Please, Congressman, join the rest of us in the reality-based world I’m going to break my rule about promoting OFA events today because this one is aimed directly at Congressman Tim Walberg, my “representative” and someone I want to see go down in flames in November 2014 when Pam Byrnes cleans his clock in the 7th District. Organizing for America […]

How bad do we want this, folks? Despite support for creating a public health insurance exchange in Michigan under the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) from Democrats, some Republicans and even Governor Rick Snyder, it’s looking more and more like it won’t happen in Michigan. Why? Because tea party groups across the state are out-hustling and out-organizing progressive groups that could […]

What we REALLY need is an “OFM” — Organizing for Michigan A LITTLE HISTORY My involvement with Obama for America/Organizing for America/OFA goes back to the spring of 2008. From the very first meeting with local Obama fellows leading up to the house meeting we held in our living room later that month, I was fully “in”. I assumed a […]

The time for ACTION is NOW!

Last week, I wrote about the new website TheAction.org, a new organizing tool to help pass President Obama’s second term agenda. This weekend marks the first Day of Action using this organizing tool. The activities are designed to ensure that Congress passes a repeal of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest 2% of Americans while preserving the middle class tax cuts that actually help stimulate our economy by keeping money in the hands of those who will immediately put it back into the economy.

Details on how you can get involved after the jump.

Respect, empower, and include. Repeat.

With another successful Obama election behind us, those who were involved with Obama for America (OFA) at the grassroots level are likely wondering, “What’s next?” After his first election, it wasn’t until the summer of 2009 that OFA 2.0, aka “Organizing for America” came into being. I was privileged to be chosen to attend a 300-person debriefing conference about a month after election, dubbed “The Legacy Confernce” where those of us who were deeply involved in the campaign got together to discuss OFA’s future.

The same type of thing is happening now and YOU can be part of it. Details after the jump.

We’re not getting Obama on the ballot until Malia is ready 2012 was extraordinarily important election because it decided whether ObamaCare would be maimed before it could even go into effect. However, whether the law gets funded and properly will be a constant question because of an election too many Americans just skipped—2010. Republicans got about 500,000 fewer votes for […]

Every little bit helps

In our Obama campaign office in downtown Ann Arbor, we have the fairly typical crew of folks. There’s me, the Canvass Captain, and my Deputy Canvass Captain Jennifer who does as much or more than I do.

We have Kate who somehow manages to keep all of our canvass packets and canvassers organized so that she can report the numbers and so we can make sure everyone gets back safely.

There’s Randy, our Phonebank Captain, who is assisted by Kathy and keeps our steady flow of phonebankers trained and busy, and who manages to stay sane and calm when the predictive dialers are fussy. Thankfully, he’s also an expert in laser printer surgery.

We have Jeanette who is our gatekeeper at the front desk, making sure nobody gets by without being welcomed and then asked if they are volunteering for canvassing or phonebanking.

There’s Etta, our intrepid Comfort Captain, who keeps the coffee fresh and all of our volunteer staff fed along with our volunteers.

And then, of course, we have Alaina, our Staging Location Director. Alaina is doing the work of a staff person and gets paid only in smiles, headaches and the deep satisfaction that she has made a huge contribution to something she believes in strongly. She keeps us all focused and calm and determined and she does it with a big smile. All the time.

This is the normal contingent of volunteers that you’ll see at pretty much any Obama Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Staging Location across the country today. But our office has one more person that not every location is blessed to have.

We have Bette.

Feed and supply the troops!

In my piece yesterday “Get Out the Vote (GOTV) – Ann Arbor-style“, I mentioned how a couple stopped by our Obama campaign office with a box of Bunny Grahams and thanked us for what we were doing. It was a small gesture but it really perked us up and put smiles on everyone’s faces.

My wife has had some trouble with her back that has kept her from knocking doors. But, she wanted to do something so she packaged up a bunch of her Obama photomosaic posters and sent them to Obama offices all around Ohio to sell to raise funds for their office or to give to volunteers that are going above and beyond the call of duty.

It’s completely in line with the title of the poster “Forward Together” and for Anne’s motivation for creating the image in the first place.

What she didn’t expect was to get an email like the one she got. Read it after the jump.

That’s the way it’s done, kids

In downtown Ann Arbor, tucked into Braun Court in Kerrytown, sits one of two offices for the Obama campaign. We’re right across from the Farmer’s Market and surrounded by some of the coolest stores and eateries in the city so we get a lot of foot traffic going by while we do our work to get out the vote (GOTV) for President Obama, Democrats in general and the variety of ballot proposals that Michiganders have to vote on this year.

The Kerrytown office is one of several GOTV staging locations in Washtenaw County and we are surpassing our goals on all fronts. See what that looks like after the jump.

Fired up! Ready to go!

We’ve spent a LOT of time talking about this election but now it’s time to take our conversation to the streets and Get Out The Vote (GOTV)!

A recent Gallup poll showed that President Obama is UP over Mitt Romney among registered voters. But, here’s the thing: he’s DOWN by several points among likely voters. That’s where YOU come in. The fact is, if we get our Democratic-supporting voters to the polls, we win. Period. And we don’t just re-elect President Obama. We ensure our Democratic candidates up and down the ticket a victory, too.

The best bang for your buck in terms of GOTV is the Obama for America (OFA) campaign. Details on WHY you should get involved and HOW to get involved after the jump.

“Forward Together” — a new photomosaic of Barack Obama

Four years ago, I was busy devoting most of my free time knocking on doors and talking to people about the presidential election. At first I was very uncomfortable disturbing folks at their homes to talk about a subject that most would prefer to avoid: politics. Admittedly, it took me a little while to become comfortable with the front porch conversations, but, as soon as I did, there was no stopping me. I loved it. All of it.

In ’08, I also spent some time traveling around Michigan photographing Obama rallies. While Obama spoke to the crowds, I photographed them. I viewed, intimately through my lens, the large diverse crowds while he spoke the words “Yes we can” and shared a message of unity and how together we can bring about change.

Click through to learn more about the photomosaic of Barack Obama.