Posts with the tag New Mexico

UNITED AGAINST RACISM

WEBMASTER — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:46:34 EDT

Hi Friend

There is a new group that just started on Facebook that I thought Organizing for America members may be interested in joining. Please see United Against Racism -

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/354956/80588439?m=9dc74a6e

United Against Racism

posted by David Apperson

Immigration and social justice

MariaXimena — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:31:47 EDT

Many latin and hispanic people have their hopes up for a change in social justice and fairness for families who have immmigrated to the US and have blended families, what is your view point?

Project Pledge canvass New Mexico

Bay — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:33:27 EDT

OFA Pledge canvassers in the Albuquerque area had a range of responses, but thanks to some dedicated and creative leaders, we got over 200 pledges on the weekend. How do I upload photos to this site?

Bay Stevens, Central New Mexico coordinator

Have Banks Forgot how to Compete

Tom Awtry — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:49:19 EST

We Make Money the Old Fashion Way – We Earn It

Back in December when it was pretty assured in my mind that the economic crisis was here to stay; my first though was “businesses will have to find a new way to stay alive.” Sure enough some of the Fortune 500’s came across with different marketing strategies, in essence to down size their profit margins while appealing to an American public, which was suffering from the burdens of the crisis also.

Starbucks introduced lower prices on certain coffee drinks along with the introduction of its newest product offering “Instant Starbucks Coffee”; a great example of adapting to the burdening times. Others have done the same, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and many more established American businesses have remembered how to compete for our business.

So why haven’t the banks?

I’m not even going to attempt to get into “banks” are a primary cause of our troubles, but the upsetting part, for me, is they’re so arrogant about what’s going on in our beloved country and develop the stance “it’s just one of those things that sometimes happens.”

Here’s a fine example of our “banks” in their finest hour (today):

Obama Cruces Connection: Global Issues Group Meeting recap for Thursday, Feb. 19 2009

Bryan J Chasko — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:29:03 EST

Obama Cruces Connection:
Global Issues Group
Meeting recap for Thursday, Feb. 19 2009

NEXT MONTH'S MEETINGS:

General meeting of the Obama Cruces Connectionis:
Saturday, March 14th at 11am
1400 S Solano Ave

Pending schedule approval, the agreed upon time and date for next month's meeting of the Global Issues Group: Obama Cruces Connection:
Thursday, March 19th at 6pm
1400 S Solano Ave

Top 3 Points for Future Action:

Plan to Plan- Find & bring in a volunteer with PR experience to help us plan the agenda and activities of the group; chair will lead this effort.
"When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love."
Share- Begin the practice of sharing articles & media pertinent to our discussions which we may then share with the public.
"Wisdom alone is true ambition's aim, wisdom is the source of virtue and of fame; obtained with labour, for mankind employed and then, when most you share it, best enjoyed." - Alfred North Whitehead
Utilize Human Capital- During the planning, focus intensely on ensuring that as volunteers become involved there is opportunity to actively contribute and be rewarded by achieving tangible results.
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We are Proud Americans Today

Vicki "Hussein" in New Mexico — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:32:22 EST

January 20, 2009: I got up at 5:30AM this morning, dressed and made coffee, threw in a load of laundry, and stepped outside into the cold, clear New Mexico night sky. The bright stars and a slice of moon still hung in the darkness above me. Was it just over a year ago that we greeted candidate Obama to our State and I shook his hand? I felt so confident about this man and hoped he might be President this day. I got the flag and placed it in the flag holder on my front porch. I switched on the porch light to illuminate it. I feel very proud to be an American. I haven't felt this way about my country in a long time. Today I want to hug everyone I see. I feel a part of something great as we await the Inauguration today of Barack Hussein Obama as our 44th President. I think about the cold, the hungry, the oppressed, the war-weary, the unemployed, the frightened and the dispossessed who have little to feel proud about. I think the whole world is watching us to see if we can truly deliver on our promise. I wish President Obama well. And I wish America well.

New East Mountains for Change Group Launched

Vicki "Hussein" in New Mexico — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:15:55 EST

The energy and positive activity of our successful campaign to elect Barack Obama as the 44th President of the USA has motivated thousands of citizens to continue making a difference in their communities. Here in the mountains and rural area east of Albuquerque, many activists have stayed in touch and created a new group: East Mountains for Change. The new web site for East Mountains for Change is: http://emforchange.ning.com

East Mountains for Change meets regularly at the East Mountain Library in Tijeras and has Teams to focus on the following issues: Rural business, Energy/Environment, Health care and Education/Service learning. There will be a General Meeting of the East Mountains for Change group on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at the East Mountains Library at 2PM. Interested in attending an Inaugural Celebration Tuesday, January 20th? Check-out the Website for East Mountains for Change: http://emforchange.ning.com for place and time. Want to participate in the East Mountains Book Drive for our local Middle School in Tijeras: Roosevelt Middle School? This is a way to benefit our local teachers and students and honor our 44th President of the United States Inauguration. There are 3 ways to contribute1. Collect new or used books appropriate for ages 11-13*

2. USE VOUCHER AT BORDERS BOOK FAIR, JANUARY 7-9

3. Buy bookstore gift cards ($5.00 @)4. Donate check* or bring cash to the presentationRoosevelt Middle School in Tijeras serves 6th to 8th grade students, providing education and UNM health care services for a 500 square mile area. “Our students love to read,” says teacher Lefty Folkman.* Book list on request. Contributions are tax-deductible. Make Checks out to Roosevelt Middle School. Note book drive on check. Send checks c/o Jeanette Quintanar, 75 Thunderbird Lane, Tijeras, NM 87059Questions? Contact Bay Stevens 480-1999 bay@ReUseIt.info Book pick up: Jeanette Quintanar at 250-9683

HOPE

Young Barack — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:44:16 EST

HOPE IS EVERYTHING HOPE IS ALL HOPE CAN PICK YOU UP BEFORE YOU FALL

Christmas Morning....

James — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:17:21 EST

The sun has broken through and, although God has decided that the deep snowy sunscape beneath should stay awhile (it's below zero out there), it is nice to have a break. And the presents are under the tree and waiting, which I am delaying going at with my bare hands until I have everything else in the house just right. A few minutes from now. I found a place to make a fifty out of two twenties and a ten, so I have the paper person's tip ready to post. Hopefully, that person will not take 'Halloween' type action against me for a few days, or so I hope.

I have placed a couple of stories inside the body of my posts over the past few days. They have related to Christmas, or the poignancy of it all, in some way or another. Here is one from the mid-nineties when I was not yet 'all that I could be.'

Christmas Pueblo

I found myself inside the confines of the Santa Fe County jail on some vague trumped-up charge. I was in the 'drunk tank,' which is what the cells they use for new prisoner intake are called there. No bars, no windows, just concrete and steel. No way to see out of the ten by twelve box and no ability to hear. Thankfully I was alone for the first few hours, as I had to come to terms with being inside an American institution for the first time (I had already been in a few abroad, so I was not exactly a 'new fish'), and this was not much fun. It was Christmas Eve. Late into the afternoon. The heartless Santa Fe 'Gestapo' had shown no mercy, in spite of the impending holiday. The way I saw it, I was a gringo and they were anything but. They probably saw it in a more 'Harry Callahan' kind of way. The tank did not remain empty for too long. The riff-raff of evening Santa Fe, New Mexico, began to flow in, dredged from a pristine city that prides itself on not having any homeless people. No, they don't, as all of the potentials get combed off the streets and into that heartless modern version of the Bastille, conveniently located five miles South of even the most outer edge of the town.

The cell became so crowded that the entry of one more body meant that there was just no floor space left. And then they opened the door and forced a huge American Indian through. They slammed it shut again, immediately. He stood there for a few seconds, then stared at the man laying next to me on the bare concrete floor. The man moved, finally settling atop the rim of the stainless steel john located in the corner. The Indian took his place, and glared over at me, inches away, when I happened to look into his eyes. This was no Little Big Man Indian of great good cheer and ancient wisdom, like Chief Dan George. No, this was an Indian from hell, more like that one who killed the girl in the Mohican's film a few years back. I showed no fear, but did look away. I was already an old hand at the predation game. You do not show fear to a predator. That is what the predator is looking and waiting for, because it identifies you as prey. No, you meet predation by impassive and emotionless presentation. The predator then takes you for a predator, as well, and there is no point in attacking another predator unless territory is an issue, or survival. You will only likely get hurt, and predators are deathly afraid of injury, as then they become prey.

There was no trouble from the Indian, as the hours passed, nor from any of the usual suspects. Just prisoners inconveniencing the poor guy who's only spot was the on top of the john. He had to move so the drunks could be sick, and worse. Some head of corrections guy must have known a modicum of mercy that night, or, more likely, there were just too many prisoner's for the place to hold, because they came for me. The guards called my name and told me that I was being 'rolled out,' which is prison slang for being released. I went with enthusiasm, but somehow kicked the foot of the snoozing Indian as I departed. "Excuse me White Eyes!" he hissed up, already into a sitting position as I turned. I held together against the pure ferocity of his expression and the penetration of his hawk-like eyes. "My apologies, I was careless," I stated, flatly. Then I moved slowly to join the corrections officer at the door. The Indian's eyes followed me out the door and remained embedded in my mind as I went through the many steps of processing out. Finally, the guards took me to the big door of intake, opened the steel slab with a key about the size of a Waring blender, and shoved me through it. Merry Christmas, the guard said with a laugh, then slammed the door. My relief was immense, until I looked about me. The sodium yellow of the parking lot lamps allowed the driving snow to appear as if I was standing adjacent to Niagra Falls. And it was cold. I wore an old Sheepskin Company coat so I knew I was not likey to freeze, the torso of my body anyway. But I did not know how I was going to make it the many miles to town, much less a few more miles to anywhere I could get a ride. I turned to see if there was a pay phone on the wall to call a cab, but there was nothing. Only the pitiless concrete.

For an instant I felt relief, as the steel door opened again and I saw the warmth that had been prevalent inside. But that was extinguished in an instant, as the big Indian was pushed through the door, before it slammed again. There we were, and I knew fear. He looked down at me with no expression on his face. I tried to look impassive once more, but I knew I was not doing well because I saw a slow cruel smile begin to form around the edges of his mouth. Then he spoke. "Where you going?"

I was surprised. Not that he would talk but that this time he did so in clear unaccented English, not like he had sounded inside. "To town," I murmured, motioning back with my right shoulder. "Never make it. Not on a night like this," he mused, more to himself than to me. He looked out at the scene I had first encountered. The snow was coming down heavier. Then he shrugged. "You can come with me to the pueblo. It's down the way," he gestured south with his own shoulder. I looked off toward the darkness, then looked to the parking lot. But it was Christmas, and i could not stay there, and I knew I could not make it to town. I shrugged with deep resignation. "Okay," I said aloud, then whispered to myself, "let it be Quick." I followed the Indian into the night. There was no trail, there was no moonlight or any other way to establish bearings. So I just followed the huge man closely. We moved downhill, through the La Bajada Canyon, finally trudging under an overpass which held up the four lanes of Interstate forty.

A yellow glow in the distance became the pueblo. The Indian wormed his way between the densely packed mud buildings. Lights glared out, to assure us that the snow had not abated in it's attack. We came around a corner to a wooden door. The upper floor of the adobe structure jutted out above, so we stood and beat the snow from our clothing and boots as best we could. The door opened without anybody knocking. An old woman stuck her head out, then motioned us both inside. I stepped into a different world. The room was filled with people of all ages. They were all sitting at the many tables, seemingly strew about without order. The big Indian motioned me to an empty seat between two young boys. He said nothing. They said nothing. I sat, more in shock and wonder than because I was willingly following rational directions. The two boys reached for bowls and started scooping stuff onto my plate. Tortillas and burritos. I did not even know what Indians ate until then. Corn things, with lots of hot sauces. Everyone went back to eating. They did not look at me, so I started eating as well. I ate the whole plate, so the boys refilled it without any request on my part. When I finished the second plate, they refilled it again. I looked over at the old woman, whom the big Indian had seated himself next to. I saw here smile very briefly. Then the big Indian smiled for the first time, and I understood without any words being necessary. The old woman liked the fact that I loved her food. And the big Indian appreciated that.

"This is my family," he said, gesturing around at all the people at all of the tables. They smiled, as if on cue. "Welcome to the Reservation and my family. I'll drive you back to town tomorrow. But its Christmas, so maybe you want to stay longer for the ceremony." I nodded, only briefly wondering if the 'ceremony' had anything to do with a White Man being cooked in a pot over a roaring fire. "Merry Christmas," I said, as I nodded with enthusiasm, a genuine smile creasing my face for the first time in months. "Merry Christmas," they all yelled back in unison, then began talking, laughing and carrying on, just as if I was an Indian returning to his home.

from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

Bill Richardson

Nervie — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:25:47 EST

BILL RICHARDSON is the new member of the Obama Cabinet! I won’t try to be objective here, I like Richardson. He is Latino. He was Energy Secretary in Clinton’s Administration, Governor of New Mexico, and an ambassador for the United Nations. He also spoke up when Hillary was attacking Obama regarding his heritage in the 2008 election campaign. I liked him even more for that.

I remember when he sent to talk to North Korea regarding their weapons program, I remember Bush negating those compromises Richardson offered less than one month later. I watched nervously North Korea say that they didn’t care if the United States won’t assist them with oil, food and agricultural pursuits. Apparently they have little off all three there. This was suppose to be the reason that the sobering was going on. Sounded too simple to me but I also remember an ambassador and a policy wonk coming to our Political Science class explaining how many treaties we had with North Korea and how we had pitted the North and South Koreas against one another. We assist the south, have been asked to leave the region, several times but we insist we are a friendly safety valve for the area and South Korea says for ourselves mainly.

Now Hillary being part of the team! I just hope she remembers team does not mean me, does not mean Bill and me, it means TEAM, all of us! Maybe it was strategical to keep Hillary on Obama’s side. That concept of keeping friends close and enemies even closer seem to come to mind. But I must say again, the attacks Hillary put on Obama as elbowing and calculating as they were, I believe also shored up the attempts that would have come his way if the opposition had attacked first.

Depending on which media source you listen or read, some of these attacks were not new to those close to Obama. They had been perculated, slapped on and executed during his meteroric rise in Chicago’s politics which I understand are serious “rough and tumble”, with that street-city slickness. OKAY so Obama has risen above this and added his main public adversary to the “big political dream team”. From my vantage point, that dream team seems very bloated with experience, expertise, ego and ambition. Obama I’ll be lighting candles on your behalf. Now where did I put that incense burner?

Absentee Ballot Controversy Already Reported Today

Marcus Cyganiak — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:08:15 EST

Absentee Ballot Controversy Already Reported Today

CNN has reported today that there are as many as 4,000 absentee ballots missing and unaccounted for today in the state of New Mexico. That is just flat out atrocious and it make me wonder how many other absentee ballots are missing in other states.

If the Republicans want to provide a good America, then why not win the Election within a good manner of fairness and not just dirty tricks?

In the 2000 Presidential Election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, the Republicans stole it for Bush due to the many absentee ballots casted for Gore that mysteriously went missing. That of course was corrupt, and that corruptness continued throughout Bush's entire 8-year term as President. This has to change, and it begins with Barack Obma of the Democrats.

Canada wants Obama, and America should want Obama too, if they too want a good America. A good America will result in a revival of that original American Dream, a dream that has been missing since the 90's with President Bill Clinton.

Choose “REAL CHANGE” with your "VOTE" and not the same “Empty Republican Promises” and dirty tricks. Please America, do not back down on this Election. Make sure your vote counts, and make sure your vote makes an impact with Barack Obama!

Sources:
1) http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/04/some-absentee-ballots-mia-in-nm-county/#more-28343
2) http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/261974

http://marcuscyganiak.blogspot.com/2008/11/absentee-ballots-already-reported-today.html

Early voting results in battleground states compared to 2004 election

Vote for the Future — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:31:19 EST

Nevada

2004 Final Results:

Kerry 48%

Bush 51%

2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 35.0 %

Republicans 39.0 %

Independents 36.0 %

2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 51.0 % (gained 16% compared to 2004)

Republicans 31.6 % (lost 7.4%)

Independents 17.4 % (lost 8.6%)

A total of 59% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of October 31).

New Mexico

2004 Final Results:

Kerry 49%

Bush 50%

2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 40.0 %

Republicans 33.0 %

Independents 27.0 %

2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 52.7 % (gained 12.7% compared to 2004)

Republicans 32.8 % (lost 0.2%)

Independents 14.5 % (lost 12.5%)

A total of 25% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 1).

Iowa

2004 Final Results:

Kerry 49%

Bush 50%

2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 34.0 %

Republicans 36.0 %

Independents 30.0 %

2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 46.9 % (gained 12.9% compared to 2004)

Republicans 28.9 % (lost 7.1%)

Independents 24.2 % (lost 5.8%)

A total of 32% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 1).

North Carolina

2004 Final Results:

Kerry 44%

Bush 56%

2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 39.0 %

Republicans 40.0 %

Independents 21.0 %

2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 51.5 % (gained 12.5% compared to 2004)

Republicans 30.1 % (lost 9.9%)

Independents 18.4 % (lost 2.6%)

A total of 74% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 2).

Florida

2004 Final Results:

Kerry 47%

Bush 52%

2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 37.0 %

Republicans 41.0 %

Independents 22.0 %

2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 45.7 % (gained 8.7% compared to 2004)

Republicans 37.2 % (lost 3.8%)

Independents 17.1 % (lost 4.9%)

A total of 56% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of November 2).

Colorado

2004 Final Results:

Kerry 47%

Bush 52%

2004 Final Results (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 29.0 %

Republicans 38.0 %

Independents 33.0 %

2008 Early Voting (Distribution by Party):

Democrats 37.7 % (gained 8.7% compared to 2004)

Republicans 35.9 % (lost 2.1%)

Independents 26.4 % (lost 6.6%)

A total of 61% of 2004 turnout already voted (as of October 31).

_____________________________________________________________

Sources:

CNN (2004 results): http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/president/

CNN (2008 early vote results): http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/early.voting.map/index.html

US Election Project (2008 early vote results): http://elections.gmu.edu/early_vote_2008.html

Driving for Change: New Mexico

Maureen Shea — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:10:31 EDT

Bio: I grew up in northern California, the daughter of a logging truck driver and a homemaker. I was able to go to college and earned a BA in Anthropology and a MA in Psychology/Organization Development. I have worked in mental health, as an advocate for battered women, 18 years as an emergency room admissions clerk, directed a homeless count for Sonoma County, was a self-employed consultant, and most recently I’ve worked as a salesperson in the family owned hot tub dealership. Given the state of the economy, I’m now looking at changing careers again, anyone hiring?

Notes From New Mexico: Volunteering as a Deputy Field Organizer in the Obama campaign.

I live in a small town north of San Francisco where almost everyone will vote, the expectation this year is a 90% turnout, and Obama will get the majority of the votes. This election matters more to me that any I can remember in my over 30 years of voting. So when the Obama campaign sent out a recruitment email for Deputy Field Organizers (DFO) to help in swing states, I applied and I was chosen to attend a Camp Obama in San Francisco, CA. Which is why, and how, I’m now volunteering in New Mexico.

I don’t how many there are of us volunteers here from California, but I know about 1 or 2 volunteers form California, or Arizona, volunteering in every Obama office in New Mexico for extended time periods, and more volunteers are coming in for the weekend, every weekend. I hope that after the election someone shares the numbers.

I’ve now been in Jemez Springs, New Mexico for almost a week. I’m helping local Obama supporters canvass and connect with each other. Jemez Springs is a small village northwest of Albuquerque, rural, with houses down dirt roads that locals have a hard time finding.

When I volunteered to be a DFO I thought I’d be working in a busy office, out canvassing, answering phones, recruiting volunteers, organizing…

I am doing some canvassing, some organizing, but I’m not working out of an office. My cell phone doesn’t work out here! However, I’m staying with a wonderful couple, a former army master sergeant and his wife. Michael goes out canvassing every day, happy that he’s retired and has the time to support Barack Obama. I work out of the their basement granny unit, and drive up and down a white-knuckle driveway to meet the other community volunteers who take a few hours out of almost every day to go talk to their neighbors about voting. In 2004 Kerry lost New Mexico by approximately 6000 votes, or 5 voters in each precint. Every vote matters here.

The national campaign, I suspect staffed by mostly urban residents, appears to not quite get what canvassing means in areas like this…and yet it is one of the most remarkable feats of this campaign that there are people out here canvassing! It can take up to 2 hours to find only 24 houses. We drove up and down narrow, rutted dirt roads trying to find driveways, and house numbers. Some of the driveways could only be walked up because there wasn’t room to turn around.

I'm asked to encourage residents up here in the mountain to early vote. The challenge is that most of the voters in the small villages up here in the mountain don’t want to travel 40 minutes to early vote, when they can walk across the street on election day and interact with their community. Some of them are early voting out of loyalty to the campaign. I understand those who want to vote on election day... I live in a small town, there’s almost never a long wait to vote, and I like voting with my neighbors. This year I voted early, so that I could be free to help get out the vote, or be a poll worker, and I feel a little sad to be missing the voting ritual I’ve had for 30 years.

My volunteering work here will end before the election. I've passed my duties on to a local volunteer so I can leave knowing that the work needed to elect Barack Obama President will continue. The grassroots efforts of this campaign are phenomenal

Rural Voters, Elderly Voters, New Mexicans For Change

Taj — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:30:59 EDT

I made lots of calls last night and encountered some rural voters who were also very elderly. I was happy to learn that these rural communities are organized enough to have transportation for these voters already in place for election day. In New Mexico, this type of organizing in the rural areas is quite a surprise! I think it is really a testament to the amount of people seeking change in our state. My phone bank experience using the neighbor to neighbor tools was terrific and simple. I will do more tonight!

Election Protection in New Mexico

William Henry Mee — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:14:30 EDT

Dear Reader:

The attached Press Release is for a statewide effort by the NAACP and Voter Services Coalition in conjunction with Jeremy Friedman (jfriedman@lawyerscommittee.org) of the "Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights Under Law" (http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/2005website/home/home.html) to encourage people to vote early and check the status of their voter registration so no one is 'left out in the cold' on Election Day. Recently MSNBC starting running public service announcements on this topic, because they felt it was timely and needed.

Thanks.

William

PRESS RELEASE - Count My Vote FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Each reader of this Press Release must realize that voting is not done in a vacuum, it is not a one step action and then it is over; you need to be a part of the greater civic community and be proactive and engaged to make sure your vote is counted.

Check with the County Clerk and make sure you are on the Voter Registration rolls today, don’t wait. Vote early and as soon as possible so that if there is a problem with your registration it can be straighten out by the County Clerk. If you are so inclined, work at a polling site. Assuming that you can come out once every four years and vote for President is frankly irresponsible. You have a responsibility to know the issues and participate in all elections.

Your right to vote is given to you by your birthright, but it must be safeguarded by your own proactive action. True, your American Citizenship guarantees your right to vote, but whether that vote is counted is dependent on working with your local election officials to make sure they are ready to have your vote recorded once it is cast.

New Mexico is listed as a battleground state in this Presidential Election and will have the highest number of registered voters ever coming out to the polls. The February 2008 Democratic Party Caucus was our first trial run with these increased numbers and at the Caucus 17,000 or 12% of the vote was done on provisional ballots because of the inadequacy of the voter registration lists certified by the Secretary of State. Provisional ballots were not counted in the 2004 Caucus, and are always subject to challenges by the candidates for the slightest of errors. By Early Voting in person at the County Clerk’s Office you can often avoid voting on a provisional ballot on Election Day.

Unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud are a nationwide problem designed to undermine the average citizen’s confidence in our election system. The goal is often to discourage people from voting ---lower voter turnouts favor candidates who are not populists. The mantra: “the sky is falling” goes far and wide and the Henny-Penny’s of the world feed into the myth of rampant voter fraud. We need to be vigilant but also must not trample on a voter’s right to vote. Election Protection Coalition is a nationwide effort to count every vote. It is being coordinated through the Lawyer’s Committee on Civil Rights Under Law and includes groups like the: National Bar Association, ACLU Voter Rights Project, NAACP National Voter Fund, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), Asian American LDEF, and over 100 other Partners.

If you experience any voting irregularities or voting mis-information, call the number below:

1-866-0UR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) Election Protection Hotline.

For more information or an interview, please contact: Bob Moses, NAACP Political Action Director at (505) 471-6633 or William H. Mee, N.M. Voters Services Coalition at (505) 473-3160.

-30-

Latinos for Obama Meetings in New Mexico

William Henry Mee — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:51:56 EDT

campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com

Latinos For Obama Meetings

Ms. Terry Rivera, a longtime Santa Fe County Democratic Party official, started a local chapter of the Latinos for Obama in June. She invited several people to the first meeting and had Democratic Activist Miguel Lucero talk to us about the political and social history of the Latino movement.

Miguel told us that, New Mexico’s Spanish-speaking population, was intrigued by the concepts of freedom, democracy and the “United States of America.” Under General Galven (namesake of Galveston, Texas) an army was raised to assist in the American Revolution of 1776.

Historically, New Mexico’s Spanish-speaking population, was guaranteed that elections and laws would be printed in BOTH Spanish and English by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 that ended the “War with Mexico.” Spanish-speakers didn’t vote or voted through a ‘Patron system’ whereby a village elder would tell you who to vote for. The voters were mature males who owned land or animals. The Patron would be the largest landowner or a ‘Mayordomo’ who controlled the water rights or church properties.

As a Territory of the United States, New Mexico was desperate to become a state and local legislators knew that having people vote more and be registered in the party in power in Washington, D.C. would give the best possible support for statehood. All the Spanish-speaking voters registered Republican because Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and the idea of treating all men equally was an intriguing thought to the natives who had been conquered by the White army of the United States in 1846.

During the Civil War, the Territory (which included Arizona at the time) was divided in half and the southern half was Confederate and the northern half stayed in the Union. Most Spanish speaking people enlisted in the Union Army. The Confederates were mainly from Texas and the cotton field owners near Mesilla joined with them and Lt. Colonel John R. Baylor, CSA, made Mesilla the Capitol of the southern territory of New Mexico. The Confederate plan was to drive the Union Army out of New Mexico and then seize the gold fields near Denver to finance the War Between the States. The Confederates had won three major battles already and were ready to lay seize to Santa Fe. The Union Army withdrew and just outside of Santa Fe at Glorieta Pass they ambushed the Confederates and drove the Texans all the way back to Albuquerque and eventually Mesilla were they stayed the rest of the war. The Battle of Glorieta is dubbed the Gettysburg of the West. New Mexicans remember it as the second time Texas invaded New Mexico.

During this time, all the Spanish-speaking voters registered Republican because it was the party of the martyr Abraham Lincoln. The Republican Party also had a good platform for farmers and large landowners. It was very independent-oriented and the “rugged individualism” of President Teddy Roosevelt was a popular theme. The Spanish-speaking population stayed registered as Republicans until the Republican-caused Great Depression and the 1932 Election of FDR.

New Mexico’s Spanish speaking population is composed of the original descendants of the Spanish Conquistadors, and much later Mexican immigrants. The identity of these peoples is hard to categorize with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ label. Northern New Mexicans have always just said they were Spanish-Americans and have vehemently refused the ‘Mexican-American’ label that the U.S. Census Bureau imposed. The term “Hispanics” fit the older generation while the young activists adopted the term “La Raza” (The Race) in the 1960-70’s; even “Brown Power” and later “Chicano.” The term “Latino” which arose in the political scene in the 1990’s bundled Hispanics from Latin America, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and South America; and could cover the following racial categories: White/Caucasian or Black/African, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander.

But this term “Latino” had its historical roots with Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico 1863-1867. He was placed on his throne by Napoleon III of France, the Austrian Hapsburgs and the Mexican Conservatives. The Mexican Liberals under Benito Juarez opposed him and revolution broke out. In an effort to bring all fractions together, Maximilian brought his allies from Brazil and what Napoleon III called “Latin America” and stated that all were “Latinos” including Mexicans since the Romance languages of Spanish, French and Portuguese linked them. It was a term that didn’t stick well with the locals and eventually the revolution deposed Maximilian and he was executed by President Juarez and the new democracy.

Latinos and Blacks have historically competed for jobs, housing and education; with the majority Whites pitting them against each other in this economic struggle to achieve political success.

Latinos complained about Mayor Tom Bradley’s election bid in Los Angeles in 1973, Mayor David Dinkens election bid in New York in 1989 and Mayor Willie Brown’s election bid in San Francisco in 1996; that for their voting support they were promised more economic support that never materialized.

Historically in New Mexico, we have not had a lot of Black people, but they have had generally good relations with the Latino population. In 1536, Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked on the coast of Texas with three others. One was Esteban (Estevan), a Moorish Servant. The four wandered through the Southwest in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola (the fabled cities of gold).

Esteban, came back with Coronado in 1540 to lead him to New Mexico and stayed in Zuni after Coronado left, welcomed as a Messiah. He eventually wore out his welcome and wreaked havoc amongst the tribal members and was put to death by them. The next Blacks in history were escaped and freed slaves that came in 1850’s out on the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri and through Texas. Then Blacks came as cowboys on the Goodnight-Loving Trail in 1866 and the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at Fort Selden from 1866 to the 1880’s. Blacks worked on the railroad in the 1880’s and 1890’s then in the Mesilla Valley cotton fields after the 1900’s. Blacks started working in the oil fields at Hobbs and at the military bases in the 1940’s at Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Clovis.

Hispano New Mexicans are very patriotic and have fought in many wars with distinction including the Indian Wars. This dates back to our quest for statehood. The Civil War required us to defend the Union to preserve our chance for statehood. Many joined the Roughriders and followed Teddy Roosevelt up San Juan Hill in 1898 hoping to win not just a war but also statehood; which was eventually won in 1912.

A few Hispanics went into World War One, but the National Guard had already been called into service to fight Pancho Villa after he attacked on American soil at Columbus, New Mexico in 1916. In World War Two, Latinos had the most casualties per capita. The New Mexico National Guard was rushed into the Philippines in 1942 to fight the Japanese and thousands died during the Bataan Death March. Korea and Vietnam also saw heavy Latino support. So that a John McCain as a war hero plays to the Latino community. It is important to educate people about his anti-veteran voting over the last 26 years.

John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, was immensely popular in New Mexico in 1960. A powerful speaker who came on a train tour---he became the hope for the poverty stricken Hispanics. His assassination devastated both the Hispanic and Blacks communities that were unified behind him. In 1964, LBJ, a Texan, was on the ballot and it didn’t thrill New Mexicans. But in 1968, Bobby Kennedy electrified crowds with his speaking ability and his ties and compassion with Cesar Chaves and farm workers gave hope to New Mexican Hispanics. To some, including myself, Obama, reminds our community organizers of the Kennedy’s message.

In the 1980’s Albuquerque became a relocation center for the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. This included the Mariel Boatlift, the release of Cuban Prisoners by Castro, the relocation of San Salvadorian rebels, Vietnamese refugees (including Black Ameriasians children) and Haitian refugees. These relocations added different types of Spanish speakers and Blacks to the melting pot in New Mexico. Mexican and Guatemalan immigration in the 80’s, 90’s and today continue our diversity expansion.

In concluding, Mr. Lucero stated that although Northern New Mexico votes Democratic at a 60-80% rate it needs to be motivated by the Obama campaign to turn out. Instead of picking a unifying title for the organization that is better than Latinos for Obama, it is more important to be out in the local communities and be visible and use Spanish-language radio to educate people about Obama.

But why is this “unification” for Obama, the candidate, so foreign to us?

Many of the “Latinos for Obama” were in Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition. The symbol for the campaign was a rainbow of green (for environmentalists), red (for Native Americans), yellow (for Asians), white (for Whites), black (for Blacks), and brown for Hispanics. So each Democratic Party constituency had a stripe in the coalition. The fact that Jesse was Black was immaterial to the Coalition members---he was just the leader, a temporary CEO of this cause for the greater good. We had that brown stripe and that was all that mattered. When we called in phone banking and people answered “But he is a Black Man” --- and we said “So?”.

Taking this lesson from the Rainbow Coalition we have our own stripe again: it is in the ‘Hope’ and ‘Change We Can Believe In’ themes of the Obama campaign. These are messages and symbols that resonate in the Latino community that has been bypassed for so long.

William Henry Mee

Santa Fe, N.M.

Faith In Obama Is A Fact! "Closet Racism" Is A Myth!

David from Ojai, CA — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:49:58 EDT

"I can't tell my husband, but I am 100% behind Obama," a voter from Nevada told me one night while phone banking. Our Ojai volunteer campaign office has placed more than 5,000 calls to Nevada and New Mexico and we are hearing similar stories from men, women, and children from these more conservative battleground states. Quite the opposite of the occasional news-line that "closet racism" may hurt Senator Obama's election bid, we are finding undecided voters to be overwhelming Obama supporters! Our office polls show Senator Obama ahead 3 to 1 amongst undecided voters in Nevada, even higher in New Mexico, and a 6 to 1 margin in our California calling. More and more, people are feeling the power that comes with making up your own mind for yourself and they are asking for yard signs, buttons, and tee shirts more than at any point in this campaign. The people who are not honest about their own beliefs and that harbor such feelings weren't going to vote Democrat anyway: they will not sway this election even a part of one point, so forget about 'em!

Let's stay positive, remain confident that we are on the brink of monumental progress in our great country, and push on through to November 4! Faith in our fellow citizens is a two way street: we get as we give. We know others will do the right thing as we ourselves are sure we will do the same for them! Keep it up and smile, smile, smile.

Thanks for listening.

David

Roadtrip to Change - Texas heads to New Mexico

Abby from Austin, TX — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:26:17 EDT

Below is a wrap-up of the recent Texas Roadtrip to Change to New Mexico, where you can learn more about the experiences of those traveled to New Mexico to canvass for the Obama campaign. The Texas team is prepping to go to Ohio next. The trip leaves October 24 to work through Election Day, turning out Democrats and persuading undecideds in Ohio to vote for Sen. Obama. You could be one of those who makes a new friend in your seatmate on the bus, who convinces a first-time voter or a long-time Republican or a family to vote for Obama/Biden.

Click here to sign up to Get in the Van to Get Out the Vote!

After a big send-off in Austin by State Director Juan Sepulveda and State Field Director JD Gins, over 90 Texans got on charter buses and spent 14 hours riding to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The New Mexico staff greeted them at 8am on Saturday with handmade nametags and homemade omelets. One of the New Mexico volunteers even burst into tears as the bus pulled in. The Texans canvassed from 10am until 7pm on Saturday in a western neighborhood of Albuquerque, using their Texan charm to persuade potential voters. In combination with New Mexico volunteers, they nearly doubled the usual number of doors knocked on in the area where they worked.

Some of highlights of the trip were:

I looked at the sheet and it said "likely McCain" for this particular house. I thought "this will be quick", so I knocked on the door and waited impatiently. Two kids came to the door, and I asked for their parents. A long while later, a young-ish Hispanic man came to the door. I said my little spiel about early voting and Obama, and he became very excited and wanted to ask a lot of questions. Turns out that he had just registered and this will be his first election as a new citizen. He was very concerned that his voter registration card hadn't come yet - so I told him about early voting, how to do it, etc. The best part was the light in his eyes and huge smile on his face when he looked at me and said, "This is very important, yes? It's my first time and I want to make sure I get to do it. That I get to vote for Obama." I think he may not have voted at all if we hadn't helped him out. What a fantastic feeling.

I will never forget this trip. We travelled long and worked hard for a cause we love and believe in with all of our hearts. The volunteers and staff in NM took great care of us with lots of food and lots of love and appreciation. We'll all be together in spirit on November 4.

While my partner Denise and I were canvassing on the first day, we passed a family having a yard sale. A boy of seven years asked us what we were doing, and we told him we were telling people about Obama. He, his sister, and parents said they were supporters of Obama and would be voting early (despite being surrounded by a few McCain supporters).

I noticed that the boy was making a sign while we were talking to his parents, which I assumed was for the family's yard sale. But, several minutes later Denise and I passed a sign was posted in the neighborhood. It read:

KIDS FOR OBAMA!
GO-BAM
YAY OBAMA
no mccain

One highlight was meeting Cheryl. I sat next to her when we gathered prior to boarding the bus. We ended up being seat mates, walking buddies, and hotel roommates. Our personalities were compatible, so that made the experience even better. Cheryl said the last time she boarded a bus for a political cause was a trip to Washington in 1968 to protest the Vietnam War. She signed up for this trip at the last minute after seeing reports on PBS about the importance of New Mexico in the presidential election. And the best part was that Cheryl noticed the little old man selling tamales in the Walgreen’s parking lot – we gave him literature about Obama and had delicious tamales for lunch.

My most memorable experience was a couple who was leaning toward Obama but not quite sure. The lady (the wife of house) noticed my Texas for Obama button and asked was I from Texas. I told her yes and how we came on a 14 hour bus ride to show our support for this ticket of Obama and Biden. I also told her this was me and my husband's first time out of Texas in our 38 years and we picked to come to New Mexico because this election is just that important. She hugged me with tears in her eyes and said, "God bless you, and with people helping him (Obama) like you and your husband he will get to the White House."

Check out the photos from the Texans:

That night, everyone wound down with some much needed fuel at a local Mexican restaurant and got some sleep. After another scrumptious breakfast and a morning canvassing shift from 9:30am to 2pm, the New Mexico staff organized a picnic of hot dogs and homemade enchiladas for everyone. The Texas team left New Mexico about 5pm and rode home tired, with blisters on their feet, wearing brand new New Mexico Obama shirts and cheering about Gen. Colin Powell's endorsement of Sen. Obama. Thanks to New Mexico for welcoming Texas so warmly!

Targeting State by State

John Zwier — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:40:12 EDT

Reposting from Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bart-motes/obamas-smart-targeted-web_b_135249.html

Obama's Smart Targeted Web Campaign

Add another headache to the McCain campaign's faltering efforts. Barack Obama, avid Iphone user (see video) is employing state specific web sites to hammer John McCain. Websites specific to Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio point out the disastrous impact of a McCain presidency on the lives of voters in each state. Though the websites employ the same basic format, they include statistics specific to each state.

The websites aren't quite as sexy as the new Obama for Iphone application, which gives you a ready made call list of your friends, uses the Iphone's GPS to tell you where your nearest office is, and provides users with position papers on every imaginable issue. But they may be even more effective.

For instance, the Ohio website notes that "Bankruptcies Rose 19% In Ohio In The 12 Months Leading Up To June 2008; 54,160 Bankruptcies Were Filed During This Time."

Specific data such as this arms local supporters and helps convince undecided voters that John McCain will directly and negatively impact their lives.

The program is another example of the Democratic National Committee's 50 State plan. States like North Carolina and Virginia would have been ignored by a less aggressive (read previous Democratic) campaign. But because the Obama campaign built on Howard Dean's decision to build a presence in every state, not just reliably Democratic states, the McCain campaign is forced to use its limited resources to play defense in North Carolina and Virginia.

Most provocatively, the North Carolina and Virginia sites allow voters to click on their area and see funding for local projects opposed by McCain.

Websites cannot substitute for the hard work of grassroots campaigning: particularly phone banking and canvassing. But they can augment the work of local organizers and volunteers. Since the names of the state specific websites are catchy and memorable "McCain Versus Ohio," it is easy for volunteers and staff to mention them to voters and magnify their impact.

The Obama campaign is pioneering the merger between high technology and grassroots campaigning begun by Howard Dean and Joe Trippi. The results will be felt long after this election.

Note that since this post, several other state sites have been targeted. These include:

www.McCainvsMontana.com

www.McCainvsNM.com

www.McCainvsMichigan.com

Doctors: McCain Has Advanced Melanoma, 6 to 18 Months To Live

David from Muskegon, MI — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:25:59 EDT

McCain's Doctor: He Has 6 to 18 Months To Live
Mayo Clinic M.D. Originally Reported On Findings, But Has Since Gone Silent

During his first campaign for the White House in 2000, Senator John McCain unconditionally released all of his medical records to the press and gave reporters virtually unlimited access to his entire medical history.

However, last May Sen. McCain agreed to allow only highly restricted access to the very same kind of records. Only selected news organizations and journalists were allowed access to Sen. McCain's medical history during this election cycle. Members of the news media were permitted just three hours to go over 1000s of pages of files in an sealed and isolated room. Reporters were not allowed to use cell phones or use the internet while in the sealed area. Anyone who left the room was not allowed back in. This new level of secrecy baffled many members of the press who remarked that the move was inconsistent with the openness the McCain campaign showed in 2000.

The reason why Sen. McCain has gone from absolute openness with his medical records to a new level of secrecy is because the Senator's health has declined considerably since his original presidential campaign. This decline is not unusual for a man who was 64 eight years ago.

John McCain is 72 years old, and if elected he would be the oldest first-term President in history. Both voters and medical experts have expressed concern that the state of Mr. McCain's health may preclude him from executing the most important tasks of his presidency if he is elected.

At his most recent physical, McCain's personal physician at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. John D. Eckstein said that because of a "serious aliment" that Sen. McCain has just 6 to 18 months to live.

While Dr. Eckstein was not specific on the nature of the illness himself, other experts in the field say that McCain is likely to be suffering from advanced melanoma that could require chemotherapy in the near future. No one is quite sure if McCain's major illness is treatable or if his illness is terminal.

"We aren't going to talk about any potential illness or potential treatment until after the election." said an Senior McCain aide who asked not to be named.

"Right now, it's all speculative" said Dr. Eckstein when he was asked if Senator McCain would be able to maintain a full schedule as President while he underwent chemotherapy. Side effects of the chemotherapy include rapid weight loss, a suppressed immune system,memory loss, malnutrition, nausea and hair loss.

If McCain underwent these procedures it is possible that he would be unable to discharge his duties as President on a full time basis. If elected, McCain might be put in a position where he would have to frequently and regularly invoke the third section of 25th Amendment which would make the Vice President the Acting President.

The constitutional provision was used by Ronald Reagan in 1987 when he underwent surgery as George H.W. Bush became the Acting President. President George W. Bush invoked it when he underwent two separate colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007. However, since the inception of the 25th Amendment, no one has invoked it to cover anything as serious or as long term as chemotherapy.

In a potential McCain administration, current Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be Vice President and ultimately she would bare the responsibilities of the "Acting President" if section three of the 25th amendment was enacted.

"Even with chemotherapy, the Senator is gravely ill and he is unlikely to serve a full term", said Dr. Eckstein.

The Mayo Clinic physician initially expressed that he was upset that his findings were removed from the medical records to which reporters had access. "Senator McCain would be the oldest first term President ever, and his medical conditions could have a profound impact on his ability to conduct while in office".

Dr. Eckstein was contacted for a follow-up interview, but he did not respond.

Bush 2004 States Are Tipping to Obama: John Nichols in The Nation

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:10:26 EDT

>>>>>>>>>10/08/2008>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The national polls are instructive early in the fall presidential campaign season. They tell us whether a candidate has strength, momentum, a chance.

But as the campaign enters its final stage -- with election day less than a month away -- the numbers from the states start to matter. That's where the electoral votes start to pile up. So what of the battleground states? Forget about states, competitive or otherwise, that backed Democrat John Kerry in 2004.

The latest polls from all of them favor Democrat Barack Obama this year. (Indeed, the analysts at Real Clear Politics have in recent days moved four 2004 states Kerry states that were supposed to be battlegrounds this year -- Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania -- from "Leans Obama" status to "Solid Obama.")

What of the states that backed Republican George Bush in 2004? Where are they trending. Here's something to ponder:

In 2004, Bush secured the presidency with the electoral votes of: Colorado Florida Iowa Missouri Nevada New Mexico North Carolina Ohio Florida

As of today, the Real Clear Politics poll of polls for each state -- which averages all the recent surveys of voters -- has Obama winning every one of these battlegrounds. If the election were held today, and if the polls proved correct, Obama would win the Electoral College by a margin of 364 votes to 174 -- a split roughly parallel to that in the 1996 race between Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican Bob Dole.

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power" - Benito Mussolini

Please comment on UNM Lobo article on McCain's Visit today! McCain's mission: Presidential candidate visits UNM to discuss economic crisis, criticize Obama

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:59:08 EDT

By: Hunter Riley
Posted: 10/7/08
Close to 1,000 people came to see Republican presidential candidate John McCain on campus Monday.

Meanwhile, outside the SUB, about 250 students and community members rallied in protest of McCain, chanting, carrying signs and marching on campus.

McCain discussed the economic crisis and criticized his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama.

"There are essential things we don't know about Sen. Obama or the record that he brings," McCain said. "All people want to know is what this man has actually accomplished and done."

McCain said Obama does not have the experience to run a country and that he is unsure of the fate of America in Obama's hands. He said the only way to know which way Obama will take the country is to look at the direction he's taken in the past.

But Obama has called McCain a liar every time he questions his policies or his record, McCain said.

"I don't need lessons about telling the truth, and were I ever to need any improvement in that regard, I probably wouldn't seek advice from a Chicago politician," McCain said.

The audience was vocal in their support of McCain.

"Who is the real Obama?" McCain said.

"A terrorist! A liar!" some audience members shouted.

McCain said that if he becomes president, he will freeze spending on everything that is not a valuable function of the government.

"I'll balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office," he said.

McCain said the state of the economy will have an effect on students and that he will help students struggling to pay for college.

McCain said Obama is personally acquainted with the people who created the economic crisis we are facing today. Obama has received more money from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae than any other senator in history, McCain said.

McCain said Obama is not being direct with how he will spend federal money and that Americans should pay careful attention to that.

"According to third-party estimates, he will increase government spending by over $860 billion, but he denied it," McCain said. "He has refused to tell you how much he does plan to spend."

While McCain directed attacks at his opponent, protesters assembled outside the rally to show their support for Obama.

Sophomore Zoe Kolon said McCain's criticism of Obama wasn't strong enough to overcome the flaws in the Republican platform.

"I would say Obama offers a lot for the economy. With the state the economy is in right now, I think Obama is more likely to pull it out than McCain would," Kolon said. "I am against McCain's stance on the war and his tax break, giving money to the upper class."

Gabbi Campos / Daily Lobo
Students outside the SUB protest Sen. John McCain's visit on Monday.

Protesters outside the SUB ballroom where McCain was speaking were loud enough to be heard inside.

Emily Zamballo, who attended the rally outside the SUB, said it was inspiring to see so many young people caring about politics.

"It's just a nice thing to see traditions carried on when people like me are getting very depressed about what has been happening and we are very sorry about the state of our country," she said. "We feel responsible for it a lot."
© Copyright 2008 Daily Lobo

From Albuquerque today: ABC POLITICAL NEWS: Ayers, Keating...Kitchen Sink McCain/Palin Step Up Attacks Obama leads in OH--[Respond on editorial pages!]

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:30:55 EDT

From Albuquerque today: ABC POLITICAL NEWS: Ayers, Keating...Kitchen Sink McCain/Palin Step Up Attacks Obama leads in OH--[Respond on editorial pages!]

By KAREN TRAVERS and RIGEL ANDERSON, October 6, 2008

[NEW MEXICO and battleground states & Obama Supporters: Time to fight back on the editorial pages of America to tear apart McCain's Albuquerque diatribe, item by item!----many political battles and whole wars can actually be fought and won on the Editorial page! Letters, 200 words; OpEds, 600: send it out to many editors, the same folks who are about to write the endorsements!-from Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor, New Mexico Sun News]

Today in Albuquerque, NM, John McCain unleashed perhaps his strongest attack of the entire campaign on Barack Obama. The Republican nominee called his opponent out on his fundraising, his (in)action on the financial crisis and even questioned his honesty and openness.

Stepping up his rhetoric against the Democratic nominee, McCain accused him of not being forthright about his record.

"Who is the real Barack Obama?" McCain asked, per ABC News' Bret Hovell. "Even at this late hour in the campaign there are things we don't know about Senator Obama or the record that he brings to this campaign."

Couple this with running mate Sarah Palin in Florida hammering Obama on his "associating" with Bill Ayers and bringing up the fear card for the first time.

"I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way that you and I see America -- as the greatest source for good in this world," Palin said of Obama to 2,000 supporters at a rally in Clearwater, Florida this morning, per ABC News' Imtiyaz Delawala. "I'm afraid this someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country."

"This, ladies and gentlemen, has nothing to do with the kind of change that anyone can believe in, not my kids, not for your kids," Palin added.

The Obama campaign fired back with its own "association" attack, releasing a 13-minute documentary about McCain's connection to the Keating Five scandal.

The two-front attack comes the day before the second of three presidential debates and as another battleground state poll shows McCain/Palin trailing Obama/Biden in a key state that President Bush won in 2004.

Obama leads McCain 51-45 among likely voters in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released tonight. The economy is far and away the most important issue to Ohio voters and Obama is "riding economic discontent to an advantage" there, per ABC News Polling Director Gary Langer. Obama is "bolstered in part by financially stressed voters in the state's hard-hit industrial belt and following it up with a more extensive ground campaign in this key contest."

Digging deeper into the numbers finds some interesting statistics that will have the folks on Michigan Avenue smiling tonight. Not surprisingly, Obama leads by a wide margin (71-26) in Cuyahoga County, the heavily Democratic Cleveland area. But Obama also has a 17-point lead in the northeastern region, which includes the Rust Belt industrial cities of Akron, Canton and Youngstown. John Kerry eked out a 52-47 win in that region in 2004 over President Bush. In the center and southeastern corner of the state, a region that is more rural and more solidly Republican, Obama has a 51-45 lead. Bush won this same region by 8 points in 2004.

Since wrapping up the Democratic nomination in June, Obama has had 23 events in Ohio, per an analysis of ABC News' records more than any other battleground state. McCain has had 30 events in Ohio since wrapping up his nomination in early March, second only to Florida where he has had 34 events.

Obama hits the ground with a two-day bus tour on Oct 9-10 through southern and central Ohio with stops in Dayton, Cincinnati, Portsmouth and other TBA cities. This is Obama's first visit to the Buckeye State since Sept 9. McCain was last there on Sept. 29.

Tuesday's town hall style debate gives Obama a chance to keep the focus on issues and gives McCain the opportunity to regain lost ground in a format where he is most comfortable.

30 Days to Go for Early Voting

Phuong from Los Angeles, CA — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:09:45 EDT

Hi All. I am probably one of the biggest cynics on Earth, but I believe that this is the time to act.

My parents were political refugees who came to the states with the ideal of America as being a land of liberty and freedom. I would like to keep that a possibility, a work in progress.

I'm writing on behalf of the Obama Campaign. We are revving up for phone drives in the battle states Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico, specifically calling them to get out the early vote.

WHY THE EARLY VOTE? This is to ensure that we lock in these very important swing states. We have October 18 - October 31 to do this. 30 minutes of your time dialing and talking can impact the next 4 years. Can you handle for more years of Bush/Cheney Deregulation and Pro-War Policies with McCain/Palin? Please help yourself, your family, your future, and community.

We need these three states to push us over the 270 electoral votes to win the Presidential election. Though no one ever agrees a hundred percent with any candidate (it's a byproduct of having a mind of one's own in a free society), Obama offers the best broad-based and holistic solution to what the U.S. needs right now.

How you can help:

Register for the Friend to Friend Phoning to the Battle States CO, NV, and NM (and have them register for early voting. You can do this for yourself and friends, too. See link below).

Forward this e-mail to your friends/family. Forwarding this message and/or sending it to your e-mail list can mean your 1 vote times 100.

Have phone bank parties.

Host an event to get out the vote.

Friend to Friend Sign Up - Phone Lists for Battle States
http://my.barackobama.com/page/votercontact/login

Early Voter Information for Battle States
https://www.voteforchange.com/?secure=ofa

First Day on the Phone

Kurt from Emeryville, CA — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:49:34 EDT

My friend and I went to the Berkeley/Oakland office and they gave us a little intro and then we started calling. We were targeting New Mexico. I called 36 numbers there (as a different login) and another 26 numbers went I got home. Most where "No Answer" and of the about a dozen people I got to talk to, none were under 60. One was undecided, but none of the rest were going to vote for Barack (most told me "Not Obama" when I asked). One guy told me that he recently change his registration from Dem to Rep because of Obama. Another guy (who really wanted to talk), told me he was fed up with them all and wasn't going to vote for any of them.

My friend was only about to make about 23 calls there because the web site was acting up for him, but he did get one positive response and one undecided.

Anyway, it wasn't very encouraging, but I'll keep calling New Mexico in the evenings this week and again next Saturday. Hopefully I'll get at least one positive response. I'll probably also call Nevada since it is closer and I know a little about it. If Minnesota shows up on my list, I'll be calling there because I really like Al Frankin (and talking to people there should help both him with his senate race and Barack I hope).

Love Letter to California

Harold from Oakland, CA — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:05:26 EDT

Volunteers in California have been helping the ground game in New Mexico. Here is my "love letter" to these volunteers:

Thanks so much to the Californians for Obama who have been calling into New Mexico! This means so much to the campaign here, since it lets the volunteers in New Mexico do the things that can only be done locally, like register voters and ring doorbells.

You'll be called on again to help us get out the vote, and we know you'll be there for us.

You should also know that we will be working literally day and night to make sure that New Mexico is very "blue" come election day.

I am also a California Volunteer for Obama who was sent from the Bay Area to Las Cruces to help with the campaign, but after a week, I feel like a New Mexican. I can give you a report on the campaign here, so you have a better idea how your help is making a difference.

The office here in Las Cruces is filled with volunteers. They are young and not so young, men and women, black, white and latino. The other evening, the "Mommas for Obama" were in making calls and the phone room turned into a nursery. These young mothers are in this fight for their children, and for all of our children.

Because of your help, the volunteers in New Mexico will be able to spend this last weekend of voter registration doing that instead of phone banking, and sending our volunteers door to door too.

If you were here with us, we'd ring the bell that gets rung when each volunteer comes into the office to help.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Together we will make a difference and elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden to lead our country.

Yes we can! Si se puede!

My Detailed 2008 Election Predictions for All 50 States

Eli Corp — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:44:09 EDT

My Detailed 2008 Presidential Election Predictions!

You can check out your own state and see how every demographic group will likely break down in this election.

Today I made some minor changes to my predictions after news broke that McCain was abandoning his Michigan campaign, and putting resources into Indiana and Pennsylvania. I also made some very minor changes to Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio after looking at some new polling data. These changes were minor and did not change the eventual electoral outcome in any of the states, but instead solidified Obama's lead in those states.

Let me first explain how these election projections were made. Each State was carefully researched for the most recent census and other important demographic data. Using State by State U.S. Census data I broke down the state by Gender, Race, Party Affiliation, Age, Education Level, and Religion.

Using a complex formula I did the following, I created a Demographic profile of individuals. (ex. Men-White-Democrat-18 to 44-College Educated-Catholic) There were about 216 Different Demographic Groups represented.

Next I created a two part formula, the first was issue oriented, the second demographic oriented based on CNN Election 2004 Exit Polls.(http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/) The issues represented a wide variety of issues from Women's Issues, to Urban and Rural Issues, Foreign Policy and Economic Policy. I also included cultural issues such as Gun Rights and Racial Issues.

By answering a series of Yes/No Questions regarding those issues, I assigned specific numerical values to each question either Negative (liberal) or Positive (conservative).

On the Demographic formula I assigned importance based on exit polls from CNN. For instance Party is more important than Age or Gender. Race is more important than Gender etc.

The end result is a formula that is about 90%-95% accurate. I double checked the results against Exit Poll Data from 2004, and they match up remarkably well. Political Party numbers do tend to be under-represented in my formulas but do match up fairly accurately, and do balance out in the end. I used Exit Poll data, and numbers of Democrats and Republicans in the state legislatures to determine likely voter models for each political party.

HERE ARE THE FINAL RESULTS:

I project that Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States!

I project that Barack Obama will win with 338 Electoral Votes to John McCain's 200 Electoral Votes. (270 needed to win)

Obama will win 26 States and the District of Columbia. McCain will win 24 States.

Obama will win 51.12% of the Total Popular Vote; 67,531,664 - 338 Electoral Votes

McCain will win 47.03% of the Total Popular Vote; 62,130,227 - 200 Electoral Votes

Nader, McKinney, Barr and others will win 1.86% of the Vote; 2,451,238 - 0 Electoral Votes

TOTAL VOTES: 132,113,129 - 538 Electoral Votes

Projected difference between Obama and McCain: +4.09%

Obama Projected Wins:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin.

McCain Projected Wins:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia.

Below is a full list of Predictions from every State and Washington DC.

FULL LIST OF EVERY STATE AND WASHINGTON DC WITH NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE:

Here is a full list of all state predictions:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Washington DC

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

State Dems Say Phone Lists are Up To Date

Richard — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:37:21 EDT

Fears have been expressed that the state Democratic Party's phone lists will not handle the new 575 area code when it becomes mandatory next week.

Not so, say two of the top honchos down there.

Their word --

The New Mexico voter file changes daily with newly registered voters and information entered into the Vote Builder from hundreds of grassroots leaders across the state making thousands of phone calls every day. To ensure that the most current phone information is captured in the transition the DPNM will make a timely area code change in Vote Builder during a time of inactivity before October 5th.

Protecting American Voting Rights!

Omar Dyer — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:40:11 EDT

In America, your right to vote makes you an American. In America, your right to vote makes you a tax-payer. In AMerica, your right to vote gets you one step closer at being a citizen. All around the country, voter registration drives, have re-boasted the vibe of voting. Organizations like A.C.O.R.N. which means: Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, have been working too hard in order to get people registered. Yet, the House Republican Base, who's seats are endangered see this organization or any organization like A.C.O.R.N. as a problem. This problem is the same problem that helps people get registered to vote: more like Rock the Vote. In fact both of these two organizations fuel off the same information and ideas set down by the federal government.

What I can't understand is why two programs that do idnentical things, in terms of functioning and voter's rights -- are at the opposite side of the House/ Republican's table: here's an idea! A.C.O.R.N. brings in 90% of their voter drives to the Democratic Party, While Rock the vote brings in 45% of their drives to the Democratic Party. Rock the Vote turns in 55% for the Republican Party, and A.C.O.R.N. turns in 10% to the Republican party -- so this means the Republicans can't inspire their base so they want to pick which program works and what doesn't to favor them. Fact are: 55% of newly registered voters are Democrat, with 25% are independent -- with 20% Republican. Now they want to take away your rights.

The Repubs base wants to say this: These people are criminals, these people are illegally here; these people are not competent enough to vote. Listen, they ARE WRONG: During the primaries, you voted on the voter act initiative; which protects your rights unless you are mentally challenged -- and even then you still have the right to vote with assistance.
Here's you voting rights for 11/4/2008

1: To be registered by 10/4

2: U.S. Citizen that has a residence in the states county for more than 30 days on Election Day: Including a P.O. Box from the stats post office.

3: 18 years of age before Election Day.

4: If you are not in prison or on parole for a felony convicition on or two weeks before election day.

5: College students have a right to use the dormitory as a primary residence -- home or school: and they can oly vote ONCE.

6: Only a person with a misdemeanor conviction can still vote, and they have the right to vote from the jails: MISDEANORS ONLY.

7: A felony conviction can only register: after they have been cleared from: parole, probation, and their current charge.

8: A homeless person can vote if were they usually stay: they can use that place like: a park, a shelter, or a citizen sibling in good standing -- in which they reside in the county of the state they are registering in to vote.

These are the rights you have to vote and these are the rights that A.C.O.R.N. and Rock the Vote is using. One problem: Rock The Vote is an online company, and A.C.O.R.N. is a minority based community program: running under the cleanest rules in America, and just like Coaches! 101 they are under federal investiagtion. I get it when you are clean: you must be evil if you're not a Republican. When you are dirty, and create scandels -- like the financial crisis: you are good with the Republican base. Please be aware of your rights:

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_b.htm

Voices For Change: Justin in New Mexico

Sarah Ramey — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:05:26 EDT

We just spoke with Justin, a member of the United States Air Force, and like a lot of people in the armed forces he's always on the move. Originally from Maryland, his family now lives in Florida and he's currently stationed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"Such is military life," he says.

But neither moving nor military life have stopped Justin from voting. In fact:

I just voted for Barack through absentee ballot and would encourage everyone to vote early if they can.

Great advice!

Millions of people across the country have been waiting for the day they can finally cast their ballot for Barack Obama -- and the wait is over. You can exercise your civic duty and get the ball rolling today by requesting your own absentee ballot right now. Just go to VoteForChange.com to get started.

Justin did, and now he's working on his friends in the Air Force to do the same.

When I talk to people about Senator Obama and Senator McCain I like to point out the differences between the two candidates and let them decide for themselves. I have found that if you let people choose on policy differences rather then personal attacks they find it easier to choose.
For example, I let people know that if they're make less than $250,000 a year, they're going to get a bigger tax break from Barack Obama's plan than from John McCain's. Those are just the facts.
...I also point out that many of the arguments John McCain seems to have with Obama, well Senator McCain seems to have those same arguments with himself. He's changed his positions so many times, it doesn't inspire a lot of trust.

Finally, there's another big reason Justin supports Barack Obama: he and Senator Obama both opposed this war from the beginning.

I'd like to see an end to the war in Iraq, and a redeployment of troops to Afghanistan. The key is Afghanistan. It always was. Barack is one of the only politicians who's been standing up and saying so all along.

So, take a few minutes and take a page out of Justin's book: register to vote or request an absentee ballot today.

Deadlines for voter registration and ballot requests are less than two weeks away -- and we need every single vote we can get to win this election. That involves our supporters making sure that everyone they know is registered.

The good news is that it's easy. Very easy. Just go to our one-stop voter registration website to register or get answers to your questions.

Now's your chance to make your voice heard.

Rally Sunday in Ribera

Richard — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:58:47 EDT

This just in from Meta Levister (metastgc@earthlink.net):

Obama in the Valley

Obama supporters who live in El Valle (Ribera, Sena, Villanueva, etc.) are holding their first gathering on Sunday afternoon, September 28, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

The word is going out to folks in Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Mora. Santa Rosa, and vicinity in an effort to get 500-700+ people to attend. This should be a fun event amid the beautiful pastoral surroundings of Ribera.

Barack in Espanola: "We're in this together"

Shayne Adamski — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:11:40 EDT

Barack held a rally in Espanola on Thursday, September 18, on a warm but beautiful day. He spoke to an energized crowd of 9,500 people and asked everyone in New Mexico to knock on some doors, make some phone calls, and talk to your neighbors.

"...if you will roll up their sleeves with me, if you will believe with me, then I promise you this, we will not just win NM, we will win this General Election, and then you, and I, together, we're going to change this country, and we're going to change the world.
...right here in NM, you’ll be the difference maker."

Visit http://nm.barackobama.com and get involved today!

Watch the closing remarks of Barack's speech:

Check out pictures from the day:

Watch the full speech:

Obama/Biden Weekly Videos (09-20-08)

Stephanie Williams — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:00:10 EDT

New Videos from BarackObamadotcom

One Fine Day in Espanola

Lex Python — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:07:10 EDT

Well, it was great to see the man in person in Espy today. I got there early and stood for 5 hours in the hot sun, and it was worth it. I was very close to the podium, maybe 30 feet max. He's awesome, and better in person.

Pix:

http://flickr.com/photos/66336125@N00/sets/72157607366782577/show/

You Ignorant Liberal...

Shane — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:48:20 EDT

Obama is everything the Democrats have been waiting for, and we're all right to feel empowered, enthused, and confident about our candidate. BUT WE ABSOLUTELY, IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM, HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE HE WILL ACTUALLY MAKE IT INTO OFFICE. You think the average American has had enough of Bush's lies? Well, you're lying to yourself.

Just like Gore and Kerry before him, Obama is having to battle the deception and manipulation that the Republican party exerts over the American people. Moreover, obstacles like voter caging http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caging_list, voting location inaccessibility, and voter count manipulations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_election_recount will make it even more difficult for Obama to get elected.

Like the 2000 and 2004 elections preceding it, this presidency will be decided by a narrow margin. In order to make sure Obama not only gets the votes he needs to legally win, but gets enough votes to beat the "Republican spread," we HAVE to get involved. There is no exception. If we don't, we WILL NOT win.

Thursday Obama's in New Mexico! Hispanic s, Please Vote as a Block for Obama!

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:59:51 EDT

Obama plans Española visit Thursday; Richardson launches new group while courting Hispanics in battleground states; BATTLEGROUND and FENCESTRADDLER STATES' ELECTORAL VOTES ARE NOT DOOMED TO BE FOR MCCAIN!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stephenfox/gG5qzp
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stephenfox/gG5XtP

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

BREAKING NEWS; "Being the 'detective' that I am, I got the message below
from the McCain camp today. I can understand why he wants people to vote for
him now, by absentee ballot. He doesn't want people to be able to change
their minds as they hear the upcoming debates."

JaneAnne
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

BRILLIANT!
SO HERE IS THIS AGAIN:

By Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News -

First thoughts: The Electoral Map 50 days out : from MSNBC:

Turn on the Steam in (leaning Obama) IA, MN, NM OR, PA, WA (61 votes) Toss
up: CO, MI, NV, NH, OH, VA, WI (78 votes)

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stephenfox/gG5ZBz

A lot of letters to the editor from you, and emailed all over your state
might turn the tide, if they were well reasoned and hard hitting, to the
point, about why Obama would be best for your state, in the long run! If you
speak with the Editorial Page Editor, ask for an op/ed slot, 600-800 words,
to really make your point, and don't forget that these are the very editors
who are likely to be writing their endorsements in a few short weeks for
President, so don't bombard them with blast emails: they won't get printed,
and you will just irk the person.

Editorial page editors are listed in EDITOR AND PUBLISHER in your library,
and indirectly through

usnpl.com : unitedstatesnewspaperlist

And no doubt, as Dr. Howard Dean III pointed out in Santa Fe about a month
ago, nothing works better than going door to door, and personally talking at
length with your neighbors, colleagues, and family, to answer any questions
they might have regarding Obama's strengths and McCain's failures.

You may find the earlier articles in my blog (there are 109 of them) to be
helpful as all have been filed with strategy and tactical considerations in
mind, above all.

Truly,

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News
Founder, New Millennium Fine Art
stephen@santafefineart.com

MSNBC:

The Palin bounce has erased Obama's lead in the national polls, and it has
now cut into his electoral-vote advantage, according to NBC’s latest map.
Obama holds a 233-227 edge here, down from his 228-200 advantage from last
week.

The biggest changes: We moved Florida -- with its 27 electoral votes -- from
Toss-up to Lean McCain, and New Mexico from Toss-up to Lean Obama. We also
shifted Oregon and Washington from Likely Obama to Lean Obama, as well as
Alaska, Georgia, North Dakota and South Dakota from Lean McCain to Likely
McCain.

The good news for McCain is that the map looks better for him than at any
point so far in this race, and many of those red states that looked like
opportunities for Obama (AK, GA, IN) look to be longer shots for him. The
bad news for McCain is that given the wave his campaign has been riding from
the Palin bounce, is this as good as it gets?

If he isn’t leading in some states now, he might not ever lead in them.
Bottom line: You'll know the map is starting to move in one direction or the
other if either Pennsylvania or Florida moves back into Toss-up before
Election Day.

VIDEO: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd discusses the Sarah Palin affect on
the NBC electoral vote map.

Likely Obama: CA, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, RI, VT (172
electoral votes)

Lean Obama: IA, MN, NM OR, PA, WA (61 votes)

Toss-up: CO, MI, NV, NH, OH, VA, WI (78 votes)

Lean McCain: FL, IN, MO, MT, NC (67 votes)

Likely McCain: AL, AK, AZ, AR, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MS, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD,
TN, TX, UT, WV, WY (160 votes)

__________________________________________________________________________

Obama plans Española visit; Richardson launches new group while courting Hispanics in battleground states

Photo: Santa Fe County Commissioner Virginia Vigil screams ‘Obamanos!’ on Monday during the opening of a new Barack Obama campaign office on Santa Fe’s south side. Gov. Bill Richardson used the opening as an opportunity to launch a group called Hispanics for Obama and announce an upcoming visit by the Democratic presidential candidate to Española.
More on this siteAdvertisement

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

9/15/2008 - 9/16/08

Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday launched a group called Hispanics for Obama , and announced that the Democratic presidential candidate himself will appear Thursday in Española.

Barack Obama is relying on Richardson to help court Hispanics in battleground states including New Mexico, which narrowly went for Republican George W. Bush four years ago and where John McCain also has visited several times this year.

In informal remarks to dozens of local Democrats at the opening of a new south-side Santa Fe campaign office, Richardson began with a hearty "Buenos tardes." He laughed and made joking asides to enthusiastic audience members as he happily played the role of Obama cheerleader.

"As the Hispanic vote goes nationally, so goes the presidency," Richardson said. He got loud cheers by predicting big margins for the Illinois senator among Hispanic voters in New Mexico as well as in Colorado and Nevada.

"And we want that number to be close to 65 or 70 percent," he said of New Mexico's Hispanic vote for Obama.

It was a chance for locals to see Richardson do what he's been doing increasingly on the national level.

During the weekend, he attended several Obama events in Las Vegas, Nev. He met Saturday with Hispanic leaders there, spoke to Obama volunteers at a North Las Vegas campaign office, had a town hall at the College of Southern Nevada, attended a soccer tournament sponsored by Spanish-language television network Telemundo and spoke at a dinner for Las Vegas Democrats.

(The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that boxing fan Richardson also attended a title fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Joel Casamayor.)

Also on Saturday, Richardson, in his role as Obama surrogate, taped an interview on MSNBC. On Sunday, he appeared on Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer, opposite Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

During last month's Democratic National Convention in Denver, Richardson told The New Mexican that the Obama campaign mainly wanted him to campaign in New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado, three swing states with significant Hispanic populations.

But Obama apparently isn't limiting Richardson to those Western states. The New York Times last week listed Richardson among surrogates including Sen. Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy who were scheduled to appear at high-dollar fundraisers this month in New York.

A spokeswoman for the Governor's Office said Monday that travel expenses for such out-of-state trips are paid by the Obama campaign. He normally travels with a state police officer, a state Public Safety Department spokesman said. Although the officer's salary is paid by the state, the spokesman said, travel expenses are covered by the campaign.

Some at Monday's event in Santa Fe seemed to want to use Richardson to pass advice to Obama.

"Governor, tell him to toughen up those ads," one man said as Richardson left the building.

Hispanics for Obama is a statewide group, Richardson said after the event. It will hold policy forums involving Hispanic leaders around New Mexico.

Although Hispanic voters traditionally have favored Democrats, the percentages targeted by Richardson are hardly guaranteed. In 2004, President Bush attracted about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.

Richardson said the campaign's goal is to register 12,000 new Hispanic voters as part of a statewide effort to boost total voter registration by 30,000 during the next 30 days.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama visits Española

When: Rally starts at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Española Plaza

Tickets: Free, available starting today at two Obama campaign offices in Santa Fe, 720 St. Michael's Drive 2-N and 3494 Zafarano Drive Suite B, as well as at campaign offices in Las Vegas, Taos, Española, Los Alamos and Raton.

Obama plans Española visit; Richardson launches new group while courting Hispanics in battleground states

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:35:07 EDT

Click for more photos / Buy Photo
Luis Sanchez-Saturno/The New Mexican Photo: Santa Fe County Commissioner Virginia Vigil screams ‘Obamanos!’ on Monday during the opening of a new Barack Obama campaign office on Santa Fe’s south side. Gov. Bill Richardson used the opening as an opportunity to launch a group called Hispanics for Obama and announce an upcoming visit by the Democratic presidential candidate to Española.

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

9/15/2008 - 9/16/08

Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday launched a group called Hispanics for Obama , and announced that the Democratic presidential candidate himself will appear Thursday in Española.

Barack Obama is relying on Richardson to help court Hispanics in battleground states including New Mexico, which narrowly went for Republican George W. Bush four years ago and where John McCain also has visited several times this year.

In informal remarks to dozens of local Democrats at the opening of a new south-side Santa Fe campaign office, Richardson began with a hearty "Buenos tardes." He laughed and made joking asides to enthusiastic audience members as he happily played the role of Obama cheerleader.

"As the Hispanic vote goes nationally, so goes the presidency," Richardson said. He got loud cheers by predicting big margins for the Illinois senator among Hispanic voters in New Mexico as well as in Colorado and Nevada.

"And we want that number to be close to 65 or 70 percent," he said of New Mexico's Hispanic vote for Obama.

It was a chance for locals to see Richardson do what he's been doing increasingly on the national level.

During the weekend, he attended several Obama events in Las Vegas, Nev. He met Saturday with Hispanic leaders there, spoke to Obama volunteers at a North Las Vegas campaign office, had a town hall at the College of Southern Nevada, attended a soccer tournament sponsored by Spanish-language television network Telemundo and spoke at a dinner for Las Vegas Democrats.

(The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that boxing fan Richardson also attended a title fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Joel Casamayor.)

Also on Saturday, Richardson, in his role as Obama surrogate, taped an interview on MSNBC. On Sunday, he appeared on Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer, opposite Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

During last month's Democratic National Convention in Denver, Richardson told The New Mexican that the Obama campaign mainly wanted him to campaign in New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado, three swing states with significant Hispanic populations.

But Obama apparently isn't limiting Richardson to those Western states. The New York Times last week listed Richardson among surrogates including Sen. Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy who were scheduled to appear at high-dollar fundraisers this month in New York.

A spokeswoman for the Governor's Office said Monday that travel expenses for such out-of-state trips are paid by the Obama campaign. He normally travels with a state police officer, a state Public Safety Department spokesman said. Although the officer's salary is paid by the state, the spokesman said, travel expenses are covered by the campaign.

Some at Monday's event in Santa Fe seemed to want to use Richardson to pass advice to Obama.

"Governor, tell him to toughen up those ads," one man said as Richardson left the building.

Hispanics for Obama is a statewide group, Richardson said after the event. It will hold policy forums involving Hispanic leaders around New Mexico.

Although Hispanic voters traditionally have favored Democrats, the percentages targeted by Richardson are hardly guaranteed. In 2004, President Bush attracted about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.

Richardson said the campaign's goal is to register 12,000 new Hispanic voters as part of a statewide effort to boost total voter registration by 30,000 during the next 30 days.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama visits Española

When: Rally starts at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Española Plaza

Tickets: Free, available starting today at two Obama campaign offices in Santa Fe, 720 St. Michael's Drive 2-N and 3494 Zafarano Drive Suite B, as well as at campaign offices in Las Vegas, Taos, Española, Los Alamos and Raton.

MUST WIN STATES!!(LISTEN UP!!)

JZ — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:19:52 EDT

IF WE WANT THIS MAN TO BE PRESIDENT, WE MUST HIGHLY FOCUS ON THESE STATES(NUMBER 1 BEING THE MOST IMPORTANT):
1.COLORADO - 9 EV(RCP AVERAGE +2.3 OBAMA).CHOOSING DENVER AS THE DNC WAS A GREAT IDEA,BUT WE MUST PRESS ON BECAUSE THIS STATE AND NEW MEXICO IS PLAN B IF OHIO OR VIRGINIA DOESN'T DELIVER.
2.NEW MEXICO - 5 EV(RCP AVERAGE +2.3 OBAMA).I MENTIONED COLORADO IS A MUST WIN STATE, WELL NEW MEXICO IS JUST AS IMPORTANT. THERE IS NO PLAN B WITHOUT NEW MEXICO BEING FOR OBAMA. SO FAR THE TIDE IN NEW MEXICO IS A BIT ON OBAMA'S SIDE AND TENDS TO LEAN DEMOCRATIC AT TIMES BUT WE SHOULDN'T SLEEP ON IT.
3.NEW HAMSHIRE - 4 EV(RCP AVERAGE +3.3 OBAMA)ALTHOUGH ITS A BLUE STATE, IT WAS THE STATE THAT RESUCITATED MCCAIN'S PRIMARY ELECTION AND GAVE BUSH A "V" IN 2000 GENERAL ELECTION.
4.PENNSYLVANIA - 21 EV(RCP AVG. +2.3 OBAMA)KEEP HER BLUE!!! OR ELSE!!

SO!!!!!.....IF YOU'RE FROM COLORADO OR NEW MEXICO OR FROM ALL THESE STATES I'VE MENTIONED, GET TO WORK!!! I KNOW WE ALL GOT RESPONSIBILITIES AND OUR COST OF LIVING KEEPS RISING EVERYDAY...BUT IF YOU DON'T SACRIFICE A FEW HOURS A DAY IN MAKING THIS ELECTION HAPPEN, THEN THOSE HOURS THAT YOU DIDN'T PUT IN COULD TURN INTO A FEW YEARS OF MORE BITTERNESS. THINK ABOUT IT..FEW HOURS OF DEDICATION OR FEW MORE YEARS OF THE SAME AND EVEN WORSE..IF I WHERE IN COLORADO OR NEW MEXICO, I'D BE CAMPAINING LIKE IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT...

The First Post

Tim — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:47:19 EDT

Welcome all! I'm excited to be posting this blog for the next few weeks...I will try to update as much as possible but I'm having a busy season. Anyway, on to the topic... The electoral college is fascinating this year.

I'm going to go ahead and get the "For Sure" States (Strong Obama/McCain) out of the way for each candidate:

STRONG OBAMA: Washington, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine (both districts), and Vermont=183 Electoral Votes
STRONG MCCAIN: Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, and West Virginia=120 Electoral Votes

These states listed above will not be going to the flip candidate under any circumstance. No amount of scandal, no amount of campaigning, no amount of attack ads will switch these states to the other side. Each side will probably make a play for one or two on the other side here (McCain=XSSCleanedvoid(0)">Obama=Georgia, Indiana) but it's not going to work.

Now "Likely" Electoral Votes for each:
LIKELY OBAMA: Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire=59 Electoral Votes
LIKELY MCCAIN: Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina=80 Electoral Votes

Trends put these states in these columns.
-Pennsylvania has voted Democrat in every election since 1992 and, although it is considered a "swing" state, I don't think McCain takes it unless there is a huge turnout in less populous Western PA or he makes a huge push to register blue-collar voters. Eastern Pennsylvania is going to be reliably democratic so it is up to McCain to counter that with the Western part.
-Oregon and Minnesota are a stones throw away from the Strong Category. I don't care what the latest poll says...these two are reliably blue and will continue that trend in this election.
-Iowa has always been strong for Obama and he is starting to solidify a lead there. McCain's stance against ethanol is well-known in Iowa and it is going to hurt him. Many pundits have taken Iowa's "swing state" status away.
-New Hampshire has always been popular for McCain. But there has not been one poll this entire summer with him in the lead. NH borders two of the most liberal states in the entire union and I think Obama will end up winning there easier than some think.
-Polls have shown Montana and North Dakota to be close. I disagree and think they will end up red no matter how close it is.
-Missouri has trended red for the past 3 elections and I don't think they'll vote for Obama.
-Texas is the big prize for Republicans. McCain will get it this election barring an unlikely amount of supporters for Ron Paul or a Democratic initiative to register Latino voters that actually results in Latinos showing up to vote in Texas.
-Obama is trying to get a large amount of Black voters registered in MS, SC and NC. It won't work.

That leaves us with Barack Obama at 242 and John McCain at 200. McCain needs 70 electoral votes and Obama 28.

7 Remaining States are truly "Swing" states and will be the final decision-makers: Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada.

These 7 decide it. No one will be able to make anything other than a guess on any of these all the way up until election day. It's going to be close...my picks will surely change before then but this is how I see them shaping up as of the first week of September:

McCain: Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada
Obama: Michigan, New Mexico

UNDECIDED: Colorado

That gives Obama 264 EVs and McCain 265.

I think Florida and Virginia are the most likely to go red in the swing states. I think Michigan and New Mexico are the most likely to go blue.

Colorado, Ohio, and Nevada....flip a coin. They are definitely 50/50 right now.

Thoughts:
1. Obama supporters in Colorado are very enthusiastic. The state has also trended drastically blue since the 2004 Election. Colorado also has a high-profile senate race between Bob Schaffer (R) and Mark Udall (D). Udall's cousin is running for a Senate seat in New Mexico and is easily going to win. Although his chances aren't as for sure as his cousins, he is the probable winner of this senate race regardless of who wins the electoral votes. BUT if enough people show up to vote for him, Obama has a very good chance.
2. 6 of these 7 Swing States voted for George W. Bush in 2004. This is not a good sign for the GOP. They can realistically only hold on to 5 of the 6 at best. That would be enough to win, which is what they are going for...realism. Obama's camp is expecting no less than 5 of the 7. I think that's generous right now and this could find them in trouble if they don't play it carefully in the next 9 weeks.
3. Virginia has a high-profile senate race this year in which the Democrat is going to romp his opponent from anywhere between 12-22%. If he romps by enough there may be enough there for Obama to ride his coattails to victory in the state.
4. If Ohio goes blue the majority of these swing states will as well. There is no way Ohio goes to the Democrats and states like Michigan and New Mexico go red.
5. A lot of people are writing Florida off because McCain has maintained a lead there. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see it be close again. Not 2000 close, but within a hundred thousand votes or so. Unlike Texas, the Latino population in Florida has trended steadily Democratic this decade and is gaining a tremendous amount of power in the state.
6. In theory, Obama could win this election and not pick any electoral votes from Florida or Ohio. It would be the first time since 1960 that this has happened.
7. Barack Obama gets no less than 259 EVs in this election. McCain gets no more than 279. To win, Barack Obama needs to hold the states Kerry won and gain Iowa (likely), New Mexico, and one of either Ohio, Virginia, Colorado or Florida to win. Or he could just get Nevada and tie and let the House decide. McCain needs to hold on to OH, VA, and FL, which is entirely possible and wouldn't be surprising in the least. Playing the election game in the EC is harder overall for McCain, though, because he will have a limited amount of funds to spend in each state in comparison to Obama, who will have nearly a bottomless bank account to spend in all the states that McCain can't afford to lose. He has to spend more time defending states Bush won in 2004 than Obama does in states Kerry took in the last election...his campaign must use their funds wisely and look closely at each state and go where the best opportunity is. They are more than capable of doing this.

My outlook today has this race coming down to Colorado, where you can honestly not guess a winner right now. The only swing state that both candidates really "need" is Colorado. The winner of that state is definitely the winner of this election.

In the end, though, anyone thinking that this will be a landslide for either candidate is sadly mistaken. The politically polarized atmosphere that we find ourselves breathing in right now does not permit those kind of things. It will be close.

New Meeting Place and Time for East Mountain Supporters: Cedar Crest, Wed, 6:30PM

Vicki "Hussein" in New Mexico — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:15:09 EDT

East Mountains for Obama Group will have an organizing meeting on Wednesday, September 10, from 630PM-830PM. We will meet each other, renew old acquaintances, discuss how best to win the election this November in the East Mountains/Estancia Valley, sign-up for volunteer activities and office hours, organize our Open House planned for Sunday, Sept. 14th, and collect donations to order as many Obama/Biden Yard Signs as possible. We already see the signs from the McCain Rally last Saturday popping up in our neighborhoods. We need to raise at least $200 more to purchase at least 100 signs to distribute for East Mountains/Estancia Valley yards and ranches. Please come to our organizing meeting this Wednesday

The time is NOW!

Penna Omega — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:14:56 EDT

We have less than 60 days until Election day.

More importantly, we have less than 35 days to register people to vote!

I did not know during the primaries that when I moved, I would have to re-register. I had to fly to Los Angeles from San Francisco on Super Tuesday to vote for Barack Obama! My friend drove 45 minutes to her polling place from work, only to find out that she had been removed from the voter list because she didn't vote in the last election! WE CANNOT LET THIS KIND OF THING HAPPEN, NOT THIS YEAR!!!

I have created a .jpg image of some of the key swing states that we need (Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, etc.) with the deadlines for each for registering to vote. It's called REGISTER.jpg

Please download it ( http://www.pennaomega.com/obama ) and send it to EVERYONE you know, not only in those states, but to everyone... and ask them to send it on to all their friends and family who are supporting Obama/Biden who may not know if they are registered or not.

If you have any questions about the image or want me to make one for one specific state not shown, please post here and I will answer any questions and make one for you!

Penna

P.S. Going to Denver next week to register voters and going to Nevada 1st week of Oct. for the same!

Going to New Mexico to Register Voters

Maryscott from Van Nuys, CA — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:31:29 EDT

Hello Obama Nation:

A friend and I have decided to drive from Southern California, where we live, to New Mexico, to register new voters in Hispanic districts; Al is from Central America and I can muddle along pretty well in Spanish. We intend to spend a week in either Las Cruces or Santa Fe in the latter days of September up to the deadline of October 7th.

I'd like to hear from anyone who can help us with logistics; we've heard about some pretty byzantine and draconian voter registration laws in New Mexico and don't want to get there and be thwarted by any road blocks we might find when we get there. According to Al we do have a contact with a local Obama field organiser, but I thought I'd just throw this up here and see if you guys might have any advice for us, as well.

Maryscott O'Connor

www.myleftwing.com

US Senator Charles Schumer's Letter: Obama and Details on the 2008 Races in Battleground States, from Democrat Perspective

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:22:51 EDT

Here is something I am absolutely certain of: The only reason we're poised to achieve once-in-a-lifetime change in the Senate is because our grassroots - people just like you - have done everything we've asked to give the DSCC all the campaign resources we need to execute our proven campaign plan.

For that, you have my deep, sincere thanks. And if we elect that filibuster-proof majority in November, you'll have the gratitude of an entire nation.

Let me tell you where we stand.

There are 11 battleground states. [OREGON, ALASKA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, MINNESOTA, KENTUCKY, NORTH CAROLINA, VIRIGNIA, MISSISSIPPI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND MAINE]

And that doesn't even count the five other states just on the horizon that we'll all be talking about on Election Day. Here are just a few examples of the success we're seeing this cycle.

Democrat Tom Udall holds a commanding lead in New Mexico. In fact, just a few days ago we learned that the NRSC canceled its entire $2.3 million television buy here, essentially conceding the race.

The nation's most vulnerable Republican incumbent, John Sununu, trails Democratic ex-Governor Jeanne Shaheen by 11 points.

Even in a Republican stronghold like North Carolina, two recent polls show Democratic State Senator Kay Hagan pulling even with incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole.

I know that we can make the most of our opportunity this year because we're using the same proven strategy that took back the Senate in 2006. You're helping us frame the terms of each race, respond to every attack, and directly connect with millions of voters to drive them to the polls.

Thanks to your overwhelming support, the DSCC was able to launch TV ads in North Carolina that exposed Dole as the 93rd most effective senator, undercutting her hollow message of experience and results.

In Colorado, Democrat Mark Udall was under siege by $6 million worth of attack ads paid for by shadowy third-party Republican groups. The DSCC rushed to his defense with ads of our own and now Mark has an impressive lead.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, your contributions support a bigger and better version of the sophisticated voter contact strategy that took back the Senate two years ago. Already this year, we've made more 2.5 million phone calls and knocked on 650,000 doors in our battleground states nationwide.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. All told, the DSCC has already spent $28 million of your money to put us in position for a monster November.

Like I've said before: there is no doubt we are in such a strong position to deliver a filibuster-proof Senate majority entirely because we have you on our side.

Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Chuck Schumer

P.S. We're ahead in 5 races for current Republican seats. But that's only halfway to a truly filibuster-proof majority. We can't get there without your continued support.

-----------

2008 Senate Battlegrounds

Alaska
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) vs. Sen. Ted Stevens (R)

The corruption scandal sweeping through the Alaska Republican Party has put Ted Stevens - a 7-term incumbent - on the brink of losing his seat in November.

Democrat Mark Begich has opened up a lead in the latest polling, but nobody is under any illusion that this race is over. Alaska has always been a Republican stronghold, and with Governor Sarah Palin on the presidential ticket, the party is sure to be energized to turn out in November.

Begich is doing everything necessary to hold on to his lead. He's raising money and reaching out to voters. Just this week he launched a new ad to drive home his commitment to repeal the disastrous No Child Left Behind law.

Stevens won't let a 40-year career end without a fight, so we won't let up for a second before Election Day. With your help, the DSCC will do everything possible to ensure that Mark Begich wins in November.

Colorado
Rep. Mark Udall (D) vs. Rep. Bob Schaffer (R)

Six months ago, this race was neck and neck. Now, Mark Udall leads by 10 points in the latest Denver Post poll.

What happened? First, Bob Schaffer was discovered to have been the recipient of an all-expense paid tropical vacation from a front group for convicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Then, it was revealed that when he was vice-president of Aspect Energy, he negotiated an oil deal in Iraq that the State Department officials specifically identified as detrimental to stability in Iraq.

Then there were two different DSCC TV ads paid for by grassroots supporters like you. Our investment here is another key reason Udall enjoys a strong position heading into the stretch run.

Colorado will be a battleground state in November, so we're not taking anything for granted in this race. In fact, Udall has already seen more third-party attack ads than any other Democratic candidate this cycle. It's our job to help him fight back.

Kentucky
Bruce Lunsford (D) vs. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R)

No matter how much money Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spends, he can't shake the tough challenge posed by Democratic business leader Bruce Lunsford. McConnell is even getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in help from corporate Republican third-party organizations.

None of it is slowing Lunsford, who is on the air with a devastating straight-to-camera indictment of Republican failures in Washington.

Let's be blunt. It's always tough to beat an entrenched incumbent, but Mitch McConnell has been the man responsible for all of those Republican filibusters blocking progress on health care, energy costs, and the housing crisis. It's critical that he is held accountable in November.

Maine
Rep. Tom Allen (D) vs. Sen. Susan Collins (R)

Republican incumbent Susan Collins likes to portray herself as a voice of Republican moderation, but the truth is that she's been a reliable cheerleader for even the worst of George Bush's policies.

Democrat Tom Allen is ready to hold Collins accountable for her record. He has built a formidable campaign organization and has more than $3 million in the bank for the stretch run. He will have the resources to bring his message of change to Mainers.

Allen and the DSCC have both taken to the airwaves to push Allen's proven record of results. This race is poised for a strong finish.

Minnesota
Al Franken (D) vs. Sen. Norm Coleman (R)

The race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman is a dead heat, and the massive TV blitz has begun. Coleman has launched attack ads against Franken, and corporate special interests are blanketing the state against Franken.

That's why the DSCC has unleashed a striking new ad this week that apes a blockbuster movie trailer to make sure that every Minnesota voter knows Norm Coleman is a classic Bush Republican. We think it's pretty terrific and will break through the noise in this race to get a lot of attention from voters. Take a look and see for yourself.

Mississippi
Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) vs. Sen. Roger Wicker (R)

The polls in the race for Trent Lott's old seat are just about as close as they can get. Democrat Ronnie Musgrove and interim Senator Roger Wicker have been trading the lead for months.

Make no mistake. Mississippi is top territory for Democrats. But Republicans always do well in the Deep South, so Musgrove is working hard to persuade independent and even Republican voters. Both sides are blitzing the state with TV ads.

What's going to make the difference in this race? You are. Thanks to your support, the DSCC is already running ads in Mississippi to expose Wicker's sordid record. As long as we can count on you along the way, the DSCC will be able to make the investments necessary to win on Election Day.

This is going to be one of those races - like Montana and Virginia in 2006 - where we win by just a few thousand votes. You helped the DSCC make all the difference before and I know we will do it again.

New Hampshire
Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) vs. Sen. John Sununu (R)

Jeanne Shaheen is another big target for third-party attacks ads. By our count, seven different groups have spent more than $2.5 million trying to drag Shaheen through the mud.

These groups don't have to disclose their donors, so they can't be held accountable. Instead, the DSCC just has to fight back. With our new ad this week targeting John Sununu's dismal record on supporting funding for Medicare, that's exactly what we're doing.

The DSCC's job is to level the playing field when our candidates are under attack, and it's working in New Hampshire. Shaheen has sustained a strong lead in this race, and John Sununu remains the most vulnerable Republican incumbent in the country.

Still, New Hampshire is another presidential battleground state, and John Sununu has a history of taking advantage of dirty political tricks to win. We can't take a moment off if we're going to elect Jeanne Shaheen.

New Mexico
Rep. Tom Udall vs. Rep. Steve Pearce (R)

Democrat Tom Udall holds a solid lead in the latest polling and has more than five times as much campaign cash on-hand as Steve Pearce.

While Udall continues to connect with voters and run TV ads focused on the middle class squeeze, the NRSC has all but given up in this state. They cancelled a $2.3 million planned ad buy and have essentially told Pearce that he's on his own now.

The Washington Post has called a Udall victory a "done deal" and the venerable political handicapper Charlie Cook has declared that Pearce doesn't have a "fighting chance" in November. Very good news for Democrats.

However, the United States Chamber of Commerce - one of the most reliable Republican attack organizations - didn't get the memo and is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads against Udall. We haven't seen much movement in the polls as a result, but the DSCC watches this race every day. You know we'll be ready to support Udall whenever he needs it.

North Carolina
State Sen. Kay Hagan (D) vs. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R)

Senator Dole is scared. We used to call this the sleeper race of the cycle. Now, it's just another terrific opportunity to pick-up a Republican held seat in one of the most closely-watched races in the country.

After trailing by as many as 12 points in recent months, two new polls give Democrat Kay Hagan a slim lead in this race.

The Republicans are launching a major counter-offensive. Dole fired back with her first negative attack against Hagan this cycle. Even the NRSC is spending some of their meager budget attacking our candidate. They will not go down without a fight.

At the DSCC, we always say we can level the playing field for our challengers facing well-financed incumbents. The race in North Carolina is a perfect example. We'll need your help along the way, but you better believe that we'll do everything in our power to defeat Elizabeth Dole in November.

Oregon
Speaker of the State House Jeff Merkley (D) vs. Sen. Gordon Smith (R)

Oregon remains one of the hottest Senate races in the country. Republican incumbent Gordon Smith is clinging to a single-digit lead despite outspending Democrat Jeff Merkley by a wide margin. In fact, in numbers released Wednesday, Smith scored the highest disapproval rating of his career in the Senate.

It really makes for a strong pick-up opportunity, which is why we've already seen the Republicans' third-party friends taking aim at Merkley. Remember, these organizations don't have to disclose their donors and therefore can't be held accountable for the mud they sling.

Again, one of the keys to Democratic victory in this state will be a strong and vibrant investment by the DSCC. We've known Oregon would be a strong pick-up opportunity months ago and we have been airing TV ads statewide week after week since May.

In our latest spot, we are directly responding to Smith's claims last week that he's a strong opponent of the war in Iraq. The DSCC immediately launched a new ad reminding Oregonians that no matter what he says now, Smith supported George Bush's failed Iraq policy for 1,518 days.

In 58 days, we can show Gordon Smith just what we think about that and send him packing. When you make a contribution, winning states like Oregon is exactly where your money goes.

Virginia
Gov. Mark Warner (D) vs. Gov. Jim Gilmore (R)

Mark Warner has maintained a strong, double-digit lead in the polling in this race, and it's easy to see why.

Warner has more than $5 million in campaign cash on hand. Gilmore is nearly broke. Warner has been running TV ads emphasizing his bipartisan record of accomplishment. Gilmore has been reduced to sleazy personal attacks.

Sen. Barack Obama to Return to New Mexico

Shayne Adamski — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The New Mexico Campaign for Change is pleased to announce that Sen. Obama will make his fifth visit to New Mexico on September 18th. Sen. Obama will host an event in northern New Mexico.

More details will be announced as soon as they are available.

Bookmark the New Mexico home page (nm.barackobama.com) so you can stay up to date.

G.F.C. Grassroots Finance Committe: Your Moment

Omar Dyer — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:34:13 EDT

Your Moment!
When the times are too great, and the paradox are set for equality, this moment is that time.
When the world is at its lift and the constellation meets the mitts; this moment is that time.
When those that mock, and mark the leadership qualities in a candidate that has been opposed, this moment is that time.
When the opposing incumbent party is cynical of the ideas that the opposition presides, and says that's not leadership and then rephrases those ideas, to make a claim on them; is a true lack of leadership. That's when you know this is the time.
This time the political gamesmanship on pandering politics -- where the bureaucrats only seek gaming the political system, to have power and control; where they spend hours looking at their profits and not the harm to the economy -- this is the moment in time that change has come. That's when you know this is the time.
Change is not about: A Man with pigment in his skin, change is not about a women on a ticket; Change is not about an elder being begged to change their stubborn ways. Have you ever tried to get an elder to change their old habits -- It's hard work but it takes a spirited leader: Like Barack Obama and a nobody like Omar Dyer: two community Organizers to organize change.
Change is not about; saying this person is a better American, and the other is fraud.
Change is when noticeable theories are not correct and a new course is needed; a true leader will say, "I made this move because that's the change we need."
Change is when a person makes the ultimate sacrifice in good of the people they represent. If you follow your candidate: Follow, if you believe your candidate: Believe. You don't need to be little others because they don't have the same views as you. That's when you know it's time to change. That's the type of politics we need to change!
We are in a moment where the bitterness of someone's' pigment in their skin has no barring on the character on the content of their minds -- in a new direction to lead.
We can't afford to demonize an American child because they don't come from my hood.
We can't afford to demonize an American child because they don't have the same ideological thinking as you do!
This campaign is not about being a celebrity in politics, making one before the other: this campaign is about all Americans, coming together and forming: One Nation. One America, a speech John Edwards wrote; a vision Abraham Lincoln saw, a dream Martin Luther King Jr. spoke -- a Hope, Barack Obama preached, and a grassroots campaign achievement by a local community organizer; in which help bring in more community organizers to unite this country from the bottom up. As one of the leaders in Barack Obama's New Jersey's Grassroots Finance Committee in campaigning and organizing; a local community organizer, and other locals like: "Omar Dyer: TheFanNJ," has helped transformed the internet as a reliable source of organizing marching and bringing people to Barack Obama's campaign. TheFanNJ has been strictly better than Karl Rove; and it was done on clean politics.

Hatch Field Office Grand Opening

Shayne Adamski — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:44:51 EDT

Join us for the grand opening of the Hatch Field Office on Saturday, September 6 at 1 pm. This is the first ever presidential campaign office in Hatch, New Mexico.

In reaching out to communities that have never before been engaged by presidential campaigns, the New Mexico Campaign for Change looks to build a culture of participation and empowerment amongst people of all backgrounds.

The celebration will include delicious food, live music (courtesy of Las Cruces' 'Mariachi Espuelas de Plata'), and members of the community – who are all committed to creating the type of change we so badly need in this country.

Please RSVP here.

If you can't make it to the grand opening, you're more than welcome to stop by and check out the office in the coming days and find out about volunteer opportunities.

The Hatch Field Office is one of more than 25+ offices in the state. View a complete list of the NM offices.

Phone banking to New Mexico

Patrick Frank — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:47:35 EDT

It is a great experience to talk to a lot of voters in New Mexico. I urge folks to do national phone banking to the key states. It does make a difference.But don't neglect your home state, red or blue.

Patrick Frank

Grassroots volunteer

Kingstree, SC

(843) 372-8851

IMPORTANT NEWS for NEW MEXICAN VOTERS!

jeffrey — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:23:42 EDT

I just got off the phone with Taos County Elections and was told that the only registration they showed from me was dated September 2007, the month I left for Korea. She said that if a person does not vote in four years time, their name is deleted from the system. So, in an earlier post, I mentioned voting troubles in Taos County in 2004. I know I voted, and maybe provisionally. Yet, since I was thrown out of the system prior to re-registering in 2007, a question arises as to the efficiency of the system. It also means to me that my vote was never even considered and perhaps my provisional ballot was even thrown out. The provisional ballot would have been the reason to keep me on the roll, ie; proof that I voted in 2004. If this is confusing to you, it's not to me.

The rule is if you have not voted in four years you are tossed out of the system and will need to re-register, or since you were tossed out, consider it a new registration.

It has impact as there are deadlines for new voters. Remember, thirty days before the general election, you must be registered.

One more point for new voters. You do not have to be 18 to register to vote!!!!Just be 18 before election day!

To sum up.

Check your voting status, NOW! If you had the slightest problem or concern at the last geneal election, you may not even be in the system.

Don't wait. October 4th will be your deadline, just tell yourself you have no more than the end of this month to get your affairs for voting in order.

On my absentee, she will send it to my friends house, the application that is, and he to me in South Korea, and me to him or the registrar. There is a lot at stake here and having to rely on friends and two postal services.

Take my advice, tell your friends, register your friends, print this letter, post it, but do something to let people know.

On an off note, I just read about illegal immigrants braving the storm in New Orleans, and nine out of nine comments suggested they should havebeen deported. No wonde they were afraid to leave. In any case, this election is about what kind of country we really want. There is no one central issue. Don't believe the media. This is about our lives, and our communites. Hold back emotions, and remember this is our country...why, because we live here!

Santa Cruz County Fair – September 9 to 14 - Volunteers Needed

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:12:04 EDT

Santa Cruz County Fair – September 9 to 14 – Volunteers Needed The Democratic Party has a booth at the County Fair and is need of volunteers to staff the booth. The link to the Fair Booth sign-up page is on the Santa Cruz Democrats website: www.cruzdemocrats.org Each year the Santa Cruz Democratic Party has a booth at the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville. The Fair runs from Tuesday September 9 through Sunday September 14. If you can help by covering a two-hour shift to provide information about Obama and other Democratic Candidates and register Democratic Voters. Your Democratic Party Needs You -- To Help In Our Fair Booth. Sign yourself up. Tell your friends.

Week of August 28 - You Make the Call

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:38:22 EDT

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Make the Call to Win in Nevada and New Mexico Nevada and New Mexico are two very important swing states where our out-of-state voter outreach efforts can make a difference in electing Barack Obama. The Obama Campaign is asking California to support the NV and NM campaigns with phonebanks and travel teams. Aptos Phone Bank – Winning the West – Saturday, August 23Time: Saturday, August 23, at 9:00am to 1:00pmLocation: Palm Terrace Mobile Home Park Conference Room, 2711 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos, CA 95003Directions: South on Soquel Dr. take the second right past the Aptos Fire Station on Mar Vista Dr. The park is halfway down the block, on your right. North on Soquel Dr. take the third left past Ages Assisted Living facility.Contact Phone: Dennis Connors / 831-428-2783 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gpgbj8 Felton Phone Bank – Win the West -- Saturday, August 30thPlease join your felton neighbors at nancy's home. We'll call nevada or new mexico to help obama win the western states. If you haven't been in a phone-bank before, we'll be happy to show you what to do! PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE a beverage of your choice, and a snack to share. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Saturday, August 30 at 1:00pm to 5:00pmLocation: Nancy’s Home, 5401 Taylor Way, Felton, CA 95016Directions: Take hwy 9 in Felton to "bigfoot" museum, turn up san lorenzo, turn left on jackson, right on prospect, left on taylor way. Look for Obama sign!Contact Phone: Nancy Baker / 408-306-1088 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gpg4vp Capitola Phone Bank – Saturday, August 30th and Sunday, August 31st – Obama Santa Cruz is coordinating with NV and M Obama Field Teams to provide phonebank support each weekend through the election. PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31st at 1:00pm to 5:00pmLocation: Thunderbird Real Estate, 3555 Clares Street, Capitola (next to Kinko's) Contact: Wes Swift at 831-476-4113 or wswift@ebold.com Boulder Creek Phone Bank – Win the West -- Sunday, August 31stPlease join your felton neighbors at nancy's home. We'll call nevada or new mexico to help obama win the western states. If you haven't been in a phone-bank before, we'll be happy to show you what to do! PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE a beverage of your choice, and a snack to share. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Sunday, August 31 at 1:00pm to 5:00pm Dorrie Kennedy'sLocation: Dorrie Kennedy’s Home, 13481 Highway 9 (100 yds past Bear Creek on left)Boulder Creek Contact Phone: Dorrie at 831-703-4141 Obama Volunteers NeededVolunteers Needed for Phonebank Callers – SignUp at www.obamasantacruz.com

Convention Watch Events – Santa Cruz Californai

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:26:45 EDT

Convention Watch Events – Monday through Thursday Evenings

Week of August 21 - Working to Win the Western States

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:24:03 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County

August 21, 2008

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………HIGHLIGHTS

Barack Obama to Announce Vice President - Saturday
Convention Watch Parties – Starting Monday through to Thursday Evening
Volunteers Needed Help Barack Obama Win the West
Phonebanks Supporting Nevada and New Mexico Campaigns - Weekends
Out-of-State Travel Volunteers Needed for Reno Travel Teams
Obama Visibility and Voter Registration -- Weekends
Camp Obama Training – September 13th and 14th
Santa Cruz County Fair – Visibility Booth – September 9 to 14th

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Barack Obama to Announce Vice President EMPORIA, Va - Barack Obama said Thursday he's chosen his running mate and planned a major rally to present the Democratic ticket Saturday in Springfield, Illinois. Obama refused to say whether he'd notified his pick or when exactly he would send cell phones buzzing with the answer delivered via text message. He seemed to relish the frustrations of scores of reporters following him this week in anticipation of the announcement.Obama planned to appear with his pick Saturday at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., where he launched his presidential campaign in February 2007. Obama then planned to travel to the battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Montana before arriving in Denver to accept his party's nomination Thursday.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Convention Watch Events – Monday through Thursday Evenings

Join Us Monday through Thursday Evenings Starting at 5pm to Watch the Convention The Santa Cruz Democratic Party is hosting Watch Events Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Santa Cruz HQ office. Please join with fellow supporters to watch each of the evenings the keynote speeches from Democratic Leadership and the Democratic Party platform. Monday, August 25th starting at 5pm – Michelle Obama and Tribute to the KennedysLocation: Santa Cruz Unified Democratic Campaign HQ -- 740 Front Street, Suite 250 (2nd floor in the Galleria building), Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 Tuesday, August 26th starting at 5pm – Senator Hillary Clinton and former Virginia Governor Mark WarnerLocation: Santa Cruz Unified Democratic Campaign HQ -- 740 Front Street, Suite 250 (2nd floor in the Galleria building), Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 Wednesday, August 27th starting at 5pm – Bill Clinton and the Vice President nominee Location: Santa Cruz Unified Democratic Campaign HQ -- 740 Front Street, Suite 250 (2nd floor in the Galleria building), Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 Acceptance Speech by Barack Obama – Thursday, August 28th Thursday, August 28th starting at 5pm - Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama Join us for the final evening of the Democratic National Convention and watch the Senator Barack Obama deliver his acceptance speech Thursday evening in front of 80,000 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. This will prove to be a historic evening and event. Santa Cruz Event: Woodstock Pizza, 710 Front Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 (no host bar and food)RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpg9bv Aptos/Seascape Event: Seascape Golf Clubhouse Lounge, 610 Clubhouse Drive, Aptos, CA 95003 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpg9qx Pleasure Point Neighborhood Watch Event Neighborhood Watch Event in the Pleasure Point area. Show your enthusiasm as we Barbecue and socialize at our house just near the Hook/Pleasure Point. Location: Home at 631 #2, 41st Avenue, Santa Cruz, 95062Host: Kellie DockendorfRSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/44g29 Watsonville - Cilantro's, 1934 Main Street, Watsonville (no host bar, no host food, etc)RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpg93q Watsonville Jalisco's Restaurant, 618 Main Street in Watsonville (PV Cesar Chavez Democratic Club)RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpgyfz Contact: Danny Dodge at 831-761-5428 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Volunteers Needed – Winning the West to Elect Barack Obama Volunteers Needed for Phonebank Callers – SignUp at www.obamasantacruz.com Volunteers Needed for Data Entry – SignUp at www.obamasantacruz.comVolunteers can provide assistance with our weekend data entry working with our phonebank teams are invaluable and good way for people to contribute. Volunteers Needed for Travel – Contact Cori Gurlach - cgerlach@smallplanetbrewery.com Volunteers interested in supporting the voter outreach in Reno, NV and can travel for weekend are encourage to join our Reno for Obama Travel teams to provide voter-outreach in Sept and Oct. Please contact our local Obama Travel Coordinator Cori Gurlach. Volunteers Needed to Assist with Lunch – Contact Susan Drake at 831/462-1889Each weekend our volunteers working phonebanks are in need of lunch and snakes to keep their energy high and phonebanking productive. This is a great way for volunteers to support one of our valuable contributions to Winning the Western states. You can donate your time and food to help the campaign if you're not into facing the public. If you're not connected with a neighborhood team already or don't know where your team is phone-banking, to learn where food is needed, please contact Susan at sdrake2@cruzio.com and put "Obama food" in the Subject line or 831/462-1889 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Volunteers Need for the Democratic Party Office - volunteers are needed to staff and support state and local campaigns at the Santa Cruz Democratic Party Office. Volunteer Information: 831-427-2516 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Make the Call to Win in Nevada and New Mexico Nevada and New Mexico are two very important swing states where our out-of-state voter outreach efforts can make a difference in electing Barack Obama. The Obama Campaign is asking California to support the NV and NM campaigns with phonebanks and travel teams. Aptos Phone Bank – Winning the West – Saturday, August 23Time: Saturday, August 23, at 9:00am to 1:00pmLocation: Palm Terrace Mobile Home Park Conference Room, 2711 Mar Vista Drive, Aptos, CA 95003Directions: South on Soquel Dr. take the second right past the Aptos Fire Station on Mar Vista Dr. The park is halfway down the block, on your right. North on Soquel Dr. take the third left past Ages Assisted Living facility.Contact Phone: Dennis Connors / 831-428-2783 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gpgbj8 Felton Phone Bank – Win the West -- Saturday, August 30thPlease join your felton neighbors at nancy's home. We'll call nevada or new mexico to help obama win the western states. If you haven't been in a phone-bank before, we'll be happy to show you what to do! PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE a beverage of your choice, and a snack to share. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Saturday, August 30 at 1:00pm to 5:00pmLocation: Nancy’s Home, 5401 Taylor Way, Felton, CA 95016Directions: Take hwy 9 in Felton to "bigfoot" museum, turn up san lorenzo, turn left on jackson, right on prospect, left on taylor way. Look for Obama sign!Contact Phone: Nancy Baker / 408-306-1088 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gpg4vp Capitola Phone Bank – Saturday, August 30th and Sunday, August 31st – Obama Santa Cruz is coordinating with NV and M Obama Field Teams to provide phonebank support each weekend through the election. PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31st at 1:00pm to 5:00pmLocation: Thunderbird Real Estate, 3555 Clares Street, Capitola (next to Kinko's) Contact: Wes Swift at 831-476-4113 or wswift@ebold.com Boulder Creek Phone Bank – Win the West -- Sunday, August 31stPlease join your felton neighbors at nancy's home. We'll call nevada or new mexico to help obama win the western states. If you haven't been in a phone-bank before, we'll be happy to show you what to do! PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE a beverage of your choice, and a snack to share. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Sunday, August 31 at 1:00pm to 5:00pm Dorrie Kennedy'sLocation: Dorrie Kennedy’s Home, 13481 Highway 9 (100 yds past Bear Creek on left)Boulder Creek Contact Phone: Dorrie at 831-703-4141 Obama Volunteers NeededVolunteers Needed for Phonebank Callers – SignUp at www.obamasantacruz.com ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Travel to Reno, Nevada Volunteers Needed for Travel – Contact Cori Gurlach - cgerlach@smallplanetbrewery.com Volunteers interested in supporting the voter outreach in Reno, NV and can travel for weekend are encourage to join our Reno for Obama Travel teams to provide voter-outreach in Sept and Oct. Please mark your calendars now for these very important travel events and dates. The Obama NV needs weekend coverage to ensure voter turn-out. Native Spanish speakers are very much needed for these weekends. Please contact our local Obama Travel Coordinator Cori Gurlach. Phase 1: NV Voter Registration- Now through Aug 28th- Voter registration Phase 2: NV Voter Persuasion— Travel Key Event – Weekend of Sept 26th. Details to follow. Phase 3: NV Early Vote GOTV- Travel Key Event- Weekend of Oct 17th. Details to follow. Phase 4: NV Voting Day- Nov 1st through 4th. Visibility and GOTV in Nevada. Details to follow. Nevada Voter Registration Weekends in Reno, Nevada – August 22nd, 29th Obama San Francisco, Oakland/Berkeley and San Jose are organizing weekend carpools to Reno, Nevada and pre-trip training efforts. California volunteers can help win the state by canvassing to identify and persuade undecided voters to support Senator Obama. Weekly trips to Reno are scheduled to leave Friday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon.SF Organizers: Kenya Wheeler at kenyaw@gmail.com and Ellen Kamoe at travel4barack@gmail.com San Jose Organizer: Eric Orque at eorque@musd.org or 408.891.4024. August 22th-24th: Trip leaving Friday, August 22th @ 2pm, returning Sunday, August 24th at 6pm. San Francisco RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/canvass/4wx52 August 29th-September 1st: Trip leaving Friday, August 29th @ 2pm, returning Sunday, August 31st at 6pm or Monday, September 1st in the afternoon. Berkeley: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/444rc San Francisco: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44qm4

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Obama Visibility and Voter Registration – Volunteers NeededVolunteers needed to support our local Voter Registration efforts that are a primary focus this summer. We ask volunteers to offer as little as 1 hour of their time to help register new voters and answer questions about our candidate as well as to offer buttons, bumper stickers. Volunteers are needed to staff the table and answer questions. This a great opportunity to get involved in support Obama and increasing voter registration. Santa Cruz – Bookshop Santa Cruz – Saturday, August 23rd 11am to 3pm1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, 95060RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/gpg4vm Information: David Gripton at dag1951@cruzio.com / 831-238-4971 Capitola Book Cafe – Saturday, August 23rd 1pm to 4pm41st Avenue, Capitola, Information: Santa Cruz – Bookshop Santa Cruz – Saturday, August 30th 11am to 3pm1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, 95060Information: David Gripton at dag1951@cruzio.com / 831-238-4971 Live Oak Farmers Market Voter Registration – August 31st 11am – 2pm East Cliff Village Shopping Center, 21564 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/4wkt9 Capitola Begonia Festival – August 31st 11am Should be huge crowds at this family event in Capitola that lasts all Labor Day weekend long. Sign up for a 4 hour shift on Sunday. We will provide the training and materials.Location: Capitola VillageRSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/gpgdxg Cabrillo College Regisration Drive – Sept 2nd at 11am6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/gpgd7s Skyview Flea Market Voter Registration – Sept 2nd at 10am – 3pmSkyview Flea Market, 2260 Santa Cruz, CA 95065RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/gpgdm8 Santa Cruz County Fair – Tuesday, Sept 9 to Saturday, Sept 13th, 12noon to 4pmThis will be a huge event for us. We need help tabling and talking to voters. A lot of people will be at the fair and we need help on all days and for all shifts. Don't worry, you can sneak off and get a fried twinkie and we won't tell! What happens at the fair, stays at the fair!Location: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, WatsonvilleInformation: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/gpgd55 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Obama Fundraisers – Convention Fundraising EventsTwo fundraisers taking planned in Santa Cruz for Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech Evening on Thursday, August 28th. Many thanks to the families opening their homes for Watch Party Events. Watch Party Fundraiser for Obama Campaign Local fundraiser and convention watch party is planned for Thursday, August 28th from 4pm to 8pm on the West Side of Santa Cruz. Watch the acceptance speech while enjoying appetizers, wine and entertainment throughout the evening. Generous Donations will be accepted at the event. Time: 4pm to 8pmSuggested Donation: $50 • $100 • $200 • $500 (checks payable to Obama For America)Hosted by: Patrice and Bob KeetRSVP by Aug 25th: Angela Chesnut at amc7@mail.com / 831.425.7788 Convention Celebration Dinner (Fundraising)Local fundraiser will be hosted by the MacDonald family in Santa Cruz on August 28, the night of the Democratic National Convention, to watch the proceedings, share food, and raise money for Obama.Time: Thursday, August 28 at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PMLocation: 1045 Nobel Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060Host: James Macdonald RSVP : http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/fundraising/4gj3j Obama Year at the Movies Raffle (Fundraiser)'Year at the Movies' Raffle is a local Obama 08 fundraiser providing supporters an opportunity to win a series of movie tickets at the Del Mar, Nick or Aptos theaters as the grand prize. Tickets are $10 each and can be obtained at various tabling events that will be staged around Santa Cruz County all summer long or by contacting Harvey or David below. Raffle winners will be determined on Election Day 2008. Contact: Harvey Dosik at 831-420-1567 / David Gripton at dag1951@cruzio.com / 831-238-4971Information: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4jyt ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Camp Obama Volunteer Training – Sept 13th and 14th Camp Obama Training is coming to the central coast September 13th and 14th. We will be hosting the Camp which is a TWO DAY training for our Area Leaders, Precinct Captains, Phonebank volunteers and Travel volunteers. The campaign is sponsoring the training and providing HQ trainers to provide us with the latest campaign strategies, objectives, out-of-state information, voter-out-reach methods, voter persuasion, phone banking, canvassing and get-out-the-vote activities. Training includes the use of our online Vote Builder system, phonebank and travel information. Please reserve one of these dates. Location details will follow in our next Newsletter. Area Leads are encouraged to attend with their Precinct Captains to maximize their team’s training experience. The training is very interactive and group oriented. Training for all our neighborhood and precinct volunteers will follow the Mini-Camp Obama during the September and October. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Santa Cruz County Fair – September 9 to 14 – Volunteers Needed The Democratic Party has a booth at the County Fair and is need of volunteers to staff the booth. The link to the Fair Booth sign-up page is on the Santa Cruz Democrats website: www.cruzdemocrats.org Each year the Santa Cruz Democratic Party has a booth at the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville. The Fair runs from Tuesday September 9 through Sunday September 14. If you can help by covering a two-hour shift to provide information about Obama and other Democratic Candidates and register Democratic Voters. Your Democratic Party Needs You -- To Help In Our Fair Booth. Sign yourself up. Tell your friends. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Santa Cruz Democratic Party Office Open The Santa Cruz Democratic Party Grand Opening is Wednesday, August 13th. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to attend. Located: 740 Front Street, Suite 250 (2nd floor in the Galleria building), Santa Cruz, CA, 95060Office: 831-427-2516 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Week of August 7 - Working to Win the Western States

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:16:30 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County

August 7, 2008

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Santa Cruz Democrat Party Open Headquarters – August 13
Volunteers Needed to Staff Democrat Party Headquarters
Phonebanks Supporting Nevada and New Mexico Campaigns - Weekends
Obama Visibility and Voter Registration -- Weekends
Obama Fundraisers – Book Sale - Acceptance Speech – Senator Obama in SF
Convention Watch Parties – Acceptance Speech - August 28th
Obama Volunteer Training and Organizing – September 6 and 13th
Santa Cruz County Fair – Visibility Booth – September 9 to 14th
Support Our Convention Delegates
Obama Local Entrepreneurs

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Wharf-to-Wharf Race a Success and Thank YouObama runners finished the race in true Obama fashion and created visibility for the campaign along the route. We had a good showing on the beach in Capitola and recruited 20+ volunteers. Thank you to race organizers June Gorman, Dennis Connors, Susan Drake and Angela Chesnut. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Santa Cruz Democratic Party Office Opening – August 13th The Santa Cruz Democratic Party Grand Opening is Wednesday, August 13th. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to attend. When: Wednesday, August 13 between 5:30 pm to 7:00pm. Where: 740 Front Street, Suite 250 (2nd floor in the Galleria building), Santa Cruz, CA, 95060RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/44sgwInformation: 831-427-2516 or Leslie Steiner 831-335-4765 Sam Farr, U.S. Representative for CD 17, California State Senator Simitian, California Assembly Members Laird and Caballero together with local and state Democratic leaders and candidates will be on-hand for the headquarters opening. The United Democratic Campaign headquarters is organized to support local, state and federal democrat candidates. The headquarters represents the unified focus of the Democrat campaign that welcomes all supporters and volunteers from the Obama, Clinton, Edwards and state and local campaigns. The Santa Cruz Democratic Central Committee welcomes everyone to join us for the Grand Opening and celebrate the start of an exciting and successful campaign season. Music will be provided by Wildsang ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Volunteers Needed for Democratic Party OfficeVolunteers are needed to staff and support state and local campaigns at the Santa Cruz Democratic Party Office. Volunteer Information: 831-427-2516 Office Supplies & Equipment Needed: Laptops, Inkjet printer, Lightweight folding tables, floor lamps, general office supplies, 18-gal tubs/containers and a Cash box (which locks). Items can be dropped off at Headquarters M/W/F from noon - 4pm. Please Call: 831-427-2516 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Nevada and New Mexico Swing State SupportNevada and New Mexico are two very important swing states where our out-of-state voter outreach efforts can make a difference in electing Barack Obama. The Obama Campaign is asking California to support the NV and NM campaigns with phonebanks and travel teams. Santa Cruz to New Mexico Phone Bank – Sunday, August 10thObama Santa Cruz is coordinating with the New Mexico Obama Field Team to provide phonebank support each weekend through the election. We will be making calls to New Mexico. PLEASE BRING YOUR CELL PHONE. Check with your cell phone service provider to see if you get a large number of free minutes on the weekend. Time: Sunday, August 10 at 4:00pm to 6:00pmLocation: Wes Swift’s Home, 4515 Bain Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95062Contact Phone: Keven Cook / 408-306-1088 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/44bdf Nevada Voter Registration Weekends in Las Vegas, Nevada – August 16th The Obama San Jose team is coordinating with the Obama Nevada campaign in Las Vegas to provide voter registration and voter out-reach support the weekends of August 9th and August 16th.Organizer: Eric Orque at eorque@musd.org or 408.891.4024Information August 16th: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/4gdkk Nevada Voter Registration Weekends in Reno, Nevada – August 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th Obama San Francisco, Oakland/Berkeley and San Jose are organizing weekend carpools to Reno, Nevada and pre-trip training efforts. California volunteers can help win the state by canvassing to identify and persuade undecided voters to support Senator Obama. Weekly trips to Reno are scheduled to leave Friday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon.SF Organizers: Kenya Wheeler at kenyaw@gmail.com and Ellen Kamoe at travel4barack@gmail.com San Jose Organizer: Eric Orque at eorque@musd.org or 408.891.4024. August 8th-10th: Trip leaving Friday, August 8th @ 2pm, returning Sunday, August 10th at 6pm. San Francisco RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44jqkSan Jose RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/4gdcc August 15th-17th: Trip leaving Friday, August 15th @ 2pm, returning Sunday, August 17th at 6pm. San Francisco RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/canvass/4wx54San Jose RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/4gdkk August 22th-24th: Trip leaving Friday, August 22th @ 2pm, returning Sunday, August 24th at 6pm. San Francisco RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/canvass/4wx52 August 29th-September 1st: Trip leaving Friday, August 29th @ 2pm, returning Sunday, August 31st at 6pm or Monday, September 1st in the afternoon. Berkeley: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/444rc San Francisco: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44qm4 New Mexico Voter Outreach - Obama Palo Alto/Silicon Valley The Obama Palo Alto office has is coordinating with the Obama state campaign in New Mexico and will be providing phone bank support beginning this month on Saturday and Sundays from the Palo Alto office. Those interested can contact the Obama Palo Alto office directly:Location: Silicon Valley for Obama Field Office, 3898 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306Information: (650) 852-9401 / (650) 852-9527

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Obama Visibility and Voter Registration – Volunteers NeededVolunteers needed to support our local Voter Registration efforts that are a primary focus this summer. Locations are in Santa Cruz on Pacific Avenue in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz; in Capitola on 41st Avenue in front of Safeway; and in Watsonville. We ask volunteers to offer as little as 1 hour of their time to help register new voters and answer questions about our candidate as well as to offer buttons, bumper stickers and signs to interested parties. Volunteers are needed to staff the table and answer questions. This a great opportunity to get involved in support Obama and increasing voter registration. Santa Cruz – Bookshop Santa Cruz – Saturday, August 16th 11am to 3pm1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, 95060RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/44b5k Information: David Gripton at dag1951@cruzio.com / 831-238-4971 Capitola Information: Dennis Connors at squenix@sbcglobal.net / 831-685-8553Watsonville Information: Luis Alejo at laalejo@msn.com / 831-726-6032…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Obama Fundraisers – Book Sale – Convention Events - Barack in SFWe have 5 fundraisers taking place in August locally. Many thanks to the families opening their homes for Watch Party Events, our book-sale friends, our raffle team and the friends in San Francisco hosting Senator Obama for a major fundraiser. Book Sale for Obama – Saturday, August 16th at 8:30amHuge book sale, something for everyone.......... Saturday, August 16, 2008 8:30 am to 12:30 PM Time: Saturday, August 16 at 8:30 AM to 12:30 am Location: 228 Martin Dr., Aptos, CA 95003Take the Rio del Mar exit, go towards the beach, Martin Drive is one block past Aptos Beach drive. Make a right on Martin, first house on the left.Host: Teri HandzelRSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/fundraising/44w4z Barack Obama in San Francisco for Fundraiser – August 17thBarack Obama will be back for a very special fundraiser in San Francisco on Sunday, August 17. It is a private fundraising event for those supporters interested in donating to the Obama For America campaign and seeing Senator Obama speak. The event is not open to the public.When: Sunday, August 17th, 2008Time: 5:30PM - General ReceptionRSVP: Angela Chesnut at amc7@mail.com / 831.425.7788 to RSVP or more information Watch Party Fundraiser for Obama Campaign Local fundraiser and convention watch party is planned for Thursday, August 28th from 4pm to 8pm on the West Side of Santa Cruz. Watch the acceptance speech while enjoying appetizers, wine and entertainment throughout the evening. Generous Donations will be accepted at the event. Time: 4pm to 8pmSuggested Donation: $50 • $100 • $200 • $500 (checks payable to Obama For America)Hosted by: Patrice and Bob KeetRSVP by Aug 25th: Angela Chesnut at amc7@mail.com / 831.425.7788 Convention Celebration Dinner (Fundraising)Local fundraiser will be hosted by the MacDonald family in Santa Cruz on August 28, the night of the Democratic National Convention, to watch the proceedings, share food, and raise money for Obama.Time: Thursday, August 28 at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PMLocation: 1045 Nobel Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060Host: James Macdonald RSVP : http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/fundraising/4gj3j Obama Year at the Movies Raffle (Fundraiser)'Year at the Movies' Raffle is a local Obama 08 fundraiser providing supporters an opportunity to win a series of movie tickets at the Del Mar, Nick or Aptos theaters as the grand prize. Tickets are $10 each and can be obtained at various tabling events that will be staged around Santa Cruz County all summer long or by contacting Harvey or David below. Raffle winners will be determined on Election Day 2008. Contact: Harvey Dosik at 831-420-1567 / David Gripton at dag1951@cruzio.com / 831-238-4971Information: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4jyt …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Watch Parties August 28th – Democratic National Convention On Thursday, August 28th, Barack Obama, the assumed Democrat nominee, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic nomination in a speech in front of the assembled delegates and what is expect to be an audience of 75,000 in Denver. 3 Convention Watch Parties Planned in Santa Cruz CountyThe Santa Cruz Democratic Party is organizing three Democratic National Convention Watch Events across Santa Cruz County on the evening of Thursday, August 28th starting at 5pm. Join us the final evening of the Democratic National Convention and watch the presumed Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama deliver his acceptance speech on Thursday evening. When: Thursday, August 28th starting at 5pm. Santa Cruz Event: Woodstock Pizza, 710 Front Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060 (no host bar and food)Aptos/Seascape: Seascape Golf Clubhouse Lounge, 610 Clubhouse Drive, Aptos, CA 95003 (no host bar)Watsonville: Location to be announced Event Information: Leslie Steiner 831-335-4765 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Obama Volunteers Organizing and Training Live Oak Area Obama Volunteers MeetingAndrew & Rena's House (Santa Cruz, CA) Time: 4:00pm to 6:00pmLocation: 1200 Capitola Rd. #18, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Contact Phone: Andrew Longsworth - andrew@longsworth.com or call 831-465-9447 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/44jv4 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Mini-Camp Obama Volunteer Training – Reserve the DatesMini-Camp Obama Training is coming to the central coast in September. We will be hosting the Mini-Camp which is a one-day session for our Area Leaders and Precinct Captains on September 6th in San Francisco and Sacramento and September 13th in Santa Cruz. Our Area Leaders and Precinct Captains are welcome to attend either the Monterey or Santa Cruz session. This one day session provides hands-on training covering neighborhood and team organization, campaign objectives and strategies, voter-out-reach methods, voter persuasion, phone banking, canvassing and get-out-the-vote activities. Training includes the use of our online Vote Builder system. Please reserve one of these dates. Details will follow in our next Newsletter. Area Leads are encouraged to attend with their Precinct Captains to maximize their team’s training experience. The training is very interactive and group oriented. Training for all our neighborhood and precinct volunteers will follow the Mini-Camp Obama during the September and October. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Santa Cruz County Fair – September 9 to 14 – Volunteers Needed The Democratic Party has a booth at the County Fair and is need of volunteers to staff the booth. The link to the Fair Booth sign-up page is on the Santa Cruz Democrats website: www.cruzdemocrats.org

Each year the Santa Cruz Democratic Party has a booth at the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville.

The Fair runs from Tuesday September 9 through Sunday September 14. If you can help by covering a two-hour shift to provide information about Obama and other Democratic Candidates and register Democratic Voters. Your Democratic Party Needs You -- To Help In Our Fair Booth. Sign yourself up. Tell your friends.

Week of July 24th - Working to Win the Western States

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:02:24 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County

July 24, 2008

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Barack Obama in Europe and the Middle East
Wharf-to-Wharf Runners and Obama Supports – July 27th
Listening to America - Democrat Platform Events to Solicit Your Input
Convention Watch Parties and Fundraiser – August 28th
Santa Cruz Campaign Office Opening in August
Supporting Nevada and New Mexico Campaigns
Camp Obama Volunteer Training Coming to Santa Cruz
Support Our Convention Delegates
Obama 08 Fundraiser - Movie Raffle Tickets Now on Sale (fundraising)

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Barack Obama in Europe and the Middle EastAs you have heard, Barack has been in Europe and the Middle East this week. Today, he spoke in Berlin, Germany. In a city where a wall once divided the free from the oppressed, he talked about tearing down the walls that divide all peoples so we can address our common problems -- the threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons, global warming and genocide, AIDS and poverty. "I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before," Mr. Obama told the crowd, confronting the delicate issue of campaigning abroad. "Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world." Senator Barack Obama waved to the crowd gathered at the Victory Column at Tiergarten Park in Berlin on Thursday. An estimated 200,000 Germans gathered to watch Mr. Obama's speech. Barack Obama met for about an hour with Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Federal Chancellery. A German diplomat said the discussions went very successfully, saying: "They quickly found themselves on the same page. It was not superficial at all."

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Runners for Obama at Wharf-to-Wharf - This Sunday

How cool is it to represent the next President of the United States at the 36th Annual Wharf to Wharf race run on Sunday, July 27th. The race starts at 8:30 and runs from the Santa Cruz Pier (near downtown) to the Capitola Pier (in Capitola Village) and is considered the "Best Little Roadrace in California". The 10K, six mile race, is festive and fun rather than deadly serious.

Event Date: 8:30AM Sunday, July 27th. Obama Shirts: order your *T-shirts at: BarackObama.com and join us for a "Race to Change".Information: June Gorman at june_gorman@sbcglobal.net Volunteers Needed at the Race:Volunteers needed at the starting point in Santa Cruz and at the finish area in Capitola to provide Obama information, sign-up volunteers and sell Obama gear. Pre-Race Obama Crew at the Starting point in Santa Cruz will meet in front of Ideal Fish Restaurant near the Santa Cruz Wharf at 7:15 am to 9:15 am. If you arrive that early you might actually find parking! But bring lots of quarters for the couple of hours. Otherwise, Shuttle parking lot is at Ocean Street Government Center and shuttle starts at 6:30am. Look for Obama shirts and hats!Time: 7:15 am to 9:15 amLocation: Ideal Fish Restaurant near the Santa Cruz WharfContact: Susan Samuels Drake at sdrake2@cruzio.com Post-Race Obama Crew at the Finish area in Capitola will meet on Capitola Beach at "Obama" space 9:15 am. Beach "Obama" station set-up, plus "milling" crew at the Finish line/ Bridge working with "waiting" spectators. Look for Obama table, signage, shirts and hats!Time: 9:15 am to 11:15 amLocation: Meet at on Capitola Beach at "Obama" space Contact: Dennis Connors at squenix@sbcglobal.net / 831-685-8553 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Listening to America - Democratic Platform Events & Your Input The Democratic Platform for Change – Forums to Solicit Your InputEvery four years, the Democratic Party assembles a platform that outlines the party's position on a number of issues. Traditionally, the drafting of the platform is not open to ordinary people. This year, that's going to change. From July 19 to July 27, people all across America will hold Platform Meetings in their own communities. People all across America will hold Platform Meetings in their own communities and homes to discuss the issues and share their input. The input obtained from these meetings will help shape the platform at the Democratic Convention in August. The outcome of these meetings will be reviewed by the Drafting Committee as it creates the final Platform. Platform Meetings are a great way to connect with fellow supporters and help write the next chapter in the history of the Democratic Party. No political experience is required. Your thoughts and experiences are all that matter, and they will shape a platform that -- like this campaign -- is owned by the people. Attend one of the Santa Cruz County Platform Events listed below. Saturday, July 26th -- Downtown Santa Cruz Democratic Platform EventA Great Idea, A Great Opportunity to Get Involved. A Saturday Afternoon Brainstorming Event of Getting Whats in Our Heads Out & Heard! Join Us, Some Appetizers Provided.Time: 3:00pm to 5:00pmLocation: Fusion Restaurant & Lounge, 110 Pearl Alley, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Contact Phone: Jamaka Johnson / 831-600-7417 RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/platformmeeting/442x9 Sunday, July 27th -- SLV / Boulder Creek Democratic Platform EventMark your calendar for Sunday July 27th for an afternoon of sharing good food, and conversation with community members that want to have their voices heard. Bring your ideas for change and a dish or some wine to share with others. All ages welcome to attend!Time: 12noon to 200pmLocation: Ellis Residence, 14395 West Park Ave., Boulder Creek, CA 95006Directions: Take Hwy 9 in Boulder Creek to West Park. We are located about one mile up West Park on the left. RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/platformmeeting/4gwg9 Host a Platform Meeting Event You can also host an event in your own community. We’ve prepared all the materials that you need to host. Or, if you’d prefer, find an event near you.Sign up to host or attend a Platform Meeting in your neighborhood: http://my.barackobama.com/listening

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Voter Registration Drive – Volunteers NeededVolunteers needed to support our local Voter Registration efforts that are a primary focus this summer. Locations are in Santa Cruz on Pacific Avenue in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz; in Capitola on 41st Avenue in front of Safeway; and in Watsonville. We ask volunteers to offer as little as 1 hour of their time to help register new voters and answer questions about our candidate as well as to offer buttons, bumper stickers and signs to interested parties. Volunteers are needed to staff the table and answer questions. This a great opportunity to get involved in support Obama and increasing voter registration. Santa Cruz – Bookshop Santa Cruz – Saturday, July 26th 11am to 3pm1520 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, 95060Information: David Gripton at dag1951@cruzio.com / 831-238-4971 Capitola Information: Dennis Connors at squenix@sbcglobal.net / 831-685-8553Watsonville Information: Luis Alejo at laalejo@msn.com / 831-726-6032………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Santa Cruz Campaign Office Opening in AugustA Santa Cruz Campaign Office is in the works and tentatively planned to open mid-August. The office is located in the Galleria Plaza between River and Front Streets in downtown Santa Cruz. This office will support the Obama campaign efforts in Santa Cruz County along with state and local Democratic candidates and ballot measures. An office opening event is planned, stay-tuned for more information. Volunteers are needed to staff the office. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Out-of-State Voter Efforts – Nevada and New MexicoNevada and New Mexico are two very important swing states where our out-of-state voter outreach efforts can make a difference in electing Barack Obama. We will continue to announce out-of-state voter efforts for those who have the time and ability to support these activities. Nevada Voter Registration Weekend in Reno, Nevada – July 25 and 26th You may be aware that Nevada is one of the swing states and very critical to November's results. We have to get out the vote for Barack Obama in Nevada but in order for people to vote they have to be registered to vote so our sister state is asking for our help with voter registration by traveling to Reno for a weekend. We will leave on Friday evening at 5:30PM on July 25 and return on Sunday evening, July 27th. When you sign up please include your telephone number, only the event organizer can see that information, and we will call you to confirm. The ask is of all of Northern California - our goal is to get at least 100 of us. The sooner we know the sooner we can try to pool our money for buses and/or set up carpools. There will be some supporter housing available.Organizer: Kim Mack 916-400-3252 / Sacramento Obama OfficeInformation: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4gt5z Nevada Voter Registration Weekends in Las Vegas, Nevada – August 9th and August 16th The Obama San Jose team is coordinating with the Obama Nevada campaign in Las Vegas to provide voter registration and voter out-reach support the weekends of August 9th and August 16th.Organizer: Eric Orque at eorque@musd.org or 408.891.4024Information August 9th: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/4gdcc Information August 16th: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/voterregistrationdrive/4gdkk Nevada Voter Registration Weekends in Reno, Nevada – Weekly Carpools from SF Obama Ellen San Francisco and Oakland are organizing weekly carpools to Reno, Nevada and pre-trip training efforts. Ellen has also setup a google docs spreadsheet to track volunteers who are traveling on a specific week. We are sharing this information with Obama for Nevada staff to assist their planning efforts for canvassing and voter registration plans and to find supporter housing for usOrganizer: Kenya Wheeler at kenyaw@gmail.com and Ellen Kamoe at travel4barack@gmail.com New Mexico Voter Outreach - Obama Palo Alto/Silicon Valley The Obama Palo Alto office has is coordinating with the Obama state campaign in New Mexico and will be providing phone bank support beginning this month on Saturday and Sundays from the Palo Alto office. Those interested can contact the Obama Palo Alto office directly:Location: Silicon Valley for Obama Field Office, 3898 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306Information: (650) 852-9401 / (650) 852-9527 New Mexico Voter Outreach - Obama Los GatosBring your lap top, cell phone, or mic and skype account and join us in calling New Mexico Independent Voters. We have a couple of computers in the office. When you RSVP, please let me know if you are brining your own lap top or need to use one of our computers.Time: Saturday, July 26 at 10:00 AM to 12noonContact Phone: Yeffi Vanatta / 408-406-5309 Location: LG Obama Office, 15495 Los Gatos Blvd Suite 4 (Above Erik's Deli), Los Gatos, CA 95032 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Watch Parties August 28th – Democratic National Convention On Thursday, August 28th, Barack Obama, the assumed Democrat nominee, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic nomination in a speech in front of the assembled delegates and what is expect to be an audience of 75,000 in Denver. 3 Watch Parties Planned in Santa Cruz CountyLocally we are organizing 4 Watch Parties for Thursday, August 28th to bring supporters and volunteers together throughout Santa Cruz County. Watch Parties are planned for Watsonville, Mid-County and Santa Cruz. Reserve the evening of August 28th for this historic event and celebrate with local supporters. These events are open to all. More information in our August newsletters. Watch Party Fundraiser for Obama Campaign Additionally, we have a local fundraiser and watch party planned for Thursday, August 28th from 4pm to 8pm on the West Side of Santa Cruz. Watch the speech while enjoying appetizers, wine and entertainment throughout the evening. Generous Donations will be accepted at the event. Time: 4pm to 8pmSuggested Donation: $50 • $100 • $200 • $500 (checks payable to Obama For America)Hosted by: Patrice and Bob KeetRSVP by Aug 25th: Angela Chesnut at amc7@mail.com /l 831.425.7788 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Camp Obama Volunteer TrainingIn August and September we will host Camp Obama Volunteer Training to prepare people for the General Election campaign voter-outreach efforts. We are tentatively planning to hold a number of sessions on Saturday’s -- August 23, 30, Sept 6, and Sept 13th. More information to follow.

First post

David from Albuquerque, NM — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:36:40 EDT

I feel sorry for anyone that had to drive to the Obama campaign meeting this afternoon. Luckily for me, it was right down the road from where I live, it was a very nice walk. I was quite surprised when I learned that he would be making the stop here in the Atrisco barrios.

As for the meeting itself... it was highly charged with excited people, which made it very interesting. Of course he spoke for the first 30 minutes or so, and then the rest was devoted to questions from the crowd.

Originally, I wasn't going to go, because the website said that all of the tickets had been sold out. But I decided this morning that if I couldn't go in, the least I could do is join the masses outdoors instead. But they still had a few tickets that they gave out to those that asked, I must have been one of the last ones they let in. Of course I got a crappy seat, but whatever. I was there to hear a public figure speak.

I'm still impressed with the man. The way that he can drive so many people just by speaking about topics that matter to them. I get really irritated at people who try to brush Obama off as nothing but someone who gives speeches. To those people, I would just say that: It's not the politician who has the sole responsibility to get things done, it's the people who elect him too. They also have to be involved. So if the candidate you support has a knack at motivating people, it's more likely that they'll get involved in their own communities, and thereby will make the candiidate's ideas more successful. In my opinion, someone who has ideas isn't enough. What we need is someone who can actually drive people to become active, and make things work. That's what I think Obama does.

As usual, I didn't agree with everything he said-- for example, his offer to send tax rebate (or whatever they're calling it these days) to everyone to help pay for gas and other forms of energy... that's a silly idea in my opinion. It's almost as ridiculous as a gas-tax break. All of these so-called economic stimulus checks are a futile attempt at helping people. It's only another reason for businesses to inflate prices.

But that's about the only thing I disagree with him on. Everything else was great. Of course, the governor was there, as was ABQ's failu... I mean, mayor-- Martin Chavez. Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman were also there. It was great to actually hear the governor speak. That's another man that knows how to drive an audience wild. He can't speak 2 sentences without applause.

I'm seriously thinking about volunteering in the future.... it's just that with school, I don't know if I'll ever find the time to. My break ends in just a few weeks. Maybe, maybe not. We shall see.

I hope to find everyone well,

Concerns about NM's Voting

Cory from Albuquerque, NM — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:44:03 EDT

One of my biggest concerns about how New Mexico will vote is how many of its residents tend to vote for whomever buys and shows the most advertisements. Even with all the negativity and personal attacks that John McCain is using against Barack Obama, I'm just really afraid that New Mexicans will believe McCain's hype. We seriously need to educate our state and help them make informed decisions!

What are you doing?

Ron Domino — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:46:53 EDT

(original Barack Out With My Cock Out posting - Tuesday, February 19, 2008)

After seeing the more prominently known Bill that is competing for the White House this year, I am shaken and disturbed. The only man with a better resume than our own Governor Bill, graced the University of New Mexico -- the Flagship University of the state -- and bellowed through the indiscernible PA system (still intact from the days before the Pit when the Lobos played in Johnson) his plan to unite America and win back the white house.

With a few references to the accomplishments of his first two terms, Bill highlighted what he would do better in his third and fourth terms. Left un-addressed, was the absence of the magical touch that brought him into office in 1992 and accomplished his agenda; the glow that dropped people's jaws in the same manner as Tiger Woods and John Lennon was gone. There was no jam-packed hall with people crammed into every last corner. There were no throngs of on-lookers sitting in silent respect for the President that created international bridges over impassable waters. A few hundred, maybe a thousand interested persons were scattered across the gym floor and upper deck. A few waved signs to remind the President of his wife's name. Applause was given out of respect, not jubilation.

At the onset of this election cycle (Dem Convention 2004 when we nominated a guaranteed loser) I began saying "If it came down to it, I could stomach voting for his wife if it brought President Clinton back into the White House." While today reaffirmed my belief that they are – politically-speaking – one person in two bodies, I cannot say that it reaffirmed my devote support of the eventual Democratic nominee. He is not the President that is adored in history books and on the History Channel. He is the President of the 90's - a great leader that provided great deeds, but it is now time to honor his past service by doing what he has always advocated to do; we must continue looking to the future, continue moving forward as we learn from our past failures and work to elevate new leaders to guide our nation away from failed policies and toward a new, better future.

The changes of the future came the next morning. At the Albuquerque Convention Center any and everyone that wasn’t chained to a desk lined up to catch a glimpse of the other remaining candidate in the Democratic Primary. While I had walked straight into Johnson Gym the day before, I arrive an hour early to sneak into line about 3000 deep. In the third or fourth extra ballroom, Senator Obama passed through to keep from disappointing the extra 3000 attendees that didn’t stand a chance of sneaking into the Kiva. Another throng of supporters assembled on Civic Plaza to see him after a long speech followed by many questions.

What I witnessed in two days was incomparable. As meaningless as running on the words of “change” and "hope" can be, it has already produced results. Across the nation people who had lost hope, People who have never previously voted or followed an election have taken action and become involved. Changes have already taken place. Records are set each time another state holds their primary or caucus. The opportunities currently presented to the Democrats are only just being recognized. To quash their new-found interest would be to shoot oneself in the foot to even the race for the competition.

As a pragmatist that compromises to win rather than adhering to ideals in defeat, it is imperative that we work to inform and educate our own communities. Thus, as any provider of news, I will bring you announcements of events of the 2008 election. I will sift, sort and edit for you, not to deceive and distort, but to place the focus on the facts that carry real importance.

As New Mexico is a state that goes to the eventual winner every year except for two in its entire history, a focus will be placed upon the state. In addition to being a key state in the Presidential Race, all three current Congressmen are competing for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici for the first time in 36 years. While two of the congressional races will be all but decided in the June primary, the Albuquerque congressional district and Senate race could easily bring out provisional ballots to decide the winners.

It may not be remembered as an historic election, but you will hear of its historic implications many times in the next year (enough to make your ears bleed on dry days, so don’t make a drinking game based on its repetition). I welcome anyone interested in staying informed and up to date to join me often as we watch the election transpire.

Greg Palast says Barack needs to start sweating....

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:13:23 EDT

Obama Doesn't Sweat. He should. just got this email from Greg Palast. He's the one that wrote that "little yellow book" the young man was tasared for talking about at the Kerry rally. He's the one who REALLY broke the story about fly-boy bush' history (or lack thereof) in the military. I have a couple of his DVDs and a couple of his books. This is serious business; take a read (i kept the email intact, but wanted to warn those in the states that are cited as well as all the rest of us!!) YOUR VOTE IS AT RISK!!!
by Greg Palast In swing-state Colorado, the Republican Secretary of State conducted the biggest purge of voters in history, dumping a fifth of all registrations. Guess their color. In swing-state Florida, the state is refusing to accept about 85,000 new registrations from voter drives - overwhelming Black voters. In swing state New Mexico, HALF of the Democrats of Mora, a dirt poor and overwhelmingly Hispanic county, found their registrations disappeared this year, courtesy of a Republican voting contractor. In swing states Ohio and Nevada, new federal law is knocking out tens of thousands of voters who lost their homes to foreclosure.

Rio Rancho Office Grand Opening Sat Aug 2nd @ 6pm

Raymond G. Sandoval, Esq. — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:12:38 EDT

Please join us this Saturday, August 2nd, at the grand opening of the Rio Rancho Obama Campaign for Change headquarters.

Come meet Campaign for Change staff and invited special guests, get to know fellow supporters in the area, and learn how you can make a difference in New Mexico.

Here are the details:

Rio Rancho Obama Campaign for Change
Headquarters Opening

4100 Southern Blvd, SE

Suite 6 (next to old city hall and PNM)
Southwest corner of SR 528 & Southern Blvd
Rio Rancho, NM 87124

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
6:00 p.m.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44jr5

Hope to see you there!

Obama Campaign forChange

Sincerely

Raymond G Sandoval

Raymond G Sandoval, Esq.

Obama Campaign for Change, a project of the NM Democratic Party

Rio Rancho Field Organizer

4100 Southern Blvd Suite 6

Rio Rancho, New Mexico

(505) 340-3411 office

(206) 719-9652 mobile

rsandoval@nmobama.com

Rio Rancho Obama Campaign for Change

Office hours: 10am - 8pm everyday

4100 Southern Blvd Suite 6

Corner of 528 and Southern Blvd, Rio Rancho, NM

Office Phone: 505.340.3411

Contact: Raymond G. Sandoval, Esq. Moblie: 206.719.9652

WE NEED YOUR HELP:

PHONE BANKING – we need to begin recruiting potential volunteers and speaking to Undecided voters, Hillary supporters and Leaning McCain supporters. We have four months to persuade these voters that their voice can be heard through our candidate. These votes are crucial to our success here.

VOTER REGISTRATION– we need to register as many people as possible to vote! Our campaign has thrived off of registering every single potential voter in every state, we want to ensure that every vote is heard. This is how we can win - every single phone call makes such a big difference.

CANVASS – one to one contact with voters is among the most effective ways to discuss and persuade voters to understand the importance of their vote. Please help us knock on doors, talk to voters and drop off important and informative literature.

JOIN MYBO GROUPS – the grassroots movement in every state is the backbone to this campaign. We have a helpful way to stay connected with each other and the campaign staffers through mybarackobama.com groups on our website. You can share stories, post events and discuss the issues of the campaign. Please go to mybarackobama.com and search under “groups” for your zipcode and join!

HOUSE AN OBAMA STAFFER OR FELLOW – we will be having many more staffers and volunteers flooding into New Mexico and will be needing housing! Please let us know if you have any extra space available. We promise we are great houseguests!

*YOU KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY BEST, WE NEED YOUR HELP*

YES WE CAN!

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - BARACK OBAMA, Feb. 5, 2008

Gallup Poll shows Obama Ahead by 9%, Increasing Daily

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:56:45 EDT

Gallup Daily: Obama 49%, McCain 40%Third day with Obama holding a significant lead over McCain

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama now leads John McCain among national registered voters by a 49% to 40% margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking conducted July 24-26.

This represents a continuation of Obama's front-runner position evident in the last three Gallup Poll Daily tracking updates. The margin, coincident with the extensive U.S. news coverage of Obama's foreign tour, is the largest for Obama over McCain measured since Gallup began tracking the general election horserace in March. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)

A key question remains as to whether this "bounce" is short-term (as happens to bounces in some instances following intense publicity surrounding a convention) or if his lead will persist -- the answer to which will become evident in the next several days. -- Frank Newport

Survey Methods

For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.

The general-election results are based on combined data from July 24-26, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,692 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a land-line telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell-phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

To provide feedback or suggestions about how to improve Gallup.com, please e-mail feedback@gallup.com.

Phone Banking Success!

Wade Sanders — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:13:59 EDT

This is a copy of an e-mail sent to the group Sunnyvale for Obama on July 21, 2008.

Hello Sunnyvale for Obama!

News flash: the phone-banking team had a very successful phone-banking party yesterday!

Preeti graciously opened her home to the movement for change, and four of us joined her in calling New Mexico, which is a swing state. We reached out to registered Decline to State (independent) voters there to spread the message of the Obama campaign and hopefully recruit volunteers. Before we started, we set a goal of recruiting five, and we met that goal! In effect, we doubled our impact on the campaign as volunteers!

The only problem we had was that I talk too loud, so I had to be sequestered on the porch. :-)

Thank you, Preeti, for so kindly hosting, and thank you Thomas, Cristiana, and Fred for joining us to make calls!

If anyone would like to be involved in phone banking in any way—whether hosting a party, going to a party, calling from home, or calling from the PA office—and you’re not already on the phone-banking team, just let me know and I’ll provide the info you need.

GO OBAMA ‘08!

Wade

Support our Troops -- Join Veterans for Obama

Vicki "Hussein" in New Mexico — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:39:11 EDT

In these days of the All Volunteer Army, I fear too many Americans are oblivious to the sacrifices of our servicemen and women on our behalf. I am pleased to see several new groups and the growth of existing groups dedicated to Veterans, active duty soldiers and their families supporting Barack Obama for President: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/vetshome

Friends and families of our soldiers can help them make sure their vote will be counted in the upcoming Presidential Election for their Commander-in-Chief. Let them know about the Military Voter Services Web site: https://military.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/home.htm

Also, here in New Mexico, we would like to identify Veterans and active-duty military and their families who are supporting Barack Obama and would like to know about future veteran-related events in the next few months. For more information or to get on a contact list, please send your name, mailing address, home/cell phone, rank, branch and dates of service and email address to Jim_Buhaug@msn.com.

Here is a powerful new video "How You Ended the War" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frR0qklU1_o. Watch it, then make a donation to Barack Obama's campaign. We cannot wait any longer to bring good judgement and sanity back to the White House.

Wow!!! The Exponential Expansion of a Grassroots Movement.

Vicki "Hussein" in New Mexico — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:14:17 EDT

I love all the Groups I joined at http://my.barackobama.com I just returned from our second meeting of my local East Mountains for Obama Group. We had 12 enthusiastic people from the surrounding neighborhoods in the rural mountain country east of Albuquerque, NM. We have voter registration events and platform events planned on topics like Building Small Businesses in rural America. Former Richardson, Clinton, Edwards, Obama, and Kucinich supporters coming together for the common good of our rural communities and our Nation.

Moms for Obama has been super active for the past year and now Michelle Obama is blogging on a women's Blog: http://www.blogher.com/lets-talk and we can talk about issues important to us women and Moms with the next First Lady!

All my Buddhist friends at Buddhists for Obama are excitedly chatting away about our potential next President being as close to having a Buddha Nature as any President we have known and Lama Surya Das was on the Colbert Show http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=176174 talking about why Obama might want to consider becoming a Buddhist http://surya.org/wp/?p=87 and I know Thich Nhat Hahn is watching the US election with great Metta.

I am excited to see the San Diego for Obama Group having Phone Banks to call voters in New Mexico (yes, we do want to hear from you!)

And I see my Grassroots for Obama New Mexico, now New Mexico for Obama, will soon retire to let the full time OFA staff take over and set up offices throughout New Mexico!

Wow!!! Obama '08 is bringing us together via an amazing exponential expansion of a true grassroots movement. What a country!!!

Week of July 10 -- Summer Activities in Santa Cruz, CA

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:21:50 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County
Newsletter distributed 2nd and 4th Thursday during July and August
July 10, 2008

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

HIGHLIGHTS

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speak at Women's Event in NYC

Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng Speaks in NYC and Santa Cruz
Fourth of July Aptos Parade – An Obama Success
Democrat Unity Event - A Democrat Success
Listening to America - Democrat Platform Events to Solicit Your Input
Voter Registration this Weekend - Volunteers Needed
Aptos Volunteer Kickoff Event – Saturday, July 19
Nevada and New Mexico Out-of-State Voter Outreach
Wharf-to-Wharf Runners and Obama Supports – July 27th
Support Our Convention Delegates
Obama 08 Fundraiser - Movie Raffle Tickets Now on Sale (fundraising)
SAVE the DATE -- August 28th for the Acceptance Speech Watch Party

Week of June 13 - "Unite For Change" – Welcome All Democrats and Supporters

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:14:11 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County
June 13, 2008

"Unite For Change" – Welcome All Democrats and Supporters

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

HIGHLIGHTS

·         Special Guest Maya Soetoro-Ng – Senator Obama's sister – June 19th and June 20th

·         Voter Registration in Santa Cruz County – Volunteers Needed
·         Unite For Change – Welcome to All Democrats and Supporters
·         FightTheSmears.com - Launched by Obama 08 Campaign
·         Fourth of July Parade – Show Your Support for Obama
·         Wharf-to-Wharf Runners and Obama Supports – July 27th
·         Support Our Convention Delegates
·         Obama 08 Fundraiser - Movie Raffle Tickets Now on Sale (fundraising)

John McCain Comes to the Hotel Albuquerque

Tom Udall — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:37:19 EDT

I just returned from the Democratic Party's protest near the Hotel Albuquerque where John McCain was speaking this afternoon and let me say, it was a great success!

The pep rally was hosted by Brian Colón, and included speakers from NM-01 Congressional Candidate Martin Heinrich to former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron to State Senate candidate Victor Raigoza.

State Senate Candidate Victor Raigoza

The theme was clear: John McCain and the national GOP want more of the same, more of Bush's failed policies, and an endless war in Iraq with no clear exit strategy. Protesters were clearly angry about the Bush-McCain energy policy and the lack of a plan to bring down gas prices as well.

There were a steady stream of cars honking in support of the dozens of protesters carrying anti-McCain signs. Many protesters were wearing Heinrich, Obama, and yes, of course, Tom Udall stickers and t-shirts.

More Pictures on our FlickR.

Bryan Barash
Internet Communications Manager
Tom Udall for Senate

Got Travel Plans for Obama?

Kenya Wheeler — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:24:31 EDT

I am the San Francisco for Obama Northern California | Nevada coordinator. My role is coordinating trips for San Francisco volunteers who are interested in traveling to the Central Valley and Nevada to support the Obama campaign. If you are interested please contact me. Also, if you are interested in traveling to other swing states, let me know and I will connect you with Jay Cash, Out of State Travel Coordinator.

Kenya Wheeler
kenyaw@gmail.com

Turning Red States Blue: What Are the States Kerry Lost That Obama Can Win?

Obama Election Watch — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:51:34 EDT

Here are the important states where strong media campaigns and turn-out-the-vote efforts can swing the election to Obama.

In the 2004 presidential election, George Bush beat John Kerry 286-252 in the Electoral College tally. The switch of just one state — Ohio — to the Kerry column would have given the White House to Kerry.

The task for Barack Obama is to hold all the states won by John Kerry and pick up as well the additional 18 electoral votes necessary to reach the winning number of 270.

If Obama holds all the states won by Kerry, a switch of Ohio alone to the Obama column would give him the necessary electoral votes required to win the White House.

Recent polls in Ohio show a tight race between Obama and McCain. Obama did not do well with low-income white voters in the Ohio Democratic primary. But concentrating efforts on increasing black voter turnout in Ohio’s cities may provide the necessary margin of victory. An estimated 400,000 eligible black voters in Ohio did not bother to vote in the 2004 presidential election. In 2004 George Bush won Ohio by fewer than 119,000 votes.

obama/clinton dream ticket fraud

jonathan | cvg — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:42:19 EDT

With Obama officially clinching the nomination, we must unify behind him. Now's the time to remember that the differences between policies Clinton and Obama proposed are not nearly as significant than the policy differences between Obama and John McCain. This is now a Democrat versus Republican policy battle and we already know where the policies of the republican party have led under Bush. As Obama pointed out in his speech Tuesday night, we must remember that McCain is perceived as a maverick or moderate within his party. He continues to point to the one or two differences he has had with Bush in the last eight years. Yet, to become his party's nominee in 2008 where he failed many times before, John McCain bought into the Republican party with his heart and soul as he saw his chances faiding and has, in fact, voted over 90% of the time in agreement with George W. Bush. A vote against Obama is a vote for Bush's Third Term. While some dissappointed Clinton supporters will act and speak out of emotion, already many admit that they intend to vote the the selected Democrat.

There has been much speculation of a "dream ticket." Clinton, as I note in an earlier blog, breathed life into this idea because the time came when even she recognized she could not win in a general election without Obama. However, as I note in an earlier blog, this is not true when Obama is the nominee. There are many well suited candidates for a running mate that will benefit Obama greater with respects to the electoral map and reaching out to working class and potentially to woman as well.

The truth remains that Obama has won for many reasons and this end result astounds me, someone who strongly backed my candidate since researching him in December. He overtook the lead from the "establishment's candidate." Clinton is someone that as first lady was rumored to run for senate in a big state to help support her future bid as president. The Kerry campaign was so poorly executed that many were left believing that the Democrats were throwing the election for a Clinton run and a Clinton win in 2008. The Clinton branding was strong and it's longevity made is seemingly impossible to overcome... 20 years of market share domination and now a new little enterprise would fend for not some, but the majority of that share. Today, it hard to believe anyone could pick off Coke or P&G. But, that is exactly what Obama accomplished. Not only did he run one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns in my time, he succeed where no person of color has succeeded in a leading nation. While some leading nations have appointed women, what I recently realized is that Obama broke a barrier that extends long past the United States.

There are petitions and emotional claims to defend the "dream ticket" and most of which stems from Clinton circles. Let's not forget that Obama won as the "change candidate" and he has brilliantly represented "new politics." Many of Obama's supporters, and rightly so, believe that the addition of anyone who epitomizes "old politics" would jeapardize our mission and cloud the message, leaving a obvious weak point of attack for McCain like the small thermal exhaust port that left the Deathstar in Star Wars open to destruction. I can almost see McCain now, "Clinton on this ticket... that's not change we can believe in." * insert insidious smirk*

Among the emotional pleas I have read are these, and given that I label them as emotional, I assert that they lack logic:

"The only way that Obama is going to reach out to the working class, Hispanics, and win the swing states is with Clinton on the ticket (he ignored Kentucky and West Virginia, so those states he has already lost without her)."

FALSE

First of all, Puerto Rico is not a state and that is precisely the contest that made Clinton's popular vote neck and neck with Obama. Puerto Ricans don't vote in the presidential election. They voted against being a state a decade ago, as they have voted twice before that when given the chance to enter into the union. I am boggled why they are awarded more delegates in the primary than many real states that do vote in the general election. Richardson and Clinton can reach out to Hispanic voters even without being on the ticket.

There are four governors in key states that each would help reach out to such voters and bring along a needed swing state. Among these four easy picks are Governor Richardson who has served under Bill Clinton, yet he may be my least favorite of the four easy picks. Ted Strickland could help with rural working class as he helped Clinton in Ohio because he is from rural Ohio and has served in the church and military. Strickland may sit at the top of my list.

Clinton does not come with a key state. Arkansas can be won by the Clinton's campaigning on behalf of Obama without her being on the ticket... as can other communities. Clinton does not need to be on a ticket to endorse and campaign heavily for a candidate to unify her party... a party, some assert, she invoked much division.What Clinton does need to do is embrace Obama for America and throw as much heart and resilience into this campaign as she did when she remained in the running for reasons I point out in my earlier blog.

Pennsylvania voted for Kerry due to the strong campaigning by governor Ed Rendell who is the same governor that campaigned for Clinton. It is widely believed that with similar campaigning by Ed Rendell in his state, any democrat can pick up the winning numbers that Kerry picked up against Bush.

New York and California are key states democrats win by wide margins as did Kerry. Although it is true Clinton won in the primary it is illogical deduction to believe that any democrat, unless that democrat was running against Ronald Reagan, could fail at winning both states handedly.

A presidential race is not won with West Virginia or Kentucky. But, if Obama is able to turn the Carolinas which Kerry failed to do even with Edwards on his ticket, that would make a difference. Obama won more votes in North and South Carolina against Clinton than the number of votes cast for McCain and Huckabee combined. The states Obama wants to tun in addition to the Carolinas are the Western States of Colorada, etc. Obama polls better in the west than rural areas like West Virgina and Kentucky where inevitably some degree of fear applies. But as I mention above, Ted Strickland comes with a key swing state and could easily reach out to the working class and Christian voters... perhaps more effectively than Clinton.

Governor Bill Ritter, a popular, young democratic in a historically conservative state, would be a better choice to aid in the West and Governor Kathleen Sebelius would successfully reach out to the identical segments that were fascinated by Clinton without compromising the message of new politics: again working class and women. Most female voters in exit polls admitted that gender was a significant impact on their decision. No other voting segment admitted to gender or race affecting the vote. Add almost any woman to a republican or democratic ticket and you will likely lure a great percentage of those voters who responded this way in exit polls.

"It would be a guaranteed 18 million votes for the Democratic party, and there is no way John McCain would have a chance."

FALSE

With this logic, or lack thereof, Obama could win with almost any running mate. While it is true that Clinton won over 17 million votes, so did Obama. In many states, Obama won more votes than Huckabee and McCain combined. To suggest that all democrats that voted for Clinton will literally stay home or vote for McCain, is not plausible. Throughout history the results in the primary does not necessarily translate into similar results in the general. That is why at this point there is no guarantee that Obama can turn the Carolinas away from Republican grasps. But, based on the primary numbers, it is the best chance the Democrats have had in decades and decades. Already, Obama's grass-roots activity is kicking up to register new democrats. This is how he closed the gap in states that Clinton was leading by 20points or more and this is how Obama won the majority of contests and clinched the democratic nomination for president. A historical achievement not only for the United States, but something that many leading nations have never done before... appoint a person of color to lead their nation.

Am I against Clinton? Not entirely, but partially. She does represent everthing I dislike about Washington Politics as usual and I don't think her record of success outweighs her record of failure to follow through with promises made to the nation and later to New York. While putting her into a position of Vice President may realistically strip her of all power, I don't want her a heart beat away from seizing the most powerful position in the world.

Now it is your turn. I selected four easily identifiable candidates for a VP nomination: Strickland of Ohio, Ritter of Colorado, Sebelius of Kansas, and Richardson of New Mexico. As Governors, each brings executive leadership and management that no senator can honestly claim with the exeption of Obama who, as I note in an earlier blog, was the only senator among Clinton and McCain to exemplify extraordinary executive leadership by leading his multi-million dollar enterprise, Obama for America, to success. However, who do you think Obama should select? If it is Clinton, then please have better support than the emotional defenses I discount above.

New Mexico Party Chair Endorses Obama

Carole@www.Americans-Away-From-Home.com — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:09:51 EDT

Another endorsement.

The count is now:

255 superdelegates endorsing Obama
277 delegates away from being nominated!

New Mexico Party Chair Brian Colón joins Democrats moving to nominate Obama for President.

Colón said Obama's message resonates across all ages, races, and economic backgrounds in New Mexico, and that he wants to see Obama's positive movement for change transform the Democratic Party, and the country.

“As I talk to Democrats all over New Mexico they are increasingly concerned with the negative tone that the campaign has taken. I believe that Senator Obama has presented a positive message of change while continuing to focus on our real opponent; a John McCain presidency and another four year term of failed Bush policies."

“Barack Obama has run a different kind of campaign – one that goes beyond the things that divide us and is driven by a commitment to real change that starts at the grassroots level," Colón said.

Well, that's one Democrat who didn't attack grassroots people working in this election.

Carole

Environment and First Americans: Global Green Indigenous Film Festival, Santa Fe, NM, April 18-20, 2008

Hope4Unity — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:02:01 EDT

Native American Public Telecommunications Newsletter April 2008 www.nativetelecom.org/

NAPT-Funded DOCS Accepted into New NM Green Film Festival

Seven NAPT-funded documentaries have been accepted into the Inaugural Global Green Indigenous Film Festival in Santa Fe, NM April 18-20, 2008.

These films include:

In the Light of Reverence, Mauna Kea: Temple Under Seige, March Point, Standing Silent Nation, The Creek Runs Red, Waterbuster and Weaving Worlds.

The festival sponsor, National Tribal Environmental Council, created the event to bring global innovative ideas together to aid in protecting the environment. The organization will also host its 15th annual conference, One People, One Earth, One Environment during this time.

For more information on the festival go to www.globalgreenfilmfestival.com

You Can Change Your Viewpoints

Verbal Kint — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:28:33 EDT

The Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico showed us as the personal interests, the friendship, the past in common and you lead th The Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico showed us as the personal interests, the friendship, the past in common and you lead them traditional in those that have trusted, they need and they can Be changed by an Unique Leader in its time and generation to begin a tranformación and renvoación of a country and of its political culture. This symbolic expression was happen March 21 in Portland Oregon in favor of the Senator Barack Obama Hussein.

El Gobernador Bill Richardson de New Mexico nos mostro como los intereses personales, la amistad, el pasado en comun y los lideres tradicionales en los que hemos confiado, necesitan y pueden ser Cambiados por un Lider Unico en su epoca y generación para iniciar una transformación y renovación de un país y de su cultura politica. Este gesto simbolico se dío el 21 de Marzo en Portland Oregon a favor del Senador Barack Obama Hussein.

Week of March 27, 2008 -- California Democratic Party State Convention

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:08:04 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County
March 27th, 2008

We have two events taking place in the coming week – the California Democratic Party State Convention this weekend and our General Meeting / Delegate Open Forum on Tuesday.

HIGHLIGHTS
Obama Visibility at the California Democratic Party State Convention -- March 28th to 30th
Obama Fundraiser Parties in San Jose – Friday, March 28th following the Convention
Obama 08 Santa Cruz Delegate Open Forum and General Meeting – Tuesday, April 1st, 630pm
Obama 08 Fundraisers – April 6th and April 22nd
Phone Calls – Winning Voters in Pennsylvania – April 6th/7th, April 13th/14th, April 20th/21st
California District Level Delegate Election Meeting -- April 13th
Pennsylvania Debate Watch Party – April 16, 5pm
Pennsylvania Election Night Watch Party – April 22nd,
Latest Gallop Poll Results Show Obama Takes the Lead
Delegate Math – Obama Adds More Delegates
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California Democratic Party State Convention March 28-30 – Obama Visibility

Show Super-Delegates Visible Support for Barack Obama
Join with fellow California Obama Democrats to show our support for Obama 08 by increasing visibility at this event with Obama 08 signage.   We will join with our Obama 08 Bay Area teams to provide visibility support throughout the day with signage walking activities at the front of the San Jose Convention Center, 408 Almaden Blvd at the opening Friday, March 28, Saturday March 29 and Sunday March 30th.

Many have asked how we can influence Super-Delegates, this is your opportunity to join Obama supporters in mass to show Super-Delegates the significance of our support for Barack Obama. We are joining with the Obama Bay Area teams from San Jose, Palo Alto/Silicon Valley, Oakland, San Francisco and Marin.   Let's show our strength in numbers.

Visibility Walking Times:
- Friday, March 28th – 10am, 1130am, 430pm
- Saturday March 29th – 800am, 1130am, 430pm
- Sunday March 30th -- 800am, 1130am, 330pm

Meet Location:
We will meet at the UCFW Hall, 230 South Market Street, San Jose, CA 95123.
The Convention Center is within a block of the UCFW Hall. The Obama San Jose team has setup the UCFW Hall as the Obama HQ during the convention. The UCFW Hall is next to the Fairmont Hotel at 230 So. Market St.

Parking: Park at the Light rail station or get validated at the 2nd. St/ San Carlos lot.

Equipment Required: Bring Your Obama Signs and any other creative form of visibility

RSVP for Saturday:   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/4xqk

RSVP for Sunday:    http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/4xpc

Convention Information and schedule: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.3904469/
While the general session is only open to elected delegates to the state party, caucuses and hospitality suites are open to everyone.

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Obama Party and Fundraisers – Friday, March 28th
Two events taking place on Friday evening following the California State Democratic Convention in San Jose.

Obama Party and Fundraisers at the Tied House Party and Fundraiser – Friday at 8pm
Join Obama supporters following on Friday evening, March 28th at 8pm following the California State Democratic Convention at the Tied House in downtown San Jose. An evening of OBAMA Mania, Music and Fun following the Convention.
Time: Friday March 28, 8PM to 12 PM
Location: San Jose Tied House, 65 N. San Pedro St. (off Santa Clara Street), San Jose

Obama Party and Fundraisers at the Miros – Friday at 7pm
Come Join Fellow Obama Supporters for Networking and Socializing at Miro's Lounge following on 7pm, Friday evening, March 28th. We will Meet in Miro's Lounge located in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is across the street from the Convention Center.
Time: Friday March 28, 7 PM
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 282 Almaden Blvd., San Jose, CA 95113
RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/4rw5g

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Obama 08 Santa Cruz General Meeting – April 1st, 630pm
Tuesday, April 1st starting at 6:30pm Zuniga's Restaurant

We welcome everyone and especially our volunteers to join us for the Obama 08 Santa Cruz County General Meeting being held on 6:30pm, Tuesday, April 1st at Zuniga's Restaurant.    Meet other volunteers and supporters and their campaign experiences. Hear about the campaign and our upcoming plans for the Pennsylvania primary and upcoming Obama events.

Open Forum to Hear from CD17 Delegate Candidates – April 1st, 630pm
At our general meeting on April 1st we are hosting a District Level Delegate Candidate Forum beginning at 6:30pm. Our goal is to provide an open forum for our campaign volunteers and supporters to hear from the CD17 District Level Delegate Candidates.

We welcomed all CD17 District Level Delegate Candidate to join us at this event. All CD17 Obama Delegate candidates listed on the California Democratic Party website are invited to participate. Candidates that cannot attend this meeting can appoint a person to speak in their place if they so desire. This is an open forum providing all delegate candidates an opportunity to speak and meet Obama Santa Cruz volunteers and supporters. We will summarize the Open Forum results in the Obama 08 Santa Cruz email newsletter.

Meeting Agenda and Format:
-          630pm to 700pm -- social greet and meet the candidates
-          700pm to 800pm – District Level Candidate Talks limited to 3 minutes per Candidate. Candidates that RSVP selected in random order (based on the California State Education random order alphabet)
-          800pm to 830pm -- Supporters sign the Candidate's Supporter List to acknowledge their support for candidates. Supporters can sign as many candidates Supporter Lists as they deem appropriate.
-          830pm to 900pm -- Obama Santa Cruz Volunteer announcements and events and organizing for Pennsylvania Calling

Meeting: Obama 08 Santa Cruz County General Meeting
Date/Time: 6:30pm, Tuesday, April 1st.
Location: Zuniga's Restaurant, 100 Aviation Way, Watsonville, CA, 95076.
Directions:   Take Highway 1 to Airport Blvd in Watsonville, proceed on Airport Blvd (east) toward Watsonville Airport and take a left on Aviation Way.   http://www.zunigas.net/

Candidate Information/Questions: Bill Malone at billmalone@pacbell.net or 831-420-1133.

RSVP:   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/4xqb

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Obama 08 Fundraising Events - Sunday, April 6
Three fundraising events are taking place on Sunday, April 6th in Atherton, Marin, and San Francisco. Senator Barack Obama will be present at each of these private events for donors. The donation for these events ranges from $1,000 to $2,300 per person.   Donations contributed at these events to benefit Obama for America.

Contact: Please contact Angela Chesnut if you are interested in donating and attending one of these events.

The April 6th events are Northern California's major fundraiser to contribute the financial support required for the remaining primaries. To our knowledge there are no public events planned for this trip with the Senator's need to return to Pennsylvania. This trip is likely Barack's last to the Bay Area prior to the Democratic National Convention.

Obama 08 Santa Cruz Fundraising Event - April 22nd
Join the Obama 08 Santa Cruz team for a local fundraiser on April 22 starting at 5:30 pm. The event is being held at Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Bar. Come and watch the PA primary returns over mai tai's and light fare while you enjoy music provided local musician Terry Riversong.

Location: Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Bar, 221 Cathcart St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Donation: $35.00 or more much appreciated

RSVP: First 100 RSVP's only –donation.

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California District Level Delegate Election Meeting -- April 13th
Please mark your calendars to attend the District-Level Delegate Election Meeting on April 13 (3pm. Location: TBA somewhere in the Santa Cruz / Monterey area) where you, as a local Democrat, can vote for the 2 Barack Obama local delegates and 1 alternative that will represent CD17 at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado on August 25-28, 2008. There will be a separate meeting on this day for the 3 Clinton delegates. Location: TBA. We encourage everyone to make an appearance.
Currently, there are 20 District-Level Delegate candidates that have registered their interest to represent CD17 for Obama at the convention.
CD17 Delegate Candidates Registered: http://www.cadem.org/site/apps/kb/cs/contactsearch.asp?c=jrLZK2PyHmF&b=3919701&raw
To become a District-Level Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, you must fill-out and submit Form A and then be elected (most votes by gender) at your Congressional District (CD) Caucus held on April 13, 2008. There are 3 to 6 Delegates allocated in each of California's 53 Congressional Districts; 40 CDs will each get 1 Alternate Delegate. Wednesday, April 2 at 5:00 pm
For more info: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.3643973/
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Pennsylvania Debate Watch Party – April 16 starting at 5pm
Join Obama Santa Cruz supporters to watch the crucial Pennsylvania debate on the plasma high-definition big screen. You'll be able to see Hillary sweat - excuse me - sparkle. Our host Nick Lefevre will be serving refreshments. Humorous commentary is welcomed and encouraged.

The time for this debate's broadcast has not been announced. It will probably air live at 5:00pm local time. I will watch it live AND time delay it. Sign up here to be notified of more specifics.

Location: Nick Lefevre's New House, 345 Lee Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Lee Street is immediately north of Hwy 1 and to the east of Ocean street. It is reached by taking Emeline under Hwy 1 and take an immediate right.

RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4rwwd

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Pennsylvania Phone Banking
The next election is Pennsylvania – we'll need to work to close the gap – latest Rasmussen survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51% to 38% with 11% undecided. There are 151 delegates at stake.

Santa Cruz Phone Banks
We will organize phone banks in Santa Cruz to support the Pennsylvania calling efforts the weekends of – April 6th/7th, April 13th/14th, April 20th/21st. Stay tuned for locations.

Calls from Home
You can call Pennsylvania voters from home. Volunteers without accounts can sign-up now to use the online calling tool, and make calls from your own home today: http://my.barackobama.com/page/contact/splash/callpa .

Pennsylvania Local Campaign
If you have friends and family in Pennsylvania, please encourage them to get involved to help organize their local community by signing-up to join a Neighborhood Obama Team. These teams will lead our grassroots efforts. Sign up to join a Neighborhood Team at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pahome
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51% to 38%. Those numbers are little changed from a week ago. More voter demographic information from the survey is available: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/pennsylvania/pennsylvania_democratic_presidential_primary
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Obama Bounces Back - Latest Gallop Poll

Latest Gallop Poll Results Show Obama Takes the Lead
The first major national poll taken since Sen. Barack Obama's speech on race in America shows Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in a virtual tie, reversing Obama's slide in the polls after the wide airing of controversial remarks made by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
"It's hard to disentangle the impact of (Obama's) speech," Gallup Poll Editor in Chief Frank Newport said Tuesday. The latest Gallup Poll, taken March 22, showed the Illinois senator with 47 percent of the national Democratic vote and Clinton with 46. On March 18 - the day of Obama's speech - after clips of Wright's sermons had permeated the media, Clinton held a seven-point lead over Obama.
Said Newport: "All we know is that he made a speech, and a couple of days later, he was tied with Hillary when a couple days before he was down seven points. It's not insignificant."
Obama's much-praised speech called on Americans to break the racial stalemate that has long divided the country, frankly addressing the prejudices and fears of both blacks and whites. But critics said Obama should have criticized his pastor and mentor more forcefully instead of saying he could no more disown Wright for his remarks than he could his own white grandmother.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/26/MN9NVQGO2.DTL
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The Delegate Count and Math – Obama Wins Iowa Again !
Senator Barack Obama saw his delegate lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton, continue to grow this week by another 10 delegates on Saturday when Iowa Democrats took the second step in picking national convention delegates.

Obama's gains at Saturday's county conventions came from successfully wooing Iowa Democratic Party activists who had previously backed former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., as well as picking up the support of some Iowans who had backed Clinton during the Jan. 3rd precinct caucuses.

As a result of Saturday's county conventions, Obama gained nine delegates, Clinton lost one, and Edwards lost eight delegates. Moving up by nine while Clinton moved down by one gave Obama a net gain of 10 over his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

This Week's Delegate Count:
+ Obama continues to lead the delegate count with 1,418 delegates to Clinton's 1,251.
+ Obama continues to lead the contest count – 30 Obama wins to 14 Clinton
+ Obama continues to lead the popular vote count (realclearpolitics.com) by 702,000 votes
+ (Obama: 13,278,372 votes or 49.5% vs. Clinton: 12,576,210 votes or 46.9%)

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Week of March 20, 2008 -- Three Great Speeches ... Race, Economy, Iraq War

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:01:47 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County
March 21st, 2008


FAYETTEVILLE, NC—On the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, Senator Barack Obama offered
a clear contrast between his foreign policy vision and that of John McCain, emphasizing the
need to end the war in order to confront the emerging national security challenges of the 21st Century.

HIGHLIGHTS

Three Major Speeches Confronting the Issues – Race, War, Economy
Obama Visibility at the California Democratic Party State Convention -- March 28th to 30th
Obama 08 Santa Cruz Delegate Open Forum and General Meeting – Tuesday, April 1st, 630pm
Obama 08 Fundraisers – April 6th and April 22nd
Phone Calls – Winning Voters in Pennsylvania – April 6th/7th, April 13th/14th, April 20th/21st
California District Level Delegate Election Meeting -- April 13th
Debate Watch Party (Pennsylvania) – April 16, 5pm
Pennsylvania Election Night Watch Party – April 22nd,
Delegate Math – Obama Adds More Delegates
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Three Major Speeches Confronting the Issues – Race, War, Economy
Yesterday, Barack laid out a clear plan to make America more secure and end the war in Iraq. Today, he laid out the economic costs of the war that Senator Clinton and Senator McCain supported.

In both speeches -- and in his speech on race in America earlier this week -- Barack Obama demonstrated that he is the candidate with the courage and judgment to tackle the challenges we face.
The choice Americans have in this election is clear -- and your support right now sends a message to those who support the status quo that it is time for a new kind of leadership. – David Plouffe, Campaign Manager, Obama for America

Barack Obama delivered a major speech this week on race in America and building a more perfect union. You should see it and read it for yourself. Please forward this message to everyone you know.
Here's the video and full text:
http://my.barackobama.com/hisownwords
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/18/obama.transcript/index.html

The speech made earlier this week by Barack Obama addressing the Iraq War and the Economy. Barack delivered a major speech on the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war today in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Barack outlines the clear contrast and gaps on Iraq between him and John McCain.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBFcW
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBH8j

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California Democratic Party State Convention March 28-30 – Obama Visibility

Show Super-Delegates Visible Support for Barack Obama
Join with fellow California Obama Democrats to show our support for Obama 08 by increasing visibility at this event with Obama 08 signage.   We will join with our Obama 08 Bay Area teams to provide visibility support throughout the day with signage walking activities at the front of the San Jose Convention Center, 408 Almaden Blvd at the opening Friday, March 28, Saturday March 29 and Sunday March 30th.

Many have asked how we can influence Super-Delegates, this is your opportunity to join Obama supporters in mass to show Super-Delegates the significance of our support for Barack Obama. We are joining with the Obama Bay Area teams from San Jose, Palo Alto/Silicon Valley, Oakland, San Francisco and Marin.   Let's show our strength in numbers.

Visibility Walking Times:
- Friday, March 28th – 10am, 1130am, 430pm
- Saturday March 29th – 800am, 1130am, 430pm
- Sunday March 30th -- 800am, 1130am, 330pm

Meet Location:
We will meet at the UCFW Hall, 230 South Market Street, San Jose, CA 95123.
The Convention Center is within a block of the UCFW Hall. The Obama San Jose team has setup the UCFW Hall as the Obama HQ during the convention. The UCFW Hall is next to the Fairmont Hotel at 230 So. Market St.

Parking: Park at the Lightrail station or get validated at the 2nd. St/ San Carlos lot.

Equipment Required: Bring Your Obama Signs and any other creative form of visibility

RSVP for Saturday:   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/4xqk

RSVP for Sunday:    http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/4xpc

Convention Information and schedule: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.3904469/
While the general session is only open to elected delegates to the state party, caucuses and hospitality suites are open to everyone.

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Obama 08 Santa Cruz General Meeting – April 1st, 630pm
Tuesday, April 1st starting at 6:30pm Zuniga's Restaurant

We welcome everyone and especially our volunteers to join us for the Obama 08 Santa Cruz County General Meeting being held on 6:30pm, Tuesday, April 1st at Zuniga's Restaurant.    Meet other volunteers and supporters and their campaign experiences. Hear about the campaign and our upcoming plans for the Pennsylvania primary and upcoming Obama events.

Open Forum to Hear from CD17 Delegate Candidates – April 1st, 630pm
At our general meeting on April 1st we are hosting a District Level Delegate Candidate Forum beginning at 6:30pm. Our goal is to provide an open forum for our campaign volunteers and supporters to hear from the CD17 District Level Delegate Candidates.

We welcomed all CD17 District Level Delegate Candidate to join us at this event. All CD17 Obama Delegate candidates listed on the California Democratic Party website are invited to participate. Candidates that cannot attend this meeting can appoint a person to speak in their place if they so desire. This is an open forum providing all delegate candidates an opportunity to speak and meet Obama Santa Cruz volunteers and supporters. We will summarize the Open Forum results in the Obama 08 Santa Cruz email newsletter.

Meeting Agenda and Format:
-          630pm to 700pm -- social greet and meet the candidates
-          700pm to 800pm – District Level Candidate Talks limited to 3 minutes per Candidate. Candidates that RSVP selected in random order (based on the California State Education random order alphabet)
-          800pm to 830pm -- Supporters sign the Candidate's Supporter List to acknowledge their support for candidates. Supporters can sign as many candidates Supporter Lists as they deem appropriate.
-          830pm to 900pm -- Obama Santa Cruz Volunteer announcements and events and organizing for Pennsylvania Calling

Meeting: Obama 08 Santa Cruz County General Meeting
Date/Time: 6:30pm, Tuesday, April 1st.
Location: Zuniga's Restaurant, 100 Aviation Way, Watsonville, CA, 95076.
Directions:   Take Highway 1 to Airport Blvd in Watsonville, proceed on Airport Blvd (east) toward Watsonville Airport and take a left on Aviation Way.   http://www.zunigas.net/

Candidate Information/Questions: Bill Malone at billmalone@pacbell.net or 831-420-1133.

RSVP:   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/4xqb

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Obama 08 Fundraising Events - Sunday, April 6
Three fundraising events are taking place on Sunday, April 6th in Atherton, Marin, and San Francisco. Senator Barack Obama will be present at each of these private events for donors. The donation for these events ranges from $1,000 to $2,300 per person.   Donations contributed at these events to benefit Obama for America.

Contact: Please contact Angela Chesnut at 408-712-0193 / amc7@mail.com if you are interested in donating and attending one of these events.

The April 6th events are Northern California's major fundraiser to contribute the financial support required for the remaining primaries. To our knowledge there are no public events planned for this trip with the Senator's need to return to Pennsylvania. This trip is likely Barack's last to the Bay Area prior to the Democratic National Convention.

Obama 08 Santa Cruz Fundraising Event - April 22nd
Join the Obama 08 Santa Cruz team for a local fundraiser on April 22 starting at 5:30 pm. The event is being held at Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Bar. Come and watch the PA primary returns over mai tai's and light fare while you enjoy music provided local musician Terry Riversong.

Location: Hula's Island Grill and Tiki Bar, 221 Cathcart St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Donation: $35.00 or more much appreciated

RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4rwd7 First 100 RSVP's only

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California District Level Delegate Election Meeting -- April 13th
Please mark your calendars to attend the District-Level Delegate Election Meeting on April 13 (3pm. Location: TBA somewhere in the Santa Cruz / Monterey area) where you, as a local Democrat, can vote for the 2 Barack Obama local delegates and 1 alternative that will represent CD17 at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado on August 25-28, 2008. There will be a separate meeting on this day for the 3 Clinton delegates. Location: TBA. We encourage everyone to make an appearance.
Currently, there are 20 District-Level Delegate candidates that have registered their interest to represent CD17 for Obama at the convention.
CD17 Delegate Candidates Registered: http://www.cadem.org/site/apps/kb/cs/contactsearch.asp?c=jrLZK2PyHmF&b=3919701&raw
To become a District-Level Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, you must fill-out and submit Form A and then be elected (most votes by gender) at your Congressional District (CD) Caucus held on April 13, 2008. There are 3 to 6 Delegates allocated in each of California's 53 Congressional Districts; 40 CDs will each get 1 Alternate Delegate. Wednesday, April 2 at 5:00 pm
For more info: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.3643973/
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Pennsylvania Debate Watch Party – April 16 starting at 5pm
Join Obama Santa Cruz supporters to watch the crucial Pennsylvania debate on the plasma high-definition big screen. You'll be able to see Hillary sweat - excuse me - sparkle. Our host Nick Lefevre will be serving refreshments. Humorous commentary is welcomed and encouraged.

The time for this debate's broadcast has not been announced. It will probably air live at 5:00pm local time. I will watch it live AND time delay it. Sign up here to be notified of more specifics.

Location: Nick Lefevre's New House, 345 Lee Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Lee Street is immediately north of Hwy 1 and to the east of Ocean street. It is reached by taking Emeline under Hwy 1 and take an immediate right.

RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4rwwd

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Pennsylvania Phone Banking
The next election is Pennsylvania – we'll need to work to close the gap – latest Rasmussen survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51% to 38% with 11% undecided. There are 151 delegates at stake.

Santa Cruz Phone Banks
We will organize phone banks in Santa Cruz to support the Pennsylvania calling efforts the weekends of – April 6th/7th, April 13th/14th, April 20th/21st. Stay tuned for locations.

Calls from Home
You can call Pennsylvania voters from home. Volunteers without accounts can sign-up now to use the online calling tool, and make calls from your own home today: http://my.barackobama.com/page/contact/splash/callpa .

Pennsylvania Local Campaign
If you have friends and family in Pennsylvania, please encourage them to get involved to help organize their local community by signing-up to join a Neighborhood Obama Team. These teams will lead our grassroots efforts. Sign up to join a Neighborhood Team at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pahome
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51% to 38%. Those numbers are little changed from a week ago. More voter demographic information from the survey is available: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/pennsylvania/pennsylvania_democratic_presidential_primary
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The Delegate Count and Math – Obama Wins Iowa Again !
Senator Barack Obama saw his delegate lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton, continue to grow this week by another 10 delegates on Saturday when Iowa Democrats took the second step in picking national convention delegates.

Obama's gains at Saturday's county conventions came from successfully wooing Iowa Democratic Party activists who had previously backed former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., as well as picking up the support of some Iowans who had backed Clinton during the Jan. 3rd precinct caucuses.

As a result of Saturday's county conventions, Obama gained nine delegates, Clinton lost one, and Edwards lost eight delegates. Moving up by nine while Clinton moved down by one gave Obama a net gain of 10 over his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

This Week's Delegate Count:
+ Obama continues to lead the delegate count with 1,418 delegates to Clinton's 1,251.
+ Obama continues to lead the contest count – 30 Obama wins to 14 Clinton
+ Obama continues to lead the popular vote count (realclearpolitics.com) by 702,000 votes
+ (Obama: 13,278,372 votes or 49.5% vs. Clinton: 12,576,210 votes or 46.9%)

Weee of March 13 -- Delegate Count and PA Efforts

Team / Area Leader - CD17 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:59:32 EDT

Obama 08 Santa Cruz County
March 13th, 2008

On the night before the big day in Mississippi, Barack fired up the crowd and made it clear that he's in this race to become President of the United States.

HIGHLIGHTS

Wyoming and Mississippi Results
California Democratic Party State Convention -- March 28th to 30th
Obama 08 Santa Cruz General Meeting – Tuesday, April 1st, 630pm
Phone Calls – Winning Voters in Pennsylvania – April 6th/7th, April 13th/14th, April 20th/21st
California District Level Delegate Election Meeting -- April 13th
Delegate Math – Obama Leads by 161 Delegates
Irish for Obama – St Patrick's on March 17th
Sing for Obama! Sing for America! Music Video on YouTube
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Winning Wyoming and Mississippi – 26 Delegates
Barack Obama won Wyoming on Saturday and won Mississippi on Tuesday by a large margin.   Between those two states, Obama picked up 26 delegates to erase the gains by Senator Clinton last Tuesday and add to our substantial lead in earned delegates. In total 26 more delegates resulting from these two states to Clinton's 19 delegates.    This brings the national total to 1,411 delegates supporting Obama vs. 1,250 Clinton.   Barack Obama has won 30 contests to Clinton's 14.   Also, the Obama vote count in the "big states" in fact rivals Clintons.
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California Democratic Party State Convention March 28-30 – Obama Visibility
Join with fellow California Obama Democrats to show our support for Obama 08 by increasing visibility at this event with Obama 08 signage.   We will be meeting in front of the San Jose Convention Center, 408 Almaden Blvd. at the opening Friday, March 28, Saturday March 29 and Sunday March 30th.

We will meet at 900 am each morning and assemble again during the lunch hour and at 5pm. We will join with our Obama 08 Bay Area teams to provide visibility support throughout the day with signage walking activities at the front of the San Jose Convention Center.

Location:
San Jose Convention Center
408 Almaden Blvd.,
San Jose, CA, 95010

RSVP for Saturday:   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/4xqk

RSVP for Sunday:    http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/4xpc

Convention Information and schedule: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.3904469/
While the general session is only open to elected delegates to the state party, caucuses and hospitality suites are open to everyone.

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Obama 08 Santa Cruz General Meeting – April 1st
Tuesday, April 1st starting at 6:30pm Zuniga's Restaurant

We welcome everyone and especially our volunteers to join us for the Obama 08 Santa Cruz County General Meeting being held on 6:30pm, Tuesday, April 1st at Zuniga's Restaurant.    Meet other volunteers and supporters and their campaign experiences. Hear about the campaign and our upcoming plans for the Pennsylvania primary and upcoming Obama events.

Location: 100 Aviation Way, Watsonville, CA, 95076.

Directions:   Take Highway 1 to Airport Blvd in Watsonville, proceed on Airport Blvd (east) toward Watsonville Airport and take a left on Aviation Way.   http://www.zunigas.net/

RSVP:   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/4xqb

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California District Level Delegate Election Meeting -- April 13th
Please mark your calendars to attend the District-Level Delegate Election Meeting on April 13 (3pm. Location: TBA somewhere in the Santa Cruz / Monterey area) where you, as a local Democrat, can vote for the 2 Barack Obama local delegates and 1 alternative that will represent CD17 at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado on August 25-28, 2008. There will be a separate meeting on this day for the 3 Clinton delegates. Location: TBA. We encourage everyone to make an appearance.
Currently, there are 20 District-Level Delegate candidates that have registered their interest to represent CD17 for Obama at the convention.
CD17 Delegate Candidates Registered: http://www.cadem.org/site/apps/kb/cs/contactsearch.asp?c=jrLZK2PyHmF&b=3919701&raw
To become a District-Level Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, you must fill-out and submit Form A and then be elected (most votes by gender) at your Congressional District (CD) Caucus held on April 13, 2008. There are 3 to 6 Delegates allocated in each of California's 53 Congressional Districts; 40 CDs will each get 1 Alternate Delegate. Wednesday, April 2 at 5:00 pm
For more info: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.3643973/
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Pennsylvania Phone Banking
The next election is Pennsylvania – we'll need to work to close the gap – latest Rasmussen survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51% to 38% with 11% undecided. There are 151 delegates at stake.

Santa Cruz Phone Banks
We will organize phone banks in Santa Cruz to support the Pennsylvania calling efforts the weekends of – April 6th/7th, April 13th/14th, April 20th/21st. Stay tuned for locations.

Calls from Home
You can call Pennsylvania voters from home. Volunteers without accounts can sign-up now to use the online calling tool, and make calls from your own home today: http://my.barackobama.com/page/contact/splash/callpa .

Pennsylvania Local Campaign
If you have friends and family in Pennsylvania, please encourage them to get involved to help organize their local community by signing-up to join a Neighborhood Obama Team. These teams will lead our grassroots efforts. Sign up to join a Neighborhood Team at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pahome
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama 51% to 38%. Those numbers are little changed from a week ago. More voter demographic information from the survey is available: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/pennsylvania/pennsylvania_democratic_presidential_primary
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The Delegate Count and the Math – Obama Leads !
+ Obama continues to lead the delegate count with 1,411 delegates to Clinton's 1,250.
+ Obama continues to lead the contest count – 30 Obama wins to 14 Clinton
+ Obama continues to lead the popular vote count (realclearpolitics.com) by 702,000 votes
+ (Obama: 13,278,372 votes or 49.5% vs. Clinton: 12,576,210 votes or 46.9%)

Wyoming:    Obama Gain 2 Delegates
Obama won by a sizable margin and won 7 delegates to Clinton's 5.

Mississippi: Obama Gain 5 Delegates
Obama won by a sizable margin and won 19 delegates to Clinton's 14.

Texas Update: Obama Net Gain 5 Delegates -- 99 Obama delegates to 94 Clinton delegates
Clinton won the delegate count by 4 (65 to 61 source: barackobama.com).
Obama won the Caucus count by 9 delegates (38 Obama to 29 HRC).

The National Delegate Count and Sources – It's Barack Obama
CNN – Obama 131 delegate lead – 1,611 vs. 1,480 HRC with (no Texas caucus results in the CNN count)
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/scorecard/#D

CBS – Obama 127 delegate lead -- 1,599 Obama vs. 1,472 HRC
http://election.cbsnews.com/campaign2008/d_delegateScorecard.shtml

NYTimes – Obama 112 delegate lead -- 1,529 Obama vs. 1,417 HRC
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/results/delegates/index.html

Washington Post – Obama 105 delegate lead – 1,602 Obama vs. 1,497 HRC
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/primaries/

Realpolitics.com -- Obama 124 delegate lead -- 1,618 Obama vs. 1,494 HRC   http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_delegate_count.html

Big States.............
So, Hillary "won" the "big" states. Lets look at who won the popular vote as well as the delegate count!

Consider the "Big" States that have voted so far:
State . . . . . . . . . . Obama . . . . . . . .Clinton
California . . . . . . 2,126,000 . . . . . .2,553,000
Texas . . . . . . .. . . 1,358,000 . . . . . .1,459,000
New York. . . .. . . . 698,000 . .. . . . .1,003,000
Illinois. . . . . . . .. . 1,302,000 . . . . . . . .662,000
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . .982,000. . . . . . 1,212,000
Georgia . . . . . . . . . .704,000. . . . . . . .330,000
New Jersey. . . . . . . 492,000 . . . . . . . .603,000
Virginia . . . . . . . . . 627,000 . . . . . . . .350,000
Washington . . . . . 354,000 . . . . . . . .316,000

Total . . . . . . . . . . .8,643,000 . . . . . . 8,487,000

Consider the "Big" States Delegate Counts:
State . . . . . . . . . . Obama . . . . . . . .Clinton
California …………………167……………….203
Texas ………………………..99………………….94
New York………..………..93………….…….139
Illinois…………………….. 104………………….49
Ohio ………..……………….66…………………..75
Georgia ………..………….60………..………..27
New Jersey………..…….48 ………..………..59
Virginia………..…………..54………..…………29
Washington………..……53 ………..………..25

Total………..……………..744………..………700

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"Irish for Obama" – St Patrick's Day March 17th
The perfect party gift for your local bartender or St Pat's party. Here are ready-to-print 8½ by 11 inch "Irish for Obama" signs. Print some out and tape them up in your car, in your house, give them to other supporters or use them as signs! Email your friends and family asking them to do the same!

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http://obamamedia.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/printable-irish-for-obama-signs/
http://obamamedia.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/printable-st-patricks-day-signs/

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Sing for Obama!, Sing for America! – 4,600 Viewers on YouTube
Here's the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q9nTfXh1eQ
Watch the video, rate it and comment on it. Forward this message far and wide to all your contacts, family and friends. Then ask them to forward it to their contacts, family and friends, etc... etc.... Use your online networks and blogs to get the word out! We want to get this video challenge to as many people as possible and get the YouTube ranking we need to get noticed.
Go to http://singforobama.org for more information about the video, to download music and lyrics, and to learn more about our challenge to you to post your own versions on YouTube. Thanks for your help!!!
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TEAM LEADERS – Contact Information
For local neighborhood information please contact your team leader. Event sign-ups are listed in the event section of this newsletter.

Santa Cruz
Nick LeFevre
nlefevre@pacbell.net

Pleasure Point / Live Oak
Dana Scruggs
dana@csfwlaw.com / 831-246-1572

Capitola
Bruce Abt
abt@jps.net / 831-247-0638

Mid-County
Gary Laskey
data.nation@earthlink.net / 831-476-5702
Dennis Connors
squenix@sbcglobal.net / 831-685-8553

San Lorenzo Valley/Scotts Valley
Deirdre Des Jardins
campaign@mbaysav.org / 831-423-6857

Watsonville
Luis Alejo –
laalejo@msn.com / 831-726-6032
Tory Beale
rtsg@got.net

UCSC Campus
Andrea Miguel
asanmiguel@studentsforbarackobama.com

Events
Angela Chesnut
Amc7@ / 408-712-0193

Communications
Don Morrison
donjmorrison@gmail.com / 408-483-8258

Nice Article on Richardson Endorsement!

Liza Heider — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:31:41 EDT

Hell, Yes We Can!!!

http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/how-significant-is-bill-richardsons-endorsement-of-obama/

I love the part about Hillary shrugging off the endorsement!

You guys, this is huge!!

What Gall?

InsideOutPat — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:03:49 EDT

It is typical HRC gall to call for OBAMA to be her running mate as VP. He is the one getting out the vote and the money and she is afraid she can not win without this strategy.

OBAMA needs to name a VP maybe, Richardson from New Mexico, that would help him with the Hispanic vote and although he is a friend of HRC, he has not endorsed her yet.

MAKING CALLS TO WYOMING & MISSISSIPPI

Asa HUSSEIN Gregory — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:02:50 EST

I am planning to call Wyoming tomorrow afternoon (later today) and Mississippi over the weekend to call voters and caucusers out to show support and win delegates for Barack Obama. I remind and encourage all of you to do the same. It's a very easy system right here on barackobama.com. Do it today! Join me in making a difference in this race and shutting out the politics of fear for good!

Peace,

Asa

WE MUST PREPARE FOR NOVEMBER IN NEW MEXICO!

Asa HUSSEIN Gregory — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:07:43 EST

Yesterday I had two new friends, Deb and Doug, join me in making calls to Texas to persuade people to get out and vote twice for Obama in both the primary and the subsequent caucuses. Between Doug and I, we contacted a third of our targeted voters and got word that they are pledging support for Obama. This is great news!!!

I think that in order to prepare for the conservative, right-wing Republican attacks that are just waiting in the wings for when Obama is officially the nominee we need to get organized and unified together here in Albuquerque and New Mexico in general. New Mexico played a small but major part in the last two presidential elections. We are neighbors to the homestate of the obvious Republican nominee, so we can logically expect a hailstorm of Republican efforts here.

I met with someone today who is connecting me to others who are working in the grassroots with organizations like moveon.org to mobilize a strong united force here in New Mexico (which we can safely call a battleground state now). I will be posting more information in the coming week and weeks about opportunities to turn back the horrendous tide of the last 7 years of lies and dirty tricks.

There are enough of us out there that if we all come forth and work and contribute our talents and passion energy, then we can be the change we have been waiting for and we need not worry that first Tuesday in November!

Thanks for reading!

In Peace Always,

Asa A. Gregory

ATTENTION ALBUQUERQUIANS FOR OBAMA!!!

Asa HUSSEIN Gregory — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:41:48 EST

I am hosting a "YES, WE CAN" CALL FOR OBAMA party this coming Sunday from 4-6:30pm MST. I don't have any guests signed up as of yet, so I may combine with other hosts. I am doing this call party through moveon.org and you can signup for my call party on there or find one near you. We will be calling Texas voters to urge them to the polls next Tuesday for Barack!

Keep on keeping on and WORK FOR OBAMA!!!

In Peace,

Asa A. Gregory

I WANNA LEARN SPANISH

Julie Hensley — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:36:36 EST

I've been wanting to learn Spanish for awhile (have an interest in perhaps working in Immigration Law once I pass the bar) and this campaign has only upset me as I saw the pleas for Spanish speakers to step up and help with calls. Oh, I've called and I've called in Texas where I reached 10 people in a row only to realize my Spanish and their English wouldn't get the job done!

I just ordered a Spanish course on CD.. and while I doubt I'll be able to get it and learn it fast enough to help with Texas. I will be ready if another state comes up where it's an issue and I'll also be ready to jump in and help (to some minimal Spanish speaking degree) during the ELECTION.

The race does not always go to the swift...

Julie Hensley — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:37:19 EST

but in this year's election it may not go to the right either at this rate.

Have you heard of the voting miscounts in New York AND New Mexico? Human error and other unbiased sources are put to blame but so far I don't see any reference that these errors potentially diminished HRC's count...only Barack's.

I HATE hate even thinking that such corruption would be so routine as to take place in two states within days of each other. I hate thinking what it implies about my faith in human nature. I wish I believed that Hillary Clinton had more moral fiber,courage and humanity than to be so focused on winning that she considers herself entitled to the conquest regardless of the price. I have been thinking that it's possible that is who she is and at the same time praying that I am underestimating her and plain wrong. Then it says more about me.. the quandary continues and within it... a nation, a world and an election hangs in the balance. I am not suggesting violent revolutions or protests or riots but this election must allow the voice of the people to be heard. Everyday I have more and more faith that by the time of November, Obama could win handily as people are forced to hear and be told by their friends and family more of what Obama is about and to be reminded of what we could be. It's too much of a shock for some. A long held faith in establishment might prevent any ability to acknowledge such possibility...and yet, if they could go back to an era when they could still imagine and hope, how powerful the statement this November could be!

But, if votes are not properly tallied..it will be a stolen election. I wouldn't deign to suggest such a thing except that we all know it has happened before and the courage necessary to fight the theft was lacking. I do not blame Al Gore who chose to bow out and help keep a situation from devolving further but I think we understand more now about the lengths some will go...and we need to be prepared for them to go to those lengths again this year and we need to make it clear that WE won't tolerate it. WE - people, citizens, voters - are the only Army, the only real power in this country but we've forgotten that. Isn't it time we reminded EVERYONE?

At this point.. a vote for Obama is a vote for us. For you and me and everyone who is willing to be part of the work and sweat and effort to realize the change we are seeking.

We have to help the people around us see that there are options other than the 'establishment' and status quo. That if they don't trust 'career politicians' they need to quit electing them and suddenly make experience the overriding issue. It means virtually nothing.

What is 'experience' worth in the hands of the person that will abandon their principles in the face of expediency (the gays know of what I speak, Bill Clinton immediately forgot about his promise to the issue of gays in the military. He didn't fight for it.. expediency). Hillary, did she really believe in the Iraq war being a reasonable war? I doubt it..but she wasn't up to the pressure she would get for voting against it at the time. How can we have a president that would be so willing to watch Americans be killed because they don't have the courage to stand up on their principle. Oh wait, I forgot...that is what we have now.

Will the label of Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal really matter if we trade one President who is casual about the impact of their decisions because their only real concern regarding their decisions is about monetary enrichment of their family and friends for one who has a concern for creating a historic legacy but without needing to take the high road unless it is expedient. Neither position seems to concern itself with values like humanity, integrity or compassion or even truth. I fail to see a real difference and within a year or so everyone would be disgusted again, entering the cycle of ... 'all politicians are worthless I wish we could get rid of the lot of them' and the irony is that the chance exists..NOW.

The Case for Bill Richardson as Vice President

Scott A. Giordano — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:07:52 EST

He has foreign policy, diplomacy and governing experience; and he can help deliver the West and the Hispanic community ...

Privatization of New Mexico Voting Rolls May Have Played Major Role in Super Tuesday's Democratic Caucus Mess

Matthew G — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:03:42 EST

NPR had reported on Thursday that the state's Democratic party, which ran the election, as opposed to the state themselves, had decided to do a full recount of all ballots. Tonight though, John Gideon informs us the report was incorrect, and only "all qualified provisional ballots" are set to be counted by officials.

We had updated our previous story several times while covering the mess, before finally noting:

The most notable take-away from this story may end up not being the poorly run caucus process of the Democratic Party (as opposed to the state, who would run the general election in November), or even the "sleepover" ballot boxes. The most notable issue here may be the questions about what the hell happened to the registration rolls in New Mexico, as now maintained by the thugs and failures at voting machine company ES&S, since the last election.

Remember, NM is where former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired because he refused to prosecute the bogus "voter fraud" charges made by the Republican Party there.

Tonight, Steve Rosenfeld at Alternet jumps in with a New Mexico update, in which he tries to make sense of it all. He ends up confirming our fears in his opening graf...

Full Story

do super delegates suck?

jonathan | cvg — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:16:35 EST

i read a post complaining about the democratic nomination process. i say, at least democrats do not allow winner-take-all states. i would hate to lose all the delegates from a big state like georgia because i lost by 2 or 3% of the vote.

i would not worry. the country would never accept back room deals to nominate the president. then again, i never thought we'd let the supreme court decide the general election... thanks florida. to any end, the party can't afford to wait until august to debate the nominee.

one thing to remain aware of is that the associated press and other news sources are reporting the "expected" delegate count following the super tuesday showdown. however, super delegates do not officially submit a vote until the convention. what the AP and others are showing are pledges which puts hillary ahead. according to bloomberg, obama has the official lead, albiet statistically insignificant until you know... tomorrow when we rake in a few more. msnbc is another good source for accurate reporting.

super delegates are designed to give the perception of a landslide victory for the nominee selected by the country, usually after super tuesday.

i am of the mind that ohio and texas will be key states and on 3.5.08 clinton will suspend her campaign... assuming that barack performs as aspected in the the february primaries and the two key states aren't split like missouri and new mexico.

if clinton doesn't do it on her own, the public should call for it and write to howard dean to act on behalf of the party. if hillary really loved america, she would appreciate the movement underway and be inspired to step aside on sunday after polls close. she should throw support behind the more qualified leader... the only person in decades to excite americans to unite and be excited about changing washington.

if i'm wrong and obama loses his foothold, i reserve the right to recant. either way, howard dean is on record that he will not allow super delegates to debate this decision.

the press likes to present these suppositions to gain ratings. i mean, it is entirely possible, but even the press knows they are using the super delegate stories to gain ratings and keep tuned in after the commercial. sensationalism sells. but let them have their fun. the news is generally pretty boring and it beats hearing about britney spears.

~ j

Clinton Holds Narrow Lead Before Provisional Count

J. C. Lasselle — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:29:10 EST

Clinton Holds Narrow Lead Before Provisional Count

Last Voting Site Tallied; Provisional Count Process Begins

POSTED: 2:32 am MST February 6, 2008

UPDATED: 9:12 am MST February 8, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- State Democratic Party officials released tallies from the last remaining polling site and began working with the 17,077 provisional ballots on Thursday, after a higher-than-expected turnout proved problematic for caucus voters and left New Mexico as the lone undecided state from Super Tuesday for Democrats. State Democratic Party officials are trying to decide how many of 17,077 provisional ballots should actually count.The deadline for New Mexico to certify its vote is next Friday. The party chairman says it may take that long to finish counting and make sure everything is accurate and fair.

Last Qualified Ballots TalliedVotes from three polling sites in Rio Arriba County -- at Espanola Middle School, Hernandez Elementary School and Chimayo Elementary School -- were finally released Wednesday evening. Democratic Party officials said they could not reach the Rio Arriba County chair for the returns Tuesday but did retrieve the ballots Wednesday.Votes from the Sandoval County site of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in the town of Bernalillo were released Thursday morning, completing the count for all qualified ballots. Officials said they were having difficulty deciphering votes from that location. A contributing factor was determining to which congressional district the votes were to be attributed, since votes collected at that site come from two different congressional districts. The count widened Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's lead to 1,123 votes.The current statewide total shows 68,654 votes for Clinton and 67,531 votes for Sen. Barack Obama.Obama and Clinton are in a tight race as they vie for 26 of New Mexico's 38 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Twelve so-called super delegates are not bound by caucus results. Prepping For ProvisionalsStill outstanding are 17,077 provisional ballots throughout the state.Officials were scheduled to begin counting ballots Wednesday, but campaign officials asked that their representatives attend the count. Representatives from both the Clinton and Obama camps met at the accounting firm Wednesday to go over procedures for counting the provisional ballots. With a race so close, the provisional ballots could swing the results -- and both campaigns know it. "It might take a little bit longer, but it's important that it's an accurate vote, and I think once that happens, we'll be happy with the result," said Obama representative Carlos Monje.The Clinton camp is equally optimistic. "Every time we get new numbers, our lead continues to increase, and we expect that to continue," said Mara Lee of the Clinton campaign.Officials performed a second count on regular ballots and began scanning and verifying the provisional ballots Thursday, necessary steps before the provisional ballots can be tallied.Caucus Judge Shannon Bacon said the regular and provisional ballots are removed from their secure boxes and segregated, then sorted and scanned by volunteers. The regular qualified votes are counted by computer to make sure the original totals are accurate."The ballots that were cast on Tuesday -- regular ballots -- are being scanned through software so that we can verify the vote totals that were called in by the caucus site judges to the Democratic Party on Tuesday night are accurate," Bacon said.While the numbers could change after this process because of human error in the initial first count, Bacon said, there aren't usually too many. Caucus Problems Cause Provisional Ballot IncreaseThe provisional ballots are ballots that were cast at caucus sites Tuesday but need to be qualified before they are counted. Provisional ballots can occur when people vote somewhere that is not their official caucus site. Because of the long lines in some polling sites Tuesday, some voters went to alternative sites and cast provisional ballots.Tuesday's Democratic caucus also combined precincts statewide into fewer polling places.That left many voters unsure of where to go, and they simply went to the closest place to cast their vote.Provisional ballots can also happen when a voter's name is not on the official voter registry for their particular caucus site, or when voters who requested an absentee ballot say they did not receive it.One reason some spots ran out of ballots is that some of the people who voted there were assigned to other sites."They were asked not to leave because we wanted everybody to participate, be as inclusive as possible in this election, and so they voted on a provisional ballot," said Colon. Political Leaders ReactFormer Attorney General Patricia Madrid was against having the state Democratic Party handle the caucus.But that's what happened on Tuesday, and now two days later the state still hasn't declared a winner."Having that situation continue is an embarrassment for our state," said Madrid."Obviously we had terrible problems. We didn't have appropriate rules. It was run mostly by volunteers and I compliment those volunteers, but we needed to have properly trained staff."When a winner is finally announced, Madrid is afraid the people of New Mexico will be uncertain that their votes counted. "A vote is a very, very, important thing, and the public needs to have confidence that their vote is counted and it's done appropriately," Madrid said. Gov. Bill Richardson released a statement Wednesday (see full text in sidebar) saying he was "deeply disturbed by the reports that problems and delays at polling locations may have kept people from voting." He also expressed his "frustration to Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon and I told him that I stand ready to help the party in any way that I can." Colon said he takes full responsibility for the caucus problems."We absolutely miscalculated, and I apologize," said Colon. The Democratic Party said it ordered 150,000 ballots for the caucus, but several thousand more people showed up to vote."What happened after that was all of a sudden, a firestorm broke and New Mexico became front and center in this election," said Colon.Colon gives himself a sharp assessment."Am I disappointed at my performance in terms of executing this caucus? No question," he said."Would I have wanted to have more voting locations? Absolutely. Am I going to make some changes? You bet. Have I accepted full responsibility? Absolutely."Less clear are specific solutions for the future. Richardson in his statement said that "New Mexico voters -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- must decide whether they want to preserve their early voice in the process in the future, and what form it should take."Some Democrats said Wednesday they felt the whole caucus problem served to underscore how shady politics can get in New Mexico.As one Obama supporter said, "I don't mind losing, as long as we lose by a real number and not a made-up one."An announcement on a winner for New Mexico could still be days away -- officials have a deadline right now of Feb. 15 to complete the task.

Clinton, Obama Await N.M. Caucus Tally

J. C. Lasselle — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:20:38 EST

Clinton, Obama Await N.M. Caucus Tally

By HEATHER CLARK – 12 hours ago

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — More than 17,000 provisional ballots are the only thing that stand between either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama from claiming victory in the state's Super Tuesday caucus.

With all votes counted Thursday except the provisionals, Clinton held a lead of 1,123 votes — 68,654 votes compared with 67,531 for Obama, according to preliminary results.

Democrats could begin verifying the thousands of provisional ballots as early as Friday. Such ballots were given to voters who showed up at the wrong voting site, whose names were not on registered voter lists, or those who requested an absentee ballot but signed an affidavit saying they did not return it.

"Over the next couple of days, we'll have a good sense of when we'll finish this process," state Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon said Thursday.

It took days for winners to be declared in New Mexico elections in 2004 and 2006 that came down, in part, to a tally of provisional ballots.

Colon has come under a firestorm of criticism — including from Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who said he was "deeply disturbed" by problems and long lines at polling places — for how the caucus was managed.

"The governor's disappointed and I am, too," Colon said Thursday. "I can assure you that I'm even more disappointed than the governor."

Higher-than-expected turnout caught party officials off guard. Nearly 158,000 people — almost 30 percent of registered Democrats — voted in the caucus. That includes those who cast provisional ballots.

State Democratic Party officials and representatives from the Clinton and Obama campaigns reached agreement Thursday about how the process of verifying and counting the provisional ballots will be accomplished.

Each campaign was allowed six observers, Colon said.

"Often the vote-counting process begins without agreement and is slowed by disagreement over the treatment of individual ballots, but by agreeing to common, inclusive standards the two campaigns and the party are taking the unprecedented step of preventing disagreement before it starts," Colon said.

New Mexico is the last of 22 states that held Democratic primaries and caucuses Tuesday to report a winner. Clinton and Obama are vying for 26 of New Mexico's 38 delegates. Twelve so-called super delegates are not bound by caucus results.

On Wisconsin!

Don Hussein Obama — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:28:53 EST

I may live in Wisconsin, but thanks my temporary stay in New Mexico, I got to vote on Super Tuesday!

In a great piece of serendipity, my presidential preference absentee ballot arrived in my PO Box here yesterday. One of the postal clerks witnessed my ballot, and it's on the way back to Wisconsin right now.

It was great watching the returns roll in last night, and talking to friends back home.

I've done my part from afar. I'll be phone banking into Wisconsin as soon as the numbers are up on the site. Now get Fired Up, Badgers! Make it happen!

Don (in NM)

A report from New Mexico

Fire lookout for Obama — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:23:36 EST

It was a thrill for me to sit at a polling place in southern New Mexico on Tuesday night and watch the voting take place in the Democratic caucus.

Nearly a thousand people voted in the precinct I observed. Extra provisional ballots had to be xeroxed once, and then once more, as turnout drowned expectations. The state party, which conducted its election on the cheap, told us to expect a statewide turnout of less than 30% of what we witnessed in 2004. They shortened voting hours. They opened only a tiny fraction of the normal polling places. Yet when the night was over, turnout far exceeded that of 2004. Counting provisional ballots, more than 155,000 New Mexicans cast a vote this year -- 50,000 more than four years ago.

At my polling place I saw faces I recognized and folks I'd never met in my life, all of them making their voices heard at the ballot box, arriving in overwhelming numbers. The poll workers I sat with were courteous, professional, unruffled -- a worthy bunch, more than up to the daunting task presented them. As I write this, there is a couple-hundred-vote difference between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton statewide, with 17,000 provisional ballots still sealed. So if there's one thing the result in our state will show us when all the numbers are finally tallied, it's that every single vote matters. Every single voice counts. The race in New Mexico will be decided by hundreds, not thousands, of votes -- maybe even as few as a couple of dozen. We won't know for more than a week.

My sense after Super Tuesday is that the race for the Democratic nomination now boils down to a name versus a movement. In almost every state where Barack Obama has appeared and campaigned thus far, he has either won or been competitive. He has offered a fresh message, inspired new voters, and ignited a movement that will be reckoned with in the weeks, months, and years to come. His main opponent has largely reduced her message to a dynastic name and an appeal to 90s nostalgia. I don't believe that will be enough.

It's certainly not for me.

Obama often mentions the cynics who claim that what we seek is impossible. I've heard them too, right here in the community where I live. I've been told malicious falsehoods about the man, like the one about his plan to be sworn in on the Koran. I've been told that he is a man of great style and no substance, as if his community organizing on the south side of Chicago were simply a ploy to create a nice bullet-point on his resume. I've been told that people my age, the generation called X, will never organize and work and wear down the shoe leather knocking on doors and talking to people about the issues that matter in their lives. And I have responded with the bracing tonic of truth: that we finally have a candidate for president who says what he means, who isn't a money-stuffed mannequin parading for the cameras; that people of my generation and others, people black and white and yellow and brown and every other color under the sun, can rally and organize around a program not of greed and fear and eternal war, but of generosity and hope and peace.

Just a few short weeks ago, New Mexico was considered Bill Richardson country, and then, when he dropped out, Hillary Clinton country. We were told our project of organizing around a young upstart was silly, whimsical, a losing battle, a lark and a long-shot.

And maybe it was.

Until we did the work.

In the coming weeks, I expect the numbers of Americans joining Barack's call to service will swell like a great tide. If my hunch is right, the days of Bush-Clinton hegemony are coming swiftly to an end. And I, for one, rejoice at the prospect. In every presidential election in which I've ever voted, a Clinton or a Bush (or even both) have festooned the top of their respective tickets. Sixteen years -- and I still don't have health insurance; I still have tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt that I'll be decades in paying off; I still see, when I drive across the country, towns where people have nothing but a windswept trailer and a beat-up car to their names -- both of them bought on credit and short on functional time.

I'm ready for change. Maybe you are too. I hope -- for the sake of my country, my future, and the health and safety of my family and friends serving in Iraq -- that our time has truly come.

New Mexico prelim-results

Brent — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:32:05 EST

Although it was a long day for voters, with record numbers turning out to cast their vote it is looking like Barack Obama will take 48% of New Mexico. At current we have 98% reporting in, with the former first Lady claiming 49% of the vote to Obama's 48%.