Progressive Update—10/1/2008—Under 5 weeks to go

Less than five weeks to go. Who will you be helping to win on November 4th? When is the next time you are pitching in?
Please come to a talk by Villanova professor Matt Kerbel this Saturday, from 3:30-5pm, at the Newark Unitarian church (www.uufn.org), about the 2008 Presidential campaigns and election. The flyer is at http://www.uufn.org/temp/KerbelOct4Flyer4Web.pdf My favorite observation he shared four years ago is how traditionally in the Democratic primaries, the candidates stand in a circle and try to shoot each other, such that the last person standing gets the nomination, but could be near fatally wounded in the process.
Cheerleading—The McCain/Palin bounce has fully evaporated, after leading in national polls by 2-4%, McCain/Palin are now trailing by 4-6%. www.electoral-vote.com is currently projecting Obama winning with 286 electoral votes (EVs), ignoring Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida which are currently tied. The site also projects 58 Democrats in the Senate (a pickup of seven). www.fivethirtyeight.com shows a 28% likelihood of a blowout—Obama winning 375 or more EVs, providing a strong mandate to jump-start his policies.
In 2004 we saw how a lead could evaporate in the weeks before the election. I share many opportunities to pitch in below.
Working for Obama—The Obama campaign has office space in Newark, in the Snappy Auctions building (the old Wilmington Trust, 211 Elkton Road) at Park n Shop in west Newark. You will no longer need to drive up 95 to the Riverfront to help Obama.
Drive for Change (D4C)—We will have four opportunities each weekend to go door-to-door in Pennsylvania for Obama. We leave from Snappy Auctions on Saturdays at 9am and at 1pm, and on Sundays at 10am and at 2pm. You should be back to Newark in six hours (1.5 hours drive time, ½ hour orientation, and 4 hours door-knocking). No experience required, they do training. You are always paired with someone (bring a friend!).
Call for Change (C4C)—We are calling into PA (phone-banking) on weeknights, generally from 6-9pm, in the Newark office space. Bring a cell phone and charger, and a laptop and charger if you are able.
Vice President Debate Watch at Timothy’s in Newark, Thursday night at 8:30pm. Go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/debatewatchparty/gshfw5 to signup and learn more. We will pack the 2nd floor! Come a little early and order a drink and some food (nachos?).
Sign Up—Please sign up for these events if you are able. It permits us to prepare, to have enough space in the office, to let the PA offices know how many volunteers are driving north, etc. To signup, go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_simple, enter your zipcode and a search radius to find events near you.
If you live near Newark, to save yourself time, register at My.BarackObama.Com (myBO), and provide your address. Within myBO, join the Newark DE for Obama group. Select it and search for the group’s events (and signup).
Donations—The Newark office space can use gas cards (to help folks driving to and through PA), and can use ‘go phones’. A volunteer yesterday bought one for $30 from the Rite Aid near the Newark office. This included 300 minutes, and after calling 50 PA voters, she had only used 24 minutes!
I donated a box of Obama/Biden buttons to the office. While they last, you get one for free when you volunteer.
Obama/Biden Yard Signs and Bumper Stickers—The Newark office will not have any yard signs or bumper stickers. I have ordered a bunch of these, personally. When they arrive, I will be selling the yard signs for $5 each and the bumper stickers for $1 each. I have NO IDEA when they will arrive.
State Wide—There are many, many races, with some great progressive candidates. http://www.progressivedemsdel.com/endorsements/ has the list of candidates endorsed by PDD (progressive dems of delaware). Matt Denn (http://www.mattdenn.com) is probably in the toughest state-wide race, and could certainly use your help (time and money).
To take the majority in the state house, candidates Becky Walker (www.voterebeccawalker.com), Mike Barbieri (www.mikebarbieri.net), Rebecca Young (www.young4the22nd.org), and John Kowalko (www.johnkowalko.com) especially impress me.
There are some great folks running for Senate seats (where progressive Democrats are necessary to reverse the tradition of desk drawer vetoes), most notably Mike Katz (http://www.katz4senate.com) and John Mackenzie (http://www.mackenzie4senate.com).
Please mark your calendars for Saturday October 18 and Sunday the 19th, for two candidate forums held in Newark. The flyer is at http://www.uufn.org/temp/OctForum4Web.pdf.
Get out there and make the change happen!