We need a crowd of at least 10,000 to combat Palin in Roanoke the same day. Word is, the GOP wants that event to overshadow Barack's visit to The Valley.
With everyone yesterday busily canvassing, phone-banking, painting signs and preparing for Barack's first visit this fall to a crucial, make-deep-inroads-into- a-traditional-GOP-stronghold, the Shenandoah Valley, at command central at 124 S. Main St. in Harrisonburg...
I was asked to spread the word: Palin is speaking in the capital city of the state's western, Appalachian tier, Roanoke, on Tuesday, the same day Barack will be at James Madison University's (JMU) Convocation Center. Barack wowed'em at Roanoke's Civic Center on a recent (Oct. 17), rainy Friday. Word filtering into our Harrisonburg HQ was that the GOP wants to make Palin's visit a stadium event. Fine, we all know the wingnuts will turn out en masse for her, but...let's not fail to have a teeming, passionate, on-the-cusp-of-a-victory-for-the-ages crowd for our guy.
Harrisonburg is in Rockingham County, where Bush rolled up his biggest victory margin in the state four years ago. The camaraderie and chemistry between Barack's national staffers and the wonderful local folks who are expanding the progressive base in The Valley's conservative heart has been remarkable since July, when the Obama campaign set up the first presidential campaign office in the little city's history. Add to that the energizing influx of incredibly dedicated and talented GOTV volunteers from across the Middle Atlantic, the Eastern Seaboard and even the Midwest and we can get this job done. We know we're going to eclipse the Democrat vote totals from four years, but the agressive Obama campaign said, "Go for it all, and go relentlessly." And so, in a spirit of jubilant collaboration (I carpetbag in from WV), we have.
Now we want to be sure that Barack's visit to The Valley is not in any way overshadowed by Palin in Roanoke.
So...please attend Barack's speech Tuesday at JMU's Convocation Center and help spread the word. Doors open at 3:15 w/the program starting at 5:15. As usual, arrive early maybe as early as noon. It's seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Convocation Center will be able to accommodate (I'm told) 9,000 to 10,000 for this event.
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