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(Great day for it... would have been there, but have all 3 kids to myself this weekend. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
I did my first canvassing of the season today out of the joint Democratic campaign office in Keene. Not many people home at midday on a beautiful Saturday, but I talked to some and left a lot of Hodes and Kuster lit. Central Keene is pretty heavily covered with Kuster lawn signs, and the Kuster staff has a running start from the primary campaign. (I had read on this site about their top-notch grassroots organization, and had that opinion confirmed today.)
Today there were not the dozens or even hundreds of canvassers that showed up for Obama every Saturday in the fall of 2008. If you can do something about that, I wish you would. I volunteered through kusterforcongress.com and a staffer phoned me within a few days and got me signed up to canvass today. They will be out every Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the campaign. If you are in SW New Hampshire or the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, for example, this is your best chance to influence very close races for both the US Senate and US House, and get two very good people representing New Hampshire.
Canvassing is good exercise, more fun than phonebanking, and a key way to impress upon a large number of people that there is an important election coming up and that the Democrats are collectively fired up about it. I hope to see you out there.
(Still time contribute to Cheshire Dems Inauguration Anniversary Celebration. Looking forward to seeing Hamsters and Candidates tonight in Keene. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
During election cycles Cheshire County voters elect the highest percentage of Democrats of any county in New Hampshire. To keep that distinction, the Democratic Committee organizes events, conducts Get Out The Vote canvasses, and provides logistical support to Democratic candidates. Our political community spends time and money to ensure voters are exposed to Democratic candidates and their message.
Twenty people showed up for our rally for keeping the Public Option in Healthcare Reform on Thursday, August 20...This was sponsored by Working Families Win... I personally convinced four others to join me...We held hand-lettered signs while others mass-printed ones...I wished our numbers were closer to 200...So important is this issue...
On the other hand, all motorists who responded gave us a thumbs up or other positive gestures...A contrast with other public demonstrations held in Keene's Central Square over the decades.
For those of you in the Keene area, you now have a reason to turn on AM radio again. Make a long story short... you can now listen to Air America Radio seven days a week!
1490 WKVT of Brattleboro is the only Air America affiliate in Vermont. It's parent company, Saga Communications, also owns WZBK 1220 in Keene. There's been quite a demand for progressive talk radio in the Keene area. Now WZBK will carry WKVT's Air America line-up and then some.
WKVT AM LINE-UP:
Monday Thru Friday:
6 to 9 am: The Bill Press Show
9 am to Noon: Live & Local with Steve West (Brattleboro-Keene local call in show)
Noon to 3 pm: The Thom Hartman Show
3 to 6 pm: The Ed Schultz Show
6 pm to 8 pm: The Rachel Maddow Show
8 to 10 pm: The Stephanie Miller Show
10 pm to 1 am: The Alan Colmes Show
Weekends
Saturday:
5 to 7 am: Doing Time with Ron Kuby
7 to 8 am: "Washington Monthly" radio show
8 am to 10 am: Best of "Live and Local"
4 to 6 pm: "Ring Of Fire" with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mike Papantonio
6 to 7 pm: "7 days in America" with Arianna Huffington and Mark Green
7 to 10 pm: Free Talk Live (libertarian POV)
Sunday:
5 to 6 am: Doing Time with Ron Kuby
4 to 7 pm: "Politically Direct" with David Bender
7 to 8 pm:"State of Belief" with Reverend Welton Gaddy
8 to 11 pm: Ring of Fire" with Robert Kennedy Jr. & Mike Papantonio
Members of the General Court representing Keene, hosted by The Keene City Democrats, address a live and television audience Sunday night. After taking some cheap shots at Senator Kelly regarding her work on defining adequacy and it's cost, fellow dems quickly turned the forum into a pro-income tax lecture.
[cross-posted to johnedwards.com and Blue Mass Group]
After a productive afternoon of canvassing in Keene, I got to hear JRE's speech at Keene State College. The reason I couldn't see it is that he filled not only the room where he spoke but an overflow room with video (700 total people according to a KSC staffer) so the last 50 or so of us had to rely on audio in the lobby.
John was scheduled at 3:15 and started at 4:05, par for the course with these things. His warmup acts were actors Madeleine Stowe and James Denton and NH progressive icon (and 2004 Senate candidate) Granny D. He spoke for about 30 minutes, also introducing the mothers of a teenage girl who died from the lack of an operation denied by her insurance company and of the victim in one of his famous court cases.
I was surprised by the focus of the speech on his legal career, but it made sense in the context of his argument: (1) the status quo, of corporate domination of our democracy, is broken, (2) HRC represents this status quo and has already been rejected by the voters in Iowa, and (3) what qualifies him to change the status quo is his experience fighting it and his personal passion for the cause -- "I will fight every day as President for you and your children". The implicit argument against Obama is that he lacks this passion -- JRE said that the issues of poverty and inequality are not "abstract, technical, or academic" but "personal", suggesting that Obama lacks this commitment.
This is interesting in a "Look at it this way!" "No that way!" sense.
We have someone running for City Council in Keene who has pledged to:
Accept the City Council pay, which is $2000 per year for a four-year term; but
Distribute the 16 $500 checks to randomly selected voters.
Today's Sentinel has the story behind the subscription wall.
Somebody filed a complaint with the state Attorney General's office and the candidate - Julia Miranda - has been warned that this is felony bribery and could mean seven years in the Big House. She has changed the offer to a pledge to donate the money to non-profits.
(It's late, and rather than put this off another day I will post this as a quickie)
I attended the the HBO "Premiere" of Run Granny Run at the Colonial Theater in Keene Tuesday Night.
It was a great crowd and I found the film to be very inspirational and timely as campaigns heat up for the NH Primary. I left feeling more motivated to get involved for the first in a while.
While the film spends some time on campaign finance reform and her walk across America and voter registration efforts, the film is primarily about Granny's run for the US Senate against Judd Gregg in 2004. It showed well all of the in and outs, ups and downs, excitement and the fear of a campaign.
As was to be expected it was a partisan crowd which reacted loudly at several moments in the film. One in particular when Judd expressed his support to GWB.
Howard Dean (my hero) did not fair well in the film, after giving a speech about running dems in races no matter what the outcome was, he seemed to blow off a photo op with Granny.
The film also showed an awkward debate "Gotcha" moment with Benson asking Lynch if he supported Judd. Then candidate Lynch spent several moments supporting the work of Judd vis-a-vis the NH University System and failed to come out say the Granny would make a better Senator than Judd. There was some footage of the aftermath of that with Granny D's son on the phone with bargining from support. Not sure if it was from the NHDP or the Lynch Campaign but it was a good example to the hardball that has to be played from time to time.
As mentioned above there was great attendance at the event with most of the main level full, I know there were people in the balcony as well but not sure how many folks were up there.
Jay Buckey, SoS Bill Gardner, NH Sen Kelly and Bill Siroty were in attendance as well as many staffers and volunteers from the various campaigns. (Granny seems to be supporting Kucinich and other DK supporters were very visible)
HBO were gracious hosts. As I understand they footed the bill for the entire evening. Admission was free and a nice reception with wine, beer and deserts was served on the stage after the screening and gave people a chance to mingle and meet the 97 year old phenom.
What did I take from the evening?
1. A great Granny quote (perhaps it is an old yarn, but was great coming from her) "Democracy is something you do, not something you have." Love that, Democracy is a verb.
2. Time for me to make up my mind and get active!
3. You can do what ever you set you mind to
4. With such a strong candidate in Shaheen this year, I can't wait till we can take on Gregg in 2010 in this BlueHampshire
"Run Granny Run" will be broadcast at 9 p.m. Oct. 18 on HBO. The Boston Globe has a good review/synopsis of the film.
I know this is a local issue, but last time we were hit with a surprise loss -- and to prevent a repeat of that I've volunteered to put it up here.
From Frank Murphy:
A special election vote is coming up this Tuesday, August 28, on the approval of the redrawn teacher's contract for the Keene School District. Typically a special election has a phenomenally low turnout and a very few votes make the difference. If you want to have a voice in Keene's public education system, this is an important issue on which to be heard. Please vote...it's a good habit that benefits the community.
Polls are open 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Wards 1, 2 & 3 Keene Recreation Center, 312 Washington St.,
Wards 4 & 5 First Baptist Church, 105 Maple Ave.
I'm actually a pretty frequent critic of public education, but the negotiation team has got a deal which is a good compromise. You can read the details here:
http://mikecaulfield...
The bottom line is if you voted for the budget last time, you want to show up this time to make sure it passes. And if you voted no last time, or more likely, if you know someone who voted no last time, you should review the budget details -- this is a reasonable deal, the bottom line of which is less than a twenty dollar tax increase for most homeowners.
If there are any other local votes coming up in other New Hampshire towns, please let us all know in the comments.
On Monday, Barack Obama returned to the Granite State. With roundtable discussions at Jesse's Restaurant in Hanover in the morning, and Lindy's Diner in Keene in the afternoon, Barack Obama sat down with small groups to talk about the way that broken culture in Washington affects the lives of everyday Americans. In addition to the Hanover and Keene roundtables, Barack held a rally in Keene and a town hall in the late afternoon in Nashua.
You can read the full recap of Monday's events on the New Hampshire campaign blog.
Other highlights from the campaign this week:
On Friday, volunteers from Keene, Lebanon, Nashua and Portsmouth participated in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and community organizing activity called Hoops.Action.Change. In order to qualify, the teams had to perform some volunteer community service activity with their local campaign office, including phone-banking and canvassing. Craig Robinson, Barack's brother-in-law and head coach of the Brown University men's basketball team, dropped by for the regional tournament play. On Saturday, the championship round was held in Manchester, with the winning team, Keene's "Railroad Team", meeting with Barack and receiving signed basketballs.
On Thursday, the NH Obama campaign blog profiled former State Representative Peter Sullivan.
On Tuesday, the NH Obama campaign blog profiled Jeff, a teacher from Wolfboro.
On Tuesday night, Barack participated in the AFL-CIO Presidential Forum in Chicago. In this, one of the signature moments of the debate, it became abundantly clear that Barack Obama is the candidate with the intelligence to challenge the conventional ways of thinking that have led to the present administration's foreign policy catastrophes, and the toughness and integrity to stand up for what he believes in.
For the latest in the campaign's efforts across the country and right here in New Hampshire, check out the NH Obama campaign blog at nh.barackobama.com
Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton came to Keene yesterday and spoke to more than a thousand people who waited two hours in the hot sun on a Friday workday morning. This was the first time Bill Clinton had appeared with his wife in New Hampshire since she had announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
The couple was late in arriving because Senator Clinton had stayed back in Washington to vote on important legislation before flying into Keene airport.
After a spirited introduction from the local state senator, Molly Kelly, President Clinton took the microphone and made a brief, but very effective pitch, to the crowd why he thinks his wife would make a good president.
Bill Clinton spoke from his heart and said,
I'd be doing this event if we were not married. Because in my lifetime, I believe she's the best-prepared non-incumbent I've ever had the chance to vote for.
President Clinton stressed Hillary Clinton's political experience, the relationships she established around the world during her time as first lady, her ability to take command from her first day in office.
Although Bill Clinton complimented his wife's Democratic rivals - "I like this primary field; I'm not mad at anybody" - he described the importance of knowing how to deflect Republican attacks. "That's another reason to be for Hillary: She's pretty good at that incoming fire business."
Last week, as some of you know, the Keene voters did an odd thing. They voted in a slate of pro-education candidates, candidates that stood in opposition to the Taxpayer's Union set. And they voted down a million and a half dollar increase in the school budget and a negotiated contract with the teacher's union that took over a year to reach.
I supported the budget, not because I'm a crack accountant, but because a number of people I trust had indicated that the cost hike was, for the most part, this year's price for last year's programs. And I supported the teacher's increase, not because I blindly approve of all educational spending, but because after endless negotiation that clearly pushed as hard as was feasible, we had a settlement.
The last Drinking Liberally ended with some mighty fine dancing to "Super Bon Bon" at Nicole and I's house (complete with disco ball). But it started as all others do, with a relatively small group of people, sitting around discussing politics and whatever else at the local bar.
You can pretty much decide how long you want to hang out with us, when you want to hustle home, and how much politics you want to talk. But if you bring only yourself and a friendly disposition I can guarantee you will make good friends and have at least one really bitching conversation.
Attendance varies between 10 and 30 people.
There's actually a few people that post on this blog that usually show up. I'd love to meet more of you.
So here's the details:
This Friday, December 1st
7pm til 10:30 or later
Tony Clamato's
Keene, NH
