The Bus Project is canvassing for Suzanne Bonamici & Tobias Read in Washington county tomorrow. Meeting at Grant Highschool at 10am or Schiffler Park in Beaverton at 11am.

K already beat me to it, but I wanted to provide a link to my Saturday plan, the first GOTV Bus Trip of the season. And I will help the Lane County crew put the Ballot Faerie out of business the very next day, 10/22.

Aaaaaand I'm also gonna be telling as many folks as I can about Trick or Vote, just a little over a week away, which is going to be even more exciting than the time that Tony Danza saw Angela in the shower on that one episode of Who's The Boss.

Hmm, that gives me an idea... maybe I'll go as Tony Danza for Halloween...

Here are two events for the next two Saturdays:

Canvass for Lynn Peterson, candidate for Clackamas County Commission Saturday, October 21 11 am - 4 pm 1017 Molalla Ave Oregon City Call 503-557-9460 or check out http://www.peterson2006.com for campaign details

Running against Republican Larry Sowa, Lynn is in an extremely tight race that could shift the balance of the Clackamas County Commission at a time when the county is facing intense challenges with Measure 37 claims, transportation planning, and development pressure. Lynn could use your help!

Environmental Canvass to Get out the Vote for Governor Kulongoski! Saturday, October 28 10 - 1 pm 128 NE 7th Ave Kulongoski Campaign Headquarters Call 503-546-0416 or vist http://www.tedforgov.com for campaign details Register for this canvass online at https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/232/personalopt1.asp?formid=calolcv&c=6128130

When it comes to keeping Oregon's air and water clean, protecting forests, oceans and open space, or bringing clean energy to Oregon - Governor Kulongoski is leading the way. Ron Saxton doesn't have a real plan when it comes to the environment and in fact wants to take us backwards - he doesn't think the state is the right place to show leadership on global warming, he's told business groups he supports repealing tailpipe emissions standards that keep Oregon's air clean, and he wants to ramp up logging on state and federal lands with less environmental safeguards in place to protect streams, rivers and special places.

I just got my ballot and voted so we are one vote closer to a Democratic hat trick; Governor, Senate and House. It is only 2.5 weeks and if we work hard to get out our votes, we can win in a landslide. Here are the opportunities in Lane County this week:

The DPLC will have canvass in Eugene on Sat at 2pm and Sunday at Noon and phone banking 5 nights a week so come on out to help us Get Out the Vote, details on how to participate at www.dplc.org

The Chris Edwards Campaign is working hard to win HD 14, contact his campaign for more info, we only have to flip four seats to win back the House and Chris Edwards can be 25% of the solution for taking it back: www.chrisedwardsfororegon.com

Senator Vicki Walker could use your help in this neck and neck race contact her campaign at www.vickiwalker.com

Jean Cowen is out on the Coast and is one of the best chances for us to win back a House seat, again your help is vitally important so please make time to help her get out the vote in HD 10, www.jeancowan.com

Val

I'm packing up my 2 year old daughter and taking her to Grant High School for the Bus Project canvass. We'll take advantage of the free breakfast. Oh, and we'll help elect two great candidates to the Oregon House.

If you're reading this before 9:30 a.m., there's still time to Get On the Bus!

If we motivate, activate, energize & GOTV, we will win with Progressives across the state, including Governor Kulongoski and the targeted Legislative races.

Thousands of new voters have been registered: younger voters, Hispanic voters and those pissed off at CheneyBushCo despotism. We must do everything possible to encourage those new voters to vote Progressive. And we must motivate the voters who've been dropping out the past 6 years to get off their apathy.

Let's get creative and fun with our motivating...like the folks involved with the amazing Bus Project and Defend Oregon have been doing. Recruit your friends and neighbors to help with phone-banking, door-to-door canvassing, leafletting, sign-holding, writing letters to editors...

Get out and talk to people, pass out campaign material in the streets, at coffee shops, malls, movie theatres & campuses...wherever.

Above all let's persuade people to VOTE IN THEIR OWN INTEREST! Help them to know that creeps like Saxton represent the 1-2% of the most wealthy among us and the megacorporations, NOT the vast majority of citizens.

Tell voters to look at where the big corporate money is being spent, then ask them to vote for the Progressives who truly represent them.

Remind voters that the genuine non-profit, public interest, environmental, pro-labor and civil/human rights organizations are endorsing: the Progressives!

Thanks for anything any of you are doing out there to educate, advocate, energize and get out the Progressive vote. That's all we should think about in the next two weeks! Fight the tendency to become over confident or complacent.

Peace & Justice! James J. Eugene

I am always inspired by the political pep talk that comes forth from the mind of James J. His enthusiastic ideas bring to mind some tactics I use as I seek to influence progressive thinking in those I come in contact with.

While on-the-job campaigning is against the rules during my work time, having stuff lying about in my own space is not. I make sure that the most colorful stuff is piled on the corner where visitors hover. For example, a bright blue Vicki Walker flyer, as well as a red-highlighted “Saxton Too Extreme For Oregon” flyer, compliments of my union.

I wear buttons daily that sometimes give people reason for pause, and perhaps even stop them in their tracks. Many a conversation has started in the checkout line at the grocery store as a result. (Checkout lines are part of the canvassing turf, by the way.) My Bush Pinocchio button is a recent favorite, and it brings to mind the role that humor can play in getting to the core of serious stuff.

Essentially, I gently push the envelope on a continual basis. (If I am not wearing a button, chances are I am not feeling well.)

Also, I seek to stay tuned in on letters to the editor in my local newspaper(s), as very often letters that are contrary to what I support or believe serve as spin-off material for what I end up writing. While I am not one of the more prolific contributors, I do it often enough to be recognized by some folks in the community. And when they speak of seeing one of my letters, it is often in the presence of others, and thus other persons (who did not necessarily read the newspaper) are touched by the information.

And finally, when I talk or write to others about voting, I encourage them to vote as though their life depends on it. Because essentially IT DOES!!

P.S. If you possibly can, GET ON THE BUS! The Bus Project is a well-wired and entertaining way to spread democracy across the state, and in these last days a great way to GET OUT THE VOTE!!

Keep in mind that it's a numbers game!

Mention the Governor's name in line to the grocery store clerk (they have to be polite), the bank clerk, the postman, the barista. Even if it's only to remind people to vote, more voters mean more democrats.

Prepare a tag-line that you're comfortable with, make it humorous ("vote early and vote often") or serious ("can't trust 'em with the country, can't trust 'em with our kids, can we?), but use it to show your enthusiasm for our candidate and the process everywhere you go.

Our competitors are not embarrassed to espouse the most outlandish nonsense, so don't be demure in our passion for our hard-working representatives. If you yell louder and less self consciously for your football team than your candidate, you need to reassess your priorities.

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