South Florida Obama HQ Draws Republicans, Jews, Hillaryites

Proud Republican for Obama Celebrates South Florida Headquarters Opening

On his extended-cab truck's bumper is a sticker you don't often see in these parts: Republicans for Obama. But Dan Moss, who lives in Lake Worth, came to the opening celebration of Barack Obama's South Florida office here in Delray Beach on Sept. 10 and happily mingled with more than 450 other supporters. He said he felt welcomed and was hopeful Obama would be the next president of the United States.

Moss' personal epiphany wasn't based on disappointment over the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq, outrage over Guantanamo torture, threatened civil liberties or job losses, although he freely acknowledges all those failures. His transformation came literally by seeing in Obama the qualities he cherished in his dear friend, Greg, a lifer Marine who died on April 11, 2006 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. He was only 44 years old.

Greg and Dan loved George Bush and Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly. "I voted for Bush twice. As long-standing conservative Republicans, we would take no ills from the likes of the left," he said. So what happened?

Moss, who takes no stock in soft-touch spiritualism, said that he heard the voice (and saw the face) of his friend Greg in Barack Obama. "I heard your voice coming from the television, Greg," he recalled. "Your welcoming smile, your truthful and sincere eyes. Greg, this guy could be your twin, a little on the skinny side, but I'm not just talking about looks, although he is a mutt like you, half-black and half-white."

Moss thought it was ridiculous so he looked away and tried to forget all about it, not wanting to identify with a "liberal Democrat." A year later, when Obama announced running for the presidency, Moss listened. Then he checked out Obama's web site. Despite voting for McCain in the Florida primary, Moss was slowly won over.

Finally, he realized that what seemed a spooky experience was just a journey back to the beloved American ideals Greg and he shared, that "Semper Fi" feeling that needs no explanation. "It's not the voice or the smile or because he reminded me of my friend. I began to really listen and like this guy. What is true are the goals we share, the prosperity we desire, the dreams we strive to achieve, the success we wish for our children, the health we bestow on our planet, the peace we crave for our world neighborhood, the health and well being every human deserves, the freedom to express and be heard, and the hope that ignites our souls."

That's why Moss now says, "United we stand and united we heal." He believes Greg is smiling down on him, saying, "Yes we can."

South Florida's Jews Not Fooled by Lieberman

Burt Richards was working the mic, corralling people to have their photos taken with the stand-up photo cut out of Barack Obama. A long time theatre critic for local press in South Florida, Richards is also a long-time Democratic volunteer. Did he think Joe Lieberman's appeal for John McCain, based largely on national security and support for Israel would make Jewish voters in Palm Beach County vote Republican?

"Lieberman's a cheat. He's only done this because he thought he'd get the number two spot on McCain's ticket. First he cheated the Democrats, then he cheated the Independents. Any president we elect will support Israel, an important ally in the Middle East. Even Bush, and it's why Obama went to Israel, to show that he would, too."

Gil Cohen, the head of the Boynton Beach Democratic Club had a swift answer to the same question, "No! We know he's pro-Israel. In our meetings we've spent time debunking a lot of those stupid rumors, like 'he's a Muslim.' It's a political ploy and this sort of thing has been going on for as long as I can remember, and I pre-date Methuselah! Sorry, a little Jewish humor... but Jews in Florida don't believe that anymore, if they ever did. We're convinced he's the right choice for president."

The Pigstick Smear Won't Work and Hillaryites are On Board

Linda Max of Delray Beach is worried about her children's future and none to impressed about the McCain campaign's attempt to smear Obama with trying to teach kindergartners wild sex. "It saddens me to hear these distortions. I want knowledge, so I've decided to get involved in politics again. I consider myself non-partisan and I listen to both sides. I watched both conventions and thought Obama was intelligent and inspirational. Sorry to say I thought McCain came across as snippy, although I did enjoy Sarah Palin's speech, but she brought things up that weren't germane. Although I like John McCain and deeply admire his service, I have a son who might get drafted if there is ever a draft again. So I'm here."

Gina Maniscalco and Kathleen Miller both favored Hillary Clinton. Gina, a lifelong Democrat never got involved in campaigns. But she's upset over the "Lipstick Smear" and the overall lack of substantive discussion coming from the Republican side. "They are making this out to be about personalities rather than issues of importance." And she sees the media as stoking the fires of silly controversy. "They're just another corporation looking for profits from campaign ads and talking heads yammering about gossip. Meanwhile, we've got a badly run war, an economy in real trouble, a loss of civil liberties and a troubled environment." She's certain that Sarah Palin won't drain Hillary votes. "It's just such a new thing for Republicans to have a woman on the ticket. How exciting for them; Democrats already did that. But Palin's anti-choice, anti-environment and knows next to nothing about the economy. Just being a Soccer Mom isn't enough to be vice president. Gender doesn't trump what you stand for."

Miller said it's the "urgency" of this race that captivates her. "This could be our last chance to save our country."

Sign Up Central

Wyatt Rockefeller is Deputy Regional Field Director for Palm Beach County, the Democratic Party's Campaign for Change. He was working hard during the opening celebration, organizing the efforts of phone bankers, voter registration volunteers and canvassers. "A lot of people have signed up to help make our dream a reality. All of us here are very happy to see so many people come out. More than 600 registered online to be here and this is just great."

Palm Beach County (along with Broward County) are Blue counties in a Red State thatso far appears up for grabs this year.

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Hillaryite image is of Obama supporters Kathleen Miller and Gina Maniscalco

Comments

[dayala]

wow..great stories!

[stepintothelight]

That's all you need to do .... Listen!!!

[blaqntelligence]

I'm a volunteer here in Atlanta and see the same thing every day.
I work around the corner from the transit station and volunteered to register voters. On my lunch hour and breaks, I take my clip board and sign up as many as I can. People give me hugs, high fives, Obama buttons. Talking to and registering a group of people is not unusual.
But these are not the stories we hear about....Instead we hear about lipsticked pigs and pitbulls; we hear challenges to join the game of Stump-The-Candidate as though this is a bizarre version of "Deal Or No Deal"; We hear "I'll be ready on January 20 because, well, I have that readiness"
While the economy goes down in flames, Iraq goes up in flames.
Ignore the msm, they are a joke.
Grab a clip board, a stack of registration forms, and everyone you see.
Get folks registered to vote and make these bull**** issues irrelevant.

[dRwOOD]

Bring it home Florida, bring it home!!!

[Beka13]

It seems all of our hard work in Florida is paying off!

[toochie50]

Poor A l e c k i
you have been bamboozled

[AmericasMostGangsta]

One man alone can't do anything of the magnitude of bringing back this country. Nor can a small group of men or women working together. It will take millions. It will take motivation and inspiration. John McCain/Sarah Palin/Lindsey Graham/Phil Gramm/Joe Lieberman???? Please, stop insulting me. I'm beginning to take it personally and hold a grudge.

[CtJean]

By the way, where is Lieberman?

Out to pasture? or just sulking somewhere?

As long as we don't have to see/hear him, it's ok with me.

[SpoxLogic]

Yeah, where is he. Remember pre-Palin? HE was always at McCain's side. Now...?

[simkmer]

Great Stories! Three Cheers for Americans!!!
Smart Americans vote for Smart Politicians.
SMART Obama / Biden = SMART GOVERNMENT!

[likeicare]

My family in FL says Obama's suport there is badly under-estimated.

That should make his victory all the more sweeter.

NoMama!! GoBama!!

[ihatefoxnews08]

Now that's country first! Thinking about everyone and not just yourself. Good story really uplifting. :)

[RGray]

Nice to hear about intelligent, reasonable, honest, generous, good people for a change. Thank you.

[keepacoolhead]

I know it is hard to switch party affiliations but all of us who think critically and care about OUR COUNTRY and where it's going have the courage to make that difficult choice.

I'll be the first one to admit that Obama/Biden are far from perfect but they are the best and brightest with a vision that I have not seen in the McCain/Palin camp. Everyone who wants to keep vote Republican never seems to know the issues but just hopes that John McCain will MAGICALLY be better even though they are using the same people as Bush/Cheney. I am almost worried that Palin, because of her real lack of knowledge about the issues could even turn out as a shill for Cheney. And God forbid, something would happen to John McCain we might have a true puppet government.

[Tommygun264]

To all those who would dismiss the optimism and idealism portrayed in this article as naive fluff, I would encourage you to go down to your local Obama/Biden campaign office and then go to your local McCain/Palin office and judge for yourselves.

[qxav949]

I love our country and I pray to God that, when all is said and done, we all can unite under an Obama presidency and fix our country. Yes we can, yes we will.

[JerseyGirl4Obama]

I loved the article and the real people stories. Obama has inspired so many across this land with his message of hope. Yes, We Can and Yes, we will.

Obama-Biden on November 4th.