This is Why I'm Volunteering for Boxer & Obama. Will you join us? Only FOUR days left!

At 4:50pm on Thursday evening I was sitting in the office building where I work, less than two miles from the site of the Giants v Rangers game. I had one eye on the internet coverage of the game, and the other on the phone because I was excitedly waiting for President Obama to call me.



OK ... maybe Obama wasn't going to personally dial my number, and maybe I was not the only Democratic Party Youth Leader waiting for their phone to ring. But I was still kind of freaking out:)

After listening to President Obama’s remarks, and some follow up commentary from the College Democrats of America and the Democratic National Committee’s Youth Council, I put the Youth Leaders call on hold, and dialed into a 5pm call for the Democratic Party’s California Team with Obama and Senator Barbara Boxer.

Obama talked about why he supports Senator Boxer, and encouraged us all to volunteer in the few remaining days before the election. Obama has visited California several times this year to support Senator Boxer's re-election campaign. Jill Biden and Michelle were here recently, too.



Here's a Barbara Boxer campaign radio spot featuring Obama:



In addition to hearing from Obama on the Thursday night calls, I really enjoyed hearing from Senator Boxer. She has been my favorite senator since I started paying close attention to politics after the Twin Towers fell during my second year at Pace Law School. Following my graduation from law school I moved from New York to San Francisco, where I got to be one of Senator Boxer's constituents:)

Two years later I made the cross-country move again, from San Francisco to Washington, DC because I dreamed of working for Senator Boxer on international marine debris issues. It took 4 months, a job at a coffee shop and another at a call center, plus 2 internships and probably a hundred informational interviews, but I actually secured a job working for Senator Boxer!


photo: Co-worker Kelly & I, June 2008

While I later left Senator Boxer's employ to run a voter registration drive that I thought might benefit the Obama Presidential Campaign, I will always be loyal to Senator Boxer.

That's why I've been down at the San Francisco Democratic Party campaign office a few evenings after work recently, calling fellow San Francisco Democrats to remind them to vote, and that's why I'm going door to door in San Francisco neighborhoods this weekend with Organizing for America, to remind people to vote on Tuesday.

I need to know that I am doing everything that I can to make sure that Obama has the allies that he needs in Congress, like Senator Boxer. As MoveOn.org said in a recent email: "Do you really need clean socks that bad?" HA. No, my dirty socks can wait until Nov 3.


photo: West LA volunteers

If you feel similarly, then what can you do? LOTS.

1.) Join up with Organizing for America to make phone calls to Democrats who voted for the first time in Nov 2008. We need to make sure that they go back to the polls on Tuesday. Even making 10 minutes worth of calls will help. (Note that when you click on the link here, you'll be taken to the California OFA page. If you live in a different state then go to the top right-hand corner of the page and change your location.)

2.) If you can volunteer in person (either at an OFA office making phone calls, or canvassing your city's neighborhoods) then google "Organizing for America" plus your state's name to find your local OFA office. For example, here's the California page. Then call the office, or stop by to find out how you can help. This is not a time to be shy!

3.) Of course you can donate money if you want. The Boxer Store is having a sale!

4.) I voted early via absentee ballot. I typed up how I voted, and shared it in a "note" on Facebook. Based on what I've read (and the positive feedback I've received from friends) it seems like this personal contact really works.

5.) Finally, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE on Nov 2. Make sure your family members, friends, co-workers, professors, neighbors, etc vote! If you can take the day off from work then Organizing for America could really use your help. Again, find your local OFA office to find out where your help is most needed on Election Day.

THANK YOU for anything that you can do.



GO TEAM BOXER:) Go Obama! GO VOLUNTEERS!!! United together, we CAN do this.

June 8, baby ... California Primary Election Day

On June 8 California voters will get to decide who will represent each political party in the November 2, 2010 elections - for California Governor, US Senate, etc.

You might overlook June 8, but don't - if the majority of Democratic voters hadn't voted for Obama in the the 2008 primary elections, then we might have been voting for an entirely different Democratic candidate on November 4, 2008, and who knows who would be our president right now. June 8 is a significant election day!

Most importantly to me, on June 8 California voters will get to decide if Barbara Boxer will be listed on the November 2, 2010 ballot as our Democratic candidate for US Senate.

I want to vote for Barbara Boxer for US Senate on November 2 ... please help me by voting for her in the June 8 Primary Election! Re-elect Senator Barbara Boxer:)




I received this Progressive Voters Guide from CREDO Action Mobile. I haven't gone through it to see if I agree with all of the recommendations, but on a quick glance it looks very helpful.

If you need to register to vote in California, or if you have changed your legal name or address since the last time that you voted, then you must complete and postmark a new voter registration card by Monday, May 24.

If you did not select a political party when you registered to vote in California, then you are known as a "Decline to State" or "Non-Partisan" voter. "Decline to State/Non-Partisan" voters who at the time of registration indicated that they wanted to vote by mail (and not in person at their local polling place on election day) should hear from their county's board of elections office before June 8, so that the board of elections office can find out if you would like to receive:
a.) "Non-Partisan" ballot (which will not let you vote for any candidates for office - just ballot measures),
b.) The Republican Party ballot, which will allow you to vote for the ballot measures and Republican candidates, or
c.) The Democratic Party ballot, which will allow you to vote for the ballot measures and Democratic candidates.

If you are a "Non-Partisan" voter, and do not respond to your county's board of elections office when they contact you to ask which ballot you want, then you will be automatically send the "Non-Partisan" ballot. If you receive the "Non-Partisan" ballot in the mail in error, then you can still vote for the candidates from the Republican or Democratic Party. Just take your blank "Non-Partisan" voter registration form that you recieved in the mail to your local polling place on June 8, turn it over to the staff at the polling place, and ask for the Democratic or Republican Party ballot. Fill it out at the polling place, and turn it in to vote.

If you are a "Non-Partisan" voter, and are not registered to vote by mail, then when you show up at your local polling place on June 8, you can request the "Non-Partisan", Democratic, or Republican ballot, fill it out at the polling place, and turn it in to have your vote counted.

If you are registered as a Democrat, Republican, or a member of another registered political party in California, then you will automatically be given your party's ballot. If you want to receive a different party's ballot then you must re-register to vote, and select your new political party on your new voter registration form. You must postmark your new voter registration card by Monday, May 24.

If you have any questions then call the California Board of Elections Office at 916.653.6814. You'll get a recording. If your questions are not answered in the recording, then select "0" and then "8" to reach the Elections Office, and then from there follow the instructions to reach an Elections Official that you can speak with directly.

Don't Buy This War

Having trouble embedding the video from the Daily Show on December 2nd - watch it here. Then proceed with the blog post below ...

I just received this email action alert from CREDO action:

Last night President Obama announced that he's escalating the war in Afghanistan, bringing the number of U.S. troops in that country to 100,000 or more.

It's the wrong decision, but it's not too late to change things. That is why CREDO is joining with TrueMajority/USAction and Brave New Foundation on a campaign to do just that.



To complete the escalation, Congress needs to sign-off on the plans and the funding for extra troops and equipment — a staggering $1 trillion or more.

Last night, Congress heard from the President. Today, they need to hear from you.

Can you sign this petition opposing the escalation in Afghanistan? It says:

"President Obama has decided to send more than 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, at a cost of more than $100 billion/year. But America cannot afford more war that does not make us safer, and Congress has the power to stop the escalation. Please vote NO on any spending bill that would send more troops to Afghanistan."

Some pundits are saying there's no need to worry because Obama also promised to begin bringing troops home in 2011. But even if that is true, it would only be the beginning of the end of the war, with no guarantee when everyone will come home or when the war will end.

All this while the President's own National Security Advisor has reported that there are fewer than 100 Al Qaeda operatives in all of Afghanistan with no ability to launch attacks on either the United States or our allies.

Now Congress must decide if spending $100 billion a year to have 100,000 troops chasing 100 terrorists in the most remote mountains of our planet is worth it.

You know the answer already. Tell Congress that it's time to stop sending troops to Afghanistan and develop a plan to bring everyone home.

Thank you for working to build a better world.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets