Yes We Can!

Artist Shepard Fairey is allowing free downloads of a black and white version of the wonderful print above. Print them out HERE and plaster them wherever you can!

What follows are excerpts from a heartfelt blog entry by a local activist who goes by the nickname kid oakland. He posted it on DailyKos I hope you find it as inspiring as I do:

You have probably by now heard about the inspiring Yes We Can video by Jesse Dylan and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas based on the New Hampshire election night speech by Barack Obama.

It's worth a look for everyone, because it says something essential about Senator Obama's campaign and this moment in history.




In that light, I'd like to start this diary with a message, not advocating any candidate, to all the readers and participants here at Dailykos regardless of who you've supported in the primary...

We have a choice. You have a choice.

It's not solely a choice between candidates, though it is that, I won't pretend it isn't, but it's about more than that, it's a choice about whether and how each of us will help the Democratic Party choose the direction it will follow for years to come, about what message we send to the nation.

Our Democracy works better the more people who participate. The Democratic party is stronger the more of us who communicate, voter to voter, person to person, across the United States. This is one of my core beliefs. It's why we're all here at dailykos.

There has a been a revolution in participation this primary season. We Democrats are setting records in state after state. Young people have come out in record numbers to canvass and caucus and vote. That is so good for all us. Pragmatically, millenials are the future of our party, and they have sent us a powerful message this primary season with their actions and their votes.

Whomever you support for the nomination of our party for president it is better for all of us if you choose to take action this weekend in some way, large or small. It's better for all of us the more people who vote, who participate, who further this debate. Participation and engagement is what the Democratic party is all about.

When all is said and done, after this Tuesday all of us who take part in the process of our democracy the coming days will know that we will have sent a powerful message to this nation about who we are as American citizens and as Democrats.


Now, I do have a message today specific to folks who have been persuaded to support Senator Barack Obama for President. These next four days are crucial to his campaign.

They say a week is a lifetime in politics, but this weekend is something else entirely.

What I'd like to convey is that, if you support Barack Obama, and like me, are not someone who runs around bouncing off the walls at the thought of attending a rally or talking to people in a big group, there is still so much you can do. Visibility, helping at the office, getting signs out, driving people around, attending a rally with friends.

Or, even if you choose, like me, to overcome my natural shyness and to call people, to knock on doors, I think you will find that participating this weekend will be something that you will be able to tell people about for the rest of your life.

How can you get involved? It's simple.

If you're interested in participating in this effort to help elect Senator Barack Obama President and win the Tsunami Tuesday primaries and caucuses, you should click on one of the two links below:

EVENTS or VOLUNTEER

Clicking on EVENTS is a no muss, no fuss way to get involved. You can RSVP or, in some cases, just show up, but you don't have to sign up for anything. This is a way to participate and find out what level of participation is right for you.

Clicking on VOLUNTEER will take you to a page that explains the volunteer philosophy of the Obama campaign and allows you to register as a volunteer at my.barackobama.com.

This is the most powerful thing you can do this weekend, wherever you live in the country, to get involved in electing Barack Obama President of the United States.

That's it. It's that simple.

Now, I know that not everyone supports my candidate, that not everyone will choose to participate in this primary weekends deliberations in quite the same way as me.

I can respect those decisions, I can respect that choice. That's what our democracy is about. We are richer for it.

But, for myself, I'm throwing my hat in with the optimists, the ones looking to the future, the ones moved by a man with a powerful core message:

Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. -Barack Obama, New Hampshire, January 8th, 2008