Jeremy Bird is "Fired Up for the Final Two Weeks"

[Clio the Leo]

Fired Up for the Final Two Weeks
Jeremy BirdDeputy National Director, Organizing for America
Posted: October 21, 2010 10:41 AM

News coverage of the "Moving America Forward" rally at The Ohio State University this past Sunday has focused on the massive, energized crowd of 35,000 that gathered to hear from President Obama and the First Lady - the largest since Inauguration Day. Walking the line, listening to young people talk about politics, and watching them fill the Main Oval in the center of OSU's campus, I can tell you it was a truly moving sight.

But, there was another story behind the scenes that has stayed with me. More than any positive movement in the polls or any rally, campaign offices full of staff and volunteers get me fired up. And on Friday, when I walked into the basement of the Ohio coordinated campaign office - the same open, windowless, bunker-style office I worked out of in Columbus in 2008 -the energy was electric. Sprawling tables were full of communications, new media, field, data, and get-out-the-vote staffers working round the clock to support a thriving volunteer-led ground operation. If you didn't know any better, you would think we were prepping for a presidential year election in the Buckeye State.

Similarly, on Saturday, when I hit up a local volunteer office in Columbus and went canvassing door-to-door, I was struck by the incredible effort our volunteers are leading in this critical state during this critical election cycle. Watching a local organizer put on a flawless canvass training in a packed office of enthusiastic volunteers, I was reminded of why we should all do less tuning in to the cable news noise and do more lacing up our sneakers instead.

With early voting already going on in Ohio and many other states and Election Day just two weeks away, Organizing for America supporters are in serious get-out-the-vote mode. OFA supporters across the country are rolling up their sleeves and working hard to make sure the President has a Congress he can work with to continue making progress for the American people.

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With November 2 right around the corner, we're now entering the final phase of our "commit to vote" effort. Volunteers across the country spent the summer asking people to sign commit to vote cards. We're now mailing back to people their signed commit to vote cards because we know that when people see their own signature pledging to cast a ballot, they are much more likely to follow through on that promise.

There's no question that midterm elections for first term presidents are historically difficult. OFA supporters all fully understand there are strong political headwinds against us. But President Obama and Congressional Democrats have been working hard and taking tough votes to turn the economy around and level the playing field for the middle class. And we're excited, and confident about the ground game we've built in Ohio and across the country. Over the next two weeks, OFA volunteers across the country are ready to show the President and his allies that we have their back.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-bird/fired-up-for-the-final-tw_b_771297.html