Tag Archives: Campaign manager

Today we’re launching something that could change the 2012 election: our grassroots fundraising program.

Because you’re one of this campaign’s earliest supporters, we’re counting on you to be a part of it.

Other campaigns rely on powerful special interests to grow, but we’ve rejected that top-down model from the very beginning.

Grassroots fundraising opens up the process of building this campaign to anyone who wants to take the reins, putting the power in the hands of supporters like you who have already chipped in to own a piece of it.

All you have to do to get started is to sign up for your own personal page. You can get creative and customize it however you’d like — from setting a goal for yourself to uploading a photo and telling the story of why you’re getting involved. Then you’re all set to start inspiring people in your networks to step up and support the President.

By the end of the day today, thousands of people will join the first class of 2012 grassroots fundraisers, and I think you should be one of them.

www.barackobama.com

As a 2012 grassroots fundraiser, you can recruit five new supporters or 500. Either way, the people you bring into this campaign will continue to grow it themselves, and wouldn’t be taking that step without you.

If it sounds familiar to you, it’s because that’s the basis of all of our organizing — one supporter reaching out to the next, who reaches out to two more. Before you know it, you’re no longer just a handful of people doing their best to re-elect the President. You’ve helped build a movement.

The people on the other side of the aisle have shown they believe in a very different kind of politics. So much of their strategies involve taking advantage of new ways to get around campaign finance restrictions — even allowing special interests to pool unlimited sums of money from corporations to try to influence the election for Republicans.

We’re better than that. We’re empowering everyday supporters to build this campaign themselves.

In one month, we’ll close the books on this fundraising quarter — and we’ll show that our grassroots network can go toe to toe with anyone.

But that starts with you. Sign up today:

www.barackobama.com

can’t wait to see what you can do.

Thanks,

Julianna

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

DADT … Jim Messina, BarackObama.com

07/25/2011 Nativegrl77

President Obama and our military service chiefs certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

In 60 days, it will be done.

This is huge and welcome news for every one of us who opposes discrimination of any kind. But now, the fight for equal rights moves on.

Here’s the next front: This week the President endorsed a bill to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, a discriminatory law that forces the federal government to ignore the rights of those in same-sex marriages, even those performed in states where gay marriage is legal. The New York Times has said it “ranks with the most overtly discriminatory laws in the nation’s history.”

President Obama sees repeal as a moral and legal necessity, while the Republican candidates oppose it. But millions of people — gay and straight — are watching what they’re doing, want this law gone, and will make their voices heard.

Can you be one of them? We’re putting together the group of people who want to be at the forefront of our efforts on this issue as the campaign develops over the next 16 months — the first to know when news breaks, and the first to help spread the word to your friends and in your community. Join us for what’s next:

BARACKOBAMA.COM

Under DOMA, rights afforded to straight married couples — such as receiving Social Security benefits for spouses or filing joint federal income-tax returns — do not apply to same-sex married couples.

It’s no secret that the President has long opposed this law. In February, he directed the Justice Department to stop defending a key portion of it in court. And this week, he endorsed the first Senate bill that would repeal the law in its entirety.

We can already see the direction the other side is headed in response. They called a witness at the Senate hearings this week to testify that repealing DOMA would “pave the way for polygamous and other polyamorous unions.” That’s the type of rhetoric we should be prepared to hear in the run-up to the next election.

But the broad American consensus is on our side. We’ve all seen that change in Washington doesn’t come overnight, and fighting for it can carry significant political risks. When opportunities to make real progress come up, it’s critical to show Washington that millions of voters have President Obama’s back.

This is a defining issue for many of us in this movement, and for this President. Join this fight today:

Thanks for your help,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Exclusive: First look at our report … Jim Messina, BarackObama.com

07/13/2011 Nativegrl77

We’re filing this campaign‘s first financial report with the Federal Election Commission on Friday.

You own this campaign, so you deserve to get this news first.

And thanks to you and other supporters all over the country, there’s a lot of good news to share.

I’m not going to steal my own thunder here in the email — you’ve got to watch the video to get the news about what we’ve raised, how we’re spending it, and what’s next:

The Washington chatter around the report we’re releasing has focused on one number: the sum total we’ve raised.

But other numbers that the pundits often ignore — like how many field offices we and the DNC have open, how many one-on-one conversations we’ve had with potential supporters, and how many people have already decided to own a piece of this campaign — tell the real story of our campaign.

All those numbers are in the video, and they’re the ones you should be proud of today. Watch it now …above

One more thing: It’s a fact that our opponents won’t have hundreds of thousands of people giving whatever they can afford — so they’ll be relying heavily on money from two sources to fund an unprecedented barrage:

1. Washington lobbyists and special interests whose explicit aim is to influence the federal government in any way they can.

2. Outside groups that don’t have to disclose a word about what they’ve raised or who they’ve raised it from, like one of Karl Rove’s political organizations. His groups have set an astounding $120 million fundraising goal in their campaign to tear down President Obama.

The threat to our success from these determined groups — acting solely in their own interest, not the public interest — is real, and it’s growing. And it’s going to take serious commitment and vigilance from all of us to withstand their attacks while still building the grassroots campaign we’ll need to win.

Thanks to you, we’re off to a solid start. But this is just the beginning.

So now, back to work.

Thanks,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Video: First look at our campaign plan …Jim Messina, barackobama.com

06/13/2011 Nativegrl77

I want to show you a quick presentation I’ve been giving to the first staff coming on board here in Chicago, outlining our strategy to win and our overall approach to this campaign.

In the weeks and months to come, we’ll ask grassroots supporters like you to meet with one another and local organizers to take the first steps to victory on November 6th, 2012.

But before we begin meeting in living rooms and backyards across America, it’s important that we communicate with each other about a set of principles for the organization and our overall strategic thinking about how the race will shape up.

The most important aspect is this: Our campaign will be grounded in President Obama’s experience as a community organizer. This notion of ordinary people taking responsibility for the organization at the neighborhood level is not only the way to win, it’s also the way politics ought to work. Our campaign will be an example of innovation and efficiency, but it will also be an example of civic engagement at its best and most rewarding.

Have a look at the briefing, then share it with your friends and neighbors and ask them to help build this campaign with us:

This plan will evolve as we get feedback from grassroots supporters like you over the weeks and months ahead. That’s already happening — as you know, we’ve already started the process of having one-on-one conversations with people in every state to gather thoughts and ideas, and thousands more talks will take place over this spring and summer.

But this briefing should give you a sense of our current thinking about how we’ll build an unprecedented grassroots campaign to win — with you leading it.

Thank you,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Deadline: 20,000 new donors … Julianna Smoot, BarackObama.com

06/08/2011 Nativegrl77

This donor-matching drive ends tonight — thanks for taking that first step and owning a piece of this campaign.

But I need your help to get us where we need to be: With more than 15,000 people joining this matching drive so far this week, I’m setting a goal to reach 20,000 before our deadline at midnight.

My team calculated how many new donors this goal translates to in your area. Here’s where we stand:

GRASSROOTS MATCH
Deadline: Midnight tonight
National Goal: 20,000 new donors
Goal in Seattle: 15

One of these people — maybe even someone in your neighborhood — will make their first donation to the campaign because you’re ready to double their impact.

Can you help us meet our goal by pledging to match a first-time gift of $25?

We know that we can compete without compromising our values — measuring our goals not just in dollars raised, but in people who’ve taken ownership of this campaign.

So tonight’s goal is an important one — and you’re a big reason we’re in a position to hit it. People like you are the most effective fundraisers we have right now. You made your first donation simply because someone said, “If you give, I’ll give, too.” Now, it’s your turn.

Donate $25 or more today and help bring in a new donor:

https://donate.barackobama.com/2011-Pledge-Deadline

Thanks,

Julianna

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America