Attention Superdelegates:
When Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for President, I will give his general election campaign more time, energy, and money than I have ever given any candidate before. I will eagerly vote for him, knowing that Barack Obama has the unprecedented opportunity to turn my very Red State back to Blue. However, my one vote is the least I can do for Barack Obama, in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that I will do all I can to help him win the election, and I will encourage everyone else I know to volunteer and contribute to his campaign as well. Most importantly, in this sentiment I am so energized to know that I am not alone.
There is something about Barack Obama that inspires people to get involved in his campaign. His particular combination of pragmatism and idealism leads people to believe again in the promise of a government that can both get things done and aspire to our better selves. His grassroots campaign—and history as a community organizer—is perhaps the best evidence of this, and gives a clear indication of what his administration would likely look like: a government that truly is, as they say, for the people and by the people.
It’s also my profound belief that those inspired by Barack Obama will stay involved, because they have had the transformative experience of working with a candidate of such high caliber. The motto "Respect, Empower, Include" on the walls of every campaign office I’ve seen demonstrates how the staff and volunteers are working together to bring about the positive, progressive change that our country needs. But then, of course I think that people who volunteer for Obama for the first time will keep doing it – that’s my own story of how I got here. By "here" I mean not only to this website, but also to self-identifying as a progressive Democrat and taking an active role in participating in the process of our democracy.
I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating: Barack Obama was the candidate that first made me get involved in politics. In 2004 I was living in Hyde Park, Chicago, where Obama was my State Senator. After his Senate primary victory (yup, I voted for him!) I talked about him so much at work that one of my co-workers invited me to a Ba-ROCK the House Party. I went, and I was inspired—I’d never seen so many young people talking about politics and getting involved. That fall, I volunteered to register voters on Chicago’s West Side in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. I will never forget standing on the Blue Line platform as young males lined up to be registered because they wanted to vote for Barack Obama. I know that this same excitement, enthusiasm, and outpouring of support will be with us in the general election.
Many of the folks I have met in the past few months are freshly minted Obama supporters, and a significant percentage of them have never volunteered before, either. At organizing meetings we always talk about what brings us to Obama and why we’re eager to help his campaign. The stories are amazing – from people who walked away from politics decades ago out of frustration to high schoolers who can’t vote but can help organize their precincts. These newcomers excite me because I believe that now mobilized, many of them will stay involved in our political process, stay engaged, and stay committed to a candidate—and eventual President—that has inspired their newfound activism.
There’s something else worth noting about Obama volunteers, something that struck me often as we moved through the primary season here in Texas. There are so many people want to give all that they can to help Obama. The outpourings of support were tremendous, from the food donated to the campaign office to the number of people streaming in to find out how they can help. For the Obama office opening, over 2,000 people came to the office on a cold and wet Saturday morning to learn how to phonebank, organize their precinct, and participate in the caucus. I’ve seen volunteer efforts and in-kind donations before, but I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like the tremendous and broad support for Barack Obama.
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After four years of "blogging in our pajamas in our parents’ basements," DailyKos users have become one of--if not the--main online activist bases for the Democratic Party. We do tremendous things when we work together and harness the power of the internet for collective action. We phonebank from around the country to help candidates on all levels of the ballot. We call insurance companies that refuse a girl her liver transplant until they relent. We fax and call our Representatives over and over and over and over again until they finally get the friggin’ message that we want them to vote like real Democrats. We raise money. Lots and lots and lots of money, for candidates at all levels of our democracy. Frankly, I don’t think there exists a true progressive who can’t come here and find some supporters amongst our over 150,000 registered users.
All of our online activism has given us a place, and increasingly a voice, in our democratic process. This sea-change has not escaped the notice of even the mainstream media, despite our frequent assertions that said MSM is complacent, corporatized, or co-opted:
These are the people who are said to be changing the very nature of American politics, transforming the old smoke-filled room of insiders into an expansive chat room for anyone who wants in.
(snip)
... the site is now less a blog than a civic phenomenon. With some 600,000 visitors a day, Daily Kos reaches more Americans — albeit like-minded Americans — than all but a handful of the largest daily newspapers.
-- Matt Bai, New York Times, May 28, 2006
...the Democrats have developed their voice on the Internet. The Republicans have no equivalent of the DailyKos blog, which serves as an organizing tool for the left and where views are often picked up by the mainstream news media.
-- Adam Nagourney, New York Times, September 2, 2007
DKos has been defined as a meeting ground not for every Democrat, but for the kind that wants to change the party to be more grassroots oriented, adhere to a 50-state strategy, stop the war in Iraq, and blunt the influence of lobbyists, PACs and the neoliberal Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).
-- Al Giordano, The Field, March 16, 2008
But perhaps it is Kos himself who described his website best:
It's a Democratic blog with one goal in mind: electoral victory. And since we haven't gotten any of that from the current crew, we're one more thing: a reform blog. The battle for the party is not an ideological battle. It's one between establishment and anti-establishment factions. And as I've said a million times, the status quo is untenable.
-- Markos Moulitsas, DailyKos, November 15, 2004
The status quo is untenable. We want, and are willing to work for change. The vast, vast majority of people who read and participate in this forum believe that this sorely needed change can and will come from Barack Obama. Our individual reasons for supporting him are as varied as our own paths to this website and our reasons for supporting the Democratic Party. But at the end of the day, we believe that Barack Obama can best help us fulfill our mission of electing more and better Democrats. And we can help fulfill our own mission by helping get Barack Obama elected.
We've never before had so much opportunity to have such an impact on the highest elected office in the land. We've also not been presented in a very long time with the opportunity to nominate, support, and elect such a transformative figure. Superdelegates, we're ready to really prove our mettle as the online activist base, the crashers of the gates, the people-powered movement.
DailyKos users, tell me (and them) what you will do to help get Barack Obama elected. Also, don't hesitate to add what you have already done. Consider this an opportunity to not only pledge our continued and future efforts, but also to pat each other on the back for the work we’ve already done. Doors knocked? Phone calls made? Money donated? States traveled to? Let us—and our wider readership--know what you’ve done for Barack Obama so far.
There are a LOT of ways we can all help. There’s something for everyone. Here are just a few.
I Will...
Phonebank. Block-Walk. Do Data Entry. Provide General Campaign Office Help. Register Voters. Travel To a Swing State or Swing District To Campaign. Make Sure My Friends and Family Are Registered, And Convince Them To Support Barack Obama. Proudly Wear My Obama Shirt, Hat, Pin, Bumper Sticker, Or Whatever I’ve Got From Labor Day Until Election Day. Drive Voters To The Polls. Do Visibility On Election Day And Before. Donate. And, Last But Certainly Not Least, Proudly Vote for Barack Obama.
We've Given So Much to Barack Obama So Far. And We Will Give So Much More When He Is Our Nominee.