SCV Obama fans use campaign website to link up; where’s McCain supporters?
Written by Jeff on June 18th, 2008Scores of Santa Clarita residents are using the presumptive Democratic nominee’s website to organize campaign and party events in Santa Clarita, at least five in the next few weeks by my count.
The events are spread out across the SCV. One takes place in Stevenson Ranch, another at Vincenzo’s in Newhall, and two are scheduled in Canyon Country.
What’s interesting about these events is that it’s not the “usual suspects” who are sponsoring them. We’re all familiar with the SCV Democratic clubs and groups that meet regularly to discuss politics and have fun, but other Santa Claritans who may not be members of those groups seem to be organizing their own Barack Obama events.
The largest of these groups is the “Santa Clarita Valley for Obama” group, which counts some 180 members. A man named Roger in Newhall started the group way back in January of 2007, but it continues to grow, adding at least a dozen members in the last few week.
This group is sponsoring or co-sponsoring at least three get togethers for Obama supporters. They range from the typical to an oddly spiritual meetup.
For instance, on June 19 at 7pm, the group will host a get together at Vincenzo’s in Newhall. And on Saturday, June 28, a group will hold a breakfast meeting at the Saugus IHOP to support Obama. And on June 22, an associated group will hold an “energy convergence” meeting in Canyon Country where participants will “commit to send light and energy to the noble cause of getting Barack Obama elected President of the United States.”
Hey it takes all kind to get a person elected President right?
Members of the SCV for Obama group have also been writing a blog on the website. Posts range from local issues such as the MRF to national topics from a liberal point of view.
But what about Santa Clarita residents in favor of John McCain? Aren’t they organizing and holding parties of their own?
I checked the Republican Senator’s campaign website, but when I searched for local events, I got this message: “We are currently building organizations across the country so please stay tuned for more information about your state.” The site asks volunteers to sign up to help.
That’s a bit odd- McCain locked up the nomination in March, way earlier than Barack Obama. Why doesn’t he have a local events section like Obama’s site yet?
I checked the California page of McCain’s website and the only events listed are three stuffy Finance events, one in Fresno, another in Newport Beach, and another in Riverside.
There doesn’t seem to be any way for McCain boosters to link up organically through his campaign website, the way Obama supporters have found each other on the Illinois Senator’s website by simply typing in their zip codes.
Maybe it’s not fair to expect that McCain’s website will be as advanced as Obama’s…afterall, the campaign manager responsible for Howard Dean’s internet success in 2004 told Time magazine last week that his online operation was like the Wright Brothers first flight, while BarackObama.com is akin to landing on the moon.
It appears SCV voters have found a good use for the site; I may attend one of these events and report back to you.
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Jeff:
I am a member of Santa Clarita Valley for Barack Obama and it probably already has twice as many members the two local Democratic clubs COMBINED. You also should know the person who developed the Obama website was one of the cofounders of Facebook, so it has that look and feel and versatility.
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Attention! SCVtalk’s MasterBlogger deletes freedom of speech from local Veteran. Cash, this is why you have not heard from CIB Bill.
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No matter who you support or how you feel about the past eight years, you gotta be excited to see what’s going on around us. It’s very refreshing. I don’t mean the economy, gas, civil rights, etc. I just mean with the campaigns. It seams more people are genuinely interested in politics these days. Speaking with my wife the other night…whatever happened to the civil disobedience of the 60s? If Iraq is the “new Vietnam” to some people, and if we are all fed up with gas, food, etc prices, how come no one is doing anything about it…i mean in terms of protests and marches. What is so different in 2008 that keeps that from happening? Apathy? Police suppression? I don’t know. Just wondering out loud here. Do any college students care? Or high schools? why no walk outs and sit-ins at colleges or high schools?
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Vince:
The relative apathy, particularly on college campuses, can be summed up in two words: NO DRAFT!!! Nothing focuses the mind better on civil disobedience than the REAL possibility of being snatched off the campus due to the loss of a deferment and toting a rifle through the jungles of Southeast Asia. The public’s feelings about Iraq are sour enough; multiply that by 100 if young, upper middle class and middle class men were conscripted into the force to go fight, like it or not.
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It’s simple, VH. BECAUSE LIFE IN AMERICA IS GREAT!
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Good point Timothy. Thanks
Vince