The Cleveland Stonewall Democrats met last night

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For those who don't know, the Stonewall Democrats are a group of LGBT and LGBT friendly Democrats who work to elect pro LGBT candidates. We watched "Unprecedented" which is the documentary about the stealing of Florida's electoral votes. Then we went over strategies to turn out the vote in Ohio.

We had a pretty good showing. Around 40 or so people showed up on a Monday night. Cleveland's LGBT community is still a bit small and insular when it comes to politics so this is a great showing.

Several good ideas came out of the meeting which I think are applicable to other states and to other groups.

First, especially African American groups, should be reminded of this movie, and the fact they can get copies and show it. Currently in Cleveland it is being shown in churches and other places to groups of African Americans.

Second, To find unregistered but politically active gays, we are using lists for the HRC, AIDS charities, and other groups and crosschecking voter registration rolls. This seems applicable to pro choice and African American groups. We are finding about 1 in 4 people belonging to groups like the HRC aren't registered due to things like having moved.

Third, We are, for the two weekends before the election, we are having come home to Ohio weekends. LGBT who grew up in Ohio but moved to safe Kerry states like MA, VT, NY, and IL are bing encouraged to come home and drive up turnout here. I know that those states may have downstate races which matter but to the extent they don't, or that those are covered, it would be a good thing to drive up our turnout. This would seem to be applicable to places like Texas where people could be sent to LA and NM, CA where people could be sent to AZ and NV, and MN where people could be sent to IA, WI, and MI.

I do have to say that it was disappointing not to have a Kerry campaign representative there. Also the Fingerhut representative left before the meeting was over. Both candidates need to step up here. This is a group of motivated people who need are also skilled. Our political director has run several, all sucessful, campaigns to pass levies in Cuyahoga County.

In any case for those who want some ideas, here they are.

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1. kick

[eileen from OH]

2. Hi, Cleveland

Akron/Kent here. We've got a whole team of former Dean, Clark, etc., supporters who are banding together under the Democratic Meetup banner and NOT waiting on the county party for direction, so you are wise to get busy on your own. Sounds like you've really got some momentum and great stuff planned. Kudos to you!

Don't hold your breath waiting for anybody related to the Kerry camp. I'm gonna repost something I put up on Monday about that.

I've got permission from a local gay bar to register folks and a cohort and I will be there some Saturdays in the summer.

I'm bettin' we ran into each other at a fund raiser for Dean last spring - law offices, right?

eileen from OH

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4. Yeah I must have

I actually live pretty far out from Cleveland so I will probably be doing stuff to get the vote out in Ashtabula county. I may be able to do some stuff in Cleveland but weekdays are hard for me to go that far. I admittedly can't take a ton of credit for what the CSDs are doing but I am doing what I can. I also have been attending the DFA meet ups.

[eileen from OH]

3. Help Win Ohio For Kerry!

After reading this, if you agree that the Kerry campaign needs to get its butt in gear, do the quick and easy thing I suggest at the bottom.

Q. Date when the Gore/Dem campaign gave up on Ohio and pulled ads, etc.?
A. October, 2000

Q. Percentage points by which Gore lost Ohio to Bush?
A. 3.5

Q. What is the only “red” state whose polls do not currently reflect a clear Bush gain?
A. Ohio

Q. Which Republican governor’s approval rating has plummeted 26% because of raising taxes by 20% after pledging no new taxes during his campaign?
A. Ohio’s Governor Taft

Q. Which state’s extremely unpopular Republican governor will not be able to help Bush AT ALL?
A. Ohio

Q. Which state’s Democratic party apparatus has been completely ineffectual in preventing a virtual Republican monopoly on all state offices, the governorship, the courts, and the legislature?
A. Ohio

Q. How many jobs have been lost in Ohio since Bush was inaugurated?
A. 225,700

Q. How many calls, offering support and volunteers, come in to the Ohio for Kerry headquarters on a typical weekend?
A. 200

Q. How many people answer these calls?
A. One, a volunteer

Q. How long did it take the Kerry For Ohio office to return multiple calls offering to help?
A. One month.

Q. How many times have Bush and/or Cheney visited Ohio since taking office?
A. 18

Q. How many times has Kerry visited Ohio since starting his candidacy?
A. 4

Q. At a Kerry rally in Akron, how many people showed up?
A. 3,000 - 4,000

Q. At this rally, how many of these people were signed up?
A. Zero. There was no sign-up desk, & no volunteers circulating to capture names.

Q. At this rally, how much was collected in donations?
A. $0.00. There was no solicitation.

Q. At this rally, where were people directed to go if they wanted to help?
A. Trick question. No one was given ANY directions on how to volunteer. No one was even urged to volunteer. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It was a feel-good event that people attended in droves and then went home. Period.

Q. How many paid campaign staff does the Bush staff have in Ohio?
A. 12

Q. How many paid campaign staff does Kerry have in Ohio?
A. 0

Q. How many Ohio volunteers for Bush have already been recruited?
A. 15,000

Q. How many phone calls for Bush have already been made in Ohio?
A. 46,000

Q. How many Ohio residents receive regular email updates from the Bush campaign?
A. 240,000

Q. What percentage of Ohio counties have a Bush volunteer chair?
A. 100%

Q. What percentage of Ohio counties have a Kerry volunteer chair?
A. 0%

Q. If you live in Ohio, how do you get Bush bumper stickers, signs, and buttons?
A. Ask

Q. If you live in Ohio, how do you get Kerry campaign bumper stickers, signs, and buttons?
A. Go to the Kerry website and buy them.

Q. Whose campaign office in Columbus is housed in a suite, with a reception desk, buzzes with volunteers & activity, and has state-of-the-art-computers and communications, including new laptops?
A. Bush’s

Q. Whose campaign office in Columbus is wedged in a corner of a building and has computers that are still in boxes?
A. Kerry’s

Q. Cincinnati - Cleveland? What’s the difference? Ohio-Shmohio.
A. A world of difference. In some ways, not even on the same planet. The north, especially the urban areas, is very progressive. But BOTH candidates seem to treat Ohio as some kind of midwestern hegemony. Different messages work in different areas and if Kerry can tap into that he will have a huge advantage over Bush.

Q. Which state is universally regarded as the “next Florida” and is the “must win” state for both parties?
A. Ohio

Whether or not you live in Ohio - if you think Ohio is crucial to a Kerry win, please take our word for it - OHIO IS RIPE FOR THE PLUCKING.

PLEASE urge the national campaign to bring in professional campaign leadership and establish a genuine campaign headquarters and organization. NOW. Bush has already established a strong presence in Ohio and is defining the Kerry candidacy before Kerry can. It is NOT too early to start worrying.

There are thousands of volunteers who are eager to help but they need strong direction, above and beyond what the Ohio Democratic Party can provide. We’re doing a lot on our own, but a real, live, Kerry headquarters/presence would make a huge difference.

Please contact the Kerry campaign and ask them to get directly involved in Ohio. Fax, phone, or write the Kerry campaign during the week of APRIL 12 and emphasize that they must pay attention to Ohio now. (E-mail is fine, but that’s not nearly as effective as other methods.)

Kerry for President
Massachusetts Office
60 Canal St.
2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02114
617-367-1551 (phone)
617.523.2033 (fax)
[e-mail]

At the same time, contact others who may have some influence with Kerry, such as. . .

Gov. Howard Dean
Democracy For America
P.O. Box 1228
Burlington, Vermont 05402
802- 651-3200 phone
802- 651-3299 fax
[e-mail]

Senator Edward Kennedy
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4543 (phone)
202-224-2417 (fax)
[e-mail]

Finally, please pass the word along. Post it on any lib blog (especially Kerry’s).
Agitate. Rinse. Repeat.

eileen from OH

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5. Man that is bad

Our state is so important and it seems we still haven't got our act together. It should be noted that Chrissy Gephardt's first appearence on behalf of the national Stonewall Democrats will be in Cleveland. The tickets are too pricy for me but it should do well.

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8. But the good thing is that ACT is doing something

ACT Ohio is going door to door, talking to people of voting age and registering them. They are always looking for workers and really have their, pardon the pun, act together.

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6. kick

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7. kick

[Kolesar]

9. We showed "Unprecedented" at an activist meeting

It was great for firing up the troops.

As for ideas of how to gather activists and/or contributors, the new "domestic partner registry" in Cleveland Heights has a list of names.