Help win Ohio for Kerry - please!

[eileen from OH]

I’m getting real concerned about the Kerry campaign in Ohio. Take a look at the following Q & A (gleaned from several sources, including USA Today 3/30/04, other papers, and anecdotal evidence.)

After reading this, if you agree that the Kerry campaign needs to get its butt in gear, do the quick and easy thing I suggest at the bottom.

Q. Date when the Gore/Dem campaign gave up on Ohio and pulled ads, etc.?
A. October, 2000

Q. Percentage points by which Gore lost Ohio to Bush?
A. 3.5

Q. What is the only “red” state whose polls do not currently reflect a clear Bush gain?
A. Ohio

Q. Which Republican governor’s approval rating has plummeted 26% because of raising taxes by 20% after pledging no new taxes during his campaign?
A. Ohio’s Governor Taft

Q. Which state’s extremely unpopular Republican governor will not be able to help Bush AT ALL?
A. Ohio

Q. Which state’s Democratic party apparatus has been completely ineffectual in preventing a virtual Republican monopoly on all state offices, the governorship, the courts, and the legislature?
A. Ohio

Q. How many jobs have been lost in Ohio since Bush was inaugurated?
A. 225,700

Q. How many calls, offering support and volunteers, come in to the Ohio for Kerry headquarters on a typical weekend?
A. 200

Q. How many people answer these calls?
A. One, a volunteer

Q. How long did it take the Kerry For Ohio office to return multiple calls offering to help?
A. One month.

Q. How many times have Bush and/or Cheney visited Ohio since taking office?
A. 18

Q. How many times has Kerry visited Ohio since starting his candidacy?
A. 4

Q. At a Kerry rally in Akron, how many people showed up?
A. 3,000 - 4,000

Q. At this rally, how many of these people were signed up?
A. Zero. There was no sign-up desk, & no volunteers circulating to capture names.

Q. At this rally, how much was collected in donations?
A. $0.00. There was no solicitation.

Q. At this rally, where were people directed to go if they wanted to help?
A. Trick question. No one was given ANY directions on how to volunteer. No one was even urged to volunteer. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It was a feel-good event that people attended in droves and then went home. Period.

Q. How many paid campaign staff does the Bush staff have in Ohio?
A. 12

Q. How many paid campaign staff does Kerry have in Ohio?
A. 0

Q. How many Ohio volunteers for Bush have already been recruited?
A. 15,000

Q. How many phone calls for Bush have already been made in Ohio?
A. 46,000

Q. How many Ohio residents receive regular email updates from the Bush campaign?
A. 240,000

Q. What percentage of Ohio counties have a Bush volunteer chair?
A. 100%

Q. What percentage of Ohio counties have a Kerry volunteer chair?
A. 0%

Q. If you live in Ohio, how do you get Bush bumper stickers, signs, and buttons?
A. Ask

Q. If you live in Ohio, how do you get Kerry campaign bumper stickers, signs, and buttons?
A. Go to the Kerry website and buy them.

Q. Whose campaign office in Columbus is housed in a suite, with a reception desk, buzzes with volunteers & activity, and has state-of-the-art-computers and communications, including new laptops?
A. Bush’s

Q. Whose campaign office in Columbus is wedged in a corner of a building and has computers that are still in boxes?
A. Kerry’s

Q. Cincinnati - Cleveland? What’s the difference? Ohio-Shmohio.
A. A world of difference. In some ways, not even on the same planet. The north, especially the urban areas, is very progressive. But BOTH candidates seem to treat Ohio as some kind of midwestern hegemony. Different messages work in different areas and if Kerry can tap into that he will have a huge advantage over Bush.

Q. Which state is universally regarded as the “next Florida” and is the “must win” state for both parties?
A. Ohio

Whether or not you live in Ohio - if you think Ohio is crucial to a Kerry win, please take our word for it - OHIO IS RIPE FOR THE PLUCKING.

PLEASE urge the national campaign to bring in professional campaign leadership and establish a genuine campaign headquarters and organization. NOW. Bush has already established a strong presence in Ohio and is defining the Kerry candidacy before Kerry can. It is NOT too early to start worrying.

There are thousands of volunteers who are eager to help but they need strong direction, above and beyond what the Ohio Democratic Party can provide. We’re doing a lot on our own, but a real, live, Kerry headquarters/presence would make a huge difference.

Please contact the Kerry campaign and ask them to get directly involved in Ohio. Fax, phone, or write the Kerry campaign during the week of APRIL 12 and emphasize that they must pay attention to Ohio now. (E-mail is fine, but that’s not nearly as effective as other methods.)

Kerry for President
Massachusetts Office
60 Canal St.
2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02114
617-367-1551 (phone)
617.523.2033 (fax)
[email protected]

At the same time, contact others who may have some influence with Kerry, such as. . .

Gov. Howard Dean
Democracy For America
P.O. Box 1228
Burlington, Vermont 05402
802- 651-3200 phone
802- 651-3299 fax
[email protected]

Senator Edward Kennedy
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4543 (phone)
202-224-2417 (fax)
[email protected]

Finally, please pass the word along. Post it on any lib blog (especially Kerry’s).
Agitate. Rinse. Repeat.

eileen from OH

[Quetzal]

1. Thanks for the heads up

I'll call up the National Offices.

[Melodybe]

2. I just sent an email and I'll call Kennedy tomorrow.

Eileen :yourock:

[Syrinx]

3. I didn't read all that

But I have relatives in Ohio and I'm trying.

[Iceburg]

4. Thanks for the data and pointed questions

I'm not from Ohio, nor from the US and thus cannot help directly but your "tableau of concern" has motivated me to do more in our upcoming federal election in Canada. Be assured, that we Canadians will continue to help John Kerry (within the legal boundaries).

[galadrium]

5. I live in Ohio and am doing my best to organize and get people registered

I have started a website with a message board dedicated to the cause. I have also convinced about 10 people so far to vote for Kerry, these people would have either voted for Bush or not at all. If any of you are from Cincinnati or Ohio for that matter, join my site.

[drfemoe]

6. OTOH

Rove has announced that *B* will win Ohio. Diebold has announced that *B* will win Ohio.

Play like a loser, lose like a loser.

More and more it looks as though Kerry is planning to be a loser.

I wouldn't ask Howard Dean to do a damn thing in this situation. He is doing MORE to get Kerry elected than Kerry is doing himself.

In addition to what you've written, Dennis Kucinich, US Congressman from Ohio, could be an asset. Obviously, assets are not what the Kerry campaign is seeking.

If Kerry wins Ohio (or anywhere), it will be in spite of him trying VERY hard NOT to.

Sorry, but you can't make someone who wants to lose adopt a winning strategy.

[mojogeorgo]

7. Ballot security in Ohio

From the Act for Change web site:

Ohio, Keep Up the Momentum for Election Integrity

Contributed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Thousands of citizens have pushed Ohio one step closer to election integrity. The Joint Committee on Ballot Security, a bipartisan legislative group, recently recommended that all Ohio voting terminals be equipped with a voter-verified paper audit trail after being deluged with citizen letters. This is a huge victory, but we need to keep the pressure on. The State Controlling Board will meet on Monday, April 19th to decide whether to pay for Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's irresponsible push to purchase inauditable voting machines.

Call to action

Tell the Board to reject the Secretary's proposal, follow the Joint Committee's recommendations and ensure integrity in Ohio elections!

Deadline: Monday, April 19, 2004

http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=16758