I have to admit that I share a fetish with Kos: the ground game. I get a genuine stir in my bones when I read stories like these. There's something incredibly American about organizing and getting involved with your local party, and in a nation of 300 million people, it is the lifeblood of democracy. And on a more practical note, it's how we're going to get more and better Democrats elected at all levels of government: federal, state and local.
I could go on and on about the goodness of organizing and why Obama's 50-state strategy matters, but we know that story. Instead, I simply want to share a story of my own involvement and hopefully hear some of your own anecdotes in return, and if you're from Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island or Vermont all the better!
On Tuesday night, I went to the Triangle for Obama Meet-up in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina to watch the debate. The event began at 7:00, a full two hours before the debate, and within half an hour, over 50 people had shown up, a standing room only crowd. They numbered young and old, black, white and hispanic, moms and daughters, friends and neighbors.
Before the debate began, we announced where to find our website and made a plea for donations. A half an hour later our group had registered four new donors and received more than $500 in donations for Barack's campaign. Following these announcements a man in the crowd stood up and spontaneously spoke about why he was going to vote for Obama: "I'm voting for Barack Obama because this room right here is the American I want to live in." Powerful stuff.
Last night, I attended another meet-up, this time a discussion of Precinct organizing headed by a chair of the Wake County Democratic Party. Over 20 people showed up from precincts all over Wake County to come learn about how to organize a precinct to GOTV for Democrats in May and November. Keep in mind our primary isn't for another 2 months! This is a grassroots movement with the potential to change America and build an enduring liberal majority. To those who say that Obama is not helping the Democratic Party, I say come to Wake County and tell me it's not making a difference. It is.
The amazing thing to me about these events is that they're 100% volunteer-driven. Right now there are no paid Obama staff in North Carolina, yet they're going to have a small army of passionate volunteers who have been out in their communities organizing for the elections. Keep the stories coming and let's keep doing our part.
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