Greetings from Iowa!

[huskerlaw]

Ok, actually I'm in Nebraska at the moment, but I spent the past 2 days volunteering with the Edwards campaign in Iowa. My timing was extremely good, as I got to spend yesterday at an Edwards event. I helped set up, etc. and afterwards, even spent a bit of time talking to people from the campaign. The mood was really great--those Iowans greeted John like he was a rock star! The event was in the middle of the day, so the majority of attendees were retirement aged and they yelled/clapped like a bunch of college kids. ;) The turnout was also fantastic-the room was packed!

The mood is extremely upbeat. There's a definite feeling that Edwards will win Iowa (which is also supported by the most recent polling). The staffers and volunteers are super-busy. Things are happening at lightning speed at this point, and everyone is putting in 17+ hour days.

In addition to helping with an event, I also did door-to-door canvassing for 4 hours and placed over 150 phone calls, so I got to speak to quite a few Iowans. They are a well-informed group, overall, and asked some great questions.

I was amazed by the amount of people I spoke to who said they were definitely going to caucus, but were still undecided. I'm not good at estimating figures, but I would say it was around 1/3. Many--if not most--were leaning Edwards, though!

Overall, a great experience and it definitely left me feeling quite confident in our chance to win Iowa.

:woohoo:

[lisainmilo]

1. Hope so!

I wish I were in Iowa....I am glad you are and I appreciate the feedback. The polls keep flip flopping and it is hard to tell what the feeling is there.
As I have said, I believe we are at a crossroads, actually forced into it due to the past decisions of administrations gone by. The corporate world has taken over Washington, in just about all aspects. Until this is changed, we will continue a further divide, and this divide has not benefited the workers or for that matter the consumers in America. Corporations will continue to look out for their interests, moving overseas, taking jobs with them. assisting with a declining dollar. I read an article about 18 months ago or so, the title was Are Americans ready to be the next Third world? It was in reference to China's growth and our decline.

I hope you are right, I am looking forward to a strong America.

[huskerlaw]

4. I agree

I can't really go into specifics, but there are many reasons to think positively. ;)

[Beaverhausen]

2. Three Lisas in one thread! Hey - great report

I'm so glad you got to go to that event. I'm jealous.

Kudos for all the work you do here in LA and there in Iowa! :yourock:

GO EDWARDS!!!

[huskerlaw]

3. Hey!

The event was a complete surprise to me, and just very lucky timing on my part. It was interesting though, after attending all those fundraisers where clearly everyone in the room is a supporter. This was free and open to anyone, and yet the mood was even more positive and dynamic.

Sen. Edwards gave a fabulous speech (as usual!) and then answered a few questions. The audience responded very favorably to everything, though many were undecided and some were even Hillary/Obama/Biden supporters.

[MzNov]

5. Fantastic news!

Thanks for this report! Glad you had fun and got so much accomplished.

:bounce:

It's Gonna Be Edwards !!!!

'08

:patriot:

[asdjrocky]

6. What a great report.

How I wish I was there! I'm on the JE blogsite, looking for anyone that wants to rideshare from Ca, just so I can get there for caucus day!

Thanks again for the report, and getting into the numbers. That's the thing that matters. 30 doors today, 150 phone calls another day.

Numbers = Votes

Thanks from all of us, for what you do.

[huskerlaw]

9. I know of a few Californians

who are going to be in Iowa for the caucus, but as far as I know, they're all flying. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to let you know, though.

The numbers are good. They're changing so rapidly that nobody had a real handle on them, but they're changing for the better. ;)

[asdjrocky]

12. Thanks!

I can take the time off, but my small business needs my Van to be here, so I'm kind of stuck.

[smokey nj]

7. Thanks for the report!!! I really want Edwards to win big in Iowa.

[Plucketeer]

8. Tasty news, friend!

Wish I could do that. Thanks for sharing with us. You must know we're lusting for every tidbit of news regarding "our guy". ;)

To the rest of our faithful.... Should we regard the results of Jan. 3rd as our '07 Xmas present or an early '08 gift??? I'm DYIN' to rip the wrappings off of it!

:dilemma:

[huskerlaw]

10. Don't open your present yet...

I don't want to jinx it! But...well...I think January 3rd will be a GREAT day. ;)

[Catchawave]

11. Great field report and thanks so much for working so hard !

WE CAN DO THIS !

[Cowpunk]

13. I'm also a Nebraskan for Edwards...a FRUSTRATED one.

I was also at that campaign stop in Council Bluffs. Fortunately I did some phone-banking for the CB office last week so I got some early warning. I took a long lunch break(with permission) to check it out, and I was very impressed. John's delivery was flawless. My one critique would have to be that he didn't mention the Iraq war. He could easily incorporate this into his overall theme, that the government is ignoring the will of the people. Iraq is still the #1 issue in the country, after all.

But that's not why I'm frustrated. I'm mad because the JRE campaign's "One Corps" organizing feature SUCKS ASS. I would like to organize other members of the One Corps chapter to which I belong, Nebraskans for One America, to do a visibility event this Sunday morning, and then do some canvassing afterwards. As far as I can tell, there is no way for me to do this! I can't even contact the "captain" of the chapter. The whole thing seems totally top-down and utterly useless as a means of self-organizing. HOW CAN WE ORGANIZE IF WE CAN'T COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER? Is this the best we can get from the "power to the people" candidate, or am I missing something major?

[zalinda]

18. Contact them through the web site

I have gotten feedback from them within 2 days. Just explain the problem and how it may be crippling the ground crew and I'm sure they'll try to fix it.

zalinda

[huskerlaw]

20. One Corps itself doesn't suck

The thing is, it's only as good as the captain. I'm actively involved with the One Corps groups here in L.A. and we're super-organized and involved. That said, there are a few groups in Los Angeles that exist and have members, but don't do SHIT.

You should be able to see the email addresses of the other people who are signed up in your One Corps group. You might try contacting each one of the members directly and kind of circumventing an apparently inactive captain.

[asdjrocky]

22. Good point huskerlaw-

We've got a great captain here in Sacramento.


Zak, Sacramento Edwards Captain, with his son, who had no interest in meeting John Edwards.

[Cowpunk]

23. Very few members have posted their email addresses

Fortunately, I did figure out how to post an event at the One Corps site. The details are at http://blog.johnedwards.com/event/3707. It would have been nice to contact all the members directly. Hopefully some folks will stop by the website before Sunday.

[huskerlaw]

25. Cool!

Looks like a great event, and I wish you the best of success. I'd definitely come if I was still there, but I returned to LA yesterday. The staffers at the CB office are fabulous, and would be thrilled to have whatever help you could offer, I'm sure.

[asdjrocky]

14. I can't wait!

Looks like I'll be leaving the 29th, and I'll hit the ground running by the 30th. Thanks for all you are doing there! Hope to run into you along the trail!

It sounds like you might be in Council Bluffs, are you?

[huskerlaw]

21. Awesome! Good luck!

I was in Council Bluffs. Unfortunately, that was short-term. I'm from Los Angeles, was in Nebraska for Christmas, went over to CB for a few days before Christmas, and now I'm back in LA.

[frogmarch]

15. Another Nebraskan here

who's gung ho for John Edwards.

Thanks for the uplifting report, huskerlaw. :thumbsup:

[Cowpunk]

24. Join Us!

...for some good old fashioned politikerin on Sunday.

http://blog.johnedwards.com/event/3707

[sandyd921]

16. So great to hear!

Sometimes it gets pretty discouraging around here, reading the threads the Hillary and Obama crowds post. But it sounds like you have the inside scoop on what's really happening.

I can't get to Iowa, but I'm hoping to help out in NH the weekend before the primary (I live in ME, the next state over). I know that a great showing in IA will provide a real bounce for NH and beyond.

[benny05]

17. Great work!

[bobbolink]

19. Thank you so much for all your efforts! I wish I could do the same.

I haven't felt this excitement in a long time, and it makes me really want to get out there and DO SOMETHING.

Thank you for being there!