Thank you, Netroots Nation!
Thank you so much for coming down to Austin for Netroots Nation and taking the time to visit our community and meet our local activists. As someone who is both a blogger and a local volunteer, it has been really exciting to watch my two favorite groups of people interact and inspire each other. You’ve all inspired me to keep working harder, too.
But now that you’ve enjoyed our city, our Shiner, and our strong commitment to progressive change in Texas, I have one request: help us Turn Texas Blue!
This was the first Netroots convention in which so many local grassroots activists mixed and mingled with bloggers in attendance. Over this past weekend, so many Kossacks told me how much they loved our impassioned Austin volunteers, and how well organized they found our Texas grassroots efforts. It’s tough being in a "Red State," but now you’ve all seen how hard we’re all working to change that by electing Lt. Col. Rick Noriega and winning the five seats necessary to take back the Texas House of Representatives. Here are just a few examples of what we’re doing here in Austin to make a difference:
On Wednesday, Netroots Nation attendees volunteered alongside local Austinites to register 85 new voters on Wednesday.
DailyKos volunteers included
laderrick, beachmom, crazyshirley2100, casperr, captainlaser, texasmom, khag, and
sidnora. I even witnessed beachmom register her first-ever new voter!
Sunday night after y’all left town, I trained a new group of Austin Obama Mamas on voter registration, and signed them up to host house parties for the great women candidates running in State Legislative and County Commissioner races. These women are carving out time from their busy schedules to do what they can to help.
Each week we hold four regular voter registration events. Together, our volunteers have already registered
967 new voters! We’ve also handed out thousands of flyers about local candidates, volunteer opportunities, and community events. Here are some of my voter registrar all-stars, who stand on the street in the 100-degree Texas heat to help make a difference this November:
Now, I know that no progressive backs down from a good fight, and I believe that all of you want to help us here in Texas stick it to the Republican Party, George W. Bush, and Tom DeLay’s unconstitutional redistricting. We’re only five seats away from reclaiming control of the Texas House of Representatives, and re-drawing the lines in a way that is genuinely fair and democratic. That’s why I’m asking you to please support the Travis County Democratic Party to help keep this great work going.
Winning all of these elections takes time and money. Unfortunately you don’t all live and vote in Austin, so please consider supporting those of us who do. If you can’t make it back to pitch in, consider sponsoring the following volunteer activities:
One Hour of Block-Walking | $10 |
One Hundred Phonebanking Calls | $25 |
Four Shifts of Voter Registration | $50 |
Two Community Outreach Events | $100 |
Sponsorship of One Campaign Intern Through November | $250 |
During the primary, Texans for Obama arranged sponsorship of campaign interns who dedicated themselves to making calls, walking precincts, and getting out the vote. Their regular and reliable participation made a tremendous difference in the outcome—for instance, most of the precincts they walked turned out over 75% for Barack Obama! Most are undergraduates at the four local colleges and universities here. Just $250 per intern is enough to allow them to commit their time to nothing but helping our great Democratic candidates.
Yes, Austin is liberal, but we’ve got a long way to go to turn out the votes needed to create a state-wide margin that puts Obama and Noriega over the top, and reclaims the Texas House. In 2004, John Kerry only received 54% of the county-wide vote. With your help, we’re going to push that number over 66% for Barack Obama, and increase our 60% turnout to record levels. Plus, we’ve still got a few elected Republicans in Travis County that need to be voted out of office, and several regional candidates including Chief Justice Woody Jones, who can help bring some sanity back to the Texas courts. (Yes, we elect judges in Texas. It’s scary. More on that another time.)
I wish y’all could be on the ground with us over the next five months, and I promise to keep you updated on our activities both here and on our website Turn Texas Blue. So, thank y’all for coming down to visit, and this November, give Texas a chance!