If you're looking for a typical candidate attack diary, then you've clicked the wrong story. Instead, this post is simply about hope.
It's rough in Texas. We don't have a single statewide elected Democrat. There's been a Bush on the ballot or in office for 28 of the last 30 years. It would be easy to give up.
But when Howard Dean came to Texas in the summer of 2003 and rallied over 3,000 people, we started to feel hope again.
Then this past spring, Barack Obama came to Texas and picked up the people-powered torch. Over 20,000 people showed up despite the rain, and it was the biggest and most diverse rally in modern Texas history. Barack gave us real hope that ordinary people could do extraordinary things. This campaign isn't about him...it's about us. We must have the courage to change. Barack gave us hope that our generation could rise to the challenges of the day. He gave us hope that we could finally turn the page on the long Bush nightmare.
Texas doesn't have an early primary, so we have little influence over the nomination process. But we're doing what we can. Here's a report from volunteer Jen:
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
9:06 PM - Day 1 Texas to Kansas!
June and I left San Antonio this morning at about 8am. We made it to Emporia Kansas. We'll continue on to Des Moines in the morning. We just found out that Barack will be near June's house on the 31st also, so that should be fun. He's speaking at a high school in Jefferson City.
It was a smooth drive we saw snow, but not any on the road. YAY!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
5:41 PM - "Emporia to Rockwell City!"
So we finally made it safely to Iowa. I was a little worried there for a minute cause when I showed up at June's house, she invited me in and her dog BIT ME! Iwas fine and it was really no big deal but it got me a little worried about the direction the trip was headed. However, everything after that has been smooth sailing. We're safe and there is snow outside. It's pretty cold, but nothing we haven't seen before. June's house is great and if it were summer I'd totally be whinning for you to get me one of my own!
We already got our assignments: knocking on doors here in RC then calling to tell people that Michelle Obama is going to be in Pocahontas, Iowa on Saturday. I can't believe they actually named a town Pocahontas. It makes me smile everytime I say it. We're going to get to go see Michelle speak on Saturday night. Then on Monday we're going to see Barack in Jefferson Iowa. I am so excited that it's all free!! Iowans get all the perks!! John Edwards is coming through here in a few days also but, June says we'll skip that one.
more tomorrow!!xo-Jen
Friday, December 28, 2007
10:34 PM - On the Ground Day One
Hurray!! Our first day in Rockwell City was a great experience. We got our walklists and headed out early. We stopped by the county courthouse around the block and took a few pictures while getting the details about caucus night.
By the end of the day we had gotten through the majority of the Barack Supporters here in town. June's familiarity with the community has been so valuable. We decided to head to dinner at the local Pizza Ranch. If was a great WARM break after a long day, and finally, as a reward for all our hard work the coolest thing happened. As we were getting ready to walk out I heard an employee telling his boss that he had just seen Barack Obama and had his book signed. My ears perked up and I decided to head over to say hi. It turns out the employee, Logan, is indeed a big Obama supporter and will infact be caucusing for him on January 3. We were soooo excited! What a great payoff for a cold day's work.
After that we headed home all smiles and began making calls to people in the area about Michelle's visit to Pocahontas. =:0) The calling went well, now we're just preparing lists to send back to Katie filled with the results of our walking and calling.
I can't wait until Steve and Judy arrive. Rockwell City is small but more importantly friendly. Tomorrow we head into Lake City to knock on more doors and try to identify the Obama supporters there. Wish us luck!!
More tomorrow!
xo-Jen
p.s. pictures coming soon...
We believe in Barack Obama. It feels good to finally vote FOR a candidate, not against someone. We'll support whoever the Democratic nominee is, but we want everyone to know how inspired we are by Obama.
If you're still undecided on this presidential race, then please watch this short testimonial video filmed recently. We're just regular Texans, not Washington pundits. But we feel inspired, and we hope Obama can unify our country and get results. (Thanks to volunteer Laura for filming and editing!)
Still not convinced? Watch this photo slide-show from our 20,000 person rally at Auditorium Shores:
Still not convinced? Watch this video from our recent Texas rally at the Backyard Ampitheater:
For our fellow Texans out there, we hope to see you at our upcoming Iowa Watch Party at Scholz Garten.
Thanks to all our volunteers who are traveling to the early states. We look forward to more updates. And if the nomination isn't decided on February 5th, then we're confident that our Texas grassroots network will deliver for Obama. Fired up! Ready to go!