MeetupTracker 2004

[goobergunch]

Dean (D)         86617
Kerry (D)         8800 
Kucinich (D       8308
Clark (D) (Draft) 8085
Edwards (D)       1201
Bush (R)           971
Gore (D) (Draft)   572
Graham (D)         481
Gephardt (D)       427
Lieberman (D)      251
Nader (G)          131
Moseley Braun (D)   87
Sharpton (D)        82
Smith (L)           25
LaRouche (D)         5

[GOPBasher]

1. That's funny that LaRouche has a meetup.

What the heck is it with LaRouche followers? I think I may actually prefer Bush to LaRouche.

[Vap Noose]

2. Senate and Governor numbers:

Barack Obama for Senate (>200 members)
Blair Hull for Senate (58)
Peter Ueberroth for Governor (38)
Eric Fingerhut for Senate (29)
Gery Chico for Senate (22)
Charlie Crystle for Senate (21)
Dan Hynes for Senate (15)
Barbara Boxer for Senate (13)
Buddy Leach for Governor (13)
Andy McKenna for Senate (8)
Patrick Leahy for Senate (7)
Russ Feingold for Senate (7)
Ben Chandler for Governor (7)
Mitch Daniels for Governor (6)
Bobby Jindal for Governor (5)
Ron Wyden for Senate (5)
Blanche Lincoln for Senate (5)
Nancy Skinner for Senate (5)
John McCain for Senate (5)
Barbara Mikulski for Senate (4)
Vi Simpson for Governor (4)
Joe Andrew for Governor (3)
Hunt Downer for Governor (3)
Kathleen Blanco for Governor (2)
Ernie Fletcher for Governor (2)
Ronnie Musgrove for Governor (2)
Eric Miller for Governor (1)

[JI7]

3. i don't do meet ups

what exactly are they ? what do you do there ?i'm a big supporter of kerry, but never thought much of doing the meet up thing.

i'm going to buy some of those bumper stickers and put them on my car. i'm going to buy some extra so if others who see it want to do the same, i can give it to them . i don't know how much the bumper sticker thing would help though.

[Fleshdancer]

4. You should reconsider

There's no set rule on what a meetup does. You're guaranteed to meet other Kerry supporters in your area which is always nice, but what goes on at the meetup depends on the agenda of meetup leader in your city.

If it's not well organized, then the worst thing that happens is that you have a beer or a cup of coffee with people who share your political beliefs, you make some new friends, and you go home happy.

If it is well organized, then not only do you get the benefits stated above, but you also find out what Kerry supporters in your town are doing to get Kerry's message out to voters, perhaps you sign up to volunteer to hand out flyers at a local festival or some other big event, maybe you have questions that are finally answered and you go home not only happy, but empowered with the knowledge that you are doing your share to get bush out of the White House.

Politics shouldn't be a spectator sport. Meetup gives you the opportunity to get off your butt and put action to your frustration and anger at the way things are and empowers you to do what it takes to change things to the way they should be. You want Kerry to be the next President? Meetups allow you to prove it.

[molly]

9. I certainly don't believe these "meetups"

have anything to do with who will be the next president. I think they are good for educating supporters on candidate issue, but I think they have been overrated. Most "average" voters don't sit on the internet half the day like we do.

The most education and support will come from the debates, the interviews, and unfortunately the media whores.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

10. Value of Meetup

Meetup may start on the internet, but it's about getting people off their computers and face to face to make a difference.

Our meetup, for example, is held in a central downtown area, and always draws in people walking by or stopping in for coffee. I'm sure new people have been signed up this way.

At our last meetup, many of us wrote letters to Dems in NH to introduce them to Dean. New people were identified and had a q-and-a session with one of the organizers.

Our meetup has also spawned a spin-off working group that does more hands-on campaigning, flyering and outreach and so forth.

If used correctly, it can be very effective and is certain to bring voters to the candidate. The grassroots could exist without it, especially now that there is momentum, but it's a great tool.

[LynneSin]

13. In Delaware, we're pretty much set on our Meetup locations

and now we're going to local events and handing out flyers to others letting them know about our candidate and where our meetings are located. We do realize that not everyone out there has access to a computer and the internet. However, meetup was able to get a large group of us together and find a way to attract even more people "outside the box" to our meetings.

[sandnsea]

5. Here's a link you can look at

www.kerry2004.meetup.com. You can find what city is having them near you, sign up, they'll send you emails and you can decide whether you want to go. If you change your mind, just take yourself off the list.

[DrFunkenstein]

6. It's Actually Alot of Fun

<>

Can you find the doctor? I'll never reveal which one is me!

I had a great time when I went. You become exactly as involved as you want to be. If you just want to check things out, people are totally cool about it. I met some people and after it was over we ended up just BS-ing for the rest of the night.

[sandnsea]

7. Actually...

I haven't been. I'm sort of shy, believe it or not!!! Well, maybe not shy, maybe, ummm, opinionated and pushy and not wanting people to hate me because I'm opinionated and pushy. And then I have this guilt complex thing where if I go do something I'll end up being obligated to it even if I hate it. Like when I went to sign up my daughter for Brownies there was no leader. Well, my mother had already spent about $50 on all the goodies, so I became a Brownie leader for 5 years. But then again, that worked out well... I really should probably go and bite my tongue.

[molly]

8. Why can't I see the picture?

[DrFunkenstein]

12. The Feds, Their On To Me!

I...uh...gotta go now...:hi:

[goobergunch]

11. Caucus practice IMHO (n/t)

[Sushi Bandit]

14. Maybe we should protest at the Bush Meetups!

nm