How I Spent My Easter Weekend

Registering Voters! Just on Saturday in the county I was in, we registered almost 3000 new voters or people switching parties to vote in the Democratic primary. Obama still is unlikely to win in PA, but hopefully we got him some new voters.

Here's some info from the NY Times:

Democratic voter registration in Pennsylvania has hit a record of more than 4 million voters.

“It’s kind of incredible,” Harry A. VanSickle, the state’s elections commissioner, tells The Caucus as his office prepares to post the new numbers. “It’s the first time we know of that a party in Pennsylvania has gone over 4 million.”

A total of 4,044,952 people are now registered to vote in the Democratic primary; a total of 3,215,478 are registered for the Republican primary.

Some of the biggest numbers of those who switched to become Democrats were recorded in the Republican suburbs of Philadelphia, which are likely to be an important battleground in the primary. [thats where we were canvassing]

And:

Democratic enrollment is up by more than 110,000 since last year’s election, an increase of roughly 3 percent, state election officials said. It is likely to surpass the record of 4 million by Monday. Republicans lost about 14,000 voters in the same period.

More than 58,000 registered voters have changed their affiliation to Democratic, with about 10,000 changing to Republican. Voters must be registered in a party to vote in the state’s primary.

And jeez, its a sappy local news kind of story, but c'mon its nice - check out how a high school student was inspired by Obama to set up a voter registration table at her school.
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It's pronounced "Mill-wah-que"

So Wisconsin is the next big state voting on Tuesday. And today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel announced their endorsement of Obama (following visits from both candidates). Here's some of what they have to say:

There is only the tiniest sliver of daylight separating Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the issues, with the notable exception of health care reform...The similarity of views is, in truth, why the candidates return so much to the themes of change and experience...Obama still has the edge. His experience as community organizer, state legislator, U.S. senator and campaigner who took a dream and became a credible contender measures up well against Clinton's experience as poverty lawyer, first lady and U.S. senator...In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board on Wednesday, the first-term senator proved himself adept at detail and vision. They are not mutually exclusive...In Clinton, there is the potential for déjà vu all over again. Right or wrong, she is a polarizing figure who excites all the wrong kinds of political passions...And much of the antagonism she engenders in the right is simply irrational.

And my friend Jackson has forwarded this article "Wisconsin Should Be A Showdown" analyzing the Clinton campaign's efforts in that state and why an Obama victory is far from a foregone conclusion.

Go here to volunteer to phone bank Wisconsin voters, or here to Donate to Obama.

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Now This is Happening.

A Personal Testimonial from a Friend:

I apologize to anyone who hates politics or supports someone besides Obama, but I had to add this to the email stream. Maybe it's the fact I'm stuck on a train in New Jersey in an ice storm at midnight because some old guy is stone cold drunk (they just took him off the train in handcuffs) or maybe it's the tallboy Buds talking (wow that could have been me), but I wish each and every one of you could have seen what was going on this past week in Virginia and the DC metro area. Jef and I went down to campaign, and speaking for myself, who has campaigned in every election since 1996, I was amazed. People of all ages, races, genders, classes and religions came together to work for something they truly believed in. I myself spent the better part of today walking around Falls Church, VA in dress shoes in freezing rain working for Obama. By the time I was finished, I was one solid ice cube, but a pleased ice cube all the same, what with tonight's outcome. IF any of you are supporters of Obama, and it's no problem if you aren't, I highly recommend you take any opportunity you have to volunteer for the campaign. There are so many things to do, some of which you can do at home; you won't regret it. We really have a unique opportunity as Americans to radically alter the path this country is on, thanks to this year's elections. The stakes couldn't be higher. Thanks.

Obama has a lot of momentum right now, but its not over yet - by a longshot. There's still big contests ahead in Ohio and Texas on March 4, and Pennsylvania in April. If you are interesting in supporting Obama: DONATE OR VOLUNTEER! You can help canvas or phone bank to call voters in one of these states.

Here's some links (though his servers appear to be deluged at the moment):

Donate

Search your neighborhood for events

Make Calls

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