Bake Sales for Obama!
Chris Lowe
Weekend whimsy: Sunday's supposed to be a nice day in Portland, so if you're out and about, or looking for an excuse to be, consider checking out a "Hungry for Change" bake sale organized by MoveOn.org members to raise money for Barack Obama. Support home cooking, meet other progressive baked good fans! (Progressive fans? Progressive baked goods? Why choose?)
MoveOn.org national says there are over 700 such sales involving over 12,000 MoveOn members happening around the country. At least four are in Portland:
1) Hungry for Change
Pennisula Park
N.Ainsworth and Kerby
Portland, OR 97217
10:00 AM
Note: North Portland is holding the Portland Sunday Parkways event on Sunday, June 22nd. They are blocking off streets and holding events in several parks. Peninsula Park will have events from 9 am - 2 pm
2) Hungry for Change Bake Sale
N Willamette at Ainsworth, on the bluff
3129 N. Willamette Blvd.
22 Jun, 10:00 AM
We'll be open Sunday only, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. We're on the Sunday Parkway route, so the streets will be closed except to walkers and bicycles.
Directions: On Willamette, on the bluff, where Ainsworth ends. Because the streets will be closed to cars for Sunday Parkway, you can park 2 blocks south, where Greeley meets Willamette, or 2 blocks north, on Villard north of Rosa Parks. Or you can walk or bike right to our location, half a block north of Ainsworth, right on Willamette.
3) Ren & Robyn Raising Dough
SE Division & 34th
3431 SE Division St
Portland, OR 97202
1:00 PM
Directions: Sunshine is on the north side of SE Division St, between 34th and 35th Avenues. We are across from Pix and the Hedge House. We will be flying the Portland City Flag on the front porch during the event so you'll be sure not to miss us. Tri-Met #4 stops at the corner of 34th and SE Division.
4) Bake Sale for Obama
1:00 PM
Creston Park/Pool
4454 SE Powell
Portland, OR 97206
handicap accessible
Links are to an optional sign-up page that gives a little more info, allows you to communicate with the organizers, and allows you to ask to be put in touch with a local MoveOn Council, part of MoveOn.org's effort to create an on-the-ground, face-to-face local presence to complement their ether-based e-mail efforts.
These seem to be the only four sales in Oregon :-(, though there are a number in Washington; you can search by Zip Code; there's an impossibly cute photo there too. I know there are nascent Councils at least in Eugene and Medford. If the idea interests you, consider going to one of the sign-up pages and checking the box for being connected to a Council, even if you can't get to one of the sales.
(Disclaimer: I am a member of the MoveOn PDX Council, but I had nothing to do with organizing any of these sales, and am more critical of Barack Obama than MoveOn national, and so don't speak for them or even my Council; but I like progressive baked goods and wanna beat John McCain something bad, so these sales speak to and for me.)
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connect with blueoregon
Jun 21, '08
Bob T:
I guess "change" is being the first major candidate in decades to bow out of the public financing plan (under the guise of "fighting" corruption and McCain fat cat 527s!). Never mind that MoveOn.org and other groups will be doing just that on Obama's behalf (and are doing so already) -- and McCain's not flip-flopping on this one because of that - why can't the Messiah?
Bob Tiernan
Jun 22, '08
Simple Answer: $$$
If the McCain campaign were capable of raking in the kind of dough Obama is, neither candidate would give a rats ass about operating a publicly financed campaign.
1:16 a.m.
Jun 22, '08
Obama can do this because the vast majority of his donors have given small amounts -- an average of under $100. if that's not public financing, i don't know what is.
1.5 millions donors. $90 average.
public financing, the way the Founders would have wanted it, i think.
Jun 22, '08
Obama? You mean the POLITICIAN who sold the 4th amendment down the river?
Obama has sold out the Constitution... and as a previous poster pointed out, he has sold out public financing for political gain.
This guy is a follower, not a leader.
Jun 22, '08
to Bob T,
You must take a class in how to write effective criticism. Merely using quotes to indicate sarcasm won't convince anyone of your argument. In addition, the silly usage of "Messiah" makes you look sour. It's not valid since nobody thinks that Obama is the Messiah. It's too easy to scoff at your description.
Your points are also too easy to rebut. McCain has already flip-flopped on public financing, getting loans from public financing, then backing out for the primaries, and now wanting back in for the general.
Meanwhile Moveon.org has agreed to shut down its 527 after being asked to...by Obama.
I give you credit for spelling your last initial correctly.
9:46 a.m.
Jun 22, '08
Hey Chris,
Another great post! I wish I'd been more on the ball -- I would have loved to make my banana-chocolate chip bread for Obama!!
Also, folks, Bob Tiernan is a failed GOP lawmaker from Lake Oswego who apparently doesn't have much better to do than spend time insulting Democrats. In an 2002 endorsement for his opponent, Richard Devlin, in State Senate district 19, the Willamette Week wrote this about Mr. Tiernan -- "...what always soured us was his mean-spirited, petty vindictiveness, which often polarized the Legislature and undercut his effectiveness."
So, I'm expecting a slam from him now, but this will just show how true to form he's being.
In other words, please don't feed the troll.
9:51 a.m.
Jun 22, '08
MoveOn.org nationally has closed its 527. This is partly in response to Obama discouraging the use of 527s and donor contributions to them.
MoveOn maintains a political action committee (PAC), a form of independent fundraising and spending that is more highly regulated, more limited in size of permissible contributions I believe, and more transparent, under the McCain-Feingold electoral reforms. The group claims that the last time the 527 operated was in 2004 (i.e. was not used in 2006 elections), I am not sure if other 527s did, or if they are mainly presidential year operations.
Peter Bray is right that it is a crying shame that Barack Obama has joined the Democratic leadership cave-in on institutionalizing FISA a toothless "FISA reform" that merely re-affirms the status quo of FISA powers that Bush asserts he has the right to violate. If McCain were not aggressive supporter of the Bush position, but instead were an active defender of the Fourth Amendment, it might be relevant to the choice between them in the election. But he's worse than Obama.
Still, it is more than disappointing in substance, and a terrible political decision by all of the Democratic leadership, including Obama. (See disclaimer).
Jun 22, '08
I ran into one of the Bake Sales yesterday on Alberta. I guess it must be a weekend long event.
Jun 22, '08
MoveOn demanding Obama keep his word to filibuster. Will he? Is he a man of integrity? (Answer: no.)
Jun 22, '08
In regards to McCain and a vote for him versus Obama... I absolutely will vote for Obama. I want a Democrat in office.
BUT... it is tempting to think that a McCain victory would likely offer a once in a generation chance to shift the GOP back towards the center, pretty significantly. Let's make no mistake: McCain leans far to the left in the spectrum of GOP elected politicians. His own party barely supports him.
A McCain presidency would firmly retrench the GOP as a more centrist party.
On the other hand, what will an Obama presidency do? Well, we already know he is a centrist, too. And we already know that he isn't much of a leader -- note his capitulation on FISA this week. If we have a weak leader such as him in office, we could face pretty consequential losses in 2010 and 2012.
Anyway, these are just pipe dreams. We've picked our dude, and of course we stick with him, through thick and thin, even as we start to see what he's really made of.
12:04 p.m.
Jun 22, '08
Kristin, I think it's a different Bob Tiernan.
12:17 p.m.
Jun 22, '08
Torrid -- are you sure? Based upon current and past comments, he sure doesn't seem to be a Democrat...
12:31 p.m.
Jun 22, '08
I'm not 100% K, but I think it's been discussed a couple of times before. He's no Democrat surely, but I think it's a different Bob.
(BlueO people?)
Jun 22, '08
Per Kari:
The Bob Tiernan who is a former GOP state rep from Lake Oswego has never commented at BlueOregon (to my knowledge, over his own name.)
The Bob Tiernan who regularly comments here is the libertarian activist from Gresham. He's been a participant in various discussion threads online for many, many years. (He and I used to do battle at the newsgroup or.politics in the early 1990s even.)
1:56 p.m.
Jun 22, '08
Thanks, Peter..I knew he couldn't be a Dem....
Jun 22, '08
Kristin--
I also join Kari in vouching for Bob T. LibBob, or Gresham Bob T., is a much more pleasant person to deal with as well (I've met him IRL at or.politics gatherings).
Fairly common mistake for folks new to online political commentary to make. As far as I know, RepoBob from LO has not graced any political forums with his presence.
(and yes, I can make that kind of observation since I've known Bob T from Gresham for over 15 years and have been talking politics online for the same length of time...)
7:12 p.m.
Jun 22, '08
Peter:
On the other hand, what would McCain do...
And that's just the tip of the iceburg.
Obama is in no way a centrist. He may not be as liberal as some may want, but it's not all or nothing. Obama will do a lot to turn this country around. He'll do things like...
Once again, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm sorry, but you'd have to be very blind to think that this country can go through another four years of what the Republicans have put us through.
Jun 22, '08
Peter Bray said: "On the other hand, what will an Obama presidency do? Well, we already know he is a centrist, too."
A centrist is someone who represents the desires of the majority or at least a plurality. Neither McCain nor Obama are centrists.
"Centrist" does not refer to those who threaten to obliterate Iran or to continue to occupy Iraq, even if they say it will be for less than a hundred years. It does not refer to those who oppose single-payer, universal healthcare. It does not refer to those who restrain efforts to decrease corporate power and welfare; nor to those who promise to increase the huge, bloated, wasteful military budget.
Jun 22, '08
t. a. barnhart:
Obama can do this because the vast majority of his donors have given small amounts -- an average of under $100. if that's not public financing, i don't know what is.
1.5 millions donors. $90 average.
Bob T:
Yes, he's taking this route because the money is there, he can get it, and he wants it. All I want is for him to state this instead of pretending his decision is all about the big bad right wing 527s and lobbyists and stuff.
t. a. barnhart:
public financing, the way the Founders would have wanted it, i think.
Bob T:
I agree.
Bob Tiernan
Jun 22, '08
Eric Ramon:
Meanwhile Moveon.org has agreed to shut down its 527 after being asked to...by Obama.
Bob T:
As a PAC it can do much of the same.
Bob Tiernan
Jun 22, '08
Kristin:
Thanks, Peter..I knew he couldn't be a Dem....
Bob T:
I'm kinduva Grover Cleveland Democrat / Calvin Coolidge Republican, if you really want to know.
For what it's worth, I can't stand the Republican Party in recent decades because I'm a flaming agnostic who sees that most of the agenda is set by creeps who think that there's a crisis in this country because there's no prayer time in school, few Ten Commandment plaques in courthouses, and that gay people exist. The issues I care about are ones that they seem only to pretend to care about.
The way they blew the post 1994 "revolution" (and continue to do so) shows that they didn't deserve to be in charge (but then, that doesn't mean the Democrats deserved to have it back, so where does that leave us?).
Is there a redoregon blog I can go to? My message would be the same -- I can't stand hypocrisy and double standards.
Bob Tiernan
1:06 a.m.
Jun 23, '08
Actually, as a PAC they face much more stringent controls, contribution limits, etc. than they would as a 527.
Jun 23, '08
No matter what you say, McCain is a centrist. He believes in global warming, is pro-immigrant, and until recently was pro-choice.
The best bang for the buck that environmentalists got in the past 30 years was Richard Nixon... he was far better than Clinton or Carter.
Obama has already demonstrated his rightward tilt by selling out the 4th Amendment. With McCain, at least, we know what we get. With Obama, well... who would have guessed that this Constitutional professor would gut the most sacred document that our country is built around?
Jun 23, '08
(Frankly, Bob Barr is looking pretty good these days! He opposed the FISA "compromise"!)
Jun 23, '08
McCain was pro-choice? I find that pretty had to believe. I've seen lists of votes in his career that seemed pretty anti-choice (I was going to say pro-life, but I find it hard to use that term for someone who supports the death penalty and pre-emptive war).
Jun 23, '08
BRAY SEZ: :"[I]t is tempting to think that a McCain victory would likely offer a once in a generation chance to shift the GOP back towards the center, pretty significantly. Let's make no mistake: McCain leans far to the left in the spectrum of GOP elected politicians. His own party barely supports him.
"A McCain presidency would firmly retrench the GOP as a more centrist party."
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!
I especially loved the "let's make no mistake" framing here...made me start looking around for my house keys and wallet.
Jun 23, '08
Hey - I am the organzier of yesterday's Sunday Parkways. I loved that the Obama Oregon team was smart enough to be out enjoying the day, gathering signatures and getting some donations for baked goods. Nice job. From our counts, it looks like we had over 15,000 walkers, bikers, skaters, wheelchair rollers, and lots more out there having a great time.
Thanks for all your volunteers who helped make it a great event for the whole community.
Jun 23, '08
Hey - I am the organzier of yesterday's Sunday Parkways. I loved that the Obama Oregon team was smart enough to be out enjoying the day, gathering signatures and getting some donations for baked goods. Nice job. From our counts, it looks like we had over 15,000 walkers, bikers, skaters, wheelchair rollers, and lots more out there having a great time.
Thanks for all your volunteers who helped make it a great event for the whole community.
12:02 p.m.
Jun 23, '08
Linda, I heard on OPB that this was the first event of its kind. Sounds like a success, so let's hope it's not the last. Thanks for your work organizing it.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, every Sunday during the summer they close a huge stretch of the road that runs along the Charles River (weekdays it's a commuter semi-highway) to cars, for pedestrians, bikes, skates etc. It's wonderful.
Jun 23, '08
Peter Bray said, "No matter what you say, McCain is a centrist."
No matter what? Now there's an intellectually bold vision, equal to, "No matter what you say, Obama is a progressive".
Maybe both parties should sell cookies under the banner of "No Matter What You Say". I'd buy those cookies.
7:12 p.m.
Jun 23, '08
Just the fact that I know McCain will screw up my country and I'm not 100% sure what Obama will do, doesn't mean I should hope McCain wins.
That's like driving down a road and coming up on a bridge that is out. There's a dirt road to my left, but I don't know where it goes. So I drive over the bridge that's out, and I crash my car. But at least I knew where I was going?!?
The worst that Obama could do is still leagues ahead of McCain's best.
Jun 23, '08
Bake Sales for Obama! I don't think he needs your money, little people. He can do a lot better;http://www.counterpunch.org/martens05052008.html
Jun 25, '08
Jenni Simonis:
Actually, as a PAC they face much more stringent controls, contribution limits, etc. than they would as a 527.
Bob T:
Doesn't matter -- these can still spend tons of money independently of a candidate and therefore not count as that candidate's spending.
Face it, Obama was a champion of the public financing system and has now dumped it over because he sees loads of money available and he pretends that it's all because of an alleged disadvantage he has due to 527s etc on McCain's side. Suuure. That's not even true, and besides, Obama has the bulk of the media on his side like no presidential candidate has had in a long, long time. Progressives have been opposed to such fawning, but not this time. We'll be back to seeing dissent as unpatriotic (like it was when Clinton was in there). Can we have consistency, please?
<h2>Bob Tiernan</h2>