The 12th Congressional District, now Represented by Dean of the House John Dingell and soon to be represented by the incredible Debbie Dingell have a long history of staging a massive get out the vote (GOTV) operation on Election Day. They run vans all across the District to make sure no Democratic voter stays home. This year is no exception. […]

So much awesomeness in one short video from RockTheVote.org: Why are YOU turning out to vote on November 4th?

This Saturday, October 4th, a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally will take place in Benton Harbor. The rally will feature speakers (to be announced) and will take place in Broadway Park from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. The rally features free refreshments and the opportunity to register to vote for those who are not already registered. Here is the […]

1980 was the first year I was able to vote in a presidential election and, with chest puffed out, off I went to the polls to vote for Jimmy Carter on November 4, 1980. It began a long, sad slide for me personally as the country was electing Republicans at a record pace, and I seemingly was voting for people […]

Sandra Fluke was thrust onto the national stage when she was visciously attacked on the radio airwaves by odious bloviator Rush Limbaugh. Now a state senate candidate in California, Fluke is a rising star in the Democratic Party. But, like so many of us, she knows we have a big problem in this country: too few young people are voting […]

As part of the passage of a new law that did an end-run around citizen efforts to raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $10.10/hour over time, today Michigan’s minimum wage rises to $8.15/hour for non-tipped workers. The minimum wage for tipped workers will be 38% of that starting today, as well. Still, a new report by the United Way shows that […]

The recent kerfuffle in the Michigan House of Representatives with three state Republican legislators posing with women’s fashion mags to show they “understand women” is generating the requisite amount of outcry and outrage from around the state. Having them openly mocking women in an election year is a display of such chutzpah that even Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger was […]

Hold the right people responsible and GET OUT THE VOTE! After my post yesterday, there has been a LOT of push back here at Eclectablog and on Facebook from people accusing Michigan Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer and Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, of “selling out” minimum wage workers. This is absolutely unfair and entirely untrue. Was this legislation […]

Oh, the Koch brothers are spending millions to propagate lies? REALLY?! What ARE the odds???!!! A couple of weeks ago, the Koch brothers, through their astroturfing corporatist front group Americans for Prosperity, attempted to roll out their latest attack ad on Gary Peters in the state Capitol Building. They literally planned to use the resources of the Michigan state government […]

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.

Wait. You’re still waiting? Maybe you’ve been putting off getting involved in the 2012 election and the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) effort until “later”. “I’ll wait until after Labor Day.” “I’ll wait until it’s a little closer to Election Day.” “I’ll wait until later.” Well, the time for waiting is over. This is it, folks. There is no “later”. […]