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Campaign for Change

post #1 of 24
9/4/08 at 3:41am
Thread Starter 
In the GOP Convention thread, I noticed a few people were planning on traveling to a battleground state to support the Obama campaign. How many of you guys are doing this? California isn't exactly in play, so I went and got an internship at the campaign office in Las Vegas.

Also, I noticed a few of you guys are professionals with established careers. If it interests anyone in that position who is either unwilling or unable to volunteer at a campaign office, you can sponsor idealistic kids like me by donating your frequent flyer miles to the Obama campaign here. You can also volunteer to travel to a state and get sponsored for the travel at the same site.
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post #2 of 24
9/4/08 at 12:58pm
A little thing called paying rent prevents me from doing this but it's a great idea. Although I tried to volunteer for the No on 8 campaign and those bastards haven't called me.
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post #3 of 24
9/4/08 at 1:01pm
I considered volunteering this time around if I could find some time (weekends?). Probably not an option for me.

I'm subscribed to both campaigns so was thinking of volunteering for both just to compare operations ...
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post #4 of 24
9/4/08 at 1:06pm
I would never waste my time to support a bunch of thieving politicians.
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post #5 of 24
9/4/08 at 1:59pm
Cuchulain, I will either join you in LV or sponsor somebody. Thanks for the info. If this election is close, election monitoring is going to be vitally important.
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post #6 of 24
9/4/08 at 2:04pm
I volunteered for Obama during the primaries and am working with Syracuse for Obama now that I've moved out of the city. I don't know if I'll be able to make it to any swing states though.
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post #7 of 24
9/4/08 at 3:16pm
I've had no less than 3 Obama volunteers knock on my door in the past 6 weeks, so I'm pretty confident my immediate area is fairly well covered (Battleground: Virginia!). Good luck to those of you with the time/ability to travel for this; I'm pretty much sidelined to the donation button.
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post #8 of 24
9/4/08 at 4:24pm
If I had the money I would travel over there to support Obama. But I would need a room sponsor :-)
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post #9 of 24
9/4/08 at 4:42pm
Just found out the SoCal Obama office is opening today about a block from my apartment. Probably stop in after work and see what kind of help they need.
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post #10 of 24
9/4/08 at 4:45pm
Wait a second. Is that the West L.A. Office over on Motor?
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post #11 of 24
9/6/08 at 1:25am
I just found a great map showing where they're looking for volunteers. It's here.

I probably will go to Nevada too!
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post #12 of 24
9/6/08 at 1:34am
Voter registration email I got for the Tampa area ...

Quote:
Hi everyone!

You are invited to a meeting at Obama Campaign Headquarters (E. Hillsborough/Lakeland) this Saturday (September 6) at 2:00pm. We will brainstorm about voter registration activities and other outreach activities and will be trained in how to register voters, enter data, phone bank and walk canvass. Afterwards, for those of you who have time, we'll head out to register voters and canvass for a couple of hours. The Headquarters address is 5385 Gateway Blvd, #14 in the Ruthven business plaza (If you travel east on 92, turn right on County Line Road. It will be about a mile down County Line Road on your left, past the Publix distribution center. From I-4, take the County Line Road Exit- head south on County Line Road. It is about 2 miles down on your left.)

Our effort to register voters is especially important now beause the deadline to register is fast approaching! We need everyone to be able to vote for CHANGE!!


Please RSVP in MYBO at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpgxhh
I hope to see you Saturday!

Maria Beckman

Can you register voters and not tell them who to vote for? I'd be willing to volunteer, but what is expected of you, just registration or evangelism?
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post #13 of 24
9/6/08 at 1:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
Voter registration email I got for the Tampa area ...
Can you register voters and not tell them who to vote for? I'd be willing to volunteer, but what is expected of you, just registration or evangelism?
There are lots of different groups that are involved in voter registration. Partisan registration drives typically identify themselves as either Dems or GOP and it's clear that they want you to support the home team. Of course, once you register, you can do whatever you want. There are also several organizations that simply encourage people to register. Back in the day when I was in the Marines, we would work with our guys to get them registered, but I never talked politics with them--don't know what it's like now. I've seen tables set up at local grocery stores, etc., run by community organizations that don't seem to be connected with any parties--they just pass out forms.

I've always enjoyed rumors that Republicans often pose as Democrats and then throw away the completed forms that they identify as being from likely Dems. Nothing like a little paranoia during the election season.
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post #14 of 24
9/6/08 at 1:48am
That's what I'm afraid of, I would be very honest that I'd love to do a bit of volunteering for voter registration, but in the end I'm not a Democrat and I don't want then to think I'm trying to sabotage anything.

Maybe I should go and find out more about it, or just change my mind ... I'm just curious if anybody's done this for a campaign before.
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post #15 of 24
9/6/08 at 1:53am
Yeah, no one who has ever registered me to vote has ever made those kinds of overtures.

Then again...

"Now many of our Christians have what I call the goo-goo syndrome. Good government. They want everybody to vote. I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." -- Paul Weyrich, conservative activist
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post #16 of 24
9/6/08 at 1:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nid Hog View Post
I've always enjoyed rumors that Republicans often pose as Democrats and then throw away the completed forms that they identify as being from likely Dems. Nothing like a little paranoia during the election season.
Ha ha ha. And FUCKERS!


Quote:
Originally Posted by yt View Post
I just found a great map showing where they're looking for volunteers. It's here.

I probably will go to Nevada too!

In local news, I'll be heading out to Monroe County just across the Delaware to see what I can do to help. They're marshalling the folks in NJ and NY to come to their aid in the Keystone State.
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post #17 of 24
9/6/08 at 2:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nid Hog View Post
I've seen tables set up at local grocery stores, etc., run by community organizations
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

...Oh, wait -- I thought "community organizer" was a laugh line. No? What was I watching last week again?
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post #18 of 24
9/6/08 at 2:02am
Here's an on-line resource that I found about non-partisan voter registration programs:

http://www.npaction.org/article/articleview/772

I just turned it up through a google search, so I can't vouch for it--still, it looks like it has a lot of interesting links.

Just off the top of my head, one thing that strikes me is that registration drives can be partisan, even if you aren't overtly aligned with a party. For example, if you go to an ethnic neighborhood and register voters that are part of a demographic typically associated with the Democrats, is that non-partisan? What about if you go door-to-door in an upscale suburban development? A college town? Alaskan hunting camps? The result is that you have added to the body of voters who are likely to support one party or the other. Something to think about.
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post #19 of 24
9/6/08 at 2:10am
Good point, but I don't mind that, I just don't want to proselytize or lie about my positions while registering voters.
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post #20 of 24
9/6/08 at 3:24pm
I can't take off because of work, but I'm going to be running my own little "get out the vote" campaign at work. A number of my fellow employees aren't registered in New York State, so I'll be helping with absentee ballots and the like.
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post #21 of 24
9/22/08 at 1:35pm
OK, I just signed up to travel to Nevada to be a poll worker or volunteer. This is where you go if you are willing to take of school or work...

Quote:
Dear Friend,

The Obama campaign is launching an unprecedented Voter Protection Program that will fight to promote and defend the voting rights of every American.

They're looking for attorneys, law students, and those with legal expertise to help with this crucial effort.

I just signed up to be a part of the Voter Protection Program. Will you join me?

http://my.barackobama.com/counselforchange

Thanks
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post #22 of 24
9/22/08 at 2:21pm
Why is Obama after your pockets?
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post #23 of 24
9/22/08 at 2:43pm
I was able to do a lot more when I lived in Maryland, because PA and Virginia were so close. Unfortunately, I just can't give that kind of time to the campaign right now, living in San Diego County, I would have to drive well over 5 or 6 hours to get to Nevada. I'm the main caregiver for my kids, since my husband is so busy with military duties, and we don't have family close by who can pick up the slack.

We're just donating as much as we can right now--maybe I can try to do some volunteering on local issues, like Prop 8.
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post #24 of 24
10/9/08 at 4:21pm
Thread Starter 
So, how is the campaign going for the chewers volunteering or otherwise serving? I'm now a Deputy Field Organizer for Assembly District 37 in Las Vegas and it's going pretty well. Nevada for Change managed to register 48,000 new voters and the Californian interns--such as yours truly--are getting pretty enthusiastic support from the community.
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