Post Election News, Notes, and Thank Yous

[T Teeter]

I want to congratulate President-Elect Obama, Governor-Elect Nixon, and the local volunteers that helped make it happen.

We were blessed by the Obama campaign's decision to place a field office in Joplin. We had staffers from all over the country and local volunteers working our local towns, some of which had not been canvassed on behalf of a Democrat for generations. Going door-to-door and encouraging neighbor-to-neighbor conversations, they made some huge gains in SW Missouri. In both Jasper and Newton counties, 20% more people voted for Obama than Kerry just four years ago. Even though the Palinites went to the local polls in record numbers, enough Jasper and Newton county citizens voted for Obama to give him a 4 point increase as compared to Kerry in 2004. Progress.

We should also thank and support Dana Snodgrass, Kyle Snodgrass, and Retired Naval Commander Frederick Dalton for having the courage to "come out" and support Obama in local commercials produced by the TruthandHope.Org PAC. These commercials were viewed by 10,000s online and 1,000s more on local television. The TruthandHope.Org PAC raised over $50,000 for these ad spots, including generous donations from SSJD members. Thank you.

I also want to thank everyone for coming out to the Victory Watch Party. It was nice to experience history among friends. We had 150+ supporters at Sportsman's Park and our passionate crowd was well covered by live remotes from two local television stations. I sincerely think the local GOP is getting nervous. It's no longer a stretch for a local Democrat to win a county or state rep seat from the Joplin area. We need to work hard to fill a complete slate of qualified candidates in 2010 and beyond.

Please continue to stay active on the SSJD website and continue to invite friends and family to our growing social network (nearly 80 members). I also encourage the College Dems, the Jasper County Dems, and the Drinking Liberally group to post meetings and news onto the SSJD website.

Toby Teeter
Secret Society of Joplin Democrats
http://www.SSJD.org

[Bill Fleischaker]

As a Democrat who has worked in the trenches for 50+ years, I want to extend thanks to Toby for all of his time and generous contributions to our local effort. I missed being able to go to the celebration, but after getting up at 4:00 AM on Tuesday and depositions scheduled in Kansas City on Wednesday, I made a concession to age and stayed home. It is wonderful to have new blood and new enthusiasm locally. Hopefully, in two or four years, when the people of SW Missouri realize that we have not been sold out to terrorists, that Obama did not take the oath of office on the Quran, (which would not necessarily be a bad thing) and that small business is surviving and flourishing under an Obama administration, we may have a shot at putting a Democrat in Congress from the 7th District. I, for one, would encourage Toby to give it some thought.