Dear Friends,

It all comes down to this, the only poll that matters: who actually gets more voters to the polls on Election Day.

To quote my wonderful fellow volunteer Christina Newhard:

“No one can promise you won’t have to say ‘President-elect Mitt Romney’ come November 7. This election is too close, and polling too imperfect, to have any clarity about who will win.

What is clear, though, is that well-funded conservatives are trying to stop Obama supporters in key states from voting at all. Can you blame them? If confusing the vote in 2000 worked to give us President Bush, why not try it again for Romney? It gave them 8 years of what they wanted.

Voting is not an entitlement reserved for 53% of the country. Trying to limit people’s right to vote with harassment and lies is a form of bullying.

In 2008, I had the privilege of doing voter outreach in Philly for the Obama campaign. Talking to total strangers about politics was, surprisingly, the opposite of political “talk” on TV, the opposite of shouting and hot air. I got to listen to many different Americans and gain some insight into what they’re dealing with. In some encounters, it was frankly very difficult to see the conditions they were living in, and still ask them to vest some trust in the political process and vote. It was humbling. And It’s infuriating that conservatives would try to limit that basic self-empowerment for people who are already struggling for agency in their own lives.”

And that’s why we need you. We need voters in swing states to hear from real people, whether by phone or in person, who give them straightforward information about their voting rights and about the stakes in this election. We don’t need you to be a policy expert. We just need you to be a positive face of the campaign, someone who took the time to volunteer, someone who listens to their concerns, someone who cares about the impact this election will have on their lives as well as your own. The nice voice on the phone or the nice volunteer at the door can cut through the lies they’ve been hearing for months on end.

We particularly need you over the last 4 days, up to and including Election Day. Statistically, a person who promises to vote — even if that promise is made to a total stranger — is more likely to show up at the polls than one who hasn’t.

Please join at least one of the activities below, and see if you can get 5 friends who haven’t yet volunteered to join you.

Jeanne

GOTV (Get Out The Vote) TRIPS TO PHILLY & LEHIGH VALLEY

If you are able to drive down on your own any time between now and Election Day itself, please email me and I will put you in touch with organizers on the ground in PA — jeanne [at] brooklynforbarack [dot] org.

PHONEBANKS

Phonebanks reach out to voters in battleground states to inform them about new voting laws and other critical campaign issues. Remember that some of these are early-voting states. You may be able to persuade people who can vote right away.  If event address is not listed, you will receive it after you sign up. Please bring a charged cellphone. If you can easily bring a laptop, that can be very helpful.

Daily phonebanks, Noon – 9 PM; 9 AM to 9 PM on Election Day (multiple shifts each day) — Atlantic Avenue

673 Atlantic Avenue (right by Atlantic/Pacific subway stop)

RSVP for daily phonebanks through 11/2: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gst5sr

RSVP for phonebanks 11/3-Election Day: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFNxN3FMQ29hSGx1eFlucWEtSHpDUEE6MA

Daily phonebanks, Noon – 9 PM; 9 AM to 9 PM on Election Day (multiple shifts each day) – Bed-Stuy

631 Throop Ave, between Fulton and Decatur

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7g25

Thursday, Nov. 1, 5:30 PM – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstw7y

Thursday, Nov 1, 6 PM – 9PM — Williamsburg

216 Grand St. Apt. 3 (top buzzer)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsb98d

Thursday, Nov 1, 7 PM – 9PM — Park Slope

Jerry Polner’s house (address given on signup)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsbr9z

Saturday, November 3rd Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlcb

Saturday, November 3, 3 PM – 5 PM — Carroll Gardens

236 Degraw St

RSVP: skaren72 [at]gmail[dot]com

Sunday, November 4th, 3 PM – 9 PM (multiple shifts)– BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlcy

Sunday, November 4th, 4 PM – 8 PM — Clinton Hill

The Phoenix Dance Academy, 1087 Fulton Street

RSVP: wfpcentralbrooklynclub[at]gmail[dot]com

Monday, November 5th, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlc4

Tuesday, November 6th, (ELECTION DAY) 9 AM – 9 PM (multiple shifts)  — BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlcg

MAKE CALLS FROM HOME

Names, numbers, scripts, and instructions are provided.

To make calls to PA (you can select other states too): https://call.barackobama.com/campaigns/PA2318

To call women in swing states: https://dashboard.barackobama.com/r/3530-women-to-women-call-tool

For phonebanking tips before you start calling: https://dashboard.barackobama.com/r/1085-phonebanking-tips

HELP DEFEAT OUR LOCAL TEA-PARTY CONGRESSMAN

Some of you have expressed a desire to help in local contested congressional races turning red seats blue. Mark Murphy is the ONLY Red to Blue candidate in the greater NYC area, running against the Tea Party’s own Michael Grimm in southern Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Psychologists tell us that in this media-saturated world, what sticks in people’s minds is the thing they’ve heard the most. The source fades away — was it an ad? a pundit? a candidate on the stump? a billboard paid for by a shadowy SuperPAC? Sadly, it doesn’t matter. What stays with them is the repeated statement, whether it’s a lie or the truth. And we’ve been fed a hefty dose of lies this campaign season.

Now, on top of the lies, comes the deception:

• In PA, local papers owned by Republican billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife just published a story with the headline that voter ID is required on November 6th, even though it is not.
• In Philadelphia, the power company sent notices with the October bills telling people to bring I.D. to the polls.
• In PA, Spanish-language billboards still tell people they need voter I.D., even though the judge struck down the law weeks ago.
• In PA, the (Republican-controlled) Department of State is running t.v. ads that are virtually identical to the voter I.D. ads they ran before the judge’s decision. They’ve changed one sentence at the end to say that I.D. is not required, but anyone who remembers seeing it endlessly as a voter I.D. ad are likely to tune out and assume the ad says what it said before — get your I.D. if you want to vote.
• In Philadelphia, voters who did not request absentee ballots report getting them in the mail with notes telling them NOT to go to the polls on Election Day.
• In AZ, the Board of Elections in Maricopa County printed Spanish-language voter guides with the wrong date for the election.
• In VA, an employee of a Republican voter-registration firm was arrested for dumping completed voter-registration forms in the trash on the last day of registration. Now two more instances of dumped forms have come to light — people who believed they had registered have discovered their registrations were never turned in.
• In FL, the Tea Party is encouraging people to use the Obama campaign’s call-from-home tool to campaign for Romney or mark people as already contacted so they don’t get called again.

That’s why we need you. We need voters in swing states to hear from real people, whether by phone or in person, who give them straightforward information about their voting rights and about the stakes in this election. We don’t need you to be a policy expert. We just need you to be a positive face of the campaign, someone who took the time to volunteer, someone who listens to their concerns, someone who cares about the impact this election will have on their lives as well as your own. The nice voice on the phone or the nice volunteer at the door can cut through the lies they’ve been hearing for months on end.

We particularly need you over the last 4 days, up to and including Election Day, so that the last thing voters hear about their voting rights comes from you, and not from a deceptive billboard or t.v. ad.

Please join at least one of the activities below, and see if you can get 5 friends who haven’t yet volunteered to join you.

N.B:  a special request from me: if you can come to PA on Saturday, 11/3 and/or Election Day, please sign up for one of the buses on those days by emailing me: jeanne [at] brooklynforbarack [dot] org. I have a deadline of this Thursday to decide how many buses to confirm with the bus company without losing the deposit of the very generous donors who’ve paid for them, including Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. So if you can commit to coming, please email me: jeanne@brooklynforbarack.org with your full name/email/cell, and those of anyone traveling with you, if you’re bringing friends or family.

Jeanne

TRIPS TO PHILLY & LEHIGH VALLEY

Unless otherwise noted, buses depart in the morning from Brooklyn (near Atlantic Terminal) – return early evening back in Brooklyn. These buses have been filling up early, so please RSVP as soon as you can.

If buses are full and you are able to drive down on your own, please email me and I will put you in touch with organizers on the ground in PA — jeanne@brooklynforbarack.org. We will also need drivers to take bus overflow on upcoming weekends — if you are going to be available, please let me know.

PHONEBANKS

Phonebanks reach out to voters in battleground states to inform them about new voting laws and other critical campaign issues. Remember that some of these are early-voting states. You may be able to persuade people who can vote right away.  If event address is not listed, you will receive it after you sign up. Please bring a charged cellphone. If you can easily bring a laptop, that can be very helpful.

Daily phonebanks, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa (see below for weekend hours)

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstdmc

Daily phonebanks (including weekends) Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – Bed-Stuy

631 Throop Ave, between Fulton and Decatur

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7g25

Wednesday, Oct 24, 5:30 PM – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/share/gstlk7

Wednesday, Oct 24, 7 PM – 9 PM — Park Slope

Anna Brown Massey’s house (address given on signup)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstbr2

Wednesday, Oct 24, 5 PM – 9 PM — Midwood

1435 Glenwood Road

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsrx7d

Thursday, Oct. 25, 6 PM – 9 PM — Williamsburg

216 Grand Street, #3

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsb98j

Thursday, Oct 25, 7 PM – 9 PM — Park Slope

Carol Thomas’s house (address given on signup)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstbr8

Thursday, Oct 25, 5 PM – 9 PM — Midwood

Newman Center, 2401 Glenwood Road

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsrxxj

Friday, Oct 26, 5 PM – 9 PM — Midwood

1435 Glenwood Road

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsvtvv

Saturday, Oct. 27, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb54kv

Saturday, Oct. 27, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — Midwood

Royal Banquet Hall, 818 Coney Island Ave

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsvr39

Sunday, Oct 28, 3 PM – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlc9

Sunday, Oct. 28, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb54kv

Sunday, Oct. 28, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — Midwood

Royal Banquet Hall, 818 Coney Island Ave

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsvr39

Thursday, Nov. 1, 5:30 PM – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstw7y

Saturday, November 3rd Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlcb

Sunday, November 4th, 3 PM – 9 PM (multiple shifts)– BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlcy

Monday, November 5th, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlc4

Tuesday, November 6th, (ELECTION DAY) 9 AM – 9 PM (multiple shifts)  — BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

767-769 Fulton Street (South Oxford)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gstlcg

MAKE CALLS FROM HOME

Names, numbers, scripts, and instructions are provided.

To make calls to PA (you can select other states too): https://call.barackobama.com/campaigns/PA2318

To call women in swing states: https://dashboard.barackobama.com/r/3530-women-to-women-call-tool

For phonebanking tips before you start calling: https://dashboard.barackobama.com/r/1085-phonebanking-tips

I wrote this on Monday, before Mitt Romney told me I should be living in a binder . . .

When the polls start getting ominous, it’s hard not to want to hide under the bed and just wait for November 7th. But believe me, you do not want to crawl out from under the bed on November 7th to a Romney presidency, wondering what you could have been doing the past 3 weeks to prevent it.

So I offer you a bumper-sticker mantra: No One Can Do Everything, But Everyone Can Do Something. You can make calls. You can knock on doors. And you can be the spokesperson for this campaign that you wish you saw in every debate.  All those things you were shouting at the t.v. at the first debate, and all those things you were cheering in the second — you can be the one saying them on the phones and at the doors. And believe me, it will be much more effective coming from you than from a tv ad.

Please note: if you can come to PA on Saturday, 11/3 and/or Election Day, please sign up for one of the buses on those days by emailing me: Jeanne [at] brooklynforbarack [dot] org I have a deadline to decide how many buses to confirm with the bus company without losing the deposit of the very generous donors who’ve paid for them, including Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. So if you can commit to coming, please email me with your full name/email/cell, and those of anyone traveling with you, if you’re bringing friends or family.

I’ll close with another bumper-sticker mantra, one of my favorites, and a pretty handy one right about now: I kept saying, Somebody should do something about that. And then I realized, I am somebody.

Jeanne

PHONEBANKS

Phonebanks reach out to voters in Pennsylvania and other battleground states to inform them about new voting laws and other critical campaign issues; they also call Brooklynites to recruit volunteers. Please bring a charged cellphone. If event address is not listed, you will receive it after you sign up.

Daily (weekday) phonebanks, Noon – 9 PM — BoCoCa (see below for weekend hours)

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7l9k

Daily phonebanks (weekdays AND weekends) Noon – 9 PM — Bed-Stuy (Note: special office opening party Friday, Oct. 19, 6 PM – 9 PM)

631 Throop Ave, between Fulton and Decatur

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7g25

Wednesday, Oct 17, 5:30 PM – 9 PM – BROOKLYN FOR BARACK calls swing states — Fort Greene

Frank’s Lounge, 660 Fulton Street, near So. Elliot

RSVP: jordan [at] brooklynforbarack [dot] org

Wednesday, Oct 17, 7 PM – 9 PM — Park Slope

Anna Massey’s house (address given on signup)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsbrd3

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gbxvwf

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 6 PM – 9 PM — Williamsburg

Address given on signup

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsldkg

Thursday, Oct. 18, 6 PM – 9 PM — Williamsburg

216 Grand Street, #3

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsb9fc

Thursday, Oct 18, 7 PM – 9 PM — Park Slope

Carol Thomas’s house (address given on signup)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gslbls

Saturday, Oct. 20, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7lkm

Sunday, Oct. 21, Noon – 9 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7lkm

TRIPS TO PHILLY & LEHIGH VALLEY

Unless otherwise noted, buses depart in the morning from Brooklyn (near Atlantic Terminal) – return early evening back in Brooklyn. These buses have been filling up early, so please RSVP as soon as you can.

If buses are full and you are able to drive down on your own, please email me and I will put you in touch with organizers on the ground in PA – Jeanne [at] brooklynforbarack [dot] org. We will also need drivers to take bus overflow on upcoming weekends — if you are going to be available, please let me know.

ABLE TO TRAVEL TO A BATTLEGROUND STATE FOR MORE THAN A FEW DAYS?

If you have time to travel to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, or another battleground state for an extended period before the election, the campaign will connect you with a campaign office and provide supporter housing for you.

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/vote-corps

If you know your availability to phonebank or travel over the last four days of the campaign, Nov. 3 – Nov. 6, please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFNxN3FMQ29hSGx1eFlucWEtSHpDUEE6MA

A few days after the debate, I realized what I’d really needed that night was the Serenity Prayer, which for some reason the principal of my allegedly secular high school was very fond of quoting: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” I was tying myself in knots trying to change something I could do nothing about: the debate itself. I needed to focus, and we all need to focus, on the things we CAN change: we can get on the phone and get on the bus and make sure we reach as many voters as possible with the truths that got buried under the avalanche of lies coming from Mitt Romney.

Voters in PA also need to hear the truth from us about their voting rights, because even though the judge stated clearly last week that voter ID was NOT required to vote in this election, the old information about needing voter ID is still out there on billboards and websites and the state’s own automated recordings. If we don’t get the correct information to voters, the net effect, according to the head of the ACLU in PA,  is that people will still think they need photo IDs to vote, and if they cannot obtain them by Election Day, “folks will stay home.”

In some ways, the Republicans already got the outcome they sought, even though the judge ruled against them. They created confusion among voters and potential chaos at the polls.

So here are some things you can change this week.

Jeanne

TRIPS TO PHILLY & LEHIGH VALLEY

Unless otherwise noted, buses depart in the morning from Brooklyn (near Atlantic Terminal) – return early evening back in Brooklyn. These buses have been filling up early, so please RSVP as soon as you can.

If buses are full and you are able to drive down on your own, please email me and I will put you in touch with organizers on the ground in PA — jeanne@brooklynforbarack.org. We will also need drivers to take bus overflow on upcoming weekends — if you are going to be available, please let me know.

PHONEBANKS

Phonebanks reach out to voters in Pennsylvania and other battleground states to inform them about new voting laws and other critical campaign issues; they also call Brooklynites to recruit volunteers. Please bring a charged cellphone. If event address is not listed, you will receive it after you sign up. Note that some events on Thursday are combined with the VP Debate as a Debate Watch/Rapid Response Phonebank.

Weekday Phonebanks, Noon – 9 PM — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7zd9

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 6 PM – 8:30 PM — Crown Heights

337 Hawthorne Street, Community Room

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsl4bt

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsl48t

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5:30 PM – 8:30 — Flatbush/Lefferts Gardens

Expressions in Ceramics Studio, 1151 Nostrand Ave

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/neighborhoodteammeeting/gslkmh

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 6 PM – 8 PM — Bensonhurst

1631 W 12th Street, First Floor

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsldpj

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 6 PM – 8 PM — Bed-Stuy

312 Jefferson Avenue

RSVP:https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gslqdw

Thursday, Oct. 11, 6 PM – 8:30 PM — Crown Heights

337 Hawthorne Street, Community Room

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsl4bt

Thursday, Oct. 11, 7 PM – 9 PM — Park Slope

Jerry Polner’s house (address given on signup)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsg9mz

Thursday, Oct. 11, 6 PM – 9 PM — Williamsburg

216 Grand Street, #3

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsb9f4

Thursday, Oct. 11, 6 PM – 9 PM — Canarsie/Brownsville

1033 East 85^th Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/2012debatewatchparty/gb7f3q

Thursday, Oct. 11, 6 PM – 10 PM — Flatbush/Lefferts Gardens

Delroy’s Cafe, 14 Duryea Place

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/2012debatewatchparty/gb79m9

Thursday, Oct. 11, 6 PM – 10 PM — Flatbush/Lefferts Gardens

220 Lincoln Road

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/2012debatewatchparty/gb7kgg

Thursday, Oct. 11, 6 PM – 10 PM – Sunset Park

Sunset Perk Café, 483 39th Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/2012debatewatchparty/gb7mjm

Thursday, Oct. 11, 7 PM – 11 PM — Bed-Stuy

654 Putnam Avenue, Apt. A2

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/2012debatewatchparty/gsgcgp

Thursday, Oct. 11, 7 PM – 9 PM — Gowanus/Red Hook team meeting in Windsor Terrace

29 Sherman Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gslprc

Thursday, Oct. 11, 7 PM – 9 PM — Windsor Terrace

29 Sherman Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsbp4v

Saturday, Oct. 13, Noon – 7 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7z9l

Sunday, Oct. 14, Noon – 7 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

216 Dean Street

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gb7z9q

Sunday, Oct. 14, Noon – 5 PM (multiple shifts) — BoCoCa

51 Bergen Street (The Invisible Dog)

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/phonebank/gsl54f

Monday, Oct. 15, 7 PM – 9 PM — Park Slope

Address given on signup

RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsqpm5