This is very difficult for me-

[asdjrocky]

Most of you here know me, and you know what I’ve done for the Edwards Campaign. And most of you know I will continue to help in any way I can. This is tough, because I don’t take, I give. Hell, I’ve never taken anything from anyone; it’s not how I was raised.

John Edwards is the first candidate I’ve ever donated money to, to the tune of 2,300.00. Yes, I’m tapped out there, so now I just give whatever time I have.

And there’s the rub, and that’s why I’m here, to ask for your help.

I make about 30k, and it used to be much more but an ugly divorce about four years back, and an economy in free fall have taken its toll on what I now make. My living depends largely on people wanting to have a good time, not a lot of those in America, not of late. There are three bills that matter to me; 1. My child support, I’ve never missed a payment. (This is most important to me, I believe it has two purposes, it helps my daughters mother to support her, and it let’s my daughter know I’ll never let her down.) 2. My rent, as I do need a roof over my head. 3. Food, guys gotta eat, even if it’s mostly beans & rice. Thank the powers that be for my roommate, a good Dem too, who pays for cable and the internets.

And there’s the rub, and that’s why I’m here, to ask for your help.

Most of you know of my trips to Reno, Council Bluffs and even Salinas Ca, and most of you know I’ve done all of this on my own dime. (The plane tickets to Iowa were paid for by one of Yannicks people, but I had to pay for food, ugh, and incidentals. I would have never been able to go where it not for the ticket being paid for.)

So it brings me to this, I’m simply tapped out. All of my credit cards are maxed and the best I can hope to do is make minimum payments for the next few months. I get no vacation time at work, I’m an event DJ for those of you that don’t know, and I sure haven’t been paid anything during my time off. Once the Nevada Caucus is over, I plan to get back to working more at the office and on events, but right now I can’t stop working for John.

The few friends I have here in Sacramento are not political people, and I can not go to them. I have no real family here, and they are just as poor or lower middle class as I am.

Where do I turn for help? My DU community, and the Edwards Supporters I’ve built relationships with. I can speak in Nevada for Edwards at a caucus location, but I must be able to pay my bills, and I can’t do both without some help.

I need a room in Reno for only one night; I can cover the second night, just barley, if I need a second night. I need to have some food to eat, and trust me; the campaign gives us food,
sometimes, and I can survive on very little. And I need to cover like two days off of work. It’s not that much, but it’s what gets in the way of me going.

Help me speak for Edwards. It I didn’t believe it was important, I wouldn’t embarrass myself by asking.

What will you get? You know me, you know how hard I’ll work. You’ll also get a souvenir from the campaign, (bumper sticker, placard, button, something like that) and if your maxed out on donations to the campaign, like many of us are, you can do just a little more. And you all know I can’t shut-up, so you’ll get a full report, from inside, and pictures. Lot’s of pictures. Any money collected will go directly to campaign causes, ie; more lit, billboard campaign, or office supplies for our growing dream of a all volunteer Sacramento Ca office.

PM me if you can help. It won’t take a lot to make something happen, I’m just at the end of my financial rope here.


This billboard is now up on South 101, seen by 100,000 people a day, all because of money from volunteers like us. Thank Yannick for that one.

We can still make a difference people, I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe in our cause.

Rocky

[saracat]

1. Bless you Rocky. I am poor as a church mouse right now but I will talk to some people

How would anyone get some funds to you? PM and let me know!

[bpeale]

2. do you have a paypal account or something that we can donate to?

on edit: i have paypal credit! i can donate to you if you have paypal & put it on my paypal credit card!

[bpeale]

13. my donation went out in today's mail rocky!

[pamela]

3. I can help a bit, Rocky.

Do you have a paypal account that you could post? I could mail you a check but I stupidly let myself run out of checks and am waiting for my reorder to show up.

I am in awe of all that you've been doing. I want to go to South Carolina so bad I can taste it. You make me proud to be an Edwards supporter but ashamed that I'm not doing more. Keep fighting the good fight.

[Beaverhausen]

4. The Steelworkers union is paying for rooms in Vegas- maybe they are in Reno too

Have you contacted Amanda Clauson? AFAIK she is coordinating the nevada volunteers.

[asdjrocky]

6. Because I write about what I do-

I don't like to ask the campaign or the unions for any help.

[asdjrocky]

5. No PayPal guys,

I've never asked for money before, and the best I could do is give you my address, and you could send a check. I just realized how broke I was this very morning, when I looked at what I had, and what I owed, then realized, I'd have to take a couple more days off of work.

The small business I work at does take credit cards and I'm sure my boss, and friend, would work something out for me.

Send me a PM, and I'll give you the info.

[Catchawave]

7. Good luck to you !

Not sure if asking for donations w/o admin approval is okay. I did put in a request to the campaign to find you housing in Nevada.

I'll PM you as soon as I hear anything.

[asdjrocky]

9. Thanks Wave-

You know me and rules, I'm much more likely to ask for forgivingness than permission. Sorry for any rules that I violated.

Here's a continuation of what I'd like to do. This points to something Ninga spoke of in another post. I'm putting together a political coalition, and action committee. Right now it's just going to be morning e-mails. I have a little over 20 people a day that are getting the morning mailing now. Would you like to be part of our group?

PM me with your e-mail, and I'll put you on the list, and get the start up letter off to you guys.

Thanks for everything,
Rocky

[Catchawave]

8. Check your PM....

:hi:

[bobbolink]

10. back go the top for Rocky!

Thanks for working so hard for us!

:yourock:

[asdjrocky]

11. Thanks bobbolink-

Pm me and I'll put you on the grassroots list.

[Plucketeer]

12. You already KNOW I'm with you on both counts!

:kick:

[pamela]

14. Kickin' for Rocky.

Have you come up with a way to take credit card donations? You mentioned we might be able to do that through your employer.

[zalinda]

15. Rocky, it takes very little to set up a PayPal account

Most people have extra money sitting in their account, and it will actually get to you faster than a check and the deposit will be usable faster than an out of state check. You won't get charged for the account, except they do take out a few cents out of your bank account to make sure every thing is working properly. You don't have to keep a certain amount in your account, but most people have $20 or so dollars sitting there, not doing anything but earning money for PayPal. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to help people out when they have PayPal.

zalinda

[asdjrocky]

16. Thanks zalind-

It looks like I'm going to make it just fine, and have a few bucks to kick down to the campaign. As I said, I'm maxed out on donations, but I can have my daughter donate, or use any extras for office supplies for the Reno, or hopefully, Sacramento office.

[judaspriestess]

17. I'm here

in Vegas let me know if there is something I can do.

[asdjrocky]

18. Thanks for the offer-

Actually it got to the point that I was able to help a couple of other people too. No, more help please. However, if I do hear of anyone going to Vegas do you have a bed?

Those are getting a little tougher to come by.

[Beaverhausen]

19. Are you doing any work for Edwards there?

I am coming out from Los Angeles on Friday and saturday to help GOTV for the caucus. If you are, PM me.