Many New Yorkers do not have any competitive races in their districts. Yet, particularly with the Iraq Quagmire, the Banking Fiasco and the Wall Street meltdown hitting us all hard, New Yorkers want to help defeat Bush and the Republicans. What can you do? I want to present several things you can do either as a weekend day trip or right from your home. These actions focus on Pennsylvania (a day trip for voter outreach in what I believe is a must-win state for Obama), North Carolina (virtual phone banking to help Obama and an excellent Senate candidate whose chances of winning are about 50/50 right now) and Nevada (virtual phone banking to help an excellent Congressional candidate in a Presidential swing state).

PENNSYLVANIA: Get on the Bus: Sept. 27th Obama Campaign Bus Trip -- NYC to the Lehigh Valley, PA

This comes from a fellow member of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats who has led several very successful voter registration and voter outreach trips to Pennsylvania. Current polling shows Obama ahead in Pennsylvania 47% to 45%...we need that margin to be more comfortable.

Please join me Saturday, September 27th for a day of canvassing Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. This is a pivotal region of a swing state. It is not an exaggeration to say that the next president will be decided in places like Easton, Allentown, and Bethlehem, PA.

For those of you who have joined us before, I am profoundly grateful for the critical groundwork you have laid. Here's what you did:

You knocked on 5,237 doors
You spoke to 1,936 people
You registered 386 new voters

As a result of your work and the leadership of the local Obama staff, Easton was named the most productive field office in the state of Pennsylvania by the campaign. But, of course, we're not in it for an award. We walk the Lehigh Valley to bring health care to all Americans, to support our troops and bring them home, to pay our teachers a living wage, to give our kids a future. We walk for the firemen and cops, we walk to give working people a break in this country for a change. We walk because we are Americans standing up for Americans against the onslaught of a dehumanizing Republican machine fueled by greed and unbothered by the lives it destroys. We walk the Lehigh Valley because we will not sit and we will not be silent.

So, if you were looking for a place to make a difference, you have found it. Saturday, September 27th, is the day to "Get on the Bus."

We depart from Port Authority Bus Terminal (South Terminal, 8th Ave. btwn 40th & 41st St.), Saturday morning, September 27th, aboard Trans-Bridge Bus Lines. Please arrive at the gate no later than 8:30 am to guarantee yourself a seat. The bus to Easton should depart from Gate 4 or 6. Please arrive early to purchase your ticket on the South Terminal main floor and make your way downstairs to the gate. Bus tickets are $37.95 round trip. The ride is about 1 hour 40 minutes. Buses return at 4:05 and 6:10 pm.

For those who would like to make a weekend of it, supporter housing is now available. Just let me know in your reply, and we'll hook you up with a local Obama supporter willing to offer up their home to you and our cause.

Thank you to everyone for your time and commitment. Please RSVP so I can provide a headcount to Obama's team in the Lehigh Valley.

Very best wishes,

Tom Predhome
(646) 736-6177

NORTH CAROLINA: There are two actions in North Carolina you can do right from your own home, one helping Obama and one helping Kay Hagen, Democratic candidate for North Carolina Senate. This Senate race is currently a real nailbiter with Hagen tied with Dole 35%/35%...with lots of undecideds...that makes your efforts all the more important! Obama is behind in North Carolina by only 6%. With some real effort, North Carolina could join Virginia in going for Obama.

On Daily Kos there is an effort to do virtual phone banking to voters in North Carolina on behalf of the Obama campaign. Virtual phone banking can be done by anyone in any place from their own home and was an extremely successful strategy in winning Congressional races in 2006 (e.g. John Hall here in NY State). This strategy basically brings Americans together one-on-one by phone. To join in, please email kim (dot) yaman (at) gmail (dot) com and ask how. You can also read about it here.

Next, I want to help our friends in North Carolina elect Kay Hagen to the US Senate right from your home. Winning North Carolina is important in four ways. There is a close House race (Larry Kissell), a close and ever-tightening Senate race (Kay Hagen), a close governor's race (Bev Perdue), and there is a shot at Obama winning the state. Some effort now could have huge results in November. This race is now officially a toss up. Kay Hagen is an excellent candidate and she would be an excellent addition to the Senate.

NEVADA: this is another virtual phone bank, this time to help an excellent Congressional candidate, Jill Derby. Derby is running in one of Nevada's perpetually tight House races while Obama is polling anywhere from 2% ahead to 2% behind McCain. Nevada is always a tight swing state and can be tipped our way if we work on it.

This comes from Jill Derby's campaign (via email):

You call the voter and read the easy-to-follow phone script, record the responses of the voter and click ENTER. The information is automatically recorded in the campaign’s database. If you reach an answering machine or voice mail, you can leave a short message for the voter. Make as many calls as you can and if you finish them all, you can sign up for more.

Questions? Want to organize your friends as a team to call for Jill? Call Derby for Congress Field Director Julie Wedge at 775-770-2008.

Winning in these three states is not only important, but very possible. Be a part of it. And I will keep on urging this as time goes by.