Sen. Barack Obama is the most inspiring public leader in America. He has a bold vision to help the middle class and restore America's prestige in the world. Join this grassroots effort to support Sen. Obama's historic and uplifting campaign for president. Keep hope alive! Obama '08!
Contribute to Obama
- Make a Secure Contribution Directly to the Campaign. Show some Texas-sized love!
The Austin Chronicle reader's results are in, and Texans for Obama is proud to be named the Best Grassroots Movement!
We have such a great group, partly online, so much offline, helping channel and steer the energy of so many new activists. Here in austin at least, 500, 600, 800 people regularly packing into Scholtz's to watch the Debates and 50-100 volunteers a day at our coordinated campaign HQ. So many starting with Texans for Obama, and now helping out great down-ballot folks like Rick Noriega, and Valinda Bolton.
And while I have been part of a number of political organizations, truly this is the first where i would have to agree it IS a movement -- diverse in geography, age, experiences, united in building and being the Change we need, and just plain old going out and getting things done.
Best Grassroots Movement: Texans for Obama
Where were you on Feb. 23, 2007? If you were with 20,000 other Austinites on Auditorium Shores, watching Barack Obama before he was even a serious front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, thank Texans for Obama. These determined activists saw the hunger for change and have fought tirelessly to keep that campaign energy high. www.texansforobama.com
Give yourselves a big round of applause, and then get back to work - barely two weeks to go!
There are three ways that Texans can help elect Barack Obama this week! Join us on the Road Trip to Change, make calls to voters in battleground states, or join us at a Generation Obama fundraiser on Tuesday. With only 24 days to go, we need all hands on deck to make sure Barack Obama wins!
15 Seats Left For Road Trip to Change!
It's not too late to join Texans for Obama on a Road Trip to Change! There are only 15 seats left on the two buses headed to New Mexico this weekend. Early voting starts this Saturday in New Mexico. Help get out the early vote for Obama and make a difference in this election! Join us!
Details: Depart: Friday Oct. 17th, 7:00 p.m. from 1107 N I-35
Drive: Ride overnight to New Mexico.
Arrive: Arrive in New Mexico on Saturday morning.
Saturday/Sunday: Go door-to-door identifying and turning out voters for Barack Obama.
Free supporter housing and discount hotel rooms available.
Depart: Sunday, October 19th, 6 p.m. from Obama HQ in NM
Drive: Ride overnight back to Austin. Sleep the whole way home.
Arrive: Monday, October 20th, 7:00 a.m. at 1107 N I-35.
Can't make it to a battleground state in person? Join volunteers every day calling targeted voters in key precincts. Identify the voters that will make a difference for Barack Obama in Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, and Ohio! Each shift will focus on that day's highest-priority voters. Send your voice to a battleground state to get out the vote for Barack Obama.
Call From Home! Can't make it to the office? Host a calling party in your home or at a local coffee shop. Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/call4change to Call for Change!
Generation Obama Happy Hour Tuesday!
Generation Obama is hosting a Happy Hour with Paul Tewes this Tuesday. Paul Tewes is a Democratic strategist specializing in national political organizing. Tewes was the Iowa state director for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and continued to lead Obama's field operations in key states such as Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. According to the Huffington Post, Tewes "is widely regarded among the very most talented of political organizers in the nation," and was "largely responsible for Obama's surprise win in Iowa. Meet him here in Austin this Tuesday!
Generation Obama Happy Hour With Paul Tewes Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Sky Lounge
Address: 416 Congress Ave, Austin TX
Admission: $20 General // $10 Students
Join Us:RSVP Here
Important information for Hurricane Ike voters, passed along from the TDP, you should pass along as well.
Attention All Democrats:
Many voters have been affected by Hurricane Ike. Some may not be able to return to their homes before Election Day and others may find that their local polling location has been damaged and they will need to vote elsewhere. There are options available to these voters which vary depending on the circumstance. Whether you are in an affected county or your county is sheltering Hurricane Ike evacuees, please be aware of the voting options available to you and help facilitate that information to others.
Option 1: VOTE EARLY IN PERSON - If the voter is in or near the county of their residence during Early Voting, they should try to vote then. All Early Voting locations are county-wide, so it won't matter if they are in the right precinct. Early Voting locations can be obtained from the County Early Voting Clerk, listed here:
http://www.txdemocrats.org/.
Option 2: VOTE BY MAIL - If the voter is not going to be in their county of residence for the entire early voting period or on Election Day, absence from the county qualifies the voter to cast a ballot by mail. Voters who choose to exercise this option should make sure that they have somewhere to have their mail ballot sent that is outside their county of residence where either the voter will be for the remainder of the election or where there is someone who can forward it to them. Furthermore, we have recently confirmed with the Texas Secretary of State's office that a mail ballot can be forwarded to a specific address as long as there is an official forwarding request filed with the United States Postal Service (voters can file a formal forwarding request with the United States Postal Service here:
http://www.txdemocrats.org/
*Voters who are over 65 years of age or are disabled are automatically entitled to cast a ballot by mail. These voters may have the ballot sent to their residence, as opposed to being required to have it sent outside the county.
Option 3: VOTE ON ELECTION DAY - Voters must make sure to verify the correct polling location for their precinct. Voting on Election Day is precinct specific, so the voter will need to know exactly which location they must go to, and it may not be the one they are used to using. Elections officials in the affected areas are working to finalize the Election Day locations and they should be available soon. However, the best option is to vote early. If a voter waits until Election Day to vote and there is a problem with their registration or location, it may be too late.
It is the voter's right to cast a ballot in the jurisdiction of their permanent residence, even if that residence doesn't exist anymore. No one, not even an Election Judge, can question a voter's residency.
The Texas Democratic Party is working with our County Chairs and campaigns in the affected areas to make sure that all voters get to exercise their right to vote and have their ballot counted. Voters can visit the TDP website's Voter Information page for more details. You can help by disseminating this information to others who may have friends or loved ones facing these situations.
If you have any questions about how to help these voters exercise their rights, feel free to call the Texas Democratic Party at 512-478-9800.
Your friend and fellow Democrat,
Sondra Haltom
Political Director
Texas Democratic Party
In today's very ambitious voter registration marathon being coordinated by the Travis County Democratic Party to help ALL democrats, from Obama to the Constable, there are some slots still unfilled.
There are some urgent needs in Oak Hill (far south Austin) as well as more widely spread need for late-night (11:45pm) runners to pick up packets, and help close down locations.
if you can help at all, please call 512-472-VOTE, or just come by the coordinated campaign office and make it more than a slogan.
We say "every vote counts" (altho that should probably be 'every counted voted counts' but that is a discussion for later...), but do you know how little change we need to bring among voters to bring the Change we are after? A student at MSU ran some data and made some helpful tables and maps to drive the point home.
If you can at all take a weekend or a few weeks or just phonebank to help out in New Mexico or Colorado, please do. This election might just turn on volunteers bringing out 'just a few more, just a few more'.
For the Stats lover in you...
There have been 12 Presidential elections that were decided by less than a 1% margin; meaning if less than 1% of the voters in certain states had changed their mind to the other candidate the outcome of the entire election would have been different.
That is what this page solves. What is the smallest number of total votes that need to be switched from one candidate to another, and from which states, to affect the outcome of the election?
Join us this Saturday, September 20th, to welcome Obama for America's Central Texas staff!
Special guests include Kirk Watson, Mark Strama, and The O.C.'s Ben McKenzie. We'll have food, music, and plenty of opportunities to help elect Barack Obama and down-ballot Democrats this November.
With less than 50 days until the election, there's plenty to do! Join us -- RSVP here
The campaign has been waiting for final answers on lots of logistical issues before scheduling trainings and making assignments. We're now at that point.
There are three groups of volunteers that will be assigned to each of the 31 senate districts to perform functions of oversight and monitoring the process. Another group of volunteers will be needed to staff the Obama office and do projects for the operation.
As reported on BurntOrangeReport.com and Good Morning America this morning, TDP chair and his wife, member of the Non-Urban/Ag Caucus of the DNC, have made a super superdelegate decision to back Barack Obama.
Boyd Richie's statement:
"Today, I am proud to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. I believe Senator Obama is the candidate who can best provide the leadership and change Texans desire. Too many Texas families find themselves unable to make ends meet, much less save and invest in the future, due to Republican policies that burden the middle class and divide Americans. Senator Obama has the skill and ability to unite Americans from all walks of life and put our country back on the right track."
"I am also grateful for Senator Obama's commitment to help build the Texas Democratic Party. Senator Obama and his campaign understand something that Texans have known for at least a couple of years - that when Democratic candidates invest the time and resources necessary, Texas Democrats have the numbers to compete and win across every region of our great state. We made progress in 2006, and in 2008, the Texas Democratic Party is more energized, better organized, and we are poised to make significant gains this fall."
"This was a difficult decision to make, because I have great respect for Senator Clinton and her Texas supporters. I sincerely appreciate how hard she worked in Texas to deliver a message that resonated with so many voters, and I commend her campaign and the important role she played in the historic participation our Party is experiencing this year. As always, the Texas Democratic Party will conduct party business with absolute fairness and respect for every Democrat, without regard to whom one supports in the primary or convention, and I am confident Texas Democrats will unite and work together side by side to win this November."
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Democratic presidential nominee John Edwards will endorse Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to Obama's campaign.
Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards in a CNN sponsored debate in South Carolina in January.
Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race in January 30 after poor showings in the early contests, in which he racked up just 26 delegates to the party's August nominating convention in Denver.
He told NBC last week that Obama, the Democratic front-runner, is the party's likely nominee. Both Obama and the his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, had sought Edwards' blessing.
Just wanted to say I am running for National Delegate for Obama for SD-25. I have a 1-pager up at http://championforobama.com which i hopes makes the case for my being elected.
Mario Champion for National Delegate for Obama, Texas SD-25.
Why elect me?
I have been working towards National Delegate since Nov. 2006, when I helped lead Texans For Obama from a fledgling book club into the online community and offline grassroots organization that played a critical role in delivering Texas for Obama. I have been a fan and committed volunteer for Barack Obama since his speech at the DNC Convention in 2004 -- I even had that speech in an iTunes playlist, alongside a Howard Dean speech.
Together with Ian Davis, Ken Flippin, David Kobierwoski and others, I have spent literally hundreds of hours strategizing and organizing to get new people engaged, to amp-up those already engaged, and to train people how to work within our Texas Primary and Caucus system to help elect Barack Obama.
I have played many roles in helping Barack Obama in Texas -- from a leadership role to designing and programming the online infrastructure to recruiting and training volunteers to painting signs and handing out flyers. I have worked hard to elect Obama, and I hope earned your trust and your vote to be your National Delegate from Texas' Senate District 25.
Are you running for National Delegate? It is a very small segment of people that get elected to National, but if you have been putting in the work, and want to give it a try, Texans For Obama wants to help you out.
Whether you have built a site and/or plan an phone/email/snail mail campaign, if you post a diary with your campaign spiel, your Senate District, link to your site (if you have one), pictures, etc and 'tag' it 'nationaldelegate' (as one word) it will show up automatically from the new link above for in the big blue box.
All National Delegate diaries will also get front-paged. So, get to campaigning folks, and hope to see you in Austin June 5,6,7, and later on in Denver!
Last weekend people! These are the calls that can help Obama narrow the gap in Pennsylvania. Please do as many as you can this weekend, even if its 10 or 12 or 120, it all adds up:
As delegate lists from the County and Senate Conventions make their way to the Texas Democratic Party, people are getting ready to compete to be the warm bodies in those highly coveted seats in Denver.
Here's the handy guide to everything you need to know.
What can I run for? At 3:00 pm on Friday, each Senate District Caucus meets at their posted location in the Convention Center. All delegates are in attendance here, both Clinton and Obama.
At the Convention each Senate District Caucus elects one member to each standing committee and recommendations for Electors and SDEC. It is important to be organized as much as practical BEFORE this convention so that these committee spots are won by our qualified supporters.
(1) Credentials Committee
(2) Platform Committee
(3) Resolutions Committee
(4) Rules Committee
(5) Nominations Committee for SDEC officers and SDEC members recommended by Senatorial District Caucuses, and in presidential years, members of the Democratic National Committee and Presidential Electors
(6) Recommendation for SDEC Committeeman
(7) Recommendation for SDEC Committeewoman
(8) Nominations Committee for At-Large Delegates to the National Convention
(9) Recommendation for Presidential Elector(s) as allotted to those Caucuses under these Rules This year every SD will make on recommendation, and the remaining three are recommended by the three largest districts: SD 14, SD 23 and SD 13.
(10) Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention as allocated to them.
At this point, the Obama and Clinton delegates divide into their respective caucuses to elect their allocated delegates and alternates as determined by the March 4th Primary.
Here is a list of the Committees and a bit about what they do. If you are interested in serving on the temporary committees prior to the Convention, contact the State Party Chair at the Texas Democratic Party.
The duties of the Permanent Committees shall be as follows:
(1) The Permanent Credentials Committee shall make recommendations to the Convention as to the final resolution of all challenges regarding the credentials of Delegates to the State Convention.
Note: The Party Chair will have appointed a Temporary Credentials Committee that will have met prior to the Convention, heard testimony and made most of the Credentials recommendations. This committee serves as the final arbiter if there are still contests.
(2) The Nominations Committee shall nominate the officers of the SDEC and the SDEC members recommended by their respective Senatorial District Caucuses and, in presidential years, the DNC Representatives.
Note: This committee recommends the Officer slate: Party Chair, Vice Chair, Vice Chair of Finance, Treasurer. Each Senate District recommends a State Committeeman and State Committeewoman and the Committee nominates those recommended people to be the Executive Committee. Each Senate District will hold an election at their caucus for these two recommendations. The committee will also recommend nominations for the Texas seats on the Democratic National Committee. It nominates Presidential Electors (each Senate District makes recommendations for Elector).
In presidential years, the duties of the Nominations Committee for At-Large Delegates to the National Convention shall be those implied by its title or as assigned by the National Party Rules.
Note: This committee will meet on Saturday to recommend the 67 At Large Delegates and 3 Add On Unpledged Delegates. After the Senate districts have made their selections to this committee, there will be some Obama supporters and some Clinton supporters elected. The presidential primary poll will have allocated the number of At Large and Pledged Party and Elected Official delegates for Obama and Clinton. Traditionally, the Obama committee members will caucus to recommend the Obama delegates and the Clinton committee members will recommend the Clinton delegates.
(3) The Platform Committee shall write and recommend to the Convention a Party platform for the November General Election.
Note: Traditionally the Chair appoints a broad based committee of interested individuals who meet in the weeks before the Convention to draft a Platform document. This committee takes that draft, and reworks it and make final edits.
(4) The Resolutions Committee shall consider and recommend all resolutions submitted to the Convention, other than those within the proper jurisdiction of the Platform Committee.
Note: There is a temporary resolutions committee appointed by the Chair that sifts through the thousands of resolutions, decides which ones are appropriate topics to be referred to the Platform Committee or the Rules Committee. There are days of logistics work to organize these documents and the temporary committee does that work.
(5) The Rules Committee shall consider and recommend any proposed amendments to the permanent Party Rules and shall assist the Convention Chair and Parliamentarian, at their request, in interpreting the applicability of these Rules to questions of organization and procedure at the Convention.
Well the news is slowly trickling out to the wider world that Obama has indeed won Texas! Clinton won the primary, but by a much smaller margin than Obama's victory in the caucuses, meaning Obama will net more delegates from Texas -- and, despite what pundits need to declare in time for commercial break, delegates are what determine the outcome of this whole nominating process.
Of course, if the mainstream journalists would press the point to Bill Clinton about his earlier firewall words, i would be a little happier.
So what else can you do while you rest up? How about a little contribution to sweeten the victory. This campaign, this movement, this urge to re-shape our country won't be led by others. It's up to us. Obama is set to announce a $50,000,000+ month, and that is pretty big. But, Texans for Obama, let's make March even bigger! Give what you can to our campaign!
Keep up the phonebanking and blockwalking, Texans for Obama! We are tied and almost at the finish line. If we can swing Texas for Obama now, we can swing Texas for the Democrats in November. We cannot look back and say i could have done one more hour or 20 more calls. Obamanos!
Some good Democrats in Bexar county (The Rules Committee, Zada True-Courage, Ian Straus, Larry Meads, Dick Waits, Nancy Timmer-Froment, and Mark Camann) have put together an excellent online training for how to run your caucus:
http://bexardemocrats.org/2008PrecinctConventionTraining.html
They walk you thru the forms step by step, as well as provide loads of practical advice (Bring pens, calculators, and make sure at least one supporter is there by 7pm to get the packet!)
Some key elements:
-Preparation: what to do before the convention
-Eighteen steps for conducting the precinct convention
-Practical exercises in calculation (the math part!)
-Resolutions: a few resources
-Solutions to the practical exercises
Over 12,000 people attended the Obama rally last night in San Marcos. Our volunteers in San Marcos have been working hard for a year, and yesterday's event was very inspiring.
Some are saying yesterday's event was one of the biggest political rallies in San Marcos history. Does anyone know of other 10,000+ rallies in San Marcos?
Here's the front-page story from today's Statesman:
Down by the river, thousands come to cheer Obama
Thousands of Hays County residents, who have seen more national political figures in the past week than in the previous 40 years, roared for Barack Obama on Wednesday night at a spotlighted rally straddling both banks of the San Marcos River.
Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts stumped for the Illinois U.S. senator last Thursday. On Monday, Chelsea Clinton stumped for her mother, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Then came Obama, who started a three-day return tour of Texas earlier Wednesday in Duncanville and was introduced in San Marcos by Lyndon Nugent, former President Johnson's grandson. Obama thanked Nugent for his support "and everything that his family has done for this country."
Looking over the crowd - estimated at about 12,000 by Texas State University Police Chief Ralph Meyer - Obama said, "Y'all do it big in Texas." Then he launched into his speech, which was briefly interrupted by someone calling out their love, and Obama replying, as he does often, "I love you back."
Obama, whose platform includes proposals to roll back tax cuts given to the wealthy and to make health insurance and college more affordable, drew a big cheer by reminding the crowd that President Bush won't be on November's ballot, though the cheers turned to boos when he added: "Now, that's the good news. Keep in mind that he is coming back to Texas.
Our San Marcos volunteers have been working hard all year, and it's exciting that Sen. Obama will visit Texas State University tonight.
WHAT: "Stand for Change" Rally with Barack Obama
WHEN: Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Gates Open: 7:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 9:15 p.m.
WHERE: Texas State University
Sewell Park
700-1 Aquarena Springs Drive.
San Marcos, TX 78666
The event is free and open to the public; however, space is limited and an RSVP is required. To RSVP please sign up on the form to the right.
For security reasons, do not bring bags. Please limit personal items. No signs or banners are permitted.
Public Parking: Parking will be available at the Bobcat Stadium lot (on Aquarena Springs Drive) and at the Bobcat Village commuter lot (on Mills Street). Shuttle service will begin at 7 p.m. and run through the end of the event.
Barack Obama in San Marcos on Wednesday, February 27
Join Barack Obama at a Stand for Change Rally in San Marcos on Wednesday, February 27th.
Here are the details:
"Stand for Change" Rally with Barack Obama
Texas State University
Sewell Park
700-1 Aquarena Springs Drive.
San Marcos, TX 78666
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Gates Open: 7:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 9:15 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public; however, space is limited and an RSVP is required.
For security reasons, do not bring bags. Please limit personal items. No signs or banners are permitted.
Public Parking: Parking will be available at the Bobcat Stadium lot (on Aquarena Springs Drive) and at the Bobcat Village commuter lot (on Mills Street). Shuttle service will begin at 7 p.m. and run through the end of the event.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Some Rights Reserved. TexansForObama.com 2007 Paid for by TexansForObama & not Authorized by any Candidate or Candidate's Committee. [ADDRESS] Austin, Texas 78768. blog@texansforobama.com
