What will you say when the local OFA organizer calls you?

[undeterred]

My local OFA organizer left me a message a while ago saying she wanted to talk to me about my involvement in the upcoming Obama campaign. Since I was very involved in the last one in 2008, I guess its assumed I will do it again. Around that time I posted a poll question here asking if people would work on Obama's campaign in 2012.

I just can't see myself calling or canvassing for him in 2012. I am so disappointed.

I'm very enthusiastic about all things Democratic in the State of Wisconsin. I couldn't be more excited about working on our recall, state and local elections. There has never been a better time to be a Democrat in Wisconsin.

When the local OFA organizer calls me back I'm going to tell her my heart isn't in it.

[Broderick]

1. Try to find a way to muster up the energy

The alternative is not a good way to go in my opinion.

[Jim Lane]

70. I disagree. The alternative IS a good way to go.

The alternative to volunteering/donating with OfA is to volunteer/donate with campaigns for good candidates in other races.

It's just wrong to say or imply that anyone who doesn't pitch in for Obama is thereby, effectively, pitching in for the Republican nominee. When it comes to DUers' time and money, Obama isn't competing against Romney. He's competing against Grayson.

[AngryAmish]

2. I've already been asked. I told them to suck it.

I have to contribute to the campaign so I will. Just like last time. But I don't volunteer for such things.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. I'll tell them I'm a banker and I want cash NOW NOW NOW

Then I can sit back and wait for the checks to roll in from Treasury and the Fed.

[LoZoccolo]

4. We're likely to have a laugh about the rude people they have to deal with.

I'll also probably ask them how few rude refusers there are among the enthusiastic supporters. And I just might post it here!

GOBAMA!

:bounce:

YES WE CAN!

[Wait Wut]

30. Yes. I'm sure they'll be heart broken.

Until they realize that the majority of Democrats and Liberals are still very much on board, which should take them about as long as it takes to dial the next number.

Yes, we WILL! :kick:

[emulatorloo]

5. Well, more Teabag Senators and Reps is not the answer.

I am pretty sure the House Republicans are ready to pull the trigger on the default, they are actually wanting it to happen.

Voters who come out to vote for Obama are going to vote for Democratic Senators and Representatives. We really need to get the House back, and we really need to get a TRUE bullet-proof majority in the Senate.

So that's what motivates me.

[LoZoccolo]

18. I agree, and another thing to think about is that the neoconservatives have been building

their movement for around forty years now, when the major think-tanks came into being. They did so gradually, taking any progress as progress, and were willing to work on bringing propaganda to the electorate and change their voting habits (through right-wing radio and organizations), rather than threaten the offices of the Republicans. They knew they needed a base of electoral support to get what they want done. I hope a liberal resurgence doesn't take as long, but every year we spend trying and failing to "reset" the political makeup of our elected offices with progressive Democrats by working to defeat Democrats we don't like in general elections (primary elections are a healthy part of partisan politics, but they also need to be geared toward winning a general election in order to make progress), it's like we start our potentially-long period of moving the division between the parties further to the left over at the beginning again.

[Jim Lane]

73. Please elaborate on something in your post.

You wrote about "every year we spend trying and failing to 'reset' the political makeup of our elected offices with progressive Democrats by working to defeat Democrats we don't like in general elections" -- which you properly criticized.

The OP, however, wasn't about working against Obama or any other Dem in the general election. It was about not working for Obama. I'm guessing the poster will be quite open to volunteering for more progressive candidates in other general-election races.

Are you conflating "not working for Obama" with "working against Obama"?

[undeterred]

78. You interpreted my post correctly.

I am not advocating that people not work for Obama or that they work for him.

Working for a candidate takes some degree of believing in that person. I have to feel good about somebody to give my time, effort, money- any of the above. Campaigning is hard work. People yell at you, slam doors in your face, hang up the phone on you. You spend your own money and time and a lot of the time you know you don't stand a chance of winning. There has to be a strong source of internal motivation.

If I feel like a politician or candidate really is fighting for the right things then its lot easier for me to do the nitty gritty work of walking, calling, lit dropping and whatever it is they need.

If they aren't fighting for me, how am I going to fight for them? I might go to the polls to vote for the lesser of two evils in that case, but that is all.

[county worker]

69. You remember those heady days when we had the White House, the Senate and the House?

You got nothing then what makes you think anything will change in the future?

I guess hope springs eternal.

[tekisui]

6. I've been called already. I worked a good but for the campaign in 2008,

but I told them I wasn't interested in helping this go-round. I told them they had my vote, but not my time or money.

[undeterred]

13. That's exactly the idea.

I'm not going to sit home on election day or vote 3rd party or republican. But I can't be a cheerleader either for the lesser of two poor choices.

[Tatiana]

7. I've received two calls requesting involvement.

First time I indicated I wasn't sure.

I received a call back last month asking if the camapaign could count on my support. Basically, I said the President has my vote and that's about all.

I spoke with the gal for a minute and she seemed to have received that response from a lot of people. She went through a scripted list of why I should "join the fight." I told her that the fight the President is waging is against people like me, so no thanks. He'll get my lesser-of-the-evils vote, but none of my time and certainly not my money.

I'm sure Wall Street has Obama's back.

I did feel really sorry for the lady on the phone and I told her that I appreciated that she was volunteering her time. I got the feeling she'd received a fair share of hostile responses.

[MineralMan]

8. I'll be working my precinct as usual in 2012. Along with the

literature and information regarding DFL-endorsed candidates for office, I'll also have Obama material and answers for the people I talk to while precinct walking. What else would I do?

[HereSince1628]

9. Feeling the same here. The SO said the kid on the other end

of the phone sounded very deflated at her response.

[Tesha]

10. "I'm sorry, we're busy working on behalf of A M-C, a PROGRESSIVE Democrat running for Congress."

Annie almost won in 2010 (she finished best among all three
of NH's Federal candidates in the dismal 2010 election) and she
could win in 2012.

She'd also actually be worth electing!

I'm sure OFA will understand why we can't take time out from
that important work to help them.

Tesha

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. What I said when they DID call -

he's got my vote, but not my time or money - and if he so much as touches SS, the vote is in question too.

[robdogbucky]

12. Hey buddy, can you spare a dime? n/t

[Warpy]

14. I'll tell them what I did the last time

that I'm sick and nearly a shutin and will be targeting my donations to progressives who have a chance to unseat conservative dead wood, but thanks anyway. Click.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Call me back when you run a liberal.

[LWolf]

65. +1

[jtown1123]

16. Tell them he has to change his position on entitlement cuts or no one will organize

[lamp_shade]

17. I'm one of those who will be enthusiastically making those calls.

[grantcart]

19. thanks for your time

[undeterred]

23. Tell me where you get your enthusiasm.

[lamp_shade]

24. Um.... I never lost it.

:hi:

[undeterred]

33. So Obama giving corporate welfare and more tax breaks for rich people

while chopping away at social security and other social programs doesn't dampen your enthusiasm?

:hi:

[lamp_shade]

35. When did he do that?

[TBF]

38. De - nile ain't just a river ... nt

[undeterred]

40. You must not be reading the board.

That's what the gang of 6 plan does. The Democrats are giving up their opposition to cuts in entitlements and giving up their effort to raise taxes on corporations and the rich. Its called a lose-lose proposition for the poor and middle class.

[lamp_shade]

44. Repeat... when did he (the President) do that? Link?

[LoZoccolo]

50. The board has been full of unsubstantiated rumors since Fire Dog Lake

coined the term "catfood commission". The board is the last place I'd want to go to find out what's going on. I might go to the sources to which people link, but I'm not going to take another DUer's word on something that smears the Obama administration.

[undeterred]

54. Take Senator Bernie Sanders word from the floor of the Senate.

This Senator is going to fight back. I was not elected to the United States Senate to make devastating cuts in Social Security, in Medicare, in Medicaid, in children's programs, while lowering tax rates for the wealthiest people in this country.

http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/6698-qthis-senator-is-going-to-fight-backq

[undeterred]

41. HE'S DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

[lamp_shade]

45. See my post #44.

[undeterred]

51. From Bernie Sanders:

I heard him say this on Bill Press radio show this morning, and here is a link to what he said:

What Senators Coburn, Crapo and Chambliss have managed to do in the Gang of Six is reach an agreement where there will be major cuts in Social Security. Don't let anybody kid you about this being some minor thing. It is not. What we are talking about is that Social Security cuts would go into effect virtually immediately. Ten years from now, the typical 75-year-old person will see their Social Security benefits cut by $560 a year. The average 85-year-old will see a cut of $1,000 a year. Now, for some people here in Washington, maybe the big lobbyists who make hundreds of thousands a year, $560 a year or $1,000 a year may not seem like a lot of money, but if you are a senior trying to get by on $14,000, $15,000, $18,000 a year and you're 85 years old, the end of your life, you're totally said would not happen under his watch, what the Democrats have said would not happen under their watch.vulnerable, you're sick - a $1,000 per year cut in what you otherwise would have received is a major, major blow.

So I congratulate Senator Coburn, Senator Crapo, Senator Chambliss for doing what president Obama

But it's not just Social Security. We have 50 million Americans today who have no health insurance at all. Under the Gang of Six proposals, there will be cuts in Medicare over a 10-year period of almost $300 billion. There will be massive cuts in Medicaid and other health care programs. There will be caps on spending, which mean that there will be major cuts in education. If you are a working-class family, hoping that you're going to be able to send your kid to college and thinking that you will be eligible for a Pell grant, think twice about that. Pell grants may not be there. If you're a senior who relies on a nutrition program, that nutrition program may not be there. If you think it's a good idea that we enforce clean air and clean water provisions so that our kids can be healthy, those provisions may not be there because there will be major cuts in environmental protection.

more at: http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/6698-qthis-senator-is-going-to-fight-backq

[lamp_shade]

53. ... and your point is????

[undeterred]

55. You still don't get the point?

You still don't get why a lot of Democrats aren't too enthusiastic about getting out there and working to re-elect a president who is abandoning the core principles of the Democratic party?

[lamp_shade]

56. Apparently not, since you have yet to show me what the President has done to curb your

enthusiasm. Keyword: done

[undeterred]

57. Campaign promises regarding Social Security

Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. That is right because Social Security is funded by the payroll tax, not by the US Treasury. Social Security has a $2.6 trillion surplus today. It can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 25 years. It is an enormously popular program. Poll after poll from the American people says doesn't cut Social Security. Two and a half years ago when Barack Obama, then a senator from Illinois, ran for president of the United States, he made it very clear if you voted for him there would be no cuts in Social Security.

What Senators Coburn, Crapo and Chambliss have managed to do in the Gang of Six is reach an agreement where there will be major cuts in Social Security. Don't let anybody kid you about this being some minor thing. It is not. What we are talking about is that Social Security cuts would go into effect virtually immediately. Ten years from now, the typical 75-year-old person will see their Social Security benefits cut by $560 a year. The average 85-year-old will see a cut of $1,000 a year. Now, for some people here in Washington, maybe the big lobbyists who make hundreds of thousands a year, $560 a year or $1,000 a year may not seem like a lot of money, but if you are a senior trying to get by on $14,000, $15,000, $18,000 a year and you're 85 years old, the end of your life, you're totally vulnerable, you're sick - a $1,000 per year cut in what you otherwise would have received is a major, major blow.

keyword: telling the truth

[lamp_shade]

58. :sigh:

[undeterred]

60. You'll be doing a lot of that.

[Fuddnik]

77. You're going to get hit by the train!

What train? I never got hit by a train.

It's coming! See it? Hear it?

Repeat. What train? I've never been hit by a train. When did a train hit.me?

Look out!!!!! See the train!!!??

I told you, I've WHAP!!!!!!!!

Oh, I did get hit by a train, but nobody could have seen it coming.

[Liberalynn]

82. self delete

[LWolf]

66. Then, for the record,

Don't bother to call my house.

[deutsey]

20. I'd tell them I'm too busy working my two jobs to keep my family afloat n/t

[NightWatcher]

21. I see a pattern. Vote but no money or volunteering this time

and I agree

[msongs]

22. I am working to elect progressives/liberal democrats. don't call again nt

[Lionessa]

25. I've been jobless since Obama took office, perhaps y'all can donate a little

JOBS STIMULUS so I might have some money to eat, and to get my tooth cavity filled, and some glasses, mine are over 5 years old and scratched to barely being able to see out of them...then, I see about contributing to his lack of audacity and his killing of my hopes.

[madrchsod]

26. same here...

we redistricted illinois so there`s a lot of action next year. obama has his cash and corporate america loves him. he does`t need us.

[WinkyDink]

27. I've BEEN telling phoners that I am waiting to see the final plan for SS/Medicare. Sand, line in.

[iwishiwas]

32. good.

[Mz Pip]

84. That's what I think

IF SS and Medicare are cut and rich people and corporations get tax cuts, then I'm done. It hasn't happened yet and I hope that it won't but I won't commit to anything until all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed.

[bemildred]

28. Sorry, I don't have any spare "change". nt

[begin_within]

29. I'll say, "Obama has plenty of corporate donors, he doesn't need my lousy $20."

[LoZoccolo]

49. His average donation has been $69. n/t

[mmonk]

31. Nothing. Similar to my emails received. One could say a dial tone.

[RebelOne]

34. If I lose one cent of my Social Security benefits,

you can forget about my support for Obama in 2012.

[AC_Mem]

36. I will say

Where do you need me and when do you need me.

And then I will show up and donate my time and talents.

I'm not sure what your point is - do you propose volunteering for one of the GOP candidates? Or perhaps staying home like so many did in 2010?

That worked out really well, didn't it.

I will get behind the President and work hard to put more progressive democrats in office in 2012.

Annette

[lamp_shade]

46. My dear AC_Mem

:fistbump:

[undeterred]

62. More progressive Democrats...

Do you consider President Obama to be a progressive Democrat?

[Jim Lane]

80. See other responses in this thread.

You write: "I'm not sure what your point is - do you propose volunteering for one of the GOP candidates? Or perhaps staying home like so many did in 2010?"

No one has proposed helping the GOP. A few have threatened that they might not vote for Obama (possibly stay at home, but more likely vote for Democratic candidates for other offices, leaving the presidential line blank or voting third party). Still, the majority position is to vote for Obama but to devote time and money to progressive Democrats in other races.

I tell you frankly that I'm really getting annoyed at the repeated insinuation that anyone dissatisfied with Obama is therefore supporting a Republican.

[Zorra]

37. "Sorry, I'm saving money for when I retire so I can make up for the cuts in Social Security

and Medicare."

[TBF]

39. Best answer in the thread. nt

[guitar man]

42. Sorry but,

I'm done. In '08 my situation was desperate, fast forward to today, and it's gone from desperate to tragic. I'm just not one to be pissed on, forgotten and then come running with bells on when called upon again. Not gonna happen.

[undeterred]

43. I'm sorry.

:hug:

[guitar man]

52. Thanks :)

You know, as long as I've been voting and involved in politics, I have always tried to vote for what's good for the country first and me second. There were always a lot of people worse off than me and if it helped them I figured I could buck up and handle what I needed to handle, I've always been a pretty rugged individual.

But this time was different, I found myself in my mid-40s and pretty scarred from struggling under "reaganomics" for almost 3 decades. this time it was us that needed help. When my wife asked what I wanted I told her, "if the Dems will just nudge the playing field back toward level, just a little bit, I'll throw my shoulder to the wheel as hard as I can and somehow, we'll make it"

I'm still waiting... just haven't seen it happening yet :(

[CaliforniaPeggy]

47. I will tell them NO.

I echo the other posters in this thread who have indicated they'll vote for Obama, but nothing else...

Saying that I'm disappointed in him is an understatement.

[Xithras]

48. Already has

My response was that I would be concentrating on getting liberals and progressives elected to Congress in the next election, and that my time and money would be dedicated to that cause instead. She started reading me some scripted answer about Obama's support for progressive causes, so I cut her off, kindly wished her a good day, and ended the call.

I won't spend my time and money supporting a politician who opposes my own political views.

[hifiguy]

59. My carefully considered response would be

to tell them to get stuffed and to go beg for money from their owners on Wall $treet.

[ChiciB1]

61. Don't Think They'll Be Calling... But I'll Use Everyway I Know How To Say NO!!!! n/t

[coalition_unwilling]

63. I will say, "Obama does not represent the working class nor, by extension,

me. So I will not be working on his behalf."

FWIW, contributed and volunteered for Obama in 2008.

[LWolf]

64. I don't know why they'd contact me.

I've never interacted with them before.

If they did, I'd laugh.

Then I'd hang up.

Better than telling them what I really think.

[county worker]

67. They already called me twice. I use to work for OFA that's why they

have my name.
I told them that the Obama I voted for is not the Obama in the White House and I will never give a cent to OFA again but will contribute to local candidates.

And this from one who got an invitation to the inauguration, Obama tee shirts, coffee mugs, all of which I didn't ask for and didn't know I was getting.

[JAnthony]

68. As an OFA caller/organizer, I can tell you what *I* would say and what I have heard

"I don't like what Obama has done, selling out to Republicans on taxes, but I will vote for him, and work for him ONLY IF it gets close"

"I will never vote for a nigger again"...(Exact words... not mine!)

"will you make sure I don't lose my Social Security?"

"I cannot stand Congress, and I have to work to defeat my local (REpublican) Congressperson, Obama can get help elsewhere, not me, I did it in 2008, now I have a fucking idiot on Congress, I have to get rid of them... Obama should have done more in the first 2 years, and made being a Republican running for office illegal, given what Bush Republicans had done to America.. Obama doesn't get it, he's not the first Black man elected, he's the first Black man acting like a slave to Republicans in Congress".

I hear it all.

What are you DU people going to do to prevent Perry or Pawlenty or Romney or Bachmann from being in that White House? What specifically???

[undeterred]

71. I'm going to vote for Obama.

I live in Wisconsin so there's plenty of Democrats that I do feel are worth working for. I will work for whoever runs for Senator Kohl's seat and whoever runs to get the Governor's seat back. And we'll be getting rid of Paul Ryan.

But can I honestly say I'll go door to door and talk to people about why Obama is better than candidate X that the Republicans put up?

I could do it for Al Gore. I could do it for John Kerry. I could do it for Barack Obama in 2008. But I don't see myself doing for him next year because I don't know who he is.

He isn't the same man I voted for. He changed on some of the fundamentals. I don't know what to say when someone asks me why there is more money being spent on war now than when Bush was in office. I don't know why he is breaking promises about Social Security.

Does it really make a difference if its Obama or Romney? Does it? :shrug:

[newspeak]

85. I voted for Clinton twice

got welfare deform, telecom deregulation, NAFTA-GATT and iran contra swept under the rug. Swept under the rug so that some of the same nightmarish players could revisit under Little Boots.

We had eight fekkin long years of being basically screwed-you know why many wept when Obama won? Because they actually believed that the nightmare was over.

Everyone in my family, except one glen beck turd, has always been democratic. Pro-labor democrats, FDR good democrats and we are not, will never be Reagan democrats, new democrats, DLC democrats or third way democrats.

So, I'm writing to any progressive democrat who cares about grandma, children-the least among us-to step up and run for president. I will work to elect progressive democrats in congress, as a majority in congress just in case we end up with a nutbag repug. And in the primary I will vote for someone who is on the people's side more than wall street's. Got it?

[merbex]

72. "what's the # 1 response you are getting lately~ I 'm curios - is it

hangups, laughter, or invective?"

If I get an answer, then I will say - "my response is: I hope he loses and maybe then something can be salvaged from the wreck he has made of the Democratic Party - so good luck with your volunteering - take me off all lists. Buh Bye"

[undeterred]

74. you probably meant to address this to #68

[otohara]

75. Fired Up / Ready to Go

actually I already got a call, met with team leader, plan to volunteer.

If they call nationally, I will donate a little bit.

and I won't be rude to a volunteer.

[otohara]

76. Your Heart

will break if President Perry, Palin, Bachmann, Romney is the result come November 2012.

[csziggy]

79. I've already told them that I cannot physically do any volunteer work

Unless possibly they allow calling from home from an online list. I will NOT call from a pre-printed list - during the 2008 campaign those were not up to date and caused too many problems with calling people too many times. They have the technology and software to do calls directly from lists on the computer and enter the data on the same screen.

The last two people from OFA did not know about this possibility. That I have been called twice and given them the same information demonstrates that they need to use the online lists for calling!

If I get called again, I may volunteer to help them set up those lists - I did it for our team in 2008 and we were the only local team that ran out of people to call before the election.

While I am not enthusiastic about re-electing Obama, I do not want to see another 1980 and end up with a Republican who will be worse for the country than all previous Republican presidents.

[JoePhilly]

81. So let's make sure I follow ...

You are in WI ... you've been through what happens when Dems stay home.

And so you plan to ignore the Presidential election and maybe allow a Scott Walker or WORSE to govern for 4 years?

Sounds like a great plan!!

[Liberalynn]

83. Call Rupert

I am sure he will be happy to give another large donation to the President. I personally will neeed all my pennies to buy cat food. Be sure to tell Mr. President Thank You for all he has done to help the poor and the middle class.:sarcasm:

[madamesilverspurs]

86. I didn't vote for Obama

expecting him to be FDR. Nor is he Hoover nor Neville Chamberlain. He is the man I voted for. And I'm already working on his re-election.

My young friends in OFA energize and inspire me every day. We have a phenomenal president. I'm proud to be part of his team.


-

[LooseWilly]

87. I tell them to get the bankers and the centrists to do the work—the ones he's representing...

Then, when they start listing things he's "done", like repealing DADT or HCR, I explain to them that Obama has filed stays to continue kicking gays out of the military twice now... so I hardly call that a repeal, and HCR is really just a subsidization for the corporations offering health benefits to stabilize their costs on the backs of those who will be forced to buy private insurance.

If they're really dogged I then point out that Obama couldn't get anything of consequence to me done even when he had an ostensible majority in both houses of Congress... so why should I waste any time or money on him now.

Good Day.

(It's basically the same talk for the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, etc.)

At this point even my vote is up for grabs. If the Republicans ran someone who'd lie to me and say he/she supported marriage equality—then I'd vote for a Republican in 2012 without hesitation... the Democrat brand means no more to me than Kleenex at this point.