Chapter 2: The New Mission

Beyond the balloons and confetti, what I saw, what I felt in Denver, the people I met, what I experienced inside the Convention, the energy I felt in the streets, had to reverberate and live. It was as if an electrical current was shot into me and it was my responsibility, as a delegate, as a citizen, as a human being to serve as a conduit and pass it along to as many people as I could.

I believed that if I did this to the best of my ability, if I did everything I could, if I dedicated every inch I had to give to this all important cause, there would be other people – people who I never met and would never meet, people just like the ones who filled the streets of Denver – making the same commitment and dedicating themselves to the same cause, and we would win.

Matched with that was a feeling of anger and urgency from that damn Palin proclamation-van ride back to Denver International Airport that I wanted to purge from my system as soon as possible.

The week immediately following the Democratic National Convention in Denver, the Republicans held their Convention in St. Paul. Everyone got to know who Sarah Palin was and remarkably enough, at first, they liked her – a lot. She was tough, punchy, easy on the eyes, made a funny comment about a hockey moms, pitbulls and lipstick, and she liked to shoot stuff. Immediately following her speech at the RNC the model of glasses she wore for her Convention speech went on back order. And the Republicans bounced in the polls, despite the fact that the war was going nowhere, public organizers were being mocked openly, our economy and our ecology had been sacked in the name of tax cuts and big oil, the Canadian National guard had arrived at New Orleans faster than our own troops, torture had become executive policy, and the sitting President – a Republican – had a lower approval rating than Nixon – also a Republican. Yet somehow, in this late hour, the Republicans had taken the lead.

“How could this be? It doesn’t make sense.” I have been shocked into paralysis before. I did it twice: in the bitter autumn cold of 2000 and 2004. “There is no way we will be that stupid on Election Day.” After much thought, stress and loss of hair over the last eight years I arrived upon a simple answer: Ignorance is powerful and Republicans are resourceful.

I wasn’t going to sit back and watch this time.

It was in the second week of September that I made an announcement on this webpage, that I planned to return to Denver for four days before the election to help win the state of Colorado for Barack Obama. California was blue as the Pacific Ocean, and voting here and staying at home would be the equivalent of sitting on the bench – nay, sitting in the stands – during the final minutes of a close ballgame. The state of Colorado was a close ballgame. In fact, in the weeks following the RNC many analysts were predicting that the entire race could come down to Colorado, as happened in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. This was a game I needed to be in.

The twist about my return to Denver was that this time I wanted as many people to come with me as possible. It was an open ended invitation to any passionate Obama supporter who wanted to be a part of this election, make an impact and be a part of history. It was also an opportunity for family, friends and former students to see the electric city I had reported from during the DNC just two weeks prior.

In the first forty-eight hours, our numbers were over twenty. In the next forty-eight our numbers passed fifty. I didn’t know how we would get there, but I felt if we dedicated ourselves to finding a way, we would find one. I contacted travel agencies, airlines, friends, family and the Democratic Party. I was put in touch with an organization known as Travelforchange.org.

Travelforchange.org was an independent organization dedicated to getting progressive volunteers to battleground states. Upon registering, our people provided individual mission statements and biographies. I encouraged all the members of our group to allow their hearts to dictate what they wrote. What you are about to do is a little bit crazy, why do you want to do it? These were the only guiding questions. After creating their own page, the individual volunteer could then send the link to all friends and family members in an effort to raise the funds and/or frequent flyer miles necessary for the trip. Potential donors could then logon, learn about each volunteer and decide whether or not to become a sponsor.

In an effort to show our collective strength and in the hopes of luring a large scale donor, I requested each of my volunteers close their biography with the following statement: Member: Dan’s Delegation. It was a play on words from my geeky cyber-universe name, but the name would stick. Within five days five of our people had flights. When the weekend before the election arrived we believed that every one of our volunteers would have flights to Denver.

Three things happened in the final days of September and the first days of October that dramatically altered the shape of the 2008 election and the role my group would play within it:

First, the Stock Market crashed. Twice. It not only sent the economy reeling, but while Congress began entertaining talks of an astronomical financial bailout, both campaigns searched for ways to show leadership in the face of crisis. John McCain postponed his campaign. Kind of. Barack Obama stayed cool. And he surged ahead.

Second, I got laid off. This news probably comes as a shock to many of you close to me, as I did my best to keep this to myself and my family. My former coworkers and I continue come up with theories as to whether or not this was a reactionary measure on the part of my company or if this was merely part of a plan put into action over a year ago. Either way I wasn’t alone: my entire division of sixty employees was eliminated and the National Unemployment Rate surged past 6.5%. I was told that my severance package would last until the end of December and on the very afternoon I got laid off, I was asked to apply for a new division that was being formed within the company. Regardless, fresh from a career change, sitting low man on the corporate totem pole with two children, a mortgage and a hefty monthly college loan bill was not the most comforting position to be in.

Third, through individuals I will keep confidential, I was put in touch with a wealthy American philanthropist living in Italy named David Gall. He was introduced as a valued and respected donor, with a good history of helping volunteers get where they needed to go. I was also told that he sought me out because he had been made aware of our group.

I remember driving in my car, on Friday, October 3rd, on my way to learn more about a potential job offering, when I was first contacted by David. He explained that he was impressed by the dedication and size and of the organization we had built from the grass roots up in such a short amount of time.

It was a phone interview and I got the job. He did, too.

I was impressed by his passion, high level of intelligence and sharp wit. He owned a business marketing agency in Boulder and was currently serving as a professor at an international university outside of Venice. Although he was independently wealthy through his own financial firm, he was part of Americans in Italy for Obama, and a network of Americans with substantial resources who were very dedicated to seeing Barack Obama become the next President of the United States. Together, we started laying plans for increasing our numbers and began the process of determining the states in which our volunteers would have the greatest impact. I would play the role of organizer. He would play the role of collective financier. Together, we would spend countless hours over the next four weeks reading the most current polls, organizing our volunteers, and speaking with organizers on the ground in six different battleground states.

It was around this time that I stopped blogging entirely and dedicated almost every aspect of my life to organizing.

Continue To Chapter 3