Good morning!
This is the weekly DKos Asheville open thread where we try to get together every Saturday morning around eleven, and then drift in and out throughout the day. We hope this group serves to reinvigorate us locally and regionally here on Daily Kos, building on the sense of community that's grown through our online engagement. DKos Asheville can give us all a better sense of connection, a better understanding of who these people are that we stand with, work with, and share with in the political process. We hope, through this community, that we can do a better job of leveraging our orange passion for progressive politics to help elect more and better Democrats.
If you would like to host a weekly open thread, please let us know.
The DKos Asheville Autumnal Meetup is today!
We'll be at The Bywater in Asheville, right by the French Broad River. It looks like sweatshirt weather today; cloudy, highs in the mid sixties, little chance of rain, perfect for an outdoor gathering by the river. For those just tuning in, there's an outdoor grill, so if you wish, bring food to cook, share, and eat. Cameras are welcome; it's nice to have pics to share in the follow up diary.
Alcohol is sold on premises, so do not bring your own booze; but do bring if you wish food, plates, utensils, etc. And if you're asked if you're a member when you enter, tell them you're with Randall; or get a membership, it's a nice place to meet any time.
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Our first Voter Registration Event is this Tuesday, October 22. We will be outside in the covered area at the Westgate Earthfare. We'll also be there the following Tuesday the 29th. We still haven't decided on a specific time yet, maybe we can discuss that at the meetup today; but we're basically looking at being there from mid-afternoon to early evening.
We need your help with this; no one should be out there by themselves. This is intended to be a group event, a chance to spend time with each other and to work together as part of our engagement in the political process. And of course the more voters we register, the greater the chances of us taking back our state legislature, governor's house, and maybe even our congressional districts. We'll also be inspiring others by our example to get politically engaged.
I have a card table I can bring. Each of us should bring something to sit on. I've already picked up the registration forms; and I can bring some pens. We'll need a large sign with some catchy phrase like "Register to Vote Here". Clip boards might be helpful; I have one or two, but more might be good.
We'll need some handouts; they'll need to be written up, and they'll need to be printed.
There are some rules for registering voters; you can read them here, and I'll bring copies to have with us.
Those of you who attended Moral Monday events know that Reverend Barber implored us to start registering voters now; this was the thing that he stressed we do more than anything else. It is important. But we'll try to make it fun as well.
Please mark on your calendars.
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One note about recent events in Washington. Our representative here in NC-11, Mark Meadows, was one of the ring-leaders of the shut down, in that he was the author of the letter, signed by 79 other Tea Party members, that demanded holding the government hostage in return for defunding the ACA.
Given how unpopular the shutdown and the thread of default were, I think we can and should use this as a talking point in our efforts to defeat him in next year's election. And I think we should begin now, while the shutdown and default threat are still fresh in the minds of voters. We could perhaps start with letters to the editor sent to the Asheville Citizen-Times; but however we choose to spread the word, I think it important to associate Meadows with the shutdown, to make this the one thing that everyone in the district knows about him, even to the point of encouraging Republicans to primary him.
A few weeks ago, I didn't think we had much of a chance of taking this district back; but now Meadows has given us something we can work with. And I think we should take it and use it.
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Hope to see as many of you as can make it today!