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Friday, October 31
25,000 Turn Out for Obama in Des Moines
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 31 Oct 2008 02:50 PM CDT
25,000 Turn Out for Obama in Des Moines
by Linda Thieman
 It was a sunny, temperate day that saw the return of Barack Obama to the state that set it all in motion for him some 10 months ago.
25,000 people, all there of their own accord (not bused-in school children like those that fill the McCain rallies), came to wish Obama well and receive his ever-lasting gratitude in downtown Des Moines.
Said Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod, "As great as all these moments are, I don't think we'll ever quite capture the feeling of that last night in Iowa when we won. This is hallowed ground for us."
Iowa Students Encouraged to Check Their Registration Status
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 31 Oct 2008 08:12 AM CDT
Iowa Students Encouraged to Check Their Registration Status
Campus Progress
 Don't Fall through the Crack!
Campus Progress, a leading national progressive youth organization, launched a national campaign yesterday that encourages students in Iowa to check their registration before they head to the polls. With a record number of new registrations this year, Campus Progress is concerned that students may have questions or concerns about their registration status, or that they might encounter obstacles that prevent them from voting. The ad, “Don’t Fall through the Crack,” will appear in various college and university newspapers such as the Iowa State Daily, the Daily Iowan, The Times-Delphic, and others. It targets young voters in key states and states with same day registration and voting – including Colorado, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania – providing them with the resources they need to answer their questions and help ensure a smooth registration and voting experience.
“This year, young voters are more engaged in the election and educated about the issues than ever before. They are being directly affected by a declining job market and skyrocketing student debt, and want to have a role in shaping the next four years of this country,” said Erica Williams, Policy and Advocacy Manager for Campus Progress. “All too often, though, young people arrive at the polls, only to find that their registration was never processed or that they were sent the wrong polling location. The new ad enables young people to check their registration before going to the polls. It’s an effort to reduce the barriers young people might face on election day and make sure the youth vote is heard loud and clear.”
Along with Campus Progress, a coalition of national young voter groups, including the Fair Elections Legal Network and Rock the Vote, has come together to monitor the polls on Tuesday and prevent any attempts to suppress the youth vote.
“This year alone, more than 9 million new voters have decided to register and cast their ballots on Election Day,” added Williams. “At Campus Progress, we are committed to making sure nothing stands in their way of taking that first step towards life long civic engagement.”
In GOTV news...
Today is the last day to donate to any campaign for the donation to make a difference before Tuesday. However, the ground game is kicking into high gear.
To participate in the Get out the Vote effort near you, click here. We need your help! Poll numbers don't matter if no one actually votes. Thank you.
Thursday, October 30
Early Voting in Iowa Surpasses 400,000; Obama in Des Moines Friday, Oct. 31
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 30 Oct 2008 01:49 PM CDT
Early Voting in Iowa Surpasses 400,000; Obama in Des Moines Friday, Oct. 31
 Iowa's early vote total has now reached 400,829, with that number being made up of Democrats -- 48.3%, Republicans -- 28.6%, and No Party -- 23.1%, according to United States Elections Project.
That figure represents 26.3% of the total votes cast by Iowans in the 2004 presidential election (total votes cast in 2004 in Iowa: 1,521,966).
These figures were updated as of October 29, 2008.
In Obama news...
Barack Obama will be in Des Moines tomorrow, October 31.
Early Vote for Change Rally
with Barack Obama
Western Gateway Park
Between 12th St. and 13th St., Grand Ave. and Locust St.
Des Moines, IA 50309
Friday, October 31st
Gates Open: 9:30 a.m.
Program Begins: 11:30 a.m.
The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged.
Public Entrance: Walnut St. and 12th St.
Parking is limited; car pooling and public transportation are recommended. The free Downtown Shuttle will be available from any of the Des Moines parking facilities.
For security reasons, do not bring bags or umbrellas. Please limit personal items. No signs or banners allowed.
Join in the GOTV Effort
Click here to find a GOTV effort in your town. Volunteers needed!
CNN Recognizes Dean's Role in Rebuilding the Democratic Party
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 30 Oct 2008 05:00 AM CDT
CNN Recognizes Dean's Role in Rebuilding the Democratic Party
by Roland Martin, CNN
 Dean's 50-state strategy is a plus for Obama
(CNN) If Sen. Barack Obama is able to prevail over Sen. John McCain on Tuesday, all of those Democrats who ripped Howard Dean's 50-state strategy over the last four years should call the head of the Democratic National Committee and offer a heartfelt apology....
Dean's insistence on having a Democratic Party that existed in the heartland, and not just California, New York and Massachusetts, was brilliant in that it made clear that the party recognized the rest of America.
The Democratic Party earned its liberal label because it ignored the moderate and conservative voices that paved the way for the Reagan revolution to win three consecutive elections....
So Dean put the people and resources behind substantial voter efforts in a number of states, and they went about rebuilding a crippled party that had no central voter registration effort, an outdated database of supporters, a fundraising arm that heavily relied on trial attorneys and Hollywood types, and a message that changed depending on the day.
Read the complete essay here.
Yeah, Roland. Well said. And if the IDP is not first in line to apologize for the way they've treated our beloved gov, Blog for Iowa will seriously consider throwing a hissy fit.
Wednesday, October 29
Keith Olbermann Turns His Attention to Iowa's 5th
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 29 Oct 2008 05:00 AM CDT
Keith Olbermann Turns His Attention to Iowa's 5th
 Well, it was bound to happen at some point. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann finally noticed what thinking Iowans have long suspected: "Representative" Steve King (and I use that term loosely) from Iowa's 5th District is one of the two worst members of Congress.
Said Keith:
Go simpler, like Michelle Bachmann's only rival for least stable member of the House of Representatives did. Steve King (R-Iowa), Fifth District, but 17th century. Warming up a crowd at a high school in Sioux City for Governor Palin on Saturday, King, who amazingly is still let out of the house each day without adult supervision, said of the Obama candidacy:
"When you take a lurch to the left you end up in a totalitarian dictatorship. There's no freedom to the left. It's always to our side of the aisle. We choose freedom and liberty."
Presumably that's why the congressman's party was good enough to... eavesdrop on Americans, suspend habeas corpus, demonize dissent, pay news organizations to run favorable stories, and generally come as close to a totalitarian dictatorship as any American president ever has. To choose freedom and liberty--for Congressman King and invited guests--not for the country."
(Thanks to 2laneIA over at Daily Kos for the transcript.)
View the Olbermann video here.
Rob Hubler probably has the best chance of any Dem in years to unseat King. Contribute to Hubler's congressional campaign here.
And in other 5th District news...
Sioux City's East High School held a mock election yesterday. After preparing and campaigning for a full month, the student population elected Barack Obama by a landslide:
Obama--550 votes (~64%)
McCain--311 votes (~36%)
Oh, well, the GOP can keep citing that freeped Nickelodeon Kids' poll that showed Obama with only a two-point lead.
Tuesday, October 28
Why the Dems Need a Large Margin of Victory to Win
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 28 Oct 2008 05:00 AM CDT
Why the Dems Need a Large Margin of Victory to Win
by Greg Palast, The Progressive Populist
 Don’t worry about Mickey Mouse or ACORN stealing the election. According to an investigative report in Rolling Stone magazine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast, after a year-long investigation, reveal a systematic program of “GOP vote tampering” on a massive scale.
• Republican election officials of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.
• While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.
Kennedy, a voting rights lawyer, charges this is a resurgence of “Jim Crow” tactics to wrongly block Black and Hispanic voters.
• A fired US prosecutor levels new charges—accusing leaders of his own party, Republicans, with criminal acts in an attempt to block legal voters as “fraudulent.”
• Digging through government records, the Kennedy-Palast team discovered that, in 2004, a GOP scheme called “caging” ultimately took away the rights of 1.1 million voters. The Rolling Stone article predicts that, this Nov. 4, it will be far worse.
Read more here.
Monday, October 27
Iowa Election News and Dean Videos
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 27 Oct 2008 09:13 AM CDT
Iowa Election News and Dean Videos
 Race Tightening for Becky Greenwald
Over the weekend, numbers came out for Iowa's 4th District. Becky Greenwald appears to be within striking distance of GOP lackey Tom Latham.
DMReg Endorses Obama
Also this weekend, both the Des Moines Register and the Anchorage Daily News endorsed Obama. That's gotta hurt.
Videos of Dean's Iowa Speech up on You Tube
Cliff Day over at DFQC has captured Howard Dean's October 15th speech on video. You can view it in three parts on You Tube.
Gov. Howard Dean
October 15, 2008
St. Ambrose University, Davenport
Early Vote Rally
Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hdb0IHRZRs
Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEOl60S1Gww
Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iy_2XOl5mw
Thanks, Cliff!
Dean Tribute by Kos
Last but not least, Kos has some musings on who will lead the Republican Party out of the wilderness after its imminent destruction. (Remember back in the day when the Dem candidates accused Howard Dean of leading the Democratic Party INTO the wilderness? Mmm hmm. Well, if this is what the wilderness looks like, I'm stayin'.
At any rate, Kos, whom I could swear was not actually a Deaniac in 2003-2004 (it went something like "Kucinich rocks and the Deaniacs are Johnny-come-latelies")--although now he says he was (correct me if I'm wrong)--pays tribute to our beloved gov and all that his 50-state strategy has brought us. Seems to me, no Howard Dean, no Barack Obama.
Sunday, October 26
Charlie Rose Profiles T. Boone Pickens in 60 Minutes Debut Tonight at 6pm (CT) on CBS
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 26 Oct 2008 05:23 AM CDT
Charlie Rose Profiles T. Boone Pickens in 60 Minutes Debut Tonight at 6pm (CT) on CBS
 Charlie Rose makes his debut as a 60 Minutes contributor this week with a profile of Texas oil and gas maven T. Boone Pickens. Rose's profile of Pickens will be broadcast tonight, Sunday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. CT.
The profile of Pickens takes Rose to the billionaire's Texas ranch and to the football stadium at Oklahoma State University that Pickens built for his alma mater. Rose and Pickens also go to the Democratic Convention, where he sought support for his "Pickens' Plan" to lessen America's dependence on foreign oil.
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