We received a nice shot in the arm in the form of a significant contribution from REM's Michael Stipe! Today I purchased network airtime in Missouri, Ohio & Nevada for our 'Local Voices' project. There's still time to do more. With our ads trafficked, I've confirmed that I can ad time with each station tomorrow or even Monday morning & wire the funds, so the opportunity to give the last impression to those undecideds is still there in these crucial states.
Other than that update, I'm going to repost my text & video from yesterday. The diary has nearly made the rec list the last 3 days (with updates each day) & details the impact we're having in a real way in Missouri, also with a note from Lee Hirsch to all of us about said impact. Naturally I want a rec list diary for financial support (big surprise) but I really want to share the stories from on the ground in Missouri, so you'll know the impact we're having & the opportunity for this community to support Dana Snodgrass & the other "local voices" like I know you will when you hear the story, especially since this site gave us a boost from the start & our first ad was from a Kos diarist.
So, without further delay (I just read the comments on yesterday's diary & am taking the "URGENT" suggestion from a commentor for the title):
I want to share what is happening to Dana Snodgrass & what he is enduring from the GOP hate machine in Joplin, Missouri after he shared his story of why he is supporting Obama for one of our "Local Voices" TV ads:
A news article about our work in Missouri appeared on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Joplin Globe, as well as it's online arm. The article features Dana Snodgrass, which was the first ad we aired in this series. Some of the choice comments on the Globe's website are:
Joe Momma writes:
I care about the middle class. I am neither bitter or clinging to my guns and religion. Its about the Second Amendment and going to church on Sunday. My ten dollars an hour may not go far but it still speaks volumes. I'll be taking my car else where for repairs. And Dana, your not fooling this Joe Momma with that farm. Read my lips: Farm Tax Credits!!!!
David writes:
Oldman, you are crazy! Just wait, when and if he does get in office, you will be shafted just like the rest of the people. He is just like Hitler when he started out! It is a shame that there are so many non Americans like you in this world! VOTE NO Obama!
Buhmiester writes:
Now that I know about Dana's "secret"... I guess I'll take my car to Steve's Frame & Body next time.
Additionally, local talk radio station KZRG has been attacking Mr. Snodgrass all day & even set up a hate blog dedicated to Dana's ad.
Why all the outrage? Because the ads work. Dana shared with Lee Hirsch that Republicans had been coming up to him & sharing that they were on the fence, but after seeing his ad are voting for Obama! We have them on the run in Missouri, they want to scare us off the air, but this is the time that we redouble our efforts & show our support for the people who have courageously shared their stories with the 'Local Voices' team.
Dana sent an email to Lee Hirsch detailing what he has been going through on the negative side, but also the positive support he is receiving from around the country & in his community. His email is further proof these ads make a real difference & that we're changing things:
Lee,
The response to your video has been excellent. I just wanted to let you know that we struck a nerve with a lot of people. A good friend of mine, and an architect in Joplin, came by to see me after seeing the commercial and just wanted to let me know that he's always voted republican, but enough is enough and he's finally decided to vote for Barack because he's tired of the lies and deception. Some people have called my business and said that I was crazy for making a statement publically about politics when I own my own business, but they admired my courage. This morning, I had a phone call from a prominent Joplin businessman who just wanted to let me know that he really admired me and that I wasn't standing alone, and that there were other people who felt like I did, but were too big of cowards, just like him, to stand up and say something. He encouraged me to keep up the good work. Another customer of mine that I've known for several years, who is a Joplin Historian, called to let me know that I wasn't alone and he also knew a lot of people who supported me and felt the way I do, but were too afraid to say anything. He tried to encourage me to run for state office, but I told him...."maybe Mayor of Joplin", but he told me that I was way ahead of that. Early this morning, an elderly lady called me, my dad took the message and said I was busy. She said that it really wasn't about business. She called back later in the afternoon, and when I answered the phone, she wanted to know if I was the man who made the Obama commercial. I jokingly told her that it depended on whether she was an "Obama girl" or a "McCain girl". She said that she was 86 years old, but neither. Her comment to me was "Do you really want to see a Muslim in the White House?" I said, "What makes you think he's a Muslim?" She said "She had been listening to Shawn Hannity and he said he was, and other shows had also said that." I told her that "you don't always wanna believe everything that you hear and that I had researched it also, and found out that he's a Christian." She then informed me that her "boyfriend was 91 years old and from Alabama and that there were people down there that wouldn't vote for him, and that he (her boyfriend) had white sheets and a cross that he still had in his garage." I said "you wouldn't be just a little bit racist are you?" She just said that "there's just a lot of people that feel that way down there." Yesterday, I went to the farm to get a hay rake and stopped by a small convenience store, outside of Carthage, MO, and the lady cashier had a stack of newspapers at the front counter and I was on the front page. She said "are you that guy on the paper," and I said "yeah, that's me." I asked her if she had seen the video and she said that she hadn't. Then I asked her if she would be offended by my comment about the $10 an hour wages in Missouri being shameful. She said "she would be tickled to death to make 10 dollars an hour, because she was only making $6.75 an hour." She was a divorced woman making a payment on a house trailer and making a rent payment on the trailer lot and there wasn't any money left at the end of the month for any extras. She said that "she was definitely voting for change." Another one of my hay customers, who's a doctor in town, said that he saw my commercial and that I was a celebrity. I jokingly told him" I know you're a republican, you make way too much money. I probably just lost a good customer." He said that "he doesn't care about that stuff and I had nothing to worry about." He told me that "he liked the commercial and he'd always voted republican, but may have to change his way of thinking." On the negative side, a local radio news talk station, 1310 AM KZRG, really spun my comments trying to make it sound like I was degrading people for making $10 an hour. All of those comments can be read on their website, www.1310kzrg.com. My brother was driving to work and heard the morning broadcast of this show, and a lady called in and was really slamming me and saying that I didn't have any moral values. My daughter received a phone call from a male caller this afternoon telling her to let me know that I was a "fucking liar who's doing nothing but going around and spreading more lies and that he knew of at least 50 different people who will never bring their car to you sons of bitches again," and then hung up on her. There have also been several negative comments on the Joplin Globe website about my commercial, but on the positive side, I had 2 customers in the waiting room of my business, one waiting for an alignment, the other was picking up his car. The one who was picking up his car was telling me how he saw my commercial. The other customer heard us talking and told me quietly that he was going to go door to door in his neighborhood hanging Obama information on the doors, but with the neighborhood he was living in he was afraid for people to find out that he was voting for Obama. I told him that I was proud of him. Another man called me from Pearidge, AR. He said that he wanted me to know that he saw my story online and that there were a lot of people in Arkansas who were supporting me and to keep up the good work and that I wasn't alone. So as you can see, it's been a busy day. I just wanted to let you know how effective the commercial has been. Thanks for all that you do, and have done! I'll call ya if I need bail money!
Dana
Here is a message sent from Lee Hirsch for all of us who have helped make this possible:
With 6 days left, we know from past elections that we cannot sit back for a minute - The only feeling I can equate this moment too is the run-up to Nelson Mandela being elected the president of a newly free South Africa . This email is to share and ask your support for the pro-Obama commercials I have been making that are designed to reach undecideds in critical cities in three key swing states. This entire campaign, produced through an all volunteer effort from over 100 people, through, authenticity integrity and location based messaging is now making waves nationwide. If you do nothing else, please watch them so you know what I have been up to....
Just over three weeks ago I began this project. I blasted everyone about it and many of you have helped to make this happen! I am writing no so that you can see the outcome and appeal to you to help us make our goal of being able to air all these on network TV where it counts! - We have 60 thousand left to raise and 2 days to do it in. We are now receiving over 8 thousand per day thanks to everyone's efforts and Arianna Huffington mentioning it in her blog this weekend. Notably - we got an unexpected donation of five thousand (the max we can receive) from Michael Stipe and REM today. But truth be told it is small contributions that have brought us to where we are. One ad costs 44 dollars to run, and I am asking each of you to please give at least that. You can even specify which ad and which state! With your help we will be over the top! So here's what local voices has done -
The Impact
In one week of running Local Voices ads in Joplin, a city of 50,000 in southwest Missouri, a coalition came together within the city: they call themselves The Secret Society of Joplin Democrats. They have pledged that for every negative call or email response to a Local Voices ad, they'll match it with dollars to run the ad again, meeting intimidation with action. This has brought major media attention, thousands of local dollars and on Sunday the front page of the Joplin Globe (the daily that circulates in more than 90 communities in 14 counties) ran a 4 page cover story on Local Voices - and this is just the beginning! There is a dark side to this and Dana Snodgrass who is featured in the first ad & has received threats & hate mail, late night phone calls, calls for boycotts of his small business and so on - Yet the community is rallying around Dana, red and blue and as I type this, the story is going national!
Read more on our blog.
Dana & all of the Local Voices participants have taken a courageous stand for Obama, while living in small towns in Red America. Joplin is a town of 49,000 & heavily GOP. Sharing his story for Obama threatens his business & livelihood. I'm hoping some people on this list live near, or know others who live near Joplin & can send Dana some support for his business. Also, if you wish to send supportive comments along I will gather them for Dana so he knows that he is not alone & that his story is touching people all over the country. Lastly, I would encourage any positive comments you wish to make on the Joplin Globe site.
So now it comes to this: We're in the final days to get these ads on the air. I can buy network airtime through Friday (UPDATE: now Monday) for our ads in Missouri, Ohio & Nevada. We need your support. The GOP hatemongers want to scare us off, let's turn their hate into hope now by airing these ads even more!
Visit the dedicated Local Voices site to see all of our ads in this series. Share this work with anyone you know. These ads work, there is still time to help us turn Missouri, Ohio & Nevada blue! Visit TruthandHope.org to see all of our projects.
For some more good news, read & rec this wonderful interview with Alicia Dwyer who directed the Ohio 'Local Voices' ads today on Laist.
Please give us 3 DIGGS:
DIGG the interview with Alicia
DIGG the Joplin Globe article
DIGG this post!
Here are some of the ads in the series:
Dana Snodgrass of Joplin, MO:
Barclay Hastings of Columbus, OH:
Sandy Austin is a Native American woman living with her son on the Paiute-Shoshone Reservation outside Fallon Nevada:
**If you're interested in buying one of Sandy's Obama bracelets, email me at eugene at truthandhope dot org for her contact details.
Darrell Hanschen of Jackson, MO talking about healthcare:
Darrell again talking about Race:
Thank you for all of your help to date. On the 4th we celebrate, on the 5th we rest. For now, please help us get these ads on the air, they will make a difference!
Thank you for all that you do,
Eugene Hedlund
Founder/Chair
TruthandHope.Org PAC