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DEL.ICIO.USObama goes to ground in Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Barack Obama’s people on Wednesday announced the beginning of their professional staff in Georgia - the first of the Democratic presidential campaigns to do so.
The Obama campaign will open a staff headquarters in Atlanta on Nov. 1 - just three months before the Feb. 5 presidential primary in Georgia.
Eureka Gilkey, who has served as deputy political director for the campaign, as Georgia state campaign director. Gilkey will be joined by Trista Allen, who served as Southern field director. Allen will serve as Georgia field director.
That’s all we know about this pair. Drop us a line if you have more info.
Gauging a campaign’s interest in a backfield state is always difficult - no one wants to wants to insult, but no one wants to overpromise, either. Obama’s campaign has always been fairly upfront about the fact that, to them, Georgia serves as an excellent source of manpower for its efforts in South Carolina.
Unless it’s changed in the last five minutes, South Carolina votes on Jan. 29. Georgia’s vote comes a week later, swamped by a bazillion other states.
Four personal candidate appearances in Georgia since February have given the Obama campaign a trove of 50,000 names for its database. Some are small-dollar contributors, some large ones. Just as important are the volunteers.
In a conference call, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said that — on one weekend in September, days after Obama’s last stop through Atlanta — about 400 supporters from Georgia were trucked into South Carolina for door-knocking.
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Comments
By Fran
October 10, 2007 4:04 PM | Link to this
You wanted info on Eureka Gilkey — here is the profile from the staff web page.
Eureka Gilkey,
National training director for EMILY’s List during the 2006 cycle. Deputy political director of NARAL Pro-Choice America during the 2004 election cycle. PAC coordinator at the AFL-CIO during the 2002 election cycle. Message and polling coordinator at the DNC. Gilkey has worked on several campaigns, including Diane E. Watson for Congress (CA-32) and Ron Kirk for U.S. Senate in Texas. First job out of college was political assistant at EMILY’s List. Graduate of Howard University. Texas native. [Note. As national training director for EMILY’s List, Gilkey collaborated with Obama’s Leadership PAC, Hopefund, to launch “Yes We Can” — a training program for young African American and Hispanic activists].
By Jo Ann White Thompson
October 10, 2007 5:29 PM | Link to this
How do you become a volunteer for the campaign….currently reside in Ga.
By Gwenola
October 10, 2007 5:50 PM | Link to this
I want to volunteer. Please put some info online.
I have my sleeves rolled and waiting.
By Jason
October 10, 2007 6:13 PM | Link to this
Where do I sign-up to help with the local efforts to elect Obama?
By TheTruth
October 10, 2007 6:25 PM | Link to this
Do you mean a “Georgia” office or a urban Atlanta Black Office? There is two different states you know. The State of Georgia and the Republic De Congo aka Atlanta.
By L.
October 10, 2007 6:29 PM | Link to this
That fool (Obama) does not stand a chance. I wonder what the state of Illinois thinks of him. He is barely in Washington doing his job. This loser will have a short-lived congressional career, just like the over-confident loser that falted before him…..Carol Mosely Braun. Illinois is quickly becoming the revolving door for diehard black Democrats. The Clintons in ‘08!!!!!!
By Justin
October 10, 2007 6:52 PM | Link to this
L it’s apparent that you are obviously ignorant. To call Obama or Carol Mosely Braun is a stupid insult. Although you he may not be your candidate, he has far more intellect in his cuff links then you have in your entire brain. I’m a Hillary supporter as well, but there is no need to harshly insult candidates. You are obviously White and I’m sure that the AJC will not remove your ignorant posting, because the type of venom you are spewing is exactly what they are looking for.
By Feb Moria
October 10, 2007 6:58 PM | Link to this
Home at Last! This is King’s land Go Barack
By sarah
October 10, 2007 7:09 PM | Link to this
GO BARACK! OBAMA 08!!!
By Bill
October 10, 2007 7:30 PM | Link to this
“the truth”, and “L” Whether you support Clinton or Edwards, or Newt Gingrich for that matter, put your opinions and prejudices aside and listen to Obama. We can certainly debate whether or not he is the best candidate, but he is certainly a breath of fresh air.
By L.
October 10, 2007 7:57 PM | Link to this
Venom = truth (and reality)
Obama is nothing more than just a rightist informant (a rat) trying to disrupt the Democrats from getting back in the White House after 8 years of misery. I am not stupid but I am realistic, and I think Barack is in over his head. He seems like a good candidate, but has yet to prove himself in the Senate. He knows that he is Congressionally inexperience, but that is more the better reason for the Republicans to feed the minority seals. I hope the minorities realize what we need in order to win, and not to attack the Clintons for the eight years of prosperity that was given to us, before the Bush Mafia came and nearly destroyed it. Honestly, Barack does not stand a chance, and that is why he is running because he is being paid (by the Republicans) to do so.
By Michael
October 11, 2007 11:30 AM | Link to this
Where will his office be located? Has that been announced yet?
By febpat
October 11, 2007 11:56 AM | Link to this
It’s great the Obama campaign is sending someone to Georgia. Did they ever think of hiring someone from Georgia. The two women may have political credentials—however, their knowledge of Georgia on a statewide level and the landscape of Georgia voters are limited or non-existent. Good luck to them.
By can'tsay
October 11, 2007 11:57 AM | Link to this
It’s great that the Obama campaign is sending someone to work their operation in Georgia. The two women mentioned have no connection with Georgians. Why didn’t they think about hiring someone that had knowledge about Georgia voters and Georgia politics statewide. The person that had the knowledge they didn’t want anymore. So, the campaign will start over and build with the folks that are not registered to vote and just like to come and hear Obama speak. I think Obama’s infrastructure within the campaign nationally needs to tighten up their act.
By Debbie
October 11, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this
Jo Ann, Gwenola and Jason, you can find all of that information on www.BarackObama.com along with any contact info you may need. I know that your support and help will be appreciated!
By ohiomeister
October 11, 2007 2:47 PM | Link to this
Sign up to volunteer for Barack Obama!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/gahome
By Will Jones
October 11, 2007 2:48 PM | Link to this
Leadership for America is about enthusiastically sharing an inspirational vision consistent with Our Mottoes and the Truth. Perversion, hypocrisy and lies shall never lead to anything but chaos, violence, and evil. The fraud from the White House has proven that.
As treason did 9/11 and Hillary, a Watergate Committee staffer, distinguising herself as nothing but a rubber-stamp (having never provided insights, admonition, or reproof concerning Nixon’s guilt in JFK’s assassination, Vietnam, Mena, Waco, NAFTA, Illegal Immigration, “Bush v. Gore,” WTC’s obvious controlled demolition) happily voted to go to war on the transparent lies and crime of the Bush faction, Obama’s less than cryptic allusion to the open concern of the vast majority of Americans gives cause for hope.
The following is an excerpt from a recent “Daily Show with Jon Stewart:”
Jon: …Has the insanity of this process sunk in on you yet?
Obama: You know, every day it reveals itself in new ways, and, you know, I think that’s part of what people are looking at our campaign to see, is just some normalcy and some common sense. You know, I was mentioning that we were preparing for the debate, and we had an 8:00 in the morning debate in Iowa —
Jon: This was like the 27th debate, for real.
Obama: — and it’s always a shock to the system when, Sunday morning, you wake up and you’re face-to-face with Mike Gravel. (Yes.) So, we’re preparing, and one of my staff said, “The thing you gotta understand is, this isn’t on the level. And I think that really strikes to what people are frustrated with in politics is that so much of what we talk about in politics, so much of what we say — it’s not true, people know it’s not true, all the insiders understand that we’re just game-playing, and in the mean time you’ve got these hugely serious problems which are true. [Emphasis added]
At this point, that’s good enough for me. Obama is alive and awake with possibility for healthy change.
The overt racist, fascist traitors who condone the crimes being committed by the Bush White House must be schooled after justice is done to Bush, Cheney, and their cabal.
Recognizing a problem is often a large part of the solution. Obama’s comment on “The Daily Show” suggests he at least knows we have an enormous problem. Hillary knows only her own ambition, sense of entitlement, and de facto cooperation, over the decades, with a faction easily seen, after Nazism, Vietnam, Watergate, IranContra, 9/11 and the Bushes’ war, to be the treasonous Fifth Column of that which Our Founder and Prophet Thomas Jefferson regarded as the real Anti-Christ.
Dr. King asked “Why are we friends with the landed gentry of Latin America?” in the context of his Jeffersonian explanation for why we should not be fighting and dying in Rome’s latifundial estate of Vietnam.
All patriotic Americans must now ask why we should elect to follow someone who shows the distinct inability to see the Beast within Our American House.
John Hanson, one of Maryland’s delegates to the Third Continental Congress - which issued the Declaration of American Independence, the first man to sign his name legally as “President of the United States,” was a Black man. We now have had the Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court illegally appoint a hypocritical homosexual draft-dodger to the presidency whose grandfather was, in fact, Hitler’s banker, and whose father provably participated in the assassination of John Kennedy to keep us in Vietnam.
It’s time for another Black man, Barack Obama, to be president here in The Promised Land.
By Teri Boothby
October 11, 2007 4:18 PM | Link to this
L. I guess I’m not very surprised that you only use an initial. You can’t honestly be serious about the Republicans paying Obama to run? I find it somewhat amusing how all of the Clinton supporters conviently forget ALL of the scandal and mistrust that Bill and Hillary brought to the Whitehouse. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Bill Clinton, but I am certainly not up to another 8 years of lies, lobbyists, and scandal via another Clinton Whitehouse. I’m even more amused wondering whoL considers minorities Barack continues to do a great job as the Illinois Senator. Maybe you all might benefit from reading some of the less than earth shaking legislation that your girl Hillary has come up with since becoming a Senator, then follow that up with learning about the legislation Barack has achieved as a State Senator, and now as a US Senator.
By seferm
October 11, 2007 5:27 PM | Link to this
A wise and smart thing to do is listen to each candidate’s message so as to make the right decision on election day. With the image of America at home and abroad, certainly a CHANGE of direction is highly needed. Who is qualified to do this job? Think and open your eyes. Your vote is crucial. Make the right decision, Make the right choice.
Seferm