Like so many of us here at Daily Kos, I was one of those early Obama supporters, someone who signed up at mybarackobama.com. In fact, I prided myself on being one of the fledgling members of the ORR group. Damned if we didn't do some mighty fine work in those first months. In fact, when I first met Senator Obama, he had the graciousness to act as if he was actually aware that the ORR team existed. He looked tinkled pink as he shook my hand and said: "Oh, we love the work you guys do."
President Obama, You should say no to the XL Pipeline! NOW!
The other day, I responded to the email from TarsandsAction to take the next steps in Phase 2 of the campaign. I volunteered to host an educational house party AND to take the message to my local OFA group. Then I got another idea.
For years now, I've done my damndest to get myself removed from all the Obama groups I was active with, to clean out my overloaded inbox. But when the organization shifted over to OFA, it became near impossible. So it turns out that unless you succeeded in being removed from these group mailing lists, they are still available for you to use, to touch base with the folks you worked with virtually during the '08 campaign. Folks from all across America. Remember those phone banks you joined? Those state groups, special interest groups, precinct captains and canvassers? (For example, among the 100-odd groups I joined, there was "Quit Smoking With Obama," "Citizens Strategy Think Force" "Impeachers for Obama," " Peace in the Middle East" and "SF Giants Fans For Obama.")
President Obama, say NO to the XL Pipeline! NOW!
What if we all take advantage of this exceptional and extensive online network, created by grassroots volunteers like you and me for the 2008 campaign? We could use these extraordinary existing online tools to ensure communities of Obama supporters across the country are informed about the XL pipeline.
President Obama, You should say no to the XL Pipeline! NOW!
We have a way to actually unite millions and millions of Obama supporters to put pressure on the President to listen to us RIGHT NOW!
President Obama, say NO to the XL Pipeline! NOW!
So, here's my plan.
1. Go to barackobama.com. You'll arrive at the 2012 Election Landing Page. You'll be asked "Are you in?
2. Enter your email and zip and click on "I'm in."
3. When you arrive at the donation page, click on the huge 2012 at the top to jump to your own page.
4. You'll arrive at what used to be your dashboard. It will have links to your groups, options to join groups, options to volunteer, etc.
5. Access your groups OR search through "most popular" or "most members" groups and join an few. (I actually created a group for 'No To Keystone XL,' which is awaiting approval AND joined the Environmentalists for Obama, which currently has close to 38,000 members.)
6. Once you have access to the group(s) page, click on Listserv.
7. Click on Send message to the group.
8. Type in the subject line:
President Obama, You should say NO to the XL Pipeline NOW!
9. Copy and paste the following content into the text of your message: (Of course, feel free to write your own. This email pulls content from suggestions copied from our resident expert eco letter writer WarrenS)
A sample of the email I already sent out to about ten groups, consisting of over 67,000 members of mybarackobama.com is below the fold.
President Obama, You MUST say NO to the XL Pipeline! NOW!
President Obama, SAY NO TO THE XL PIPELINE NOW!
Subject of email: President Obama, Say NO to the XL pipeline. Now!
Dear (fill in the blank):
Last month, thousands of American citizens traveled to Washington, D.C., to be voluntarily arrested as part of the TarSandsAction outside the White House to send a message to President Obama:
President Obama, you should say NO to the XL Pipeline
As a fellow supporter of President Obama, I am asking you to join me in informing the President that we expect him to prohibit TransCanada from constructing the Keystone XL Pipeline to transport unrefined tar sands from Alberta, Canada, to Port Arthur, Texas.
Extracting oil from Alberta's tar sands is a hideously destructive process involving the destruction of huge swaths of boreal forest; the potential impact on the Earth's climate is devastating (climatologist James Hansen simply says that the project would be "game over" for the climate). Factor in the likelihood of spills, leaks, and aquifer contamination as the crude is piped to refineries thousands of miles away, and it's obvious: the Keystone pipeline is a recipe for short-, middle- and long-term disaster.
There has to be a better way. True, the proposed pipeline would only pass under "RED STATES" -- Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Kansas -- but we elected Mr. Obama as our President because we believe, as he does, that there are no red states, there are no blue states, "There are the United States of America."
President Obama, You should say NO to the XL Pipeline
Please join millions of Obama supporters and contact the President today to let him know you expect him to stand with us on what we believe is the most important decision in his presidency.
• Call the White House Switchboard @202-456-1414 and say:
President Obama, you should say NO to the XL Pipeline!
• Call the White House @ 202-456-1111 and leave this comment:
President Obama, say NO to the XL Pipeline!
• Fill in the online form at the White House website and say:
President Obama, you should say NO to the XL Pipeline now!
• Contact the president on Twitter @barackobama or @whitehouse or @PressSec and say:
President Obama, say NO to the XL Pipeline!
• Get in touch with your mybarackobama groups or join the most popular and 'most member' groups and ask them to join you to sending this clear message:
President Obama, you should say NO to the XL Pipeline now!
ARE YOU IN?
Thanks.
(fill in your name)
Tag, you're it!
5:34 PM PT: Cedwyn's diary earlier today re upcoming meetings in Nebraska and info on letters, etc A MUST Nobel Laureates Against Keystone XL Pipeline @ http://www.dailykos.com/...
5:36 PM PT: Kitsap with Washington action: "... Jay Inslee, who is running for Governor, and/or good Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire, to take a stand opposing it. The pipeline may not be proposed to enter Washington state, but dirty oil polluting the air will affect our state profoundly, and considering the dependence on and enjoyment of a clean environment that most Washingtonians live with and rely on, this most certainly does affect our state -- and all 49 others."
5:38 PM PT: Sillia: all 554 of them! We make up for small numbers with sincerity and hard work. Since Gov. Heinemann (R) and Sen. Johanns (R) have already contacted the President against the route through the Sandhills and over the aquifer, I think Nebraska feedback has a chance to make a difference.
Sen. Ben Nelson (D?) has been calling for good science and careful consideration of the impact all along, but I haven't seen him say anything recently. Remember, he was a very early Obama supporter. We should write to Nelson and ask him to put pressure on the President.Sent out to her Nebaska homies ...