Paul --
Tomorrow's financial reporting deadline is one of the most important of this election, and I need your help to make sure we're ready for North Carolina, Indiana, and the road ahead.
You may have heard that Senator Clinton is intensifying her fundraising efforts in an all-out bid to win in the next two states.
We'll need unprecedented resources to stay competitive in these contests -- but we're not just looking toward the next primary. We're also preparing for the general election race against Senator McCain and building a grassroots campaign in all 50 states.
The next two days are a crucial time to build momentum for the remaining contests and the general election.
As a donor to this campaign, you're responsible for getting us this far. But right now we need to show our strength before Wednesday's fundraising deadline.
If you make a contribution before midnight tomorrow, a fellow supporter -- someone who has already donated in April -- has promised to give again and double your impact.Make a donation of $25 at this important time, and you can even choose to exchange a note with the supporter who is matching your gift:
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
In every corner of the country, we're already organizing communities, helping register voters, and bringing people back into the political process.
And unlike Senator Clinton and Senator McCain, we are building our movement without taking any money from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.
Instead, we put our trust in ordinary people like you. And nearly 1,500,000 supporters have stepped up to own a piece of this campaign.
Right now, your support is crucial to our efforts in North Carolina and Indiana, where we could close out this race in the coming week.
Make a matching donation of $25 now and double your impact:
https://donate.barackobama.com/match
Thank you for your support,
Barack
Friend --
Next week, we have the opportunity to close out this race and secure the nomination for Barack -- but there's another deadline coming up even sooner.
Financial reports for April will be filed this Wednesday at midnight. The media pundits and Washington insiders will be watching the results and judging the strength of our campaign by the money we raise.
But what's most impressive about our movement is that our funding has come from grassroots supporters like you. We've never accepted donations from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Instead, more than 1,500,000 ordinary people have stepped up to own a piece of this campaign.
To meet this deadline and celebrate our grassroots donors, we've created a special gift.
Make a donation of $15 or more before midnight on Wednesday, April 30th, and receive a limited edition Vote for Change car magnet:
https://donate.barackobama.com/magnet
The crucial North Carolina and Indiana primaries will require unprecedented resources. But we also need to start preparing for the general election.
We're building a powerful grassroots movement in all 50 states -- organizing communities, registering voters, and bringing new voices into the political process.
We have accomplished so much, but we need your support today -- to finish this contest, and to get ready to take on Senator McCain.
Help grow our movement at this critical time, and be part of history by joining 1,500,000 other Americans who are supporting this campaign.
Contribute $15 or more before midnight on April 30th. You'll own a piece of this campaign and you'll receive a Vote for Change car magnet to show your support in style:
https://donate.barackobama.com/magnet
Thank you,
Obama for America
Friend --
I wanted to take a moment to let you know where we stand in Oregon, one of the biggest remaining battleground states.
As I've traveled across Oregon, I've spoken to veterans, students, and hard-working families about the challenges middle-class America is facing -- and about how we're going to start solving them.
I see the excitement on the ground, and I truly believe Oregon is ready to stand up for a different kind of politics. But only if people like you get involved and take ownership of this effort.
In the coming days, supporters from nearby states will be coming to Oregon to knock on doors, make phone calls, and reach out to as many voters as possible before the primary -- and they need your help.
I know this is a big decision. But what's brought our campaign where we are today is that so many people -- including many who never thought they'd get involved in politics in their lifetime -- have taken that leap to help us succeed.
We need to build our movement in Oregon, so I hope you'll sign up to take the trip this weekend:
http://my.barackobama.com/volunteerOR
People are paying attention to what's happening in Oregon.
They know how far we've traveled together, but they want to know whether we can close this race, secure the nomination, and finally bring about the change our country so desperately needs.
We can bring jobs back to communities across America, reduce the price of gas, and put an end to the war in Iraq -- but we need to finish strongly in Oregon.
We have just three weeks.
I hope you'll join us.
Barack
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Senator Jeff Bingaman Endorses Barack Obama
Chicago, IL – Today, United States Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) endorsed Barack Obama for president, citing his ability to rise above the issues that divide us, end the war in Iraq, bring universal health care, and make America energy independent.Senator Bingaman said, “Today, I am announcing my support for Barack Obama for president and declaring my intention to vote for him at the Democratic convention.
“Our nation faces a daunting number of critical challenges: reasserting America’s leadership in the world, meeting our needs for energy independence, addressing global warming, making healthcare accessible and affordable, positioning our economy to effectively compete globally, and extricating ourselves from the war in Iraq, to name a few.
“To make progress, we must rise above the partisanship and the issues that divide us to find common ground. We must move the country in a dramatically new direction.
“I strongly believe Barack Obama is best positioned to lead the nation in that new direction.”
Senator Obama said, “I’m grateful today to have Senator Bingaman’s support. Senator Bingaman has been speaking out in the United States Senate on some of the most pressing issues of our time – saving our environment, fighting global warming, and making America energy independent. Senator Bingaman has been an important advocate in the energy debate, and has served the people of New Mexico for decades, giving voice to the issues that matter to families across the state. We are proud to have his support as we fight to bring about real change for families in New Mexico and across the country.”
Senator Jeff Bingaman is the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He has served in the United State Senate since 1982, and previously served as New Mexico Attorney General.
Oregon Voter Registration: "There's no time to procrastinate"
From today's Oregon Statesman Journal:
This year's battle-to-the-finish Democratic presidential primary has encouraged a rush of Oregon voter registrations. That's great.
You can't make your voice heard unless you vote, and you can't vote unless you register. Tuesday — tomorrow — is the deadline to do that for the May 20 primary.
This deadline affects mainly first-time Oregon voters, people who haven't voted in the past five years and registered voters who are changing their political party affiliation. People who have moved within Oregon may have more time, but they should call their county elections office to be sure.
Registration forms are readily available on the Internet, at Driver and Motor Vehicle Services offices and at county courthouses, among other places. But there's no time to procrastinate.Over the weekend, a number of grassroots supporters helped canvass Oregon neighborhoods to register new voters, and there is still time to help out by calling Oregon residents and encouraging them to register before tomorrow's deadline.
If you live in Oregon, here's what you need to know about tomorrow's deadline and the upcoming primary:
All elections in Oregon are Vote by Mail. Ballots must be received by May 20th. To vote for Barack you must be:
- Registered as a Democrat by April 29th
- At least 18 years old on or before May 20, 2008
- A resident of Oregon
You should re-register if:
1) Your residence address or mailing address has changed, because a ballot will be sent to the address where you are registered.
2) You are not registered as a Democrat and need to change your political party affiliation.
3) You have not voted for five years or more.
For more information, visit the Oregon Secretary of State's website or stop by the Oregon for Obama field office closest to you.
You can also call the Obama campaign hotline at 1-888-NC-EARLY.
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
Press Avail on Energy Plan
Indianapolis, Indiana
Friday, April 25, 2008
Everywhere I go in Indiana, and across this country, I’m talking to folks who are working harder and harder just to get by. At a time when our economy is in turmoil and wages are stagnant, hardworking families are struggling to pay rising costs, and few costs are rising more than the one folks pay at the pump. For the well-off in this country, high gas prices are mostly an annoyance, but to most Americans, they’re a huge problem, bordering on a crisis.
Here in Indiana, gas costs about $3.60 a gallon – and across the country, gas costs more than at any time in almost thirty years. Over the last year alone, the price of oil has shot up more than 80%, reaching a record high of more than $110 a barrel – all of which helps explain why the top oil companies made $123 billion last year.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with a company being rewarded for its success. Our economy has always been powered by innovation and ingenuity. But the reason Americans keep going to the pump isn’t because oil companies are being particularly innovative. It’s because Washington politicians didn’t deal with the challenge of alternative energy when they had the chance.
When George Bush asked Dick Cheney to come up with our energy policy a few years ago, he met with the environmental groups once, and he met with the renewable energy folks once, and he met with the oil and gas companies 40 times. And yet, we also know this problem goes deeper than the Bush administration. Because we’ve been talking about high gas prices in this country since Americans were sitting in gas lines in the 1970s. And we’ve heard promises about energy independence from every President – Democratic and Republican – since Richard Nixon. And yet the only thing that’s different now is that we are even more dependent on foreign oil, our planet is in even greater peril, and the price of gas keeps going up and up and up.
So unless we’re willing to challenge the broken system in Washington, and stop letting lobbyists use their clout to get their way, nothing else is going to change. And the reason I’m running for President is to challenge that system. I’m the only candidate in this race who’s worked to rein in the power of lobbyists by passing historic ethics reforms in Illinois and in the Senate, and I’m the only one who isn’t taking a dime from Washington lobbyists.
We need a President who’s looking out for families in Indiana, not just doing what’s good for multinational corporations, and that’s the kind of President I’ll be. It isn’t right that oil companies are making record profits at a time when ordinary Americans are going into debt trying to pay rising energy costs. In the paper today, there was an article about how millions of Americans are falling behind on their energy bills, and a record number of Americans could face energy shut-offs over the next two months. That’s why we’ll put a windfall profits tax on oil companies and use it to help Indiana families pay their heating and cooling bills and reduce energy costs. We’ll also take steps to reduce the price of oil and increase transparency in how prices are set so we can ensure that energy companies aren’t bending the rules. And to help Indiana families meet the rising cost of gas, we’ll put a middle class tax cut in their pockets that will save them $1,000 a year, and we’ll eliminate income taxes altogether for seniors making less than $50,000.
So these are a few short-term steps we can take to ease the burden that Indiana families are bearing as a result of our failed energy policy. But the truth is, there is no easy answer to our energy crisis – and we need a President who’s going to be straight with us about that; a president who’s going to tell the American people not just what they want to hear, but what they need to know. And what they need to know is that any real solution isn’t going to come about overnight. It’s going to take time.
To bring about real change, we’re going to have to make long-term investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. That’s why I reached across the aisle in the Senate to come up with a plan to double our fuel efficiency standards that won support of lawmakers who had never supported raising those standards before. And that’s why I voted for an energy bill that was far from perfect because it was the largest investment in renewable energy in history, and I fought to eliminate the tax giveaways to oil companies that were slipped into that bill.
And as President, I’ll work to solve this energy crisis once and for all. We’ll invest $150 billion over the next ten years in establishing a green energy sector that will create up to 5 million new jobs – and those are jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. We’ll invest in clean energies like solar, wind, and biodiesel. And we’ll help make sure that the fuel we’re using is more efficient.
The candidates with the Washington experience – my opponents – are good people. They mean well. But they’ve been in Washington for a long time, and even with all that experience they talk about, nothing has happened. This country didn’t raise fuel efficiency standards for over thirty years. So what have we got for all that experience? Gas that’s approaching $4 a gallon – because you can fight all you want inside Washington, but until you change the way it works, you won’t be able to make the changes Americans need.
In the end, we’ll only ease the burden of gas prices on our families when Hoosiers and people all across America say “enough.” It’s time to free ourselves from the tyranny of oil, and stop funding both sides in the war on terror. It’s time to save this planet for our children. The time is now – not after the next election or the one after that. You shouldn’t accept any more excuses for why it can’t be done. It won’t happen tomorrow. But if we can come together in this election, we can and will begin, and the first step is changing the way business is done in Washington. If we can do that, then the energy crisis is one I’m confident we can solve.
Winning in November: Colorado
One of the advantages of this long primary process (fourteen months and counting) has been the opportunity it's provided for us to campaign and organize in all fifty states. In cities and towns across America we've seen record voter registration and participation, with many people finding their way to the political process for the first time. The end result: a radically altered electoral map that gives us the opportunity to compete across the country in November, in swing states and "red states" as well as "blue states."
Once case in point: Colorado.
In 2004, George W. Bush won the state of Colorado by less than 100,000 votes. Last winter, our grassroots supporters in the state spent months organizing, helped out at the end by field staff, multiple offices, and Barack himself. On February 5th Barack won the Colorado caucuses by a overwhelming margin, defeating Hillary Clinton 67% to 32%.
Two and a half months later, a recent Rassmussen poll shows that against Hillary Clinton, John McCain would easily carry the state right now, leading 50% to 36%. But in a head to head match-up, Barack leads McCain 46% to 43%, flipping the state and its nine electoral votes.
It's a pattern that we've seen repeat itself in states like Iowa, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin and more.
And our grassroots networks that are still at work, still organizing and still contributing, helping lay the groundwork for the general election against John McCain in November.
Visit CO.BarackObama.com to find active grassroots groups and ongoing event in Colorado.
Video: Obama on his Support for Equal Pay
Here's video from Obama's visit to New Albany, Indiana, where he addressed discrimination in the work place and his support for pay equality...
Later that day, Obama voted for a bill that would make it easier for women who allege pay discrimination to sue their employers. The Washington Post writes...
At issue is the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Lilly Ledbetter, who for 19 years was the lone female supervisor at an Alabama tire plant. Months before she retired in 1998, Ledbetter learned that she was being paid thousands of dollars less than her male co-workers. She filed suit and was awarded more than $3 million by a jury. Last May, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that Ledbetter had waited too long to file her case. The court said she should have complained within 180 days of a specific discriminatory event.
The ruling stunned civil rights advocates, who said federal courts in nine of the nation's 12 circuits had for decades judged that the 180-day statute of limitations began running afresh with each discriminatory paycheck. Their congressional supporters quickly drafted legislation to set that standard into law. Under the bill, the 180-day clock would start ticking when a discriminatory decision is adopted, when a person becomes subject to that decision or when a person is affected by that decision, including with each new paycheck.
Today, Obama was featured on the front page of The Hill in a photo with Lilly Ledbetter...
"I think we are blessed to have two strong candidates for president," Congressman David Wu said. "I am endorsing Barack Obama for president today because I believe that he is best suited to turn the page on this sorry episode in American history. He and I both had the judgment to oppose the Iraq War from the very beginning.
"Every dollar that we have spent in Iraq—which adds up to over $500 billion so far—is a dollar not spent at home, a school not built, a bridge not repaired," continued Wu. "We need new policies both at home and abroad. Like Americans, the international community wants to see real change in America and I believe that Senator Obama embodies that change."
While IFPTE applauds both Democratic candidates, our union’s internal polling results, coupled with Senator Obama’s unblemished record of support for the critical issues facing IFPTE, prompted our action to endorse Senator Obama.
IFPTE’s Executive Council agreed that Senator Obama is the candidate best suited to address the major concerns of America’s working men and women, particularly those issues that directly impact IFPTE’s diverse membership. The Senator believes we need to reform the H-1B program; he will immediately reverse the last eight years of the union busting promulgated on our nation’s Civil Servants; will stand against free trade agreements like NAFTA that fail to protect American workers; will address our nation’s dangerous health care crisis; will work to oppose irresponsible privatization schemes in the public and federal sectors; will work to protect the pensions and retirement security of working Americans; and will not only support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), but will actively use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to work with Congress in ensuring that this all important labor law reform legislation becomes the
IFPTE is pleased to join the millions of Senator Obama supporters and look forward to working with him over the next seven months as we move toward victory in November.
FULL LIST OF MAYORS ENDORSING SENATOR OBAMA
Terry Bellamy, Mayor, Asheville
Leni Sinick, Former Mayor, Asheville
Linda Blackburn, Mayor, Ahoskie
Frank Wilson, Mayor, Bolton
Loretta Clawson, Mayor, Boone
Kevin Foy, Mayor, Chapel Hill
Mark Chilton, Mayor, Carrboro
Harold Weinbrecht, Mayor, Cary
Harvey Gantt, Former Mayor, Charlotte
Linda Ingram, Mayor, Conetoe
Darryl Moss, Mayor, Creedmoor
Malcolm Johnson, Mayor, Dover
N. Carnell Robinson, Mayor Pro Tem, Dunn
William Bell, Mayor, Durham
Cora McFadden, Mayor Pro Tem, Durham
Perry Blanks, Mayor, East Arcadia
Warnie Bishop, Mayor, Enfield
Roy Bell, Mayor, Garysburg
Yvonne Johnson, Mayor, Greensboro
Keith Holiday, Former Mayor, Greensboro
Mildred Council, Mayor Pro Tem, Greenville
Horace Reid, Mayor Pro Tem, Hertford
Matthew Block, Mayor, Laurinburg
Phil Bazemore, Mayor Pro Tem, Monroe
Eulis Willis, Mayor, Navassa
Lewis Brown, Former Mayor, Navassa
Jerry Merrick, Mayor Pro Tem, Navassa
James Knox, Mayor, Northwest
Randolph Voller, Mayor, Pittsboro
Charles Meeker, Mayor, Raleigh
James West, former Mayor Pro Tem, Raleigh
Estelle Sanders, Mayor, Roper
Perry Dixon, Mayor, Sandyfield
James Mill Sr., Mayor, Scotland Neck
Melvin Broadnax, Mayor, Seabord
Howard Morgan, Mayor, Sedalia
Wilbert Harrison, Mayor, Speed
Ethel Clark, Mayor, Spring Lake
Donald Davis, Mayor, Snow Hill
Betty Gholston, Mayor, Wagram
George Draper Jr., Mayor, Weldon
Robert Spivey, Mayor, Windsor
Vivian Burke, Mayor Pro Tem, Winston-Salem
Carl Lee Sr., Mayor, Lewiston Woodville
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Selected Posts
Barack Obama Biography
Obama's Battleground States
Barack Obama Quotes Is Obama Tough Enough?
Obama Campaign Strategy
Obama on the Issues
Obama Game Plan
Obama Video Top Ten
Obama and the Swing States
Obama and McCain-omics
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