Let's get a few things straight about North Carolina ....

[Blackhatjack]

THose of us who worked on the behalf of the Obama Campaign in NC put forth a sustained effort for months since we had early voting, and in fact approximately 1/3 of all votes were cast before Election Day Nov 4.

Unlike much of the rest of the country, the weather in NC on election day was horrible. Many volunteers stood in the rain for 12-14 hrs greeting voters and making sure they understood that the ballot required a separate vote for Obama as President from that of a Straight Democratic Party choice.

Winning North Carolina was not 'symbolic' as a news report suggested. It was a hard fought, down to the wire, struggle against an aggressive Republican Party. The closeness of the vote was a result of Democrats fighting for every vote, and getting voters to the polls in bad weather.

Our 15 Electoral Votes helped put Obama/Biden over the top just as much as any other state that voted for Obama.

[efhmc]

1. Congratulations!

[cwydro]

2. My 80 year old lifelong Republican parents

live in Charlotte and both voted for Obama.

Both changed their Republican registration after Bush was elected.

My mom voted a straight Dem ticket.

[tekisui]

3. Hell Yes, it did.

Just because chronological tally had us come in later, we are just as important as Ohio.

[unpossibles]

4. well said and congrats and most of all

THANK YOU! I feel the same way - every state is important, and bigger the win, the more they can STFU.

[madaboutharry]

5. That is right.

Sometimes I am still surprised at the stupid things I hear said on television.

[orwell]

6. Thank you...

...the grassroots effort by tens of thousands reaffirms my faith in the goodness of people.

Thanks again from California!

[polichick]

7. GREAT JOB NC! Is it official yet?

[paparush]

22. The AP Declared Obama the winner. The State Board of Election has yet to certify.

[Indiana_Dem]

8. I feel the same for Indiana. The McCain campaign didn't even have to work that hard.

The established Republican machine was already here. Palin was here 3 times in the last 3 weeks. McCain stopped here Monday. We had to work for MONTHS in order to get where we got. I know Indiana's 11 EVs didn't make much of a difference in the overall total because Obama's presidency had already been declared before we found out. But I'm proud of all the footwork we did in making our state turn blue for the first time since 1964 and the first time in my life!

[spooky3]

25. it's very important to establish a basis for a mandate

All that hard work showed voters that their votes make a difference. And, the more votes and more states voting in his favor, the stronger the basis for Obama's claiming a mandate and acting on it. So thank you to voters in every state and all the hard working volunteers who got out the vote.

[patriotvoice]

36. Making a difference isn't about "all" or "none". Every snowflake participates equally in an ...

avalanche.

[depakid]

9. What's wrong with it being symbolic?

Why is that deemed perjorative?

:shrug:

Seems to me its the other way around.

[Crankie Avalon]

10. Congratulations...

...I have to admit, before the votes started to be counted I wasn't sure you'd be able to pull it out.

:toast:

[GOPNotForMe]

11. Hell yes! Thank you, fellow New Blue State :)

[kenny blankenship]

12. Thank You for all your hard work

[Ian_rd]

13. Way to go, Blackhatjack.

Anyone who fought in the Obama Campaign in a Red State like NC has more to celebrate than other campaign workers/volunteers as far as I'm concerned.

Me? I'm in East Tennessee - old Dixiecrat Country where McCain (well, Palin really) prevailed over Obama by over 2-1. Hey! We must fight where we are!

[mnhtnbb]

14. Kudos to all the Obama campaign workers in NC. I knew it could be done--

and I have been saying it for years.

Drinks all around!

:toast:

[electionwatcher]

15. A big thank you!

Winning North Carolina for Obama was certainly no small feat! This was a rock solid Republican state which voted for Bush by wide margins both times. Overturning this was only made possible through the hard work of people such as yourself. While the 270 minimum would have been reached without North Carolina, extra 15 helped to give Obama a resounding mandate. So to just write it off as being only symbolic is trite and ridiculous.

Thank you very much North Carolina!

[BleedingHeartRN]

27. I couldn't have said it better myself

I've lived in NC for 6 years now, and I'm proud to call it home. The political progress here is amazing, and I think NC is well on it's way to becoming a leader in the so-called "new" south.

The election of Obama, the ousting of Liddy Dole, and the election of the first female Governor are huge steps forward from the state the re-elected Jesse Helms over and over again.

[MedleyMisty]

40. I've lived here since I was born here 28 years ago

I'm glad that you like living here. :) I love it so much - when I was little and we went on road trips, I would see the "Welcome to North Carolina" sign on the way home and sob with happiness. And when my father died and my mother thought about moving to Oklahoma where her family is, I fought tooth and nail to stay here. This is my home. This is the land that sings to my blood. I grew up in Mount Airy, and those rolling hills and mountain backdrops are the bedrock of my soul.

And I am always happy when transplants appreciate it for the heaven on earth that it is. :)

[yellerpup]

16. The NC effort was awe inspiring!

You all worked with a fever and dedication that made a HUGE change. I was in NC for the 2004 election, so an Obama win there was miraculous considering what had to be overcome just to get an accurate vote count. Great, great job you guys! :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[eleny]

17. Books will be written and I'm hoping one will be all about NC

I'm wondering now if NC was certified and called late because they didn't want to report the win early, even if they could.

Here in Colorado it was called locally, at a time that felt right, by the Rocky Mountain News. But it wasn't released nationally until after the west coast was called.

Now, we're a new blue state, too.

Congratulations to all in NC who worked their fingers to the bone for this win. It's monumental. Every last one of you has a place in the history books. Your patriotism will help make America great again.

[Cha]

18. Damn Straight! The corporatemedia

doesn't know their a$$ from a hole in cold hard ground.

[Supersedeas]

35. joe skankburg is a hole in the ground

[Blackhatjack]

19. Another point that the MSM has gotten wrong... the Obama Campaign had top talent heading up NC

I've seen many campaigns, but this was one of the best organized.

The Obama Campaign did not run the NC operation like it was a 'second tier' state that they would like to have but would not commit the resources to win. The Campaign Staff here was on the ball in planning the strategy well in advance of the early voting deadlines.

[struggle4progress]

31. And ... the Obama campaign did a kickass job training volunteers to do real work!

[nc4bo]

20. Thanks, ITA. Symbolic? oh man. Understatement of the year.

[Breeze54]

21. Did someone say that your electoral votes didn't matter?

If so, that's just nuts! Thanks for all your hard work! It paid off!

[1776Forever]

23. Of all the States Obama won - NC was the most impressive!

Congratulations to you all!
:woohoo: :yourock: :woohoo: :yourock: :woohoo: :yourock:

[Ysabel]

24. you did great / thank you...

:)

[Blackhatjack]

26. Thanks for all the kind words, winning here was the ultimate reward. No thanks to the MSM...

I believe the 2000 and 2004 election fiascos helped drive our side this time. I know the voter protection people were out in force, and the volunteers who showed up on election day were not about to let the rain keep them away.

But it went further than that.

At one of the precincts I worked there were unofficial volunteers keeping track of how the vote was turning out, and in areas they knew the vote turn out was lagging they organized and sent people out to canvas the neighborhood and get them to the polls.

I never saw so many happy people coming and going after voting.

[SIMPLYB1980]

28. K&R! The NC win was in no way "symbolic".

It was a hard fought victory for Obama, the Democratic party and their volunteers. NC is now a Blue state and I love it!

[IndyOp]

29. Nothing symbolic about electoral college votes -- NC's are just as real as all the others.

I kind of know how you feel because Indiana's electoral votes came in after Obama had already won -- the fact that the state was so close and the results came in so late is an indicator of how hard we had to fight to win. Ditto NC.

Thanks for all your hard work! :hi:

[knixphan]

30. HELL YEAH!!

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[Allyoop]

32. Blue dot in upper left corner

That's Watauga County!!! Fully functional Democratic Party teemed up with Obama Staff and ASU students = Blue for Obama!!

[rebel with a cause]

33. I celebrate every state that comes in blue

Because each and every one of them could have been the deciding factor and every one of them sends another message to the republicans that they don't have control anymore. Blue, blue....Dixie blue, Yankee blue, Prairie blue and any other blue that you can think of.

[demo dutch]

34. I'm soo exited, moving from FL to NC - Blue to Blue!

[sweetpotato]

37. One of my co-workers traveled to Raleigh from Columbia, SC

On election day to help GOTV.

I would have gone, too, but I had no leave time left.

I have already thanked him for his help in electing Obama and Hagan. Thanks to you, too!

[MountainMamma]

38. Hey all who worked for Obama in NC...... our work for

all those votes that we fought for in NC brought us a win. We knew that we were going to have to go the extra mile on this one and we kept our eye on the prize and didn't let it happen to us again. I worked for Obama in NC, grew up in Ohio, and live in Florida for part of the year. They all turned blue this time! You cannot imagine my joy. Is one more important than the other? I think not. Recall that we are THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. One thing that I did learn in a big way while working on this campaign is that we have made progress, good progress with the race thing, but we still have a way to go. Let's not stop here. It feels so good to be gettin free. Congratulations y'all

[MedleyMisty]

39. I don't get it when people say that we're a red state

Not that I get the whole lumping an entire state into one cardboard cutout stereotype and saying vile things about and hating on millions of individuals because of a few thousand votes that probably weren't counted fairly, and if they were then there were probably more than enough Democratic voters disenfranchised or intimidated away from voting to make up the difference, but really - yeah, we elected a Democratic governor. To replace a Democratic governor. And I believe that our state assembly has had a Democratic majority for a while?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_General_Assembly

And according to this, we have seven Democratic representatives to six Republicans - and this is old and I know that at least Robin Hayes has been replaced by a Democrat.

http://directory.usayfoundation.org/NC.html

So yeah, it's not like 100% of North Carolinians voted Republican 100% of the time before this. At my rural mostly white high school near the town that Mayberry is based on, we went on a field trip to the beach junior year and were at the 100th anniversary celebration at the Wright Brothers Memorial. Jesse Helms was scheduled to speak and we were making plans for two of the girls to run up on stage and start making out near him. He didn't show and we figured it was because he was scared of us. ;)

I read up on him when he died and yeah, he was a crazy old racist. But he wasn't a neocon and he stood up for what he believed in - which included being against NAFTA which really really hurt us - and I think that's why he kept getting re-elected. I know I would have liked the dude a lot more than some smarmy upper middle class elitist calling us NASCAR trash and saying "At least I'm not a prejudiced bigot like those dirty inbred hillbillies." Actually, the fact that he pissed off people like that was probably also a large factor in helping him win elections.

And as I think more about how I grew up and how so many people fought and bled and died so that I could grow up being taught equality rather than hate, I find my hatred and intolerance for those who are honest about their hate and intolerance fading. I don't think anything could make me understand smug hypocrites. But the world that the old people grew up in was very different from the one that I grew up in.

It's kind of like growing up in a rich family versus a poor family - I have thought before that I have so much trouble understanding some people because I grew up with emotional and mental wealth and they were formed by emotional and mental poverty. And really it's beginning to seem to me that blaming someone who grew up in mental poverty for their problems is as bad as blaming people in economic poverty for their problems.

Those hateful people we saw in the videos in America in the Sixties? They're really old now - seniors were the only demographic in which the majority voted for McCain. I am part of the 70%+ people in my age group who voted for Obama here in NC, the most beautiful and wonderful place in the world. We grew up in a totally different world than they did. They played their part in forming the world we grew up in, and they are dying out. Let them go gently, and may that good night be better to them than this world was.

As for us - it's our morning. We honor the past for its lessons, but we don't live in it and we don't define ourselves by it.

We grew up learning about the horrors of slavery. We grew up watching those videos of civil rights activists being sprayed by hoses and beaten. We grew up surrounded by lessons of equality and respect for diversity and for the individual. While the neocons were winning political battles, they lost the war for our minds. That war was won by this man and all those others who came before him, who marched with him, and who came after him and kept the flame burning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

And so tonight, after spending the last two days watching the videos of street celebrations of the Obama victory and listening to the joy and happiness in the voices on the radio shows I listen to while at work - Warren Ballantine, Al Sharpton, and Michael Baisden - I honor all of my elders. Those who fought and sacrificed their lives so that I could grow up in a culture where equality was valued and hate and bigotry were looked down on, and those whose hate showed us what we never ever wanted to be.

[union_maid]

41. All I know is....

...that my fellow NYer's were VERY excited to learn that NC had been called for Obama. Every state is important, but you're right. Just the fact that NC did not go to McCain on election night helped Obama. The fact that it took longer to get the final results in doesn't change that. And don't think we're not grateful to those who waited in bad weather to vote and those who got the vote out. It must have been very hard work but the results were so worth it.

[Blackhatjack]

42. The OP was about the MSM attempting to marginalize NC's Obama Choice...

People who were not here do not realize the effort that went into winning the State of North Carolina. Likewise, I am sure the efforts were every bit as strong in the other states for Obama.

We can all take pride in knowing that we worked in common cause to elect the Obama/Biden ticket, and we all have a stake in the progress that will surely take place once they take office.

[TennesseeDem]

43. Hell no, it wasn't symbolic, I work for the DNC

And ssshh...I was sent to Wilmington, NC to work on the moveon.org voter registration project there for a hell of a lot smaller pay and was glad to do it. We worked our asses off there between 7-10 hours a day getting people registered.

[qwlauren35]

44. North Carolina...

was one of the 5 victories I was most proud of...

NC, VA, PA, IN, FL.

Each had very special meaning to me. As a Marylander, we fought our *sses off to flip VA & PA. Seeing FL for Obama was a vindication of all of the hanging chads, of the collusion of Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris, and of course, the flip of the Latino vote. Indiana had revealed itself as a hotbed of Klan descendants, so that win was also sweet.

But NC was special because I used to live there. Because I fought so hard for Kerry, and Guilford County was deep, deep blue. I didn't think it could happen. I went back several hours a day to see if we would win NC. And this morning, it happened.

For me, it made all the difference in the world.

[krkaufman]

45. And the NC win is probably among the most significant ...

... since it's one of the biggest shifts from Red to Blue we saw.

I couldn't thank you enough for your efforts. But thanks.

[grantcart]

46. And we were admiring it every step of the way

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7654106

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7144714

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7558586

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7600701&mesg_id=7600701

Your hard work in North Carolina closed the door on the McCain campaign before the first vote was cast on 11/4, this is from Oct 25th:


If North Carolina continues this pace next week the campaign of McCain/Palin will be over before the first ballot cast on November 4th because without North Carolina they have no chance at 270 even with PA which is not even close for them.




There were many heroic stories that created the Obama EV landslide but the two great ones were North Carolina and Indiana.

You not only took the state but you sucked McCain into to spend time and money which made it impossible for him to win Florida. By working so hard in NC you not only won NC you picked McCains' pockets so that he couldnt compete in Florida. You were the rope in the rope a dope.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/grantcart/157

[Blackhatjack]

47. I think you are right... we forced McCain to spend $$ to defend here...

McCain and Palin made numerous trips to NC in the last 4 wks before election day.

It was definitely a team effort to get Obama elected, and those who worked hard in Red States that did not turn deserve their share of credit for forcing the McCain/Palin ticket and the RNC to spend $$ there.

In the end we accomplished what we set out to do, and whether the MSM recognizes it or not does not matter.

[stuntcat]

48. besides the big Obama win this was the biggest deal for me

NC going blue!!!! :party:

[Jed Dilligan]

49. Why not get a few things GAY about it, bigot?

Just kidding--I made lots of calls to NC because I knew how important it was!

:hi: