"We're not looking for a fight. That will come later, when we have an army."

You know, I got some flak the other day about my new yard sign above, with comments from folks made nervous by the "Shot on sight" threat. "They just want to knock on your door and talk to you."

No, they don't. Read this story and I'll have some comment at the end.

Obama volunteers hunt budget support in Birmingham, Alabama grassroots campaign

Birmingham News
Sunday, March 22, 2009

ANNA VELASCO, News staff writer

Volunteers fanned out across the Birmingham area and Alabama Saturday to pump up enthusiasm for President Barack Obama's budget proposal in much the same way they did to win over voters during the presidential campaign.

About 30 volunteers in Birmingham canvassed shopping areas and other high-traffic locations to talk about the need for health care reform, an education overhaul and environmentally friendly energy development.

"If we don't change these three things in the next 10 to 15 years, America is over as we know it," Chris DeHaven, told the group of volunteers before they went their separate ways.

Obama's plan faces criticism from Republicans and others who say it's too expensive. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report Friday saying Obama's agenda would cause huge budget deficits, forcing the country to borrow $9.3 trillion in the next decade.

Those who gathered at Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham were urged to enlist others who share Obama's vision and to stay away from trying to convert naysayers.
"We're looking for supporters," said DeHaven of Hoover, one of the event's organizers. "We're not looking for a fight. That will come later, when we have an army."

The volunteers are part of Organizing for America, the same grassroots, national network credited in large part with Obama's quick rise from obscurity to president. Birmingham and 11 other sites statewide were part of a national push this weekend by Organizing for America to trumpet Obama's spending proposal.

Across the metro area, volunteers gave their opinions about why Obama's plan is good for the country's future. Then they asked those willing to sign a pledge of support for the budget. Supporters' e-mail addresses and other contact information were collected, to keep people engaged and to recruit more volunteers.

Leanne Townsend of Hoover also helped organize Saturday's event. She has been a member of the Obama grassroots network since March 2007.

"Our group in Birmingham has been very involved," Townsend said. "We're still very energetic. We all worked so hard during the campaign. We can't just stop."

OK, do we have the important facts?

Townsend says: "We can't just stop."

DeHaven says: "We're not looking for a fight. That will come later, when we have an army."

Anybody here still think my sign is out of line?


LATER NOTE: Courtesy of The Huffington Post, we have this address for Birmingham Blockleiter Chris Dehaven, who donated $943 to Barack Obama $943. He resides at 3072 Whispering Pines Circle, in Hoover, Alabama, 35226. Source: http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Dehaven&fname=Chris

Drop him a friendly note, if you like, telling him just how much fun you will have with his fellow little collectivist stooges when they come to your door. No threats, now. These are poor, impressionable "useful idiots." Heck, they probably don't even own a firearm. They might shoot themselves, don't ya know?

These kids grew up to be Blockleiters too. And Gestapomen. And concentration camp guards. And, eventually, most of them, dead and buried in shallow graves amidst the ruins of their country. THAT is the wages of collectivism, Mr. DeHaven.