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Friday, February 15, 2008
Superdelegates -- How YOU Can Help!
I just received an email from the Obama campaign with instructions on how we can help to win the hearts and minds of the superdelegates! Here's how the email put it:
Our work so far has taught us one important lesson: that your personal story about why you support Barack Obama is often the most powerful persuasion tool for someone who's undecided. That's true whether that undecided voter is your neighbor or a superdelegate.
The story of where you're from, what brought you into the political process, the issues that matter to you, and why you became part of this movement has the potential to inspire someone who could cast a deciding vote in this contest.
Our staff will compile stories from supporters like you and make them a key part of the conversation with superdelegates as Barack asks for their support.
They are asking for you to submit your story via their form, which they will compile and relay to the superdelegates. Here is the story I just submitted:
To whom it may concern,
In my short 31 years of life, I have never been much involved in the political process and have never been particularly enthused about any presidential campaign.
This year is different. Profoundly so.
Over the past eight years, we have suffered through an otherwise unthinkably horrific debacle brought upon our country by an arrogant man who currently holds the office of President of the United States.
This election brings with it the hope of not only a new President, but a new hope for our country -- a new way in which we can look upon ourselves as a nation.
The current democratic nomination process carries with it the chance to ruin all of that. If, by some stretch of the imagination, the candidate without a majority of the popular vote or a majority of the elected pledged delegates somehow steals the nomination by arm-twisting enough superdelegates to vote for him or her -- I will no longer consider the Democratic Party worthy of my vote.
I am a moderate, right of center, sometimes libertarian, sometimes independent who is now so disillusioned with anyone claiming to be a "conservative" that I will be voting with the Democrats this year.
That is, of course, unless the nomination is wrested from the rightful winner via either (a) a vote by the superdelegates or (b) seating the delegates from Michigan and Florida, where fair elections were not held.
I hope the Democrats understand the potential that exists to ruin this election by having the process appear to be unfair. I beg you to consider our pleas.
Respectfully,
[ ]
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10 comments:
I suggest folks stress that if Obama is not the democratic nominee, then they will vote for the republican or not at all:
"If you want the democrats to win the Presidency, then there is absolutely no question whom you should support for the nomination: Barack Obama. A vote for Clinton by a Superdelegate is the same as giving the Presidency back to the republicans for another four years."
I like your letter very much. keep up the good work. i wrote my letter and told my friends to too.
Dear SuperDelegate,
I write to you not as a constituent, nor someone who you are bound to represent, merely as a fellow inhabitant of the world.
I'm not sure if you have noticed, but America, specifically the United States of America play a pretty big role on our little stage. How you play that role affects the rest of us... *a lot*.
Generally a lot of us agree with your basic principles and foundations, it's more your way of interacting with others that gives such concern.
That being said, I personally see great Hope(sic) in Barak Obama. He is a balancing force, a unifying force and a way for America to unequiviocally say 'The Majority of us do not believe in carrying on the war which we created'.
I have little faith in the American implementation of Democracy and even the concept of Super Delegates seems fundamentally and unfairly flawed, yet I hope through that flaw I can make a difference, for you are swayed not by party lines but by your conscience and the amount you let others sway your conscience.
Please vote for Mr Obama.
-A Concerned Aussie
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I sent this one in:
To Whom It May Concern,
Hello, my name is Edward. I am 19 years old and I am proud to say that this year's election is the first that I've been able to take part in. And I've done a significant amount of work for Senator Obama, whether it be donating ten dollars here or twenty dollars there, when I can afford to on the seven dollars an hour I get paid and live on or working a phone bank or putting up signs or simply talking to people. It gives me a great amount of joy and patriotism to be politically involved, an amount of patriotism I didn't think it was possible for me to have.
As a young man, it's difficult for me to remember much before our current president. Certainly, when I was ten or eleven, I wasn't paying any attention to politics. I'm about as liberal as it is possible to be, a true socialist, and as long as I've noticed politics, I've been completely discouraged with the whole system and wanted nothing to do with it. And then I saw Senator Obama's speech when he announced his candidacy and something about it spoke to me, so I logged onto his website and read up on his issues and his stances. And while I don't think he is liberal enough, his message of unity and hope resounded very strongly with me and it seems to be doing so with the voters across America as well.
Like I said, I'm proud to be a part of Obama's campaign. I'm proud to say that I've been helpful in a historic bid for president and it fills me with glee to be involved in politics right now. I believe, and not based on rhetoric but rather his stances and his history and his ability to bridge the divide in the aisles of the Senate, that Senator Obama has the distinct chance to achieve some great strides in American politics. And none too soon, either, as we're in as dire a situation as our country has been since The Great Depression.
That pride in politics that I feel, I don't think is unique. Whether it's people I know online or from work or people I run into when I where my "Obama 08" shirt in public, everyone seems so enthusiastic to be supporting Senator Obama. I hate to sound morbid, but when the election cycle is finished, if Senator Obama finishes with more delegates and the larger popular vote and he doesn't secure the nomination, that excitement will be forever gone. Whether by seating delegates obtained in an uncontested election or by swinging the nomination by superdelegate votes, if Senator Clinton manages to steal the election, despite the voice of the American Democrats, I cannot see myself ever participating in politics again. I have great faith in the system right now and the system right now is speaking very loudly that people all across America believe Senator Obama should be our nominee. However, if that system fails and nominates a different candidate than the people, I don't think it's that far a stretch of the imagination to believe that a large majority of young voters, myself included, will be forever discouraged from politics.
If Senator Clinton manages to legitimately secure the nomination, I will support her in the general election, but if she manages to steal it by "incendiary" means, like her campaign has publicy admitted to doing, I will not support her, nor will I ever support the Democratic Party again. I don't want this to sound like a threat, but that's the way I feel and most of the people my age that are voting agree with that sentiment. When you cast your superdelegate vote in Denver, I hope you keep this in mind and listen to the voice of the people, not the voice of a politician.
Thank you so much for your time spent in reading this.
Very beautiful letters. I've submitted mine as well. Perhaps together we can make this happen.
Being that this is the first presidential election in which I will be eligible to vote, I have taken it upon myself to do my research regarding which candidate would best fit both my personal interests as well as those of the rest of my country collectively. After all, I feel that living in a democratic society presents every citizen with the responsibility to form an educated political opinion. That opinion, however, cannot be voiced unless an actual vote is cast. After countless hours of self-motivated research on American politics and history, I have more or less decided that I do not find myself affiliated with either the Democratic party nor the GOP. Unfortunately, having no other statistically significant alternatives, I have decided to label myself an independent voter, with my own ideas and my own opinions on what direction our country should be following. I started to look not for parties that shared my ideas, but for people who shared them, whatever party to which they may belong.
When I first heard about Barack Obama, I thought to myself, how could anybody be President with a name like that? Having familiarized myself with the ignorance and prejudice surrounding me day by day, I didn't think a name like that could make it anywhere in a presidential race. Regardless, I looked him up, watched some online debates, read some of his speeches. And I was completely floored. Never have I heard a politician speak with such compelling words, such enthusiastic optimism. I heard words that had the potential to bring people together and unite. Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, Christians, Atheists, Jews, Asians, Muslims, Blacks,... it didn't matter to Obama. What mattered in the end of all of what he had to say was that we are all Americans. It's astounding to me how our country has forgotten what that means. Obama's words have even gone so far as to change my opinion on what I think a president should be. I used to think the president was just a figurehead politician, a transparent front-end, outside relations puppet, shake hands in front of cameras to fix the world's problems kind of person. At least, that's what all the presidents (with few exceptions) seemed to be like over the history of our country. Now, I think a president should be a leader, an inspirer. He should be someone people of the country can relate to. He should be someone who isn't up in the clouds, sitting on old money, never having experienced first-hand the hardships of the common people; he needs to have ideas rooted in real personal experience on how to fix the problems we have ignored and exacerbated for far too long in America, and that is exactly who Obama seems like to me. His inspiring words can and will breathe new life into the power of the people. His charisma and intelligence will convince the others in office who already "had all the hope boiled out of them," in Obama's words, of what really needs to get done, and how. And his image of diversity, unity and optimism will resonate throughout the entire world to redeem America's foreign friendships, strained almost to extinction.
This is my view; this is what I'm thinking. Please, whoever is reading this, make the right choice for our country. I pray that you ultimately cast your vote in the interest of our America.
Thank you for your time.
Thanks everyone for sharing your stories! I really appreciate it and am moved by every one. Keep em coming! Go Obama!
As a Canadian, i strongly believe that Obama is the candidate of peace,reconciliation,togetherness not only for USA but also for entire world.I have posted my own Obama song on youtube and i'm getting many positive feedbacks.Check it out.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=91ub-CSeZpY
Hi, I invite you to my New Slideshow Blog.
My Blog consists of embeddable slideshows which fall in different categories.
Hope you'd love it!
Heres the slideshow you'd love to embed in your own blog
http://cool-slideshows.blogspot.com/2008/02/top-us-presidential-candidates2008.html
If you like any of the slideshow , it would be great to see some of these slideshows in your own blog.
cheers,
Anuj
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