With just 64 days until the midterm elections, OFA volunteers are stepping up their organizing game and getting out every weekend to build momentum for November. This past weekend we set a unusually ambitious goal: 200,000 doors knocked in 48 hours as part of our Moving America Forward Day of Action. As we finish our final tally of this weekend’s numbers, we wanted to share some highlights of the events that took place from coast to coast.From Alaska to Florida, volunteers asked those they met to support allies of President Obama at the polls this year, and commit to vote on November 2nd.In Manhattan on Saturday, volunteers took the morning train to Long Island where they joined local supporters and Rep. Tim Bishop in going door-to-door for the Congressman.In Austin, Texas, more than a hundred people gathered at the Travis County Democratic Party offices and went block by block letting neighbors know about the governor’s, board of education, and state House races.In Fairfax, Virginia, 70 volunteers spent their Saturday knocking on doors and making phone calls to support Rep. Gerry Connolly, who has stood with President Obama in fighting for change in Washington.Here are volunteers, in their own words, on what it was like to take part in events this weekend:
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President Barack Obama just sent a message to supporters following his Oval Office address on Iraq: Tonight marks the end of the American combat mission in Iraq. As a candidate for this office, I pledged to end this war responsibly. And, as President, that is what I am doing. Since I became Commander-in-Chief, we've brought home nearly 100,000 U.S. troops. We've closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of our bases. As Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, our commitment to a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq continues. Under Operation New Dawn, a transitional force of U.S. troops will remain to advise and assist Iraqi forces, protect our civilians on the ground, and pursue targeted counterterrorism efforts. By the end of next year, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, these men and women, too, will come home. Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest -- it is in our own. Our nation has paid a huge price to put Iraq's future in the hands of its people. We have sent our men and women in uniform to make enormous sacrifices. We have spent vast resources abroad in the face of several years of recession at home. We have met our responsibility through the courage and resolve of our women and men in uniform. In seven years, they confronted a mission as challenging and as complex as any our military has ever been asked to face. Nearly 1.5 million Americans put their lives on the line. Many returned for multiple tours of duty, far from their loved ones who bore a heroic burden of their own. And most painfully, more than 4,400 Americans have given their lives, fighting for people they never knew, for values that have defined our people for more than two centuries. What their country asked of them was not small. And what they sacrificed was not easy. For that, each and every American owes them our heartfelt thanks. Our promise to them -- to each woman or man who has donned our colors -- is that our country will serve them as faithfully as they have served us. We have already made the largest increase in funding for veterans in decades. So long as I am President, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill that sacred trust. Tonight, we mark a milestone in our nation's history. Even at a time of great uncertainty for so many Americans, this day and our brave troops remind us that our future is in our own hands and that our best days lie ahead. Thank you, President Barack Obama
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With Congress preparing to return to session, President Obama spoke yesterday about what his Administration is doing to move our economy forward. The President also called on Republicans to stop blocking a bill that would cut taxes and increase loans for small businesses.As the President explained, it took a decade to dig us into this hole, and it’s going to take a continued push to get us out of it. Folks are still struggling, and the Obama Administration is focused “On pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that’s been done to the middle class over the past decade, and promoting the growth we need to get our people back to work.”The President asked Republicans in Congress to put aside their obstruction and work together to pass the jobs bill up for consideration.“There’s currently a jobs bill before Congress that would do two big things for small business owners:
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After more than seven years, today we end our country’s combat mission in Iraq. As the President wrote yesterday, “We are at a truly historic moment in our nation’s history.”To mark this important day, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight the President will speak to our country from the Oval Office—the second Oval Office address of his Presidency. You can watch live at WhiteHouse.gov/live or on any major television network.President Obama has also invited all Americans to join him in sending a message to our troops thanking them for their service to our country. You can send in your salute through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Flickr—and check out all the messages at WhiteHouse.gov/Salute.
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On the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this weekend, President Obama spoke in New Orleans about the Administration’s recovery efforts and ongoing commitment to the Gulf Coast.President Obama:"We’re cutting through the red tape that has impeded rebuilding efforts for years.
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OFA Director Mitch Stewart sent supporters the following message: This week's Republican primary elections in Arizona, Florida, and Alaska delivered a new crop of extreme nominees that the GOP needs to elect if they want to take back Congress.For these guys, it's not enough to return to the days of failed Bush policies -- they actually want to turn back the clock to the days before Social Security, Medicare, health reform, civil rights, voting rights, and women's rights.Republicans want to put the Tea Party in charge. We have a plan to stop them.We'll be reaching out to millions of voters across the country, making sure they know what the other side is offering, and getting them to the polls. But we have just 64 days to do it -- and right now, we're $242,000 short of our budgeting goal for the month of August.Can you donate $5 today to support OFA and our efforts to make sure Republicans can't enact their Tea Party agenda?While we've been ramping up our on-the-ground organizing in communities across the country, here's who the other side has been nominating to take power if they succeed.There's health industry executive Rick Scott, the Republican nominee for Governor in Florida whose former company was forced to pay $1.7 billion in fines for Medicare fraud committed during his tenure and who led one of the most sickening anti-health reform groups last year. He's already spent $50 million of his own money to buy the race.There's Joe Miller, running for Senate in Alaska. He's questioned the constitutionality of unemployment insurance and wants to phase out Social Security.There's Dan Maes, Republican candidate for governor in Colorado, who asserted that efforts in Denver to promote bike riding could "threaten our personal freedoms." Really.There's Sharron Angle, running for Senate in Nevada, who said she believes there are "domestic enemies" serving in Congress.And then there's Rand Paul, the nominee for Senate in Kentucky, who has said he wouldn't have supported key provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.These are the people Republicans want to hand the keys to.That's why it's so important we give it everything we have to defend the progress we've made, elect Democrats across the country, and prevent these extremist candidates from controlling our country's agenda.We're counting on supporters like you to help.Please donate $5 before the end of the month:https://donate.barackobama.com/StopTheTeaPartyThanks,MitchMitch StewartDirectorOrganizing for America
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OFA Director Mitch Stewart just emailed supporters to share a video of the President's Oval Office address last night:Last night President Obama marked the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom.As the President said, the struggle for peace is not over, but the progress we've made is undeniable.This moment also represents a promise kept. As a candidate, President Obama laid out a vision for this country -- and bringing our troops home from Iraq was a defining part of that vision. It was one of the reasons that all of us knocked on doors, made phone calls, and voted.Keeping that promise is important, not only for our brave women and men in uniform, but also for their loved ones, and for all Americans who have hoped and prayed for a resolution to this war.Please take a moment to watch the President's speech if you missed it last night:Watch the President's Oval Office address:http://my.barackobama.com/IraqAddressThanks,Mitch StewartDirectorOrganizing for America
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With millions of Americans still struggling to find work, the pace of our country’s economic recovery has been slower than anyone would like. But there are some bright spots as the Obama Administration works each day to get the economy back on track—like yesterday’s good news that agriculture is thriving thanks to increased exports.The New York Times highlighted new estimates out yesterday that represent good news for farmers and other rural Americans:Even as the broader economy falters amid signs of a weakening recovery, the nation’s agriculture sector is going strong, bolstered in part by a surge in exports, according to federal estimates of farm trade and income released on Tuesday.The estimates confirm what economists have been saying for months: agriculture, which was generally not hit as hard by the recession as many other segments of the economy, remains a small bright spot going forward.“We’re just having a robust rebound in the agricultural sector and promises of more growth,” Jason R. Henderson, vice president and economist at the Omaha branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said in a recent interview.The estimates show that American farmers will ship $107.5 billion in agricultural products abroad in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. That is the second-highest amount ever, behind the record $115.3 billion in exports logged in 2008, when commodity prices soared as the global demand for agricultural products was helped by fast-growing economies in the developing world....“The better the demand, the higher the price, and it’s going to put another 10, 15, possibly 20 cents in the price of a bushel of corn,” said Bill Horan, a corn farmer in Iowa. Corn is about $4 a bushel, which is about 50 cents higher than last year. “It means my wife can go out and buy a new sofa, and I can put new tires on the pickup.”Read the full article here.
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“Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.” — President Barack ObamaIn 2008, many volunteers were first drawn to Barack Obama as a candidate for President because of his firm promise to end the was in Iraq.Last night, the President made good on that campaign pledge, and spoke to the nation to mark the end of our combat mission in Iraq.In just his second Oval Office address, President Obama thanked the millions of Americans who put their lives on the line, including the 4,400 who gave their lives in this war.We’ve now been through nearly a decade of war.
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Over the weekend, thousands of OFA supporters and grassroots Democrats came together to reach out to voters in support of candidates who are fighting to move America forward.Before our Moving America Forward Day of Action, Organizing for America set an ambitious goal of 200,000 doors knocked in 48 hours. Volunteers across the country stepped up—not only hitting that goal by knocking on 200,893 doors, but also making 168,330 phone calls to voters.Check out some of the press coverage of the events and take a look at photo highlights from the weekend. CNN - “Dems Launch Get Out the Vote Campaign”Two major Democratic committees jointly launched their first nationwide get out the vote initiative of the fall campaign season on Saturday. The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee set a goal of knocking on 400,000 doors (200,000 for each committee) in 75 congressional districts as part of their "National Day of Action." "This level of voter contact this early is unprecedented," DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen said in a statement. "We will continue to meet with voters face to face and spread the message about moving the country forward."Virginia’s NBC 29 News - “Mark Warner surprises Organizing for America”Democrats brought in some national star power to help pound the pavement Saturday afternoon. Senator Mark Warner offered some words of advice to about 40 canvassers before they hit the streets of Charlottesville. Organizing for America teamed up with Tom Perriello's campaign to try and rally votes for the incumbent. Senator Warner told the party faithful that face-to-face time with voters is important for success in November.Pennsylvania’s Scranton Times Tribune - “Casey rallies area Dems as party preps for midterm races”When Democratic volunteers and activists gathered to campaign for the 2010 midterm elections Saturday, U.S. Sen.Bob Casey Jr. told them Democrats can prevail in the fall elections. "We're going to win this year, but I know we have a lot of work to do," he told the canvassers gathered in downtown Scranton, with cell phones for phone-bank calls and clipboards for door-to-door campaigning stacked on a table a few feet away. The gathering Saturday was part of a national campaign effort on behalf of Democrats over the weekend. Sixty events were planned in Pennsylvania.
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