Thursday, April 28, 2011

Big things

Friend --

If it were easy to do the big, meaningful things we believe will make our country better -- if it were quick -- someone would have done those things long before any of us showed up.

We've chosen to do something hard.

You know that our victories so far have been hard won: taking the difficult steps necessary to put our economy back on track, reforming Wall Street excess despite an army of lobbyists against us, and making health care more affordable and accessible despite well-organized opposition by those who profit from the status quo.

You also know we have not yet done everything we set out to do -- not nearly.

But that's a reason to work harder, not to let up. That's why we're building this campaign now. And you have to take ownership of it.

So I will be direct: Can you step up and make a donation of $5 to get us started?

https://donate.barackobama.com/Begin-Again

We've had the chance to make historic changes that touch every American: from passing a law that says women should get an equal day's pay for an equal day's work to removing 100,000 troops from Iraq.

Those things and every other important change we've made happened because people like you built an organization to win an election in 2008.

The stakes are even higher this time.

As I've spoken with supporters who are helping get this campaign started, I've met folks who are frustrated by the pace of change.

I understand that. But we knew this wouldn't be easy. The kind of change we're working for never comes easily.

Now is the time to begin again, and build the campaign that will shape our country's future.

Thank you,

Barack

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Monday, April 25, 2011

Video: First look at our campaign plan

2012
Friend --

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 say you're in to help build this campaign:


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

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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The view from outside Washington

2012
Friend --

The President's speech today began a new conversation in Washington about how to reduce the deficit while protecting crucial investments in our country's future.

But as we seek to build an organization based outside of Washington, President Obama's speech also provides an unusually stark contrast -- one all of us can use to start conversations with our friends and neighbors about what's at stake in this election.

He spoke about things you don't generally hear in Washington conversations too often dominated by special interests: He'll cut waste and excess at the Pentagon -- particularly spending that is requested not by our military, but by politicians and corporate interests.

He'll eliminate tax cuts for Americans in the highest tax brackets who don't need them, including himself -- and he will reform the individual tax code so that it's fair and simple and so that the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind of accountant you can afford.

Some cuts he proposed are tough. But they're also smart and surgical -- helping us balance our books while still doing the right things to win the future. President Obama's plan would protect the middle class, invest in our kids' education, and make sure we don't protect the wealthiest Americans from the costs of reform at the expense of the most vulnerable.

The other side has presented a very clear alternative: End Medicare as we know it, privatizing the program that millions of seniors rely on for health care. Make deep cuts to education. Slash investments in clean energy and infrastructure. All to pay for tax cuts for people making over $250,000 a year, and all while actually raising our national debt.

In short, their plan will please a special interest donor base and those who put ideology before results rather than reduce deficits over the long term. And let's be clear: They think they can get away with it because, fundamentally, they don't think you'll do anything about it.

That's where I know we can prove them wrong. Because we can respond right now by building an organization that will stop them -- not just in this deficit battle, but in the next election so they never have the chance to enact these proposals.

Here's the first step. Join our fight for a deficit reduction plan that will actually reduce the deficit -- with a goal of shared prosperity through shared responsibility. Add your name to support President Obama's plan -- and then help bring more people into the conversation:

http://my.barackobama.com/Deficit-Plan

President Obama made a promise in his speech today. He said that we won't have to sacrifice programs like Medicaid and Social Security -- programs that millions of Americans rely on -- as long as he's President. He's committed to seeking serious solutions to the problems we face while still upholding the larger responsibilities we have to one another. So it's our job to build the organization that's going to keep him in the White House.

Please add your name in this crucial moment -- and then reach out to your friends and neighbors.

More soon,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

P.S. -- If you missed President Obama's speech earlier today, some excerpts are below:

1. "Our approach lowers the government's health care bills by reducing the cost of health care itself.

"Already, the reforms we passed in the health care law will reduce our deficit by $1 trillion. My approach would build on these reforms. We will reduce wasteful subsidies and erroneous payments. We will cut spending on prescription drugs by using Medicare's purchasing power to drive greater efficiency and speed generic brands of medicine onto the market. We will work with governors of both parties to demand more efficiency and accountability from Medicaid. We will change the way we pay for health care -- not by procedure or the number of days spent in a hospital, but with new incentives for doctors and hospitals to prevent injuries and improve results. And we will slow the growth of Medicare costs by strengthening an independent commission of doctors, nurses, medical experts and consumers who will look at all the evidence and recommend the best ways to reduce unnecessary spending while protecting access to the services seniors need."

2. "But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations."

3. "In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. And I refuse to renew them again."

4. "This is my approach to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next twelve years. It's an approach that achieves about $2 trillion in spending cuts across the budget. It will lower our interest payments on the debt by $1 trillion. It calls for tax reform to cut about $1 trillion in spending from the tax code. And it achieves these goals while protecting the middle class, our commitment to seniors, and our investments in the future.

"So this is our vision for America -- a vision where we live within our means while still investing in our future; where everyone makes sacrifices but no one bears all the burden; where we provide a basic measure of security for our citizens and rising opportunity for our children."

5. "But no matter what we argue or where we stand, we've always held certain beliefs as Americans. We believe that in order to preserve our own freedoms and pursue our own happiness, we can't just think about ourselves. We have to think about the country that made those liberties possible. We have to think about our fellow citizens with whom we share a community. And we have to think about what's required to preserve the American Dream for future generations.

"This sense of responsibility -- to each other and to our country -- this isn't a partisan feeling. It isn't a Democratic or Republican idea. It's patriotism."

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Five days left: Apply now to be a summer organizer

2012
Friend --

Next year, President Obama will join thousands of other Democrats on ballots in all 50 states.

These next 19 months will provide some of the best opportunities for community organizing that this movement has ever seen -- and we're looking for a few more folks to join the Summer Organizer Program and take the lead.

From June 4th to August 6th, summer organizers will help lay the groundwork for 2012 across the country, planning events, registering voters, and building neighborhood teams.

These organizers are the future leaders of this movement -- will you be one of them?

If you haven't already, apply here by Monday, April 18th, or pass this message along to anyone else who might be interested.

If selected, you'll hit the ground running with top-notch training to learn how to recruit new volunteers, manage resources wisely, and run an efficient operation.

Then you'll get to work in the states. Maybe you'll run a local strategy session in Philadelphia. Maybe you'll register voters at a concert in Las Vegas. Maybe you'll empower a supporter to become a team leader in Dallas.

Or maybe you'll help fire up a big crowd before the President takes the stage.

No experience is necessary, and anyone can apply -- but you need to do so by midnight on Monday, April 18th:

http://my.barackobama.com/Summer-Organizing

See you out there,

Jeremy

Jeremy Bird
National Field Director
Obama for America

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Tonight: Kick-off call with Barack Obama and Joe Biden

2012
Friend --

Yesterday, Barack Obama and Joe Biden began their 2012 campaign.

Tonight, they want to talk to you.

At 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the President and Vice President will be holding a campaign conference call for the supporters and volunteers who've powered this movement for the past two years. I hope you can join us.

As the 2012 campaign kicks off, we want to thank you for all that you've done, give a briefing on next steps as we build a new organization upon the foundation we've built together, and get everyone fired up for what lies ahead.

RSVP here to join tonight's call, or listen live online.

We've accomplished a lot over the last two years -- but our work is far from done.

President Obama needs to continue his efforts to put Americans back to work and more fundamentally change the way business gets done in Washington. And while he keeps his focus on the job he was elected to do, he's relying more than ever on supporters like you to start laying the groundwork -- so we're prepared for when the race hits full speed next year.

You can get in on the ground floor as we build this campaign.

Please join the President on tonight's phone call. RSVP here to get a call at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, or to listen in online:

http://my.barackobama.com/2012KickoffCall

If you can't make tonight's kick-off call, there will be another one this Thursday, April 7th, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. David Axelrod and I will talk about the strategy for the first few months of this campaign -- RSVP here for that second call.

Talk to you soon,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager

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Monday, April 4, 2011

2012

2012
Friend --

Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign.

We're doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you -- with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build.

So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.

We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made -- and make more -- we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.

As we take this step, I'd like to share a video that features some folks like you who are helping to lead the way on this journey. Please take a moment to watch:

Watch the video

In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.

We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.

This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.

There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:

http://my.barackobama.com/2012

Thank you,

Barack

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