A Grassroots Inaugural "Ball" of our own

Joel Pett's Cartoon
http://www.kentucky.com/947/image_media/580639.html

I had an idea.

It turned out I wasn't alone.

We needed an inaugural party for Obama's "Internet Army". All of us who made profiles on MYBO (Mybarackobama.com), raised money for the campaign on our fundraising pages, blogged, worked the phone banks and made calls from home, posted to the groups -- like Writers for Obama, Environmentalists for Obama, Barack Fans in the Colbert Nation, Harvard for Obama, Columbia University Alumni for Obama, SiCKO Universal Health Care HR 676, 10th Congressional District of Illinois for Obama, and on and on -- knocked on doors, hosted events, wrote letters to the editor of our local papers, forwarded articles, Dugg others still, traveled to battleground state to campaign, volunteered to Protect the Vote, and worked to register voters and GOTV.

Over the months, bonds were formed. Some of us made a "fambly" and adopted one another. Sometimes we argued. Tensions ran high as the last days of the campaign approached. We laughed, and we cried. And, we did both through the Sarah Palin days.

You betcha' we did.

Wink! (Excuse me. It's become a tic).

In the end, the press credited us with being an army of 3.1 million volunteers, ready for any mission the Obama campaign, and, now, the Obama administration can think up for us. Get him elected?

No problem.

Get that needed support for legislation in our congressional districts?

You need but ask, and it is yours.

In a matter of a few short hours, we have three organizing committees -- in Cambridge, MA, NYC, and Washington, DC -- coordinating with two of us, Columbia University grads who never imagined back in 1986 that destiny would bring us back together again to put on the party of our lifetimes.

I am keeping a little mum on the details for now, except that it will very possibly be in the social hall of a Capitol Hill church that can handle several hundred people. We want to make this a party by The People, for The People, particularly those who worked for the campaign in any fashion, on MYBO or through a local office. We want to keep it in the spirit of the campaign -- the spirit of community and Obama's roots as a community organizer.

The Obama Gospel Glee Club (500 people have volunteered from as far away as Alaska to sing with it) of Charlottesville, VA has asked to come and sing. We are starting small for music -- everyone's iPods, and working up to some big names for entertainment. We are working to get support from any soul that might still be answering phones for the Obama campaign to see if there are a few spare dollars in that war chest to offset ticket costs and officially make our "ball" a MYBO campaign ball. And, if we are very, very good, we hope to get ourselves on Michelle and Barack's and Jill and Joe's inaugural ball itinerary.

After all, we're the ones that helped get them into office, and we're the ones we've been waiting for!

Pass the word. If you want to come, just leave me a comment with your contact information, and I'll add you to the emailing list.
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