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Thanks for stopping in. The press release below was timed to go out on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. It provides some information about the people connected with VirginiaForObama.com. We are Grassroots Maximized-Obama Energized with no official connection to the Obama campaign. If you would like to get involved in the Virginia Obama Campaign, please contact
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, state grassroots coordinator. You may also contact
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or
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.
Feel free to sign up on this site so you do not miss any important updates or events as the momentum continues to build. The Virginia Obama Headquarters information is on the right side of our home page. To find Field Offices, click on the link from the homepage or click here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Warner for President PAC Folds-Endorses Obama
January 02, 2008--Draft Mark Warner, the federal political action committee established to promote former Virginia Governor Mark Warner for President in 2008, has filed papers with the Federal Election Committee to disolve the PAC.
Gov. Warner's decision to not run for president in 2008 caught the group by surprise however, the organization is delighted about his decision to run for the senate seat being vacated by U.S. Senator John Warner.
When Gov. Warner opted out of the presidential race, the Draft group had a national organization operating at the state and congressional district level in thirty-nine states. The PAC was profiled in author David Meerman Scott's latest book "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" in July 07.
On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the PAC leadership announces its support for U.S. Senator Barack Obama.
Eddie Ratliff, founder of the Draft Warner PAC said "When Gov. Warner bowed out, we made a decision to take our time evaluating all the presidential candidates. After careful consideration, we concluded that Barack Obama embodies real hope and change, comes without baggage and is best suited to lead this nation."
The Draft Warner group has launched a new website to build support for Senator Obama leading up to the Virginia primary on February 12th. Former PAC leaders from more than a dozen states are actively working to elect Barack Obama President of the United States.
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Conservative writer and political commentator-analyst Steve Maloney had this to say of the Draft Warner effort: "This week I'm doing one of my "business book summaries" for an Illinois-based company that I've worked for on-and-off (mostly on) since 1991. The book is David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly. The book is outstanding, and it should be of value to anyone interested in selling anything from ideas and political causes to products and services. Over the next seven days or so, I mention points that Scott makes about creating grass-roots marketing.
I'll be combining information from the books and my own experience to talk about political coalition-building. Prior to Adam Brickley's Draft Sarah Palin effort -- one that shows signs of being fabulously successful -- the most important online "draft" effort was one focusing on former Virginia Govenor Mark Warner, who apparently is going to run for John Warner's (no relationship) Senate seat and is currently a heavy favorite to win.
The individual who ran the Warner effort was someone you've never heard of: Eddie Ratliff. In several years of blogging and building support for Warner, Ratliff met the Governor only briefly on a few occasions. As is true with the Palin effort, the Governor had no direct influence on the blog effort to get him drafted as the Democratic nominee for President. (Late in 2006, Warner announced he would not be running for President -- an announcement he never would ever have had to make (if it hadn't been for the efforts of Eddie Ratliff and a few friends.)
The Draft Warner movement came to an end on October 12, 2006, and the main web site has been silent since then. However, anyone who wants to learn about how to leverage his or her political clout should go to that blog. If you look to the left on the site, you'll notice the various elements of the campaign as it unfolded, including the use of Yahoo! groups and Meetups. The link is at: http://draftmarkwarner.com/
From 2004 until 2006, as Ratliff conducted his effort, mentions of Warner occurred in 10,000 blogs."
END--- Steve has a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester (English and American Literature). He taught for 10 years at various educational institutions (Univ. of Rochester, my alma mater, College of William and Mary, and University of Georgia, where he was also Asst. Ed. of the Georgia Review. Later, he worked as a speechwriter and "thinker" at various large companies, including Phillips Petroleum, Gulf Oil, Aetna, Merck (consultant), and Eli Lilly (consultant), among many others. He is a full-time writer and political commentator/analyst. Some of the top Draft Mark Warner (DMW) and Young Americans for Warner (YAFW) organizers across the country are
Fired Up-Ready to Go for Barack Obama!
Steve Deak, DMW Co-founder, Georgia
Terry Frye, DMW Treasurer, Virginia
Mike Smith, DMW Spokesperson, Virginia
Marshall Spevak, National Chair (YAFW) now Syracuse University Students for Obama Coordinator
Dama Nestor, DMW WV State Director Steve Gorlick, DMW Commentary Writer, NY Eric Davis, DMW State Director, Illinois
Frank Clark, DMW State Director, Montana
Mark Reza, DMW State Director, Arizona
Andrew Bates, Chair, NC YAFW, now Chair, NC Students for Obama
Ellen L. Hemmendinger, Co-Chair, DMW Arizona
Mike Plenty, DMW Pennsylvania Congressional District Coordinator
Geoffrey Roche, DMW Pennsylvania Congressional District Coordinator
Ryan McNelis, DMW State Director, Connecticut Jon Berkon, YAFW, Massachusetts
Jennifer Hamilton, DMW Graphic Designer, Kansas
Gillian McHale, YAFW Congressional Coordinator, Pennsylvania
Eddy Foster, YAFW Congressional Coordinator, Pennsylvania
Join the effort in Virginia!
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supporters Allan & Laura Blanks have
written a beautiful song to inspire you to believe that Change Will Come. Robert C. Roulhac, Jr. sings “Change We Can Believe.” (Recorded at Architects Recording Studio). 
