Big Breaking Update! Make $10 Into $20 By Supporting Marriage Equality In Maine!

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

So, the Dog very rarely posts on the same issue in the same week, but this is a kind of breaking and important news, so please forgive the old hound as he breaks his own rules. As you may know, the great State of Maine has passed marriage equality for its gay citizens. This is a very, very big deal as it is the first State to do so without litigation as the basis of the action by the legislature. Mainers, being the good small d democrats they are also have what is known as a citizens veto provision. If you live in Maine and can get the signatures, you can get a vote to override action by the legislature. This is what is happening now in Maine. The Anti’s (the theocratic forces who don’t think all citizens should have equal rights to marry) have gotten the signatures and are trying to override the legislature.

“Originally posted at Squarestate.net”

Update: You People Rock! We have already raised the 10,000 required to get the matching 10,000 from our anonymous donor. He is so impressed that he has agreed to match everything up to 20,000 raised by midnight EST Friday. We are already at 16,098 right now, so we only have to raise 3,902 in the next 11 hours!

So, if you have not donated, here is you very last chance to make you money count twice as much towards full civil rights for all citizens!

This is a big deal. So far in this fight there has not been a single time where the voters have sided with the ideals of the Framers that all of us are equal and should have equal rights before the law. The Anti’s have used fear and out of state money to place bigotry ahead of equality in many states and they are trying to do so in Maine. As of the last campaign finance reporting, the Yes on One (the Anti’s campaign) had raised $350,000. Of that money only $400 of it was from four, count them, four instate donors. This is the kind of money we are up against, but there is some good news!

There is an anonymous donor who has made a challenge grant. If we can raise $10,000 by the end of Friday, he or she will match that money. This is a really significant chunk of change, so of course we want to be able to access it! Now on Tuesday the Dog told you all he wanted you ten bucks. It is not that much money, and of course if you have the means to donate more, then by all means please do so. But right now you have that opportunity for that Tenner to become Twenty! Just follow this link to the page and donate. You will not miss those ten bucks and you will be able to say you stood up for full civil rights for all citizens. When we win this thing (yeah, the Dog is laying down a marker that we are going to win) then you will be able to point to it and say “I was part of that!”

One of the reasons the No on 1 campaign needs this money now is they have learned the hard lessons of the Prop 8 fight. The money for Prop 8 came in too late, it did not turn into TV adds soon enough, it did not translate to on the ground field operations soon enough, and it allowed the Anti’s to get ahead and stay ahead until it was too late. By raising money now, the No on 1 campaign will be able to make TV buys, to put the people on the ground and continue to attract big donors, so don’t think your money is not going to make a difference!

This is an advertisement which is going up on TV in Maine today. It is from a 403c partner, but it is the kind of thing which we want to blanket the airwaves with.

Now, there is something else to talk about. The No on 1 campaign need feet on the ground if they are going to win this fight. We all know getting in touch with people on a one to one face to face basis is a big part of what persuades people. To this end the No on 1 campaign is doing what they call a Volenteer Vacation program. Here is how it works. Folks sign up for a week long trip to Maine in October. You have to provide your travel expenses there, local travel (like a car) and your food. The campaign has lodging at volunteers houses for you. You would arrive on Saturday. On Sunday you would get a briefing and training in the door to door they are doing. On Monday and for the rest of the week you would be working side by side with the field organizers, to get out and activate the basic common decency of the people of Maine. On Saturday night you will debrief and then leave on Sunday.

Now, what’s in it for you, other than work? Well several things. First off, and we should not discount this at all, you will be in Maine in the fall you will be able to see all that fabulous foliage which New England is so famous for. Here are a couple of examples.

Second, if you are want to be an activist, if electoral politics is something you think you would really like to know and be part of, this is what it is all about. The training and experience you will get will let you expand your skills in this area. Working with the team on the ground you will be able learn this set of skills in the only real way, by doing it.

Finally there is the satisfaction you will get when we face down the forces of intolerance at the ballot box. Many of us are too young to remember the Civil Rights movement. This is our time to make history. In 25 years when marriage equity is the common and accepted thing, you will be able to say “I was part of this fight. I went and campaigned and talked so that all citizens would be treated equally, regardless of their sexual orientation”. Being able to claim a piece of American history for your own is something beyond value.

If you are interested in doing this, it is going to take some planning. The first week is October 4th through the 11th. You can get more info on this program by following this link.

It is now up to you. Any contribution you can make and make today is really critical. Do that now! Here is the link again, No on 1 campaign. Also start thinking if taking an activist vacation to Maine is for you, it will be an experience like no other and it will give you life long bragging rights.

The floor is yours.