As we approach the end of the year I want to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New year.
The inauguration of Barack Obama will be one of the most important events ever in the United States. Many of you will be traveling to Washington DC to witness this momentous event. Please be safe, enjoy the moment, and come back to share your experiences with those of us who cannot attend the event.
Most sincerely,
Mike Fazzi
It's been a couple of days and I must tell you that the excitement has not abated. The fact that the Nation has selected an intelligent, articulate, caring individual is still causing a buzz everywhere I go. I had to head off to Times Square on business early Wednesday morning with very little sleep and the train to NYC was packed with excitement. Yesterday, traveling back home we were analyzing the impact that Obama will have on the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, jobs, health care, on and on and on.
One important hope is that the campaign keeps this web forum active in the form of energizing supporters.
Here's the idea:
Image President Obama submitting a health care plan that the Republicans block (I know, you wouldn't dream that they would do such a thing.) Now, image Obama asking you, me, and everyone on this forum to call the key 13, 14, 15 Senators who are blocking the bill. 30 million supporters flooding their phones, email, snail mail. Do you think they'll continue to block a bill when their names, addresses, and phone numbers are text messaged to each and every one of you? I can't image any but the most bull headed Senator not buckling under the pressure.
Yes, we can change our health care system.
Yes, we can create good paying jobs.
Yes, we can improve our transportion.
Yes, we can develop independent, renewable energy technologies.
Yes, We Can!
November 4th: Up at 4:30AM in the Gloucester C.H. campaign office just after 6:00AM. As per usual, JP and Kim and steady at the Helm in the C.H. Office. The weather is cool with a soaking rain falling, forecast to continue most of the day. Driving by the Gloucester High School, I saw large crowds at the poll with similar scenes at the two C.H. polls as well... this is good! The day was a blur; to summarize, I put 150 miles on my vehicle on Election Day, driving from the Piankatank to the York, and the Ware to King and Queen County, visiting 90 doors and placing door hangers as reminders early on and knocking on doors by the end of the day to encourage late voters. The day on the Gloucester campaign circuit ended as it started, in the dark and rain and back at the Gloucester C.H. office with JP and Kim. This day was not about finding or educating voters, it was about making all the hard work we have done over these past months pay off by getting our voters to the polls.
I went back to my house at 7:00PM after the polls closed, picked up Willy (my Corgi dog) and we went off to the Gloucester Point Campaign HQ to watch the election results together with all the Gloucester volunteers. The scene at the HQ was a bit slow at first, with about 20 people sitting around watching the election results trickle in on MSNBC. Willy made friends with the other dog in the audience, Steve’s 3-legged mutt. Willy also socialized with the 2-legged people, easily moving amongst group as his short size allowed him was to walk under the chairs, stopping to sniff the food and drinks placed on the ground and get stroked by all the 20-something women who loved how fluffy Willy’s fur is. Willy is such a flirt.
The night was initially tense, with returns for Virginia showing McCain ahead. It was said that one of the paths to victory was for Obama to win both Virginia and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the call for Virginia would come after 11:00PM. Our spirits were buoyed when we learned that Obama had won both PA and Ohio. I was certain that with theses two states in the bank, Obama would almost certainly win the election. As the clock approached 11PM, MSNBC said they would have some big announcements to make at the top of the hour. With 99% of the vote counted in Virginia and Obama pulling ahead of McCain as the votes were counted from the cities, we hoped that the pundits would call VA for Obama. Instead, MSNBC called the election for President Elect Barack Obama and we all went wild.
For me, the moment of the announcement was not pure joy, but rather serine happiness in the knowing that, with all our hard work, the nation would finally be governed by a competent and intelligent leader. As a white man, I can only imagine that rapturous feelings my African-American friends must have with Obama’s victory. Barack Obama rise to the Presidency of the United States is the summation of effort on the behalf of thousands of heroes over hundreds of years. On the historic election day of 2008, America practiced what it preaches, demonstrating to the world our values and principles.
Long after the declaration Obama’s historic win, we learned that Virginia had went the way of the nation in voting for Obama. Virginia has not voted for a Democrat since 1964, 44 years ago. This was not an accident; rather the win is the result of the tireless efforts of thousands of volunteers. This effort was unfortunately not a result of changing the minds of card-carrying Republicans (who increasingly seem oblivious to reality), but by registering new voters in huge numbers and welcoming these new voters into the Democratic Party. Proof that these new voters made a difference is shown in the election results. In 2008, about 300,000 new voters were registered; the 2008 election results show almost all these new voters choose Obama as their next President thereby increasing the number of people voting for the Democratic candidate by 393,000 votes. Conversely, those voting for the Republican candidate in 2004 and 2008 remained nearly the same.
Virginia election results:
Dem Repub 2004 1,400,254 (45%) 1,667,198 (54%) 2008 1,793,671 (52%) 1,639,421 (47%)
Presidential Voting in Gloucester County, Virginia
Dem Repub 2004 5,105 (31%) 11,084 (68%) 2008 6,742 (36%) 11,737 (63%)
Registered voters in Gloucester County: 2004 21,900 2008 25,000 (74% of these voted in the 2008 election!)
While we did not get the majority of votes for Obama in Gloucester County, we did our part to deny McCain the opportunity to run up the score here. Like Virginia, our newly registered Gloucester County voters largely made a difference in narrowing the gap Republicans held over the county by 10%. However, our efforts are not fully captured in the voter statistics. By confronting the Republicans, encouraged healthy debate on the nation’s priorities, and challenged them to consider why they vote Republican. It is my hope that the spirited level of debate continues and we are (one day) able to work to form consensus rather than continuing the language of division.
This is my final post to the MyBO blog. Thank you for the wonderful experience of being part of this campaign and the friendship of BJ, JP, Emily, Diane, Kim, Joe, Maury, Brad, Keisha in Gloucester. God Bless you all, Barack Obama, and America.
Obama just retold the story of Edith Childs' "Greenwood chant" at the Manassas, VA, rally tonight. The video on CNN showed Obama leading the entire crowd of tens of thousands singing "Fired up!" "Ready to Go!" Very impressive. Here is the original Greenwood rally video.
Barack Obama has done everything humanly possible to get his campaign to a place where victory is possible. Its up to us now. Now is the time to complete our long labor of love. On Tuesday from early in the morning until 7PM, we must do everything possible to get voters to the polls. Let's get out there and change the world Virginia!
"Fired up!" "Ready to Go!"
Today was on par with the GOTV theme, contact as many of our voters as possible. JP said the Gloucester C.H. campaign office knocked on more doors on Monday than any other day, including this past Saturday and Sunday. I was able to hang about 80 door tags in the 8 hours I was on the road. I didn't get the chance to speak with many voters, but driving Salem Church and Lees Neck Farm Roads, I was able to appreciate Gloucester County more rural areas. The recent dry spell seems to have intensified the autumn leaf color change, resulting in a brilliant yellow, orange, and red pallet. Gloucester is a beautiful place from the Bay to its interior rivers and hills!
Upon returning from my last knock route (which was shorten by darkness), I was told of the passing of Barack's beloved grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Obama family in their grief.
Republican End-Game Sleaze Hits the Airwaves and the Blogosphere
While McCain said he would not attack Obama’s church, he is perfectly OK with so-called 529 “advocacy” groups getting the message of slime and sleaze out. The National Republican Trust Political Action Committee (NRT PAC) is a month-old anti-Obama group says it is spending at least $2.5 million to buy TV time to air a Rev Wright commercial in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and the Virginia Tidewater region. NRC PAC is the “Swift Boat” hate-monger of the 2008 campaign. I find Republican slime machine to be endlessly creative when it names its attack organizations; in typical cynical fashion, the intent of the organization’s name is opposite of the actual name. Point in fact: “Republican Trust.” Your suspicions should be fully raised by an organization that combines the words in sequential order, “Republican” and “Trust.” In actuality, this is not an official Republican organization (useful for deniability purposes) nor does it produce messages can be trusted. Worse, using ‘Republican’ in an organizational name does not bring to mind the notion of “trust” in any measure.
More on National Republican Trust Political Action Committee (NRT PAC) From FactCheck.org: End-Game Sleaze
The National Republican Trust PAC came into being Sept. 26, when it first registered with the Federal Election Commission. By Oct. 15 it had reported raising $463,000 for its anti-Obama campaign. (Update: In an e-mail to supporters on Oct. 29, the group said it had raised more than $3 million.) It has reported spending a total of $902,604 to attack Obama, according to the most recent report filed Oct. 26. It has reported spending substantial sums to the conservative Web site Newsmax and to other vendors for "email communication" opposing Obama's election, and to a Virginia company called Integram for "direct mail." It has also listed expenditures for "media production" and a "media buy." Its Web site lists its executive director as Scott Wheeler, who also writes articles for Newsmax, which the NRT PAC pays to distribute anti-Obama e-mail messages, many of which are little more than fundraising pleas. It's not uncommon for the final weeks of the presidential campaign to bring out some of the most deceptive ads of the cycle. We thought it would be tough to top the whoppers we've seen already, but it looks as if some of the third-party ads are out to prove us wrong. If this gem from the National Republican Trust PAC is any indication, we'd best brace for a blizzard of balderdash.
Where is NRT PAC getting its cash???
From the Daily KOS: Scott Wheeler - the executive director of The National Republican Trust PAC which is producing smear ads against Obama - ads which have already been debunked - used to write for Sun Myung Moon's Insight Magazine. It is likely that the cult leader Moon is funding NRT PAC to whip up right wing fears and angst using foreign money. Nice.
What is being written about the NRT PAC Attack Ads?
From the CATO Institute: NRT PAC’s message doesn’t bring credit to Senator John McCain. In fact, it hurts him. To folks who don’t know campaign finance law, it looks like a desperate and venal grasp by McCain for an issue against Obama. Hyping terror threats damages our country by provoking over-reactions that can be more damaging than direct attacks themselves. This message from the National Republican Trust PAC is offensive.
From the Columbus Dispatch, by Tom Feran Obama Repudiation of Rev. Wright: The pastor's more inflammatory remarks led Obama to deliver a major speech on race last March in which he rejected the remarks as "not only wrong but divisive." After Wright's subsequent comments and dismissal of the speech, Obama angrily denounced him personally and cut all ties, saying: "When I say I find these comments appalling, I mean it. It contradicts everything that I am about and who I am, and anybody who has worked with me, who knows my life, who has read my books, who has seen what this campaign's about, I think, will understand that it is completely opposed to what I stand for and where I want to take this country."
How does National Republican Trust PAC seed its lies into the Internet? It pays other companies to be its surrogates in spreading its message of hate to create a Republican Internet echo chamber.
OpenSecrets.org indicates NRT PAC paid the following companies to spread its lies:
Total ↓ Company Date Purchase Assess Type
$2,530,000 Philips Brook Group, Inc 10/31/08 Media Buy $1,200,000 Philips Brook Group, Inc 10/30/08 Media Buy $880,000 Philips Brook Group, Inc 10/29/08 Media Buy $231,750 Newsmax Media, In 10/30/08 Email Communication $176,000 Philips Brook Group, Inc 10/27/08 Media Buy $174,000 Philips Brook Group, Inc 10/23/08 Media Buy $82,350 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/31/08 Email Communication $79,650 Newsmax Media, Inc 11/01/08 Email Communication $75,150 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/27/08 Email Communication $74,700 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/28/08 Email Communication $58,050 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/29/08 Email Communication $44,550 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/24/08 Email Communication $27,450 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/26/08 Email Communication $25,425 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/23/08 Email Communication $25,000 Newsmax Media, Inc 11/01/08 Telemarketing $24,300 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/25/08 Email Communication $18,000 Eagle Publishing, Inc 10/22/08 Email Communication $17,325 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/21/08 Email Communication $11,396 Intrepid Media 10/29/08 Media Production/Distr $11,320 Intrepid Media 10/27/08 Media Production $10,350 Townhall.com 10/24/08 Email Communication $10,350 Townhall.com 10/27/08 Email Communication $10,000 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/30/08 Banner Ads $9,000 Newsmax Media, Inc 10/22/08 Email Communication $8,000 Intrepid Media 10/31/08 Media Production/Distr $7,090 Integram 10/23/08 Direct Mail $7,082 Intrepid Media 10/23/08 Media Production $6,875 Intrepid Media 10/27/08 Media Production/Distr $6,000 Endeavor Media Group, LLC 10/25/08 Email Communication $6,000 Endeavor Media Group, LLC 10/26/08 Email Communication $6,000 Eagle Publishing, Inc 10/27/08 Email Communication $6,000 Endeavor Media Group, LLC 10/27/08 Email Communication $6,000 Endeavor Media Group, LLC 10/28/08 Email Communication $6,000 Endeavor Media Group, LLC 10/29/08 Email Communication $6,000 Eagle Publishing, Inc 10/30/08 Email Communication $5,000 Verafast Corporation 10/23/08 Phone Calls $3,000 Triangulation Strategies 10/23/08 Email Communication $3,000 Verafast Corporation 10/26/08 Phone Communication $2,500 Newsmax Media, Inc 11/01/08 Html Web/Email Design $1,750 Intrepid Media 10/23/08 Media Production/Distr $1,680 Verafast Corporation 10/29/08 Phone Communication $1,500 Triangulation Strategies 10/27/08 Email Communication $1,500 Triangulation Strategies 10/28/08 Email Communication $1,500 Triangulation Strategies 10/29/08 Phone Communication $1,500 Triangulation Strategies 10/31/08 Banner Ads $1,500 Triangulation Strategies 10/31/08 Email Communication $1,500 Triangulation Strategies 11/01/08 Email Com/Banner Ad $1,400 Intrepid Media 11/01/08 Media Production/Distr
I was in the Gloucester C.H., VA, office earlier today at 1:00PM to get a jump on the setting sun (canvassing in the afternoon is more difficult with the time savings change). I have to tell you, the scene in the office was impressive with the phone bank buzzing away, and every canvas package out on the road with tens of volunteers on the street making contact with Obama's likely voters, and increasing the probability of their getting to the polls on Tuesday.
The ultimate impact of the campaign is to totally motivate Obama's supporters such that they cannot wait to cast their vote, like a spring getting tighter and tighter, with its spring ready to be released with a sudden pulse of energy. All this underscores Obama's success in establishing a high performance organization that is disciplined and methodical in its pursuit of the Presidency.
Back to the canvas... I was paired up with Brad, and off we went to complete a second round of contacts in the GOTV action.
1. Bush has sown, and McCain now reaps. Our first knock was at the home of a middle aged couple with six kids. We were tasked to contact the mother/wife, who answered the door. We could see the kids running around the living room, probably over-amped from Halloween candy. The woman said she could not tell us who she was voting for as her husband was in the military (this is not correct), and she was still considering the candidates proposals anyway. Then, the woman's husband came out on the porch. He seemed agitated (fuming?) and quickly sat in a chair at the far end of the porch, not making eye contact. Brad and I complimented the couple on their impressive large gauge train set permanently setup in the front yard. The small talk was not working in breaking the ice so we decided to bail. Mark this one down as a 'refuse.' I don't think most Democratic voters hate most Republican candidates, but it is clear a substantial percentage of Republican voters hate Obama; such is the spawn of years of Rove/Bush wedge politics, and now McCain's campaign is continuing to propagate the Bush slime operation (I expected so much better from McCain).
2. Goats, chickens, and cats, OH NO! Brad and I pulled into a dirt driveway with large ruts and mud holes and I try to keep my truck out of the mud. Being highly trained crack Obama canvas workers, we quickly noticed the large goat fence in the front yard containing several goats, chickens, and a few cats. Of course (and unfortunately), we would find out that the wild-life was not altogether constrained by the flimsy goat fence. We made our way to the front door, taking care not to twist an ankle on the crumbling sidewalk and knocked on (I advised Brad the cadence of 'shave and a haircut, two bits' is a non-threatening knock). Our target survey person was a young woman, but instead our knock yielded the woman's mother. We asked if she and her daughter had determined who they would be voting for. The mother (50-ish) answered, while she did not have any specific issues that tilted her decision, she was definitely voting for McCain. Usually, people do not have their guard up when you first walk up on them, and the mother showed us her true feelings when she said that she and her daughter had done some 'research' that said that Obama's idol as a young man was Hilter. Yes, Hitler. Brad and I turned and looked blankly at each other, in disbelief. Conclusion: We are dealing with, as the McCain staffers like to characterize Gov. Palin, a "whack job" and it was time to go. Enter a "5" in the knock list and beat-feet out of the goat ranch.
3. As JP says, Democrats are dog lovers: We are on our very last door-knock of the day, and as I am about to pull into the driveway, I see a van coming the opposite direction and I wait in hopes the van will pull into the driveway too. Sure enough, our luck was good and the 50-something woman on our list pulled into the driveway. I rolled into the driveway behind the van, and saw a large German Shepherd dog on the loose, along with several 'Beware of Dog' signs posted throughout the yard. Brad and I stayed in the truck until the woman secured the dog in it's pen. We start talking with the woman and she says she and her husband are undecided, but are starting preparing to make a decision very soon! Brad and I make good progress in engaging the woman with the pros of electing Obama as president. I diverge off topic and say I too have a German Shepherd dog, so we are really hitting it off now. While we are having this discussion, a young African-American man working on a car in the driveway start waves and gives us the thumbs up, acknowledging us as Obama supporters. We start to close the deal with the woman and the young man and it is clear we have made progress with the pair, especially with the woman. I give up my Obama sticker to the woman, Brad gives his Obama pin to the man, and we leave Obama literature with the woman to discuss with her husband. I left my phone number with the woman so we could get our GS dogs together after the election. True love, indeed.
From the Daily News: The man for the moment: Hillary Clinton makes the case for Barack Obama
"We cannot afford four more years of the same broken ideological policies. Barack Obama must be our President. Joe Biden must be our vice president. And Democrats must once again clean up an economic mess the Republicans left behind. We've done it before, and we'll do it again."
Thanks Hillary, we will never forgot your vigorous efforts to get Obama elected.
Blog Bonus: Play with the "Palin as President" web page, you and your kids will love it!
I was given a fat 50+ walk-list today (thanks JP!), which is a tough list for the area of Gloucester, VA, I was in. If Obama can take it to McCain in Arizona, I can go into the lion's den of ruby-red Gloucester too.
I have a hard time relating to undecided voters after tens of debates in the primaries, 3 debates between Obama/McCain, and a 30 minute TV message by Obama, plus tons of information on the Internet, in mailers, and through calls and knocks. So it remains a surprise to me that with total 24 contacts on my canvas, I still had 3 of these as undecided.
A couple undecided voters I met today:
1. Mid-60's gentleman who is a Vietnam Vet who spoke with me for a good long time. I walked around with him while he did some chores. He is very concerned with the future of the nation. Like many white people of his generation who are not overtly racist, Obama's skin color is not lost on him. I emphasized with him that, to solve America's problems, Obama wants to work with all Americans: black/white, red/blue, brown/yellow. This is the strength of Obama's unifying message. He said he would be voting, but could not say for whom as I departed.
Read more on Obama's vision of America in Frank Rich's article in the NY Times.
2. A mid-40's man came outside to say he, while registered, was not planning to vote (in my book, an undecided voter). I suspected he was a disaffected Republican (I have met many) who was disgusted with the state of the nation. I briefly engaged in a short discussion, but I don't think I sealed the deal with him. There was some hope with this man, as his young son joined us saying enthusiastically that he would be casting a vote for the first time. I encouraged his son to take his father to the polls.
3. A 19 year old young lady. She, like many of her age, have not assimilated enough information to make a decision. She did not know her polling place. She did not have any specific issues that concerned her, except she wanted to find a job. She seemed stressed over the thought of making a decision on who to vote for, and going through the whole voting ordeal. I advised her of her polling location, and tried to quickly touch on Obama's priorities for helping young people attend university and pull the economy out of the hole Bush/McCain put it in. Hopefully she was more at ease with making her decision and voting in the wake of our conversation.
My response to late-undecided voters is probably too strident... too many people have fought and died for our right to vote, many have struggled for woman's suffrage, and many have marched, protested, died to end Jim Crow and win voting rights for ALL Americans. Lord help me to be empathetic and encourage the undecided.
In spite of the activity rating here my wife and I have been working hard for Obama. We usually get to the Hayes, VA office around 9:30 each night and help tally the walk and call sheets then take them home and key in the results for a number of hours. The drive is a half hour each way. It is fun to spend a little time with the office people and they often enjoy a few minutes with our little black Pomeranian, Pogo. That is one dedicated crew!
The pace has got to us, especially me. I have a terrible cold and have to take a few nights off. I can't help but feel a bit optimistic at this point, even though I am all too well aware anything can happen.
Keep fighting out there! We can and we will!
I really liked Obama's show yesterday, very well done. But why the need for a multi-station 30 minute uninterrupted info-mercial? I guess it is like Sarah Palin likes to say, sometimes you want to speak directly to the people without a "media filter." The need to reach out to the remaining undecided voters with just 5 days before the election is reason enough. Barack's need to get his story and his plans out to voters has been made more important by the constant deluge of negative ads from the McCain/Palin and Republican National Committee slime machines.
McCain has been whining about Obama fund raising advantage that allows Obama to purchase the media time for his video. George Will has an article in the Washington Post, "John the Careless" that commented on public verses tax payer financed elections:
McCain revived a familiar villain -- "huge amounts" of political money -- when Barack Obama announced that he had received contributions of $150 million in September. "The dam is broken," said McCain, whose constitutional carelessness involves wanting to multiply impediments to people who want to participate in politics by contributing to candidates -- people such as the 632,000 first-time givers to Obama in September.
Why is it virtuous to erect a dam of laws to impede the flow of contributions by which citizens exercise their First Amendment right to political expression? "We're now going to see," McCain warned, "huge amounts of money coming into political campaigns, and we know history tells us that always leads to scandal." The supposedly inevitable scandal, which supposedly justifies preemptive government restrictions on Americans' freedom to fund the dissemination of political ideas they favor, presumably is that Obama will be pressured to give favors to his September givers. The contributions by the new givers that month averaged $86.
One excellent result of this election cycle is that public financing of presidential campaigns now seems sillier than ever. The public has always disliked it: Voluntary and cost-free participation, using the check-off on the income tax form, peaked at 28.7 percent in 1980 and has sagged to 9.2 percent. The Post, which is melancholy about the system's parlous condition, says there were three reasons for creating public financing: to free candidates from the demands of fund raising, to level the playing field and "to limit the amount of money pouring into presidential campaigns." The first reason is decreasingly persuasive because fund raising is increasingly easy because of new technologies such as the Internet. The second reason is, the Supreme Court says, constitutionally impermissible. Government may not mandate equality of resources among political competitors who earn different levels of voluntary support. As for the third reason -- "huge amounts" (McCain) of money "pouring into" (The Post) presidential politics -- well:
The Center for Responsive Politics calculates that, by Election Day, $2.4 billion will have been spent on presidential campaigns in the two-year election cycle that began in January 2007, and an additional $2.9 billion will have been spent on 435 House and 35 Senate contests. This $5.3 billion is a billion less than Americans will spend this year on potato chips.
The Bush administration's first priority, created by an Executive Order on January 29, 2001, was establishment of the National Energy Policy Development Group, aka the super-secrete Cheney Energy Task Force. Cheney proceeded to haul in all his oil buddies to see how he and Bush could make them obscene quantities of cash. While it is universally agreed that Bush and Cheney have failed at everything they have touched, their efforts to line the pockets of their oil patch friends has been wildly successful, as shown in this Washington Post article today:
Exxon Mobil Corp. smashed its own record for quarterly profits today, ringing up $14.8 billion in net income in the third quarter powered by soaring summertime crude oil prices.
The oil companies, and their Republican apologists, would have you believe that they are re-investing the majority of these vast quantities of war profits into exploration; this is just another Republican "drill baby drill" fairy tale. No it is all about cash for the CEO and the shareholders, again from the WP:
During the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Exxon Mobil also spent $8.7 billion buying back its own stock. Exxon says this helps return money to shareholders, but some critics have argued that the company should be using the money to expand oil and gas exploration or to invest in renewable energy.
Is there any hope that McCain/Palin's priorities would be any less biased towards big oil than Bush/Cheney? Quit dreaming! The McCain campaign is stuffed with oil industry lobbyists, and it receives by far its largest contributions from the oil industry.
See the Exxon-John McCain video (worth a look).
