clinton or Edwards, in Iowa, he will win. Log in | posted 04:18 pm on 09/29/2007 bethinCary (See profile | I'm a fan of bethinCary)You "under the radar" link not connecting. Log in | posted 03:45 pm on 09/29/2007 vicissitude (See profile | I'm a fan of vicissitude)The Link worked for me. Here is the info:

How do you reconcile the apparent wide gap between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (according to recent polls) and the significant reaction (both in donors and total dollars) that puts Obama at the top tier, above Clinton? Is it possible that despite those polls, this grassroot movement for Obama is something the media is missing that will show its strength at the voting/caucus settings, and that is why Obama continues to avoid any strident criticisms of Clinton?

Anne E. Kornblut: It's a great question,and one we spend a lot of time scratching our heads over here. Your theory is entirely possible; it is, after all, about three months until we see actual voting begin. And let's not forget who was the front-runner for the Democratic nomination four years ago (hint: it was not John Kerry). The Clinton campaign, though, would say that Obama's support donation-wise is a reflection of his support from elites who can afford to help him (and donors overall make up a small portion of the population), whereas Clinton has broad popular support... We will find out soon enough.

Log in | Parent | posted 04:50 pm on 09/29/2007

Meeting and Fundraiser Update

Misty F — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:35:22 EDT

Yesterday was our bi-monthly meeting, as well as the fundraiser at The Woodshed. Here is an update on both events.

We had 14 attendees, including 5 who had not previously attended one of our organizing meetings. One of them was Adam Goldstein, who is launching the Utah chapter of Lawyers for Obama. If you are a lawyer, or you know of one who is interested in Senator Obama, you can contact Adam through the web site.

Generation Obama Kicks Off in Los Angeles

Generation Obama Los Angeles — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:25:54 EDT

'Hope' was the message shared by young Los Angeles professionals Saturday as they launched the flagship chapter of Generation Obama - LOS ANGLES (GO-LA) in Hollywood.

In coordination with GO events in 20 cities nationwide, about 250 people gathered at Falcon on Sunset Blvd. to kickoff GO-LA, which will serve as the campaign's official youth movement in Los Angeles.

After an encouraging video message from the Senator to his supporters, newly-appointed California political director Mitchell Schwartz energized the crowd with a speech about the campaign's building momentum. He pointed to success in early voting states Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and underscored why Obama's experience makes him the leader who is best equipped to beat a Republican candidate in the general election.

Speeches were also made by LA City Council President and Obama For America co-chair of the CA Leadership Committee Eric Garcetti, who encouraged voters to "believe in possibility," and actor Hill Harper, who read a tear-jerking excerpt from a letter the Senator had written in response to a young boy's question: "Why is life so hard sometimes?" (We definitely needed a box of Kleenex after that one.)

The atmosphere was festive and fun, with DJs Aurelito & Shakespeare of i&i Sound System spinning as party-goers posed for photos with "HOPE," "Fired up!" and "Ready to go!" signs. Many also recorded video messages of support for the Senator, including supermodel Tyson Beckford and the YouTube sensation, ObamaGirl Amber Ettinger.

After this party, we can proclaim that The Movement Has Begun!

- The GO-LA Team

Generation Obama Launch

Misty F — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:13:46 EDT

Generation Obama Salt Lake City launched last Saturday, with about 25 people in attendance at the BBQ. Most of the faces were familiar, though we did meet a couple of new people. We all signed public supporter cards, so the campaign can use our names as endorsers. Here are most of the children who were in attendance:

G.O. BBQ for Barack and Committee Meeting

Misty F — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:10:52 EDT

Yesterday, we had 12 attendees at the Utah for Obama Committee Meeting, including two new members, Carol and Barbara. The following are the topics for discussion: