This weekend is one of only two left for registering voters for this election. So it's important that we get as many volunteers as possible this weekend.
Osage Hills
At our war council last night we decided to go for broke. We'll be doing the Wal-Marts again, because they have also worked well, but we are going to try for a big push at Osage Hills this weekend. This has a potential to net us a very large number of registrations. The more people we get, the quicker and more efficiently we can get this done.
Please call Mary Jo at 269-4400 or email Greg to tell us you will be there to help.
We will meet at the party HQ (3930 East 31 Street) at 11:30 AM on Saturday for a quick orientation. Then we will caravan to Osage hills and try to cover the entire complex working in pairs.
If you can't work at that time, but still want to help this weekend, go ahead and call Mary Jo. She'll tell you when else we could use the help.
March Toward CommUNITY
I personally plan on attending this, but I'm not sure how well publicised it has been. Sunday afternoon OCCJ is sponsoring a 2 mile march downtown in support of community and justice in the Tulsa area. This is part of their 50th anniversary celebration. It will start and end at the Greenwood Cultural Center (322 North Greenwood). Afterwards there will be a "Blues and BBQ celebration". I'm told that showing up just for that part is discouraged though. (You slackers out there know I'm talking about you. :-) )
There will be $500 prizes given out to the groups with the most participants in five categories. Registration starts at 2, the march starts at 3, and the celebration afterwards begins at 5:45. I'm told other food options besides BBQ will be provided.
As usual, any other ideas or comments you may have are welcome in the comments section below.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Local Campaign News
Registration
We did an event in support of Creek County democrats this past weekend, and ended up registering about 56 voters. In addition, we "showed the flag" up there, to great response.
I think that's a pretty good number, all things considered. However, we know we can do better at events in more densely settled areas in Tulsa. Given that we are down to the last 10 days, we are going to try to keep what resources we have those areas.
We do have one good new piece of news. We got permission yesterday from the Chief of the Osages to do registration events at the tribe's casinos. There's still a layer or two of tribal bureaucracy this has to be pushed through, but hopefully we'll be able to work the casinos this weekend.
All this being said, there's absolutely nothing stopping you from registering voters yourself wherever you think will work and on your own schedule. The forms are available from the Oklahoma Election Board's website. Just read the instructions, download the form, and print out all you need. One caveat is that you can't pump a particular political party or view before you register someone.
Keep an eye on this site for our official registration events.
Ideas
Anyone who has stopped by County HQ in the last few weeks has noticed the transformation. What used to be a sleepy office with friendly people happy for a chance to chat has become a frenzied beehive of activity.
This is great of course, but there is a downside. Some folks who want to call in to give ideas for the campaign have to get the brush-off. We don't like doing it, but we just don't have the time for it right now.
However, here on the Oklahoma for Obama website, we have all the time in the world. So this is the place to come with your ideas for the campaign. Crazy like a fox, or just plain crazy, click the "comments" link below and post them here. We are going to be holding a war council in the next few days, and I'd love to arrive with a pocketful of great ideas from you folks to present.
We did an event in support of Creek County democrats this past weekend, and ended up registering about 56 voters. In addition, we "showed the flag" up there, to great response.
I think that's a pretty good number, all things considered. However, we know we can do better at events in more densely settled areas in Tulsa. Given that we are down to the last 10 days, we are going to try to keep what resources we have those areas.
We do have one good new piece of news. We got permission yesterday from the Chief of the Osages to do registration events at the tribe's casinos. There's still a layer or two of tribal bureaucracy this has to be pushed through, but hopefully we'll be able to work the casinos this weekend.
All this being said, there's absolutely nothing stopping you from registering voters yourself wherever you think will work and on your own schedule. The forms are available from the Oklahoma Election Board's website. Just read the instructions, download the form, and print out all you need. One caveat is that you can't pump a particular political party or view before you register someone.
Keep an eye on this site for our official registration events.
Ideas
Anyone who has stopped by County HQ in the last few weeks has noticed the transformation. What used to be a sleepy office with friendly people happy for a chance to chat has become a frenzied beehive of activity.
This is great of course, but there is a downside. Some folks who want to call in to give ideas for the campaign have to get the brush-off. We don't like doing it, but we just don't have the time for it right now.
However, here on the Oklahoma for Obama website, we have all the time in the world. So this is the place to come with your ideas for the campaign. Crazy like a fox, or just plain crazy, click the "comments" link below and post them here. We are going to be holding a war council in the next few days, and I'd love to arrive with a pocketful of great ideas from you folks to present.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Poll Upswing Continued
The surge for Obama continues today. Rasmussen doesn't have new numbers up yet, but Research 2000 this morning has Obama up another point to %51 (his highest yet), and McCain down another point to %42. Gallup also has Obama up another point to %50 (and McCain down 2).
Nate Silver argued yesterday that its going to be a lot harder for McCain to come back from this than a lot of pundits are letting on. Hard does not mean impossible though, and the Reps have really yet to start swinging with both hands. The real nastiness won't even start until the last 72 hours, when their dreaded ground game gets into full gear.
As a reminder again, there will be a VP debate watch party at the Circle Cinema this Thursday. It probably won't be a game changer one way or the other, but you should watch. I think you should come watch with us, because it's just way too frustrating to watch stuff like this (video below) alone. You need to hear the groans of the other listeners just to prove that it's not you who is the insane one.
So for the sake of your own sanity, please watch the debate with friends.
Nate Silver argued yesterday that its going to be a lot harder for McCain to come back from this than a lot of pundits are letting on. Hard does not mean impossible though, and the Reps have really yet to start swinging with both hands. The real nastiness won't even start until the last 72 hours, when their dreaded ground game gets into full gear.
As a reminder again, there will be a VP debate watch party at the Circle Cinema this Thursday. It probably won't be a game changer one way or the other, but you should watch. I think you should come watch with us, because it's just way too frustrating to watch stuff like this (video below) alone. You need to hear the groans of the other listeners just to prove that it's not you who is the insane one.
So for the sake of your own sanity, please watch the debate with friends.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Polling Data
The first polling data that has all of this week's crisis, McCain's bizarre behavior, and the debate on Friday cooked in is starting to trickle in. Its not quite as good as one might think it would be, but its still pretty good.
Rasmussen has had Obama steady at %50 for the last 3 days, after climbing to that point over the course of the week. The Research 2000 Tracking Poll now also shows Obama at %50 with an upward trajectory. Gallup's daily shows Obama at %49, also with an upward vector.
The important thing about those %50 numbers is that once Obama reaches that mark, no amount of undecideds swinging to McCain can pull him ahead.
Of course those of us that lived through 2000 know that national popular vote is not how we decide elections. The electoral counts are looking similarly nice as well. The magic number here is 270. Pollster has Obama and McCain at 229 and 174 respectively, with "leaners" included. Rasmussen has it at 255 and 227 with leaners included. CNN has it at 240 and 200.
Of course this week has shown that a lot can happen quickly, and we still have about 5 weeks to go.
Rasmussen has had Obama steady at %50 for the last 3 days, after climbing to that point over the course of the week. The Research 2000 Tracking Poll now also shows Obama at %50 with an upward trajectory. Gallup's daily shows Obama at %49, also with an upward vector.
The important thing about those %50 numbers is that once Obama reaches that mark, no amount of undecideds swinging to McCain can pull him ahead.
Of course those of us that lived through 2000 know that national popular vote is not how we decide elections. The electoral counts are looking similarly nice as well. The magic number here is 270. Pollster has Obama and McCain at 229 and 174 respectively, with "leaners" included. Rasmussen has it at 255 and 227 with leaners included. CNN has it at 240 and 200.
Of course this week has shown that a lot can happen quickly, and we still have about 5 weeks to go.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Debate Wrapup
We had a huge turn-out last night. Mike's count came to over 100! At one point midway through I turned around to look, and the crowd stretched all the way back to the door. Now I see why Tulsans for Obama needed their own watch party. There simply would not have been room.
It was great to get a chance to meet some of you in person. I particularly liked that Mike has us go around and do some introductions before the actual debate started. We had people from at least five different states (four of them "battleground" states). We had quite a few first-time voters, and several people who have been voting for more than 30 years. I brought one of my legion of mini-mules. He won't be old enough to vote until the 2016 general election, but wanted to come see this. On the other extreme, we had a World War II vet who had cast his first vote for Truman in 1948. He is now, of course, an Obama supporter.
The Stump of Jesse
Listening to him reminisce, it occurred to me that my own first vote ever in a presidential campaign was 20 years ago, for Jesse Jackson. For those of you who weren't around then, Jesse won 11 primaries that year, and for a while was the front-runner for the nomination.
Since it was my first election, I researched the candidates positions as thoroughly as I could, and picked the one who best supported my views on the issues. That happened to be Jesse. So you can imagine my frustration when, even while he was the front-runner, all the media wanted to ask him was What do you really want? Like it couldn't possibly be, you know, to be president or anything.
No matter what your opinions are about Jesse, he laid the groundwork two decades ago for what you saw last night. There was a brief moment when the candidates were shaking hands at the beginning where I was thinking, Holy ****, that's an African-American up there being taken seriously. Even better, the moment was brief, and after that he was just one of the two people up there interviewing for the job. Clearly the better one, at that.
Results
Sadly, you can never tell what the story is going to be after the debate simply by watching the debate. Most people don't watch, so the general opinion of who won comes out of the mouths of the talking heads on TV after they've had about five days to masticate on it. The reps of course had their "McCain wins the debate" mini-campaign up and running even before the debate started. Things look good so far though. The snap polls afterward seem to indicate an Obama win by around %10 points or so. If that can hold, the percentages are liable to increase in the coming days.
As for the wider election, I have to wonder. This debate was on supposedly McCain's best subject, National Security. Not pulling out a win here is a bad sign for him. However, this was such a bad week for McCain that *any* change of subject, even to a bit of a loss in a debate, is a good thing for him.
On to Nashville
The next debate on October 7 is McCain's favorite format (Town Hall), so he has a chance to look better. The final one on the 15th will be normal format, and on the economy. If he doesn't watch it, Obama will plaster him to the wall in that one.
I'm not talking about the VP debate on the 2nd (next Thursday), because I don't think it really matters that much in the long run. If it did Dan Quayle and George Bush Sr. would never have been elected. However, it will be worth watching because one of those two will be in the White House for the next 4-8 years, and possibly president after that. I'll be at the Circle Cinema that night, and I hope to see you there too.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Watch Party ON!
I just wanted to get out a quick message about the watch party tonight. McCain has agreed to show up, so the debate is indeed on at 8 tonight. The watch party at the Circle Cinema starts at 7. I haven't heard anything about food or refreshments, so my suggestion would be to eat before you show up.
Also, I got an email from "OFA OK HQ" today about another watch party at the Transport Workers Hall. This was a bit confusing to me at least, so I want everyone to understand that this is a different watch party. The venue for our party has not changed; it is at the Circle Cinema, 12 South Lewis Avenue in Tulsa. Details and registration here.
"OFA OK" I believe is Obama For America - Oklahoma, aka Tulsans for Obama. Why they chose to have their own separate party rather than join with the 10 other area Obama groups at the Circle, I'm not really sure. But I suppose if you arrive at the Circle and it is full, that would be an alternate location you could go to. The address is 11945 E. Pine.
Also, I got an email from "OFA OK HQ" today about another watch party at the Transport Workers Hall. This was a bit confusing to me at least, so I want everyone to understand that this is a different watch party. The venue for our party has not changed; it is at the Circle Cinema, 12 South Lewis Avenue in Tulsa. Details and registration here.
"OFA OK" I believe is Obama For America - Oklahoma, aka Tulsans for Obama. Why they chose to have their own separate party rather than join with the 10 other area Obama groups at the Circle, I'm not really sure. But I suppose if you arrive at the Circle and it is full, that would be an alternate location you could go to. The address is 11945 E. Pine.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Weekend Events
Our big registration event this weekend is an event in Creek county. We need lots of volunteers for this one, so if you have some time to donate, please come out. I'll let Greg talk about it in his own words below
One thing I should add is that you cannot wear any apparel with politically identifying messages on it while registering voters. So please leave your Lick Bush T-Shirt in the closet just this once.
Because of the scale and time of this event, Mary Jo won't be able to support the TU Tailgate party this Saturday. However, there is still a local democratic event going on there, in support of Chad Hawkins, a candidate for State House in district 79. This is being held on Saturday before the game at Ella's Deli at 3208 East 11th St.
Debate Watch Party
McChicken or no McChicken, as of now this is still being held. If you are planning on coming, I'd suggest RSVPing here or here. That will allow the organizers the ability to send you reminders, and perhaps a cancellation notice in the exceedingly unlikely event that occurs.
While we are on the subject of McChicken, Mary Jo asked if I could dig up a video of our favorite septuagenarian doing the chicken dance. I got pretty close. So this video is for her:
This Saturday, 9/27/08, you can help turn Creek County blue! Saturday, , Oklahoma For Obama will work with our neighbors in Creek County (Sapulpa, Bristow, etc,) in a one day all out registration drive.
We will meet @ DEM. HQs, 3930 East 31st St. in Tulsa @ 8:00 for orientation and voter reg. 101 training. Then we will carpool and caravan to the Bristow @ 10th and Chestnut.
You should bring: a clipboard, pens, sun screen, a hat. water and a "Yes We Can!" attitude.
We need to know how many folks will join us so please RSVP either: mjhales@staufferlaw.com or stephanielewisimcot@gmail.com
One thing I should add is that you cannot wear any apparel with politically identifying messages on it while registering voters. So please leave your Lick Bush T-Shirt in the closet just this once.
Because of the scale and time of this event, Mary Jo won't be able to support the TU Tailgate party this Saturday. However, there is still a local democratic event going on there, in support of Chad Hawkins, a candidate for State House in district 79. This is being held on Saturday before the game at Ella's Deli at 3208 East 11th St.
Debate Watch Party
McChicken or no McChicken, as of now this is still being held. If you are planning on coming, I'd suggest RSVPing here or here. That will allow the organizers the ability to send you reminders, and perhaps a cancellation notice in the exceedingly unlikely event that occurs.
While we are on the subject of McChicken, Mary Jo asked if I could dig up a video of our favorite septuagenarian doing the chicken dance. I got pretty close. So this video is for her:
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