All I wanted was a freaking yard sign

[AllentownJake]

4 months ago I went to an Obama event one of the first in my town due to our late primary. I went because to be honest I wanted a yard sign and maybe an Obama pin. Well suffice it to say I did not get my yard sign that day. I actually didn't get it till a week before the Primary. That day all I got was a lapel sticker. What I did end up getting over the next 6 weeks were:

A volunteer grass roots organizing position for my township.
A bunch of new great people I never would have met. I didn't even know there were liberals in my town.
Inspired politically to take real action for the first time in my life.
One of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
A knowledge of how the political process at least on the primary level works.

Instead of a yard sign I have my Poll watchers certificate which the campaign registered me for the Primary April 22 framed and hanging on my wall.

Just a warning if you aren't looking for those things you better not stop at any events or they might draw you into a rewarding experience as well.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

1. I salute you.

:applause:

[phrigndumass]

2. Inspired politically to take real action ... Kudos!

Be careful what you ask for, lol!

:yourock:

[BlueJazz]

3. Yuck.. sounds horrible....I better stay away from those kind of things....or not.

:) Glad you liked it and are happy.

[mod mom]

4. Warning about yard signs-no new ones until the VP is announced so they are a hot item.

2 of my neighbors have had theirs stolen this week. Why not mine you might ask? VASOLINE GLOBBED AROUND THE EDGES!

I learned this trick in '04 when * supporters were routinely stealing signs. They usually grab after dark and when they feel the big globs of vasoline they retreat! In '04 I added hot pepper wax to the vasoline but was advised against it by an attorney friend.

[IndyOp]

9. Vasoline? Fantastic idea!

I will try this and spread the idea.

I'd love to see the expression on their face after getting a handful of... :puke:

[DangerousRhythm]

23. Hot pepper and vasoline...

Really? Why were you advised against that? Surely it's not against the law to put hot pepper and vasoline on your own property? If someone came onto your property and thought to steal it, wouldn't that be their problem? Could you actually be sued for that? Maybe I'm just missing something? O_O

Sorry, so many questions! :rofl:

[mod mom]

24. I just stick w Vaseline, now. My attorney friend suggested that if hot pepper got into

eyes and caused a traffic accident there was a potential suit and just not worth it. I have found the globs of Vaseline to be enough of a deterrent. I've never loss one since applying liberally. ;)

I only wish I could see the the reaction when the grabbing thief attempts to steal my sign. You know how difficult it is to get Vaseline off!

[DangerousRhythm]

29. Wow, people can sue because of their own stupidity?

Oh, what am I saying, of course they can. :rofl:

Great idea though, really! I shall keep it in mind. }(

[sourmilk]

5. NoThanks - it's bad enough that they e-mail me four times a day.

[Danieljay]

46. oh you poor thing. Not figured out the 'remove me' link? n/t

[sandnsea]

6. Organization and Inclusiveness

Best campaign I've ever seen.

[Casper]

33. That has not been my experience

I have found the local Obama groups to be exclusive and not very organized. The most devoted Democrats I know have trouble finding out about volunteer opportunities. Hopefully it will shake out after the convention.

[Hippo_Tron]

44. It's a shame to hear that, what state do you live in?

When I worked on the campaign during the primaries, myself and the other interns would make about 300 phone calls every Friday to people on our list in order to get them to come out to our events on Saturday. Our office was absolutely packed with volunteers on election day and for canvassing the weekend before.

[Fleshdancer]

7. to be fair, yard signs ARE the gateway drugs to political activism

First it starts with a sticker or maybe a button, but once you move on to yard signs, it's only a matter of time until you're hooked. :D

[mrreowwr_kittty]

10. That's how they got me!

I'm a political junkie now, and there's no cure! ;)

[Canuckistanian]

8. What a bummer

K&R!

:toast:

[NanceGreggs]

11. Well, here's a K & R fer ya ...

... ya big crybaby!!!

[AllentownJake]

12. LOL

Funny when your vacations are now planned around an election for a year :cry:

Its fun and if it wasn't fun and doing something good than it wouldn't be worth it.

[billyoc]

13. Good thing you didn't ask for a bumper sticker, you might've ended up Secretary of the Interior.

:rofl:

[woolldog]

20. lol

:spray:

[demodonkey]

14. Jake, you sound like are in PA. Well, we are targeted and at high risk for problems. Help us...

... watch the polls again in Nov and please join our election integrity group and help us watch the machines while you are watching the polls.

I don't know what county you are in but 51 of our PA counties have paperless electronic voting machines and ANYTHING could happen. ANYthing. We need EYES on the polls who know what to look for with these machines.

We are going to also be launching a pollWORKER program where people INside the polls can help watch for problems. The county election boards are going to tell everyone that the machines are fine, they're tested, they're accurate. Don't believe them.

Every DUer who is on the ground in November should get with their local or state election integrity group and learn how they can help. Don't rely on the DNC, Obama Campaign, or local Dems to train you. Rely on yourself. Knowledge is power.

Remember 2004 -- please everyone let's not let it happen again. Even in states with paper ballots, and especially in states with paperless touchscreens, HELP US WATCH THESE MACHINES AND THE VOTE COUNT. Join and support your local or state election integrity group today!

Marybeth in PA
http://www.VotePA.us

[AllentownJake]

16. I was a trouble shooter

and didn't have to use it in the Primary. They registered all the coordinators in case of emergency. I'll talk to the campaign and make sure that we have some people. I do not like the paperless trail but to be honest with our govenor I think we'll be ok.

I'll probably be in a staging location getting turnout reports from the boiler room and directing GOTV volunteers to neighboorhoods again on November 4 its what I did on April 22.

[demodonkey]

26. Noooo! We're NOT OK. Rendell is clueless about the machines. CLUELESS.

See this --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHfnLXAOjDA&eurl=http://www.votepa.us/

We have Rendell many times on and off tape, saying he trusts the machines completely. Our state is the only large swing state that has done basically nothing to thoroughly test these machines (like CA, OH, NJ etc.) or get rid of them and get a voter-marked paper ballot. Pennsylvania is in the company of states like Georgia and Texas. Not a good place to be with 21 electoral votes up for grabs here.

Do not trust any campaign or the party to be on top of this. They're not and they won't be in November. The Dems have a long history of having voting machine problems reported to them and pooh-poohing the whole thing.

At the very least, report anything you see or hear to a non-partisan election protection line like 1-866-OUR-VOTE in ADDITION to the Dems.

[1Hippiechick]

15. Love it - Ain't grassroots work great! Congrats! Your post has probably inspired others!n/t

[Hissyspit]

17. Order a state lapel pin at barackobama.com. I got mine and I love it!

[Bluenorthwest]

18. My kind of post...

Action post. Cool. My town is yard sign happy, and I have joined in.

[redwitch]

19. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

I went to bake back our democracy by nobly and unselfishly buying some chocolate chip cookies. Next thing I know I'm vice chair of the town committee. Never even saw it coming. :P

[lonestarnot]

21. Excellent, but I would still like a bumper sticker and a yard sign.

[John Q. Citizen]

22. Yard signs don't vote! People make the difference. You walk the walk, thanks!

[flpoljunkie]

25. Good for you, Jake!

[mopinko]

27. these guys sure make you work for the swag.

i had to go all the way to ohio to get a button. there just ain't none in illinois.

glad you were hooked.

[zulchzulu]

28. Get one online

I have people asking me if I ( a grassroots supporter) have Obama yard signs... I have buttons (I bought) and bumper stickers (I bought) that I give out... but yard signs are unwieldy to carry around. Most campaign people actually think that yard signs are not as effective as buttons, which (if worn and not just thrown in the hallway table drawer) engage people in conversation.

Don't expect more than a lapel sticker from the official campaign at this point in the race.

If you want to show your support and contribute $25 to the campaign as well, go online:



http://store.barackobama.com/product_p/op00051-2.htm

[qwlauren35]

30. I think that Yard Signs do something different.

They let people know that there is an Obama supporter in their neighborhood.

Since yard signs can be(and often are) stolen, I think it says that people fear them, and fear what they signal. Oh my gosh, an Obama supporter IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

If your neighbor is someone you know, it makes you think for a moment. What does s/he know that has caused this choice? Even if it isn't someone you know, sometimes it makes you braver.

And sometimes it just reminds you that an election is coming.

They have their uses.

[mloutre]

31. TELL me about it, Jake!

I started off gradually, then actively, then enthusiastically blogging about a presidential candidate in 2004, and things went downhill from there. Oy!

By the time I was able to pull the needle out of my arm, I ended up working full-time for his internet team here in Boston.

See, it's a very slippery slope. Stop now while you still can. It's too late for me, but you can still save yourself! Run away!

(For the record, I would still have that particular needle in my arm if it wasn't for the fact that my elderly dad has been dx'd with final-stage cancer. So, just to prove that sometimes the real reason really IS "...to spend more time with his family", I'm now moving to that state with the 4/22 primary to spend time with him while I still can. But you can for damn sure count on me to be blogging about a presidential candidate in 2008 while I'm there!)

[AllentownJake]

38. .

My dad died of pancreatic cancer last year so I know exactly where your at. Bless you friend.

[mloutre]

41. Well, as you know, it is what it is.

But thank you for your empathetic message of support.

Oh, and thank you for your having gotten a crush on O'Bama, too...

[Barb in Atl]

32. Incredibly Cool Post n/t

[DrZeeLit]

34. Wow... isn't this the way it's SUPPOSED to be? Great job, Jake!

[Writer]

35. Words of advice: Don't ask for freaking yard signs.

They're rare and difficult to maintain because they are, after all, freaking.

Good 'ole everyday yard signs work just as well.

[MadrasT]

36. Yard signs

When I went to visit my parents on Memorial Day, my father (a die-hard Dem) had an Obama sign in his yard. This was fairly amusing, as my parents own the last house on a dead end street (and it dead-ends into a cornfield). Nonetheless, there it was, standing proudly.

A couple weeks later, I decided I needed a yard sign, too. Had trouble locating one locally. So I phoned mom. The conversation unfolded like this:

Me: "Hi Mom. Where did you get your yard sign?"

Mom: Stunned silence (as in, "When did you start caring about politics?")

Me: "Um... mom? The yard sign?"

Mom: "Ummm... from your father."

Me: *sigh*

Me again: "Well, where did DAD get the yard sign?"

Mom: "From the garage."

Me: "Your mechanic is handing out yard signs?"

Mom: "No... OUR garage... we have the inventory... your father is the 'yard sign guy' "

So dad hooked me up with two yard signs ("Obama '08" and "Seeing Red? Vote Blue!") and a T-shirt. And told me an amusing story about how he and 3 other volunteers each put up 25 yard signs, all in a row along a major highway in their county... so there would be 100 Obama signs all in a row... it's a Republican county, that's a subversive activity in their neck of the woods!!!

Here's to dad & his buds! :toast:

[MadrasT]

37. BTW

BTW... GOOD FOR YOU, Jake!!! Sounds like a great experience!!!

[literacyadvocate]

39. What is you see is NOT what you get..

So much stuff underneath..Still water runs deep my friends....

Let he peoples movement live on!

[mloutre]

42. Um, yeah, whatever the frick that's supposed to mean, n00b...

[muryan]

40. Excellent work

When I contact volunteers, the first they always ask for is a yard sign (we only had 100 for the entire county during the primary). They are usually somewhat disappointed when we tell them we don't have any at the moment, and they will begrudgingly volunteer with whatever event we have planned.

I know personally of 5 volunteers who meet me everyday at 9am to find out what they can do to help the campaign during the day, they love being involved in their community and the campaign. We managed to snag 10 yard signs a few days ago and these 5 volunteers (who were absolutely hellbent on getting signs) turned them down because they didnt want to wear the campaign on their front lawn, they wanted to live it. So we gave the signs to a few elderly folks who really aren't healthy enough to help out as much as they would like to and it really made their day to know that people turned down the signs so they could have them.

[ihavenobias]

43. K & R

[Danieljay]

45. You were obviously brainwashed and abducted into a liberal, oops now centrist, cult of Obamabots

and are in desperate need of therapy. What the hell were you thinking? How could you be so stupid and naive. Don't you know Obama is the anti-Christ and much worse a centrist moving flip flopper?

:sarcasm:

congrats and thank you for your contribution!