Organize for Change: Tim in Kansas

Bradley Portnoy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:25:44 EDT

Tim wasn't involved in politics at all before Barack Obama came along, and if anything, he leaned Republican. "I have never been involved in politics in any way, shape, or form" before this campaign, he said.

Living in Kansas and South Dakota, Tim always imagined that was a Republican. "I was surprised to find myself supporting a Democrat. I'd always figured myself to be a Republican just because my family was." When a friend told him about Barack's message of change, though, Tim knew that he had to get involved.

I went to the first group parties that he had in June and was blessed in that I met some fantastic human beings who were really excited about getting to work. We've done voter registration booths, canvassing, and phonebanking. Hosting a watch party seemed like the next step.

Tim has gone all out in the planning of the event - it's going to be held in a local pizzeria, will feature several politicians running for local office, and is expecting over 100 people. How did Tim plan such a successful event? By using the tools made available to him on My.BarackObama.com, and by promoting his event via e-mail, Facebook, and other social networks.

He's also focused on making sure that all the people who attend his watch party get involved. He'll be collecting all their e-mail addresses, and encouraging them to join him on trips to other states to register voters and canvass. Tim has formed a group, Wichitans Working to Win (W3), in order to make sure that everyone stays connected.

W3 is a way for us to keep track of each other and e-mail each other and encourage other people to come and do the same. We've been meeting for quite some time without as much organization, but we're doing this in an attempt to attract more folks.

Tim doesn't expect there to be any shortage of people eager to help elect Barack - Wichita has been hit hard by outsourcing and the awarding of the military's new tanker aircraft contract to a European firm.

We are so bound by the aircraft industry...Boeing, Learjet, and Raytheon are all here. And when Boeing lost the contract for the new tankers, that was a huge loss for Wichita. That would have been a lot of jobs; now it's money out of people's pockets.

That's why Tim and his friends in W3 are organizing to bring about change. The convention proceedings are already underway, but it's not too late to find a party near you. You can also sign up to participate in one of the thousands of Working for Change events this weekend. So don't let this weekend pass you by without lending a hand to the campaign - find a way to participate now.

Organize for Change: Leanne in Birmingham, Alabama

Bradley Portnoy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:02:45 EDT

An enduring story in our campaign is the ability of Barack's supporters to organize themselves even in the absence of formal support from the campaign. Such is the power of Barack's message: our supporters, even in states where most observers would deny the lack of a Democratic presence, have created networks that will long outlast this election.

Leanne owns a small business with her father in Hoover, Alabama. They've been hit hard by the rising cost of health care.

My dad pays for insurance for everybody in the company, and eight years ago it was something like $250 per family. Now it's $820 per family. And becuase of that, we're not able to pay for insurance for all our employees anymore.

She and her parents have been Republicans their entire life - her father for all of his 62 years, until now. Healthcare and the other issues facing our country have changed that. This year, they're working to help elect Senator Obama. So far, Leanne and her parents have hosting what they estimate to be between 20 and 25 events.

We had our first house party in March of last year. We had like 12 people come, and a lot of those people are still working on the campaign. We don't have any staff here -- it's all up to us to do it. We have a really close-knit group now.

Although they haven't been doing as much organizing during the doldrum months of summer, they're looking forward to Thursday night as a chance to re-energize their network of fellow supporters.

We used to get together and have watch parties for all of the primaries. We haven't gotten to do that in a long time, so we thought this was a great chance to reconvene everyone and talk about voter registration drives and what we're going to be doing next. Everyone is scared at first to go out and register voters, but we've found that if you walk people through how to do it, they can be really enthusiastic and have a great time.

Even though she has an established group of fellow supporters that she works with, Leanne is looking forward to meeting new people she doesn't know who signed up for the watch party on My.BarackObama.com andhelping them to get more involved. Almost half of the supporters at her watch party on Thursday will be new faces. She's also looking forward to the week-long registration drive they'll be promoting at the party.

Barack's speech on Thursday night is going to go down in history. Join a group of fellow supporters to watch the speech, and get involved in the campaign effort. Thursday night is all about organizing our communities to bring about the change that we need. It's easy - just type in your zip code, and sign up to attend a nearby event.

Posts with the tag hq-organize-for-change

Organize for Change: Tim in Kansas

Organize for Change: Leanne in Birmingham, Alabama