House Parties for Obama
Jeff Alworth
I just got back from a house party for Barack Obama--one of over 100 that were happening all over the state tonight. I left feeling enormously confident about Obama's campaign and the hopes for Democrats in general in 2008. Let's start with the Obama campaign. 
As you would imagine, the ages skewed young, but I also spoke to a man who voted in the 1960 election. There were a couple of law students and one woman who had just spent the day canvassing her neighborhood and registering voters. She's registered 30 in all, including independents and three crossover Republicans who switched solely to vote for Obama in the primary. And add two more: two of the attendees at our party registered tonight.
Everyone was drawn to Obama for different reasons, but far from the blissed-out caricatures you hear about in the media, they were well-informed. They had been following the election closely and were versed on Obama's positions on the issues. A major theme at our party is one you don't hear getting much attention nationally--the environment. Obama's positions are among the most green in national politics, yet the focus on Iraq, health care, and the economy have tended to push them of the front pages. Politics is local, and in Portland, that means green. House parties are a good opportunity for people to be able to dig into the issues that matter to their community.
These kinds of events are so critical in forming relationships and building excitement for a campaign, but I was reminded that they are playing an absolutely critical role for Democrats this year. We hear a lot about how devastating this protracted primary season is for Democrats, but it's obvious the opposite is true. If we assume that there were an average of 15 people at each house party, then the Obama campaign just made contact with 1,500 voters--many of whom will become registered Democrats, donors, and volunteers. John McCain can only look at these waves of new people and dream. By virtue of this long campaign, every state in the union will have added legions of donors and volunteers, and they'll be ready to go in November.
Things are looking up, Oregon. The good guys are getting organized and getting ready. This is our year.
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connect with blueoregon
Apr 26, '08
Baker Co Democrats ran a registration canvass today, I bagged 6, Indies and Rs to D and one new to NAV. A nice day out and I took the 62 Chevy II.
Apr 26, '08
The house party I spoke to was a great gathering of 20-something, near the Mississippi district. The crowd was 35-30 at a residence
They are excited and engaged.
The conference call introduced by Earl and with Senator Dick Durbin came in loud and clear and was well received.
Rock and Roll, Baby!
Something's happening here.
Apr 26, '08
Good work, people! Thank you for your efforts.
Apr 27, '08
I'm picking Hillary because I know that she will be a strong president for us and I think that, you know, it's one thing to deliver a speech, but I want a president who will deliver on the speeches, and Hillary is that candidate for me.
Curtis Eugene, OR
Apr 27, '08
Curtis:
Does that mean you won't be a host in the next wave of Obama house parties, May 10?
On the war, I fear Hillary will not be a lot different than Bush / Cheney.
Take a look at my last post here:
http://john.bradach.net/
7:59 a.m.
Apr 27, '08
Curtis, this is good news for you, too. If Hillary somehow pulls off the miraculous and wins the nomination, she'll find the voter rolls and contact lists of Democratic voters swollen by millions thanks to this long primary. It's all good.
Apr 27, '08
Obama has a problem . There is a disconnect to the Democratic base! Obama can't win because he doesn't get it. He doesn't connect to the middle class workers that he needs!
Obama, who leads both in pledged delegates and in the popular vote, cannot close the gap with lunch-pail Democrats, older voters and (for lack of a better term) white people.
Consequently, Clinton has been able to widen Obama's weaknesses with each passing primary contest.
Yes, Obama won lunch-pail Democrat votes in caucuses, but remember: Caucus participants, for the most part, are party activists who cling to the farthest-left end of the platform; they are not Middle America.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/arti...
8:58 a.m.
Apr 27, '08
Christines, you might want to reconsider your first statement. i am Democratic base, and the one who i feel the disconnect with is Hillary. haven't you figured out that there is some real, and not imagined, reason she went from a massive national lead in all the polls to now trailing by 10 points? the Democratic base is not a bunch of old white folks in the Rust Belt, especially since so many of them abandoned the party for Reagan in the 80s. the Democratic base has moved on (oops, sorry about that phrase). it's not as old, white or dogmatic as those who made the difference in the OH & PA primaries. the Democratic base stretches from coast to coast, and includes those who register independent but happily vote for a Democrat like Barack Obama who represents their hopes and beliefs.
Wisconsin, btw, held an election. Wisconsin, btw, very lunch pail, blue collar. Wisconsin, btw, big Obama victory, 17 points. and contrary to your claim that Clinton has widened Obama's weaknesses, exit and post-election polling in PA shows he improved his performance in virtually all categories from Ohio. so he not only cut her PA lead by two-thirds in a month, he made inroads with all the "base" groups the Clinton campaign claims belong to her and her alone.
Apr 27, '08
I am an Obama supporter who is concerned about how the Oregon campaign is being run. The basic assumption seems to be that what worked in the early primaries and in caucuses will work here, despite the growing evidence from recent primaries that this is not true.
House parties where the party goers are almost exclusively people who already support Obama serve primarily to raise money and money raising has been very successful. They do not bring in many new supporters.
Large rallies are one time events, again appealing primarily to people already convinced.
Canvassing brings in new voters, mostly young people, and the campaign is doing well with young people.
It is doing poorly with nearly all other groups, excepting African Americans and college graduates. It is doing consistently very poorly with seniors.
Very little is being done to appeal directly to these groups. Most events are youth oriented and thus do not speak to most adults or seniors. Indeed they may give the impression that the Obama campaign is not interested in them or their concerns.
I think it would be hard to deny that Hillary has been much more aggressive in Oregon recently, with her "Compact for Oregon" addressing specific issues, her challenge to moderator free debates, Chelsea charming people, and Bill managing his temper and travelling all over the state.
I fear that if we do not quickly develop activities directed specifically at those group where we are doing poorly OBama may limp into the nomination and lose what should be an unlosable election. Democrats are good at that.
Apr 27, '08
Well, I'm old, white and a woman, and I'm also a rabid Obama supporter. I voted in my first Presidential election in 1968, voting for Hubert Humphrey (even though he wasn't the candidate I really supported, but RICHARD NIXON??!! No way.) As I look back on my voting experience, I rarely voted 'for' a candidate (with the exception of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton). Most of the time, I found myself voting against the Republican candidate and the party as a whole.
But this election could be different - very, very different - if Barack Obama ends up winning the nomination. I can't remember a time in my life when this country needed leadership - real leadership - more desperately. We need an end to divisiveness. We need someone who can communicate a vision of a better future, get people engaged and passionate about that vision, and then motivate people to work TOGETHER towards reaching their shared goals. This isn't the kind of thing that a 'manager' can do, even a brilliant and competent manager like Hillary.
Wouldn't it be terrific to show the country - and the rest of the world - a figurative and literal face that isn't just another rich white person? I sure think so.
Apr 27, '08
I am an Obama supporter who is concerned about how the Oregon campaign is being run. The basic assumption seems to be that what worked in the early primaries and in caucuses will work here, despite the growing evidence from recent primaries that this is not true.
House parties where the party goers are almost exclusively people who already support Obama serve primarily to raise money and money raising has been very successful. They do not bring in many new supporters.
Large rallies are one time events, again appealing primarily to people already convinced.
Canvassing brings in new voters, mostly young people, and the campaign is doing well with young people.
It is doing poorly with nearly all other groups, excepting African Americans and college graduates. It is doing consistently very poorly with seniors.
Very little is being done to appeal directly to these groups. Most events are youth oriented and thus do not speak to most adults or seniors. Indeed they may give the impression that the Obama campaign is not interested in them or their concerns.
I think it would be hard to deny that Hillary has been much more aggressive in Oregon recently, with her "Compact for Oregon" addressing specific issues, her challenge to moderator free debates, Chelsea charming people, and Bill managing his temper and travelling all over the state.
I fear that if we do not quickly develop activities directed specifically at those group where we are doing poorly OBama may limp into the nomination and lose what should be an unlosable election. Democrats are good at that.
Apr 27, '08
Do we really want to know the true Obama? Maybe not!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS4BW_8D5ys
Apr 27, '08
Robert, your concern is appreciated, but not well founded.
We have been canvasing door to door every weekend since our Obama staff arrived and got us going. We go to the doors of the groups you say we aren't reaching. Its all good. We are working hard and will continue to do so. As for the house parties, they were just the icing on the cake yesterday.
Under the leadership of Jonathan McCollum who is running the Medford office, we canvased all day and will be canvasing today too. Yesterday we collected 163 new voter registration forms at the Obama Medford office. Since we were focusing on Central Point yesterday, I suspect that many of these were Republicans switching over, including one very nice Republican lady that my wife and I helped switch parties so she could vote for Barack. Out of state volunteers are arriving to help us, including 5 fired up folks I met yesterday from Santa Cruz CA.
As for the house paries, there was an effort to reach out to new people and invite them to the house parties. The fact that we had 10 or so of these parties in Jackson County yesterday--yes that is what some of you up north may refer to as the "red" part of the state--speaks volumes of the progress of this campaign.
Senator Obama is now only 290 delegates away from the nomination. Write that number down and join us in the "COUNTDOWN" as we watch that number get smaller every day as more and more superdelegates join our team and we watch the voting in Guam, North Carolina, and Indiana. And when we get to Oregon, who knows we may be the ones that cap it off on May 20th.
10:59 a.m.
Apr 27, '08
To supporters of either candidate and especially to those still on the fence, be sure to follow the links offered by the pseudonymous Christines one of the more notorious Clinton Trolls of this election cycle.
I have been doing this in the interest of research, and reading and watching this bile made up of smears, innuendo and guilt by association will have you running not walking into the Obama camp.
She is the perfect example of the Id of the Clinton campaign.
Keep posting girl. You totally rock.
11:18 a.m.
Apr 27, '08
Obama just opened a new office here in Forest Grove. I read about it yesterday in the F.G. News Times but the BBQ was long since over by the time I got there.
Another long-time NAV got there just as I did and we chatted a bit about why we were re-registering as Dems while he filled out a voter registration card supplied by the Obama campaign staff.
I was just there to pick up a bumper sticker, having already re-registered. But when I got home I called another NAV friend of mine who was excited to learn that Obama had opened an office in our part of Oregon. He's not going to re-register, but we did have a nice chat about Obama and about the Senate race.
All of this is purely anecdotal, of course. But it all confirms what I've been saying all along - Independents like Barack Obama!
Apr 27, '08
Curtis,
I'm with you.
Apr 27, '08
@ John Bradach Sr,
Talking about policy compare to Bush/Cheney. Obama gas oil policy is the same like Bush/Cheney. He voted for it. He can't change the oil prices because the oil company is behind him.
Apr 27, '08
Thanks Pat I will take you up on that!
Has Obama lost it?
(Apr 27, 2008) from today's Maureen Dowd entry, NYT ... LOL!! Quote: It used to be that (Obama) was incandescent and (Hillary) was merely inveterate. Now she’s bristling with life force, and he looks like he wants to run away somewhere for three months by himself and smoke. More...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27dowd.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Apr 27, '08
I was shocked when I saw these comments from Obama's official site by his supporters. These people should be investigated!
On taylor's site someone found threating statments against Sen. Hillary CLinton.... these messages were ON OBAMA's OFFICIAL WEBSITE.... something to the effect of: "slit her throat and dump her body in the river".
These are the links, fortunatley, someone took screen shots...how can we let hillary;s camp know about these threats?? AGAIN THESE ARE ON OBAMA's OFFICIAL WEBSITE!!!
GUYS/GALS/////CALL THE DNC..>GIVE THEM THE WEBSITE BELOW(not the screenshots site, but the url for the my.barack....)...ITS THE THIRD ONE... AND TELL THEM THIS IS WHY WE WILL NEVER SUPPORT OBAMA AND HIS THUGS.... 877-336-7200
THE SCREENSHOTS: http://tinyurl.com/699blo
http://tinyurl.com/5o56kk
THE ACTAUL PAGE: http://my.barackobama.com/page/commu...ntary#comments
Apr 27, '08
Christines,
Obama is part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy against you, I think now masterminded by Karl Rove, who is pulling on Obama's puppet strings.
Apr 27, '08
Remember the troll rule. For every "Christines" post, we cough up $ to our favorite D candidates and causes. Thanks Christines !
Apr 27, '08
Christines--there is help available. Call 1-800-BIPOLAR.
Apr 27, '08
Yo Christines, I forgot to mention, the National Enquirer is also on to Obama now. Something on the front page this week about his troubled marriage...to Elvis. I've got a screen shot of this.
10:06 p.m.
Apr 27, '08
House parties where the party goers are almost exclusively people who already support Obama serve primarily to raise money and money raising has been very successful.
What're your data? You offer this as a statement about Oregon, but offer rather routine Clinton-sounding sound bites. Where have you seen polling in Oregon?
Apr 28, '08
As an Obama supporter, I say ditch the poster at the top of this thread. It makes Obama look like Che Guevara. And that's not good, because Che Guevara was one of the most overrated would-be mass murderers the last century produced.
Apr 28, '08
Jeff, You reported an anecdote and gave an opinion about house parties, I replied saying I had a different impression and now you ask me for data and polling information. Was your original post based on polling? Do you have data? You are happy and cheerful, I'm worried that we will lose this thing through neglect. Rather than respond to my specific points you are content to observe that they sound like things Hillary would say. Why is that an appropriate reply?
10:13 a.m.
Apr 28, '08
Hillary Clinton has recently pushed me from neutrality / intention to abstain into supporting Obama with her gratuitous willingess to threaten nuclear genocide against a country of 60-70 million people (Iran). Please keep that in mind while reading these comments.
Recently I have become concerned about periodic comments on this blog from Obama supporters, mostly since the PA primary, that at times verge on age-baiting against elders, saying in effect "we don't need 'em": "young people are the future of the party" etc.
I wouldn't say they're typical, and I know plenty of folks over 60 who are like LibbiL above. I suspect that my parents, in their late '70s, who were "over 30" in the '60s but still foot soldiers in the Civil Rights movement, are Obama people. So please understand that I am NOT trying to make some sort of gross generalization about Obama or his backers or trying to take some kind of a shot. Also I don't think it is an issue with Obama himself.
But there is a thread in the discourse that I'd like to ask people to think about, both as they express themselves in the election, but really as much or more if the Obama campaign really should turn into a more persistent movement as some think or hope.
It is true, a truism really, that young people are the future of the party. But old people are a large part of the present of the party, and the present is when we have to win. If registration is capturing more young people, that's because elders and late middle-agers are much more likely to be registered already, and even with the new youth / younger mobilization (all good) probably will remain more likely to vote.
Concerning the future voting population, average lifespan continues to grow and most folks who are say around 60 now are likely to be here in 20 years and a good chunk of them in 30 years. So even current 60+ voters are a substantial part of the future for a good long time to come.
Concerning future issues and problems, two thoughts: It may not have hit the 20something new registrants yet, but within 5 or 10 or 15 years they are going to start worrying about their parents as they age, and a few years after that, it will become an even bigger part of their lives. Those of us in our middle years are already there, and actually there are quite a number of people over 60 who have parents to worry about.
That kind of concern is good -- it's exactly the kind of human connectedness to which the best of what Barack Obama is mobilizing appeals. It also is powerful. The thing that drove Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty and especially the formation of Medicare in the 1960s, more than anything except perhaps the Civil Rights movement, and in interaction with it, were images of the poor being composed disproportionately of elders. I was a kid then, but I still can remember magazine articles about old people eating cat food. Our current problem of disproportionate poverty in children reflects the success of the human & humane response to that issue.
So, let's make sure that Obama inclusiveness includes and mobilizes those ties of intergenerational caring and concern.
Relatedly, it is very likely that the politics of the next couple of decades will see a ramping up of generational warfare as a tool of reactionary rightwing politics -- that attacks upon elders will be a tool used to obstruct the values Barack Obama speaks for and to divide those who he is bringing together. Possibly we are seeing a lite version of this in spin (mostly media spin) on the PA results.
This is not to say we shouldn't listen to Robert Hogan -- even if he's presenting a worst case scenario, those can have a useful preventive role even in a campaign of hope.
But it is to ask, are we at risk of taking the bait of divisive spin on age, and to say lets' not take the bait. Because it's only going to get worse -- fear mongering about Social Security and Medicare as the post WWII baby boom generation ages being the leading edge. That doesn't have to work. Cynicism by younger folks that they will never benefit from those programs will only be true if they / we cut their/ our own throats by trashing them. Concern for aging parents can be a powerful countervailing force. Refusing that kind of rhetoric at the younger end will also be important for preventing reactionary appeals to the fears of elders that generation-war rhetoric might provoke.
Obama encourages me to have some hope on this front. Despite his strong support among younger voters, I don't hear him saying elders don't matter, and I do see him looking for constructive, progressive ways to manage the generational economic dynamics (though he may need some nudging to keep the focus on increasing upper income contributions as the boomer generation comes into its peak earning years, so that the boomers who have benefited support a decent old age for those who have done less well, faced de-industrialization in the "rust belt" and so on).
<h2>In the heat of the primary it is tempting perhaps to look at potentially (intentionally?) divisive demographic analyses and to think of categories of people who are voting more heavily for your opponent in negative terms. Let's resist that temptation and baiting, because the primary is going to be over soon, because in the fierce urgency of November, he needs those votes, but mostly because it goes against the values with which Barack Obama has been calling people together.</h2>