Category: Barack Obama

U.Va.-GMU Poll Shows Tight Race for Virginia’s 13 Electoral Votes

A University of Virginia/George Mason University poll shows Mitt Romney with a slim 1 percentage point lead over President Barack Obama in Virginia.

The poll showed 46 percent of registered voters are supporting Mitt Romney with 45 percent supporting President Obama. The poll also found that 2 percent are still undecided and another 2 percent are backing another candidate. The poll surveyed 641 registered voters in Virginia and has a margin of error of plus or minus four.

In a statement, Thomas Guterbock provided more detailed information about the registered voters that were polled. Guterbock said, “Slightly less than three-quarters of the voters backing each candidate say their support is very strong, with a large majority of undecided voters unwilling to report leaning toward a particular candidate.”

Third party candidates such as Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein could have an affect on the final outcome.

Virginia has 13 Electoral College votes. President Obama won the state in the 2008. Mitt Romney hopes to turn the state red again. The state is very important to both men’s path to the all important 270 Electoral College number.

Obama Romney — Photo by | Dakota Cunningham C2M

President Obama Returns to Mason and Talks Women’s Issues

For the second time in less than a month President Barack Obama held a grassroots rally at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The President talked jobs and the economy, but spent a majority of his stump speech talking about women’s issues. He also debuted a new line of attack against Mitt Romney for his change in position on many issues especially women’s health issues.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Fi73Nz9Ozk4[/youtube]

President Obama’s full remarks:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/48BmtinOSl4[/youtube]

$181 Million Raised in September

Photo by | Stephen Kline/ Broadside

In an email to grassroots supporters on October 6, Campaign Manager Jim Messina announced the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised $181 million in the month of September.

Mr. Messina informed grassroots supporters that 1.8 million Americans had donated and the campaign surpassed 10 million donations in 2012. Also noted in his email was the number of new donors to the campaign. According to the campaign of the 1.8 million donations in September more than 567,000 were first time donors in 2012 and did not contribute in 2008. The average donation was $53, and 98 percent of the donations were $250 or less.

Septembers fundraising numbers are by far the highest seen this election cycle.

Student Reactions to the Obama rally at Mason

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEkXERxOYDY[/youtube]

Mason Votes caught up with a few students to hear their reactions and thoughts on the morning’s rally.

On Friday, October 5, President Barack Obama visited George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Speaking to a crowd of 1935, Consisting of Mason students, faculty and other supporters from the area, President Obama laid out his vision for America if he were to serve a second term.

GMU Student Sings at Obama Rally

Mason Students Line Up Early For Obama Tickets

President Obama Talks Jobs and the Economy at Mason

[youtube]http://youtu.be/qMo_ae1JnRI[/youtube]

Photo By: Stephen Kline/Broadside

President Barack Obama held a campaign Rally on Friday, October 5, at George Mason University. The event took place on Mason’s Fairfax campus at the Center for the Arts. The President spoke to a crowd of 1,935 students, faculty, staff, and other supporters from the Northern Virginia area.

Before the President spoke and made his own case for why he should be re-elected, former Virginia Governor and Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate Tim Kaine shared why he believed President Obama should be re-elected.

The President took the stage with good news on the jobs front. A few hours before speaking the U.S. Department of Labor released its monthly jobs report for September. The report showed the economy added 114,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropping to 7.8%.

The economy was the main focus of the Presidents speech. He also spoke directly to issues that have an impact on young people particularly college students. Issues such as college tuition cost, jobs, and healthcare.

Virginia is a swing state in this election cycle. President Obama won the state in 2008 and hopes he can pull off a repeat victory on November 6.

President Obama’s full remarks can be seen here:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/AxqQPg37OFw[/youtube]

President Obama Campaigns in Woodbridge

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey3nT8wxYGA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Cover photo by Dakota Cunningham

President Obama made a campaign stop in Woodbridge, Virginia this afternoon where he pitched his vision for the country over the next four years. He spoke to a crowd of 12,000 people (according to Lt. Dave Cooper, Fire Marshal for Prince William County) at G. Richard Pfitzner stadium home of minor league baseball team the Potomac Nationals. This campaign event marks his 42^nd stop in Virginia since taking office. In 2012 alone he has visited the Commonwealth 13 times.

Before taking the podium the supporters heard from a variety of speakers. Starting things off was George Mason University student Christine Gonzales who performed the national anthem. Following Christine was Jill Borak, a Woodbridge resident and member of OFA-Virginia. She told of the struggles and hardships she and her husband faced in the past. She explained to crowd how she believed the president’s policies helped her family through tough economic times. After Jill came Democratic Senator and former Governor of Virginia Mark Warner.

Senator Warner leveled some attacks at the Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney saying, “Romney’s plan is wrong for America”. He also made subtle reference to Mitt Romney’s controversial statement about the 47% of people who pay no federal income tax. He spoke about the progress he has seen during President Obama’s first term. Senator Warner praised the president for his commitment to the brave men and women serving in harms way overseas. He also praised him for keeping his promises to end the war in Iraq and beginning to end the war in Afghanistan. Warner’s most spirited remarks came when he spoke about the meaning of the 2008 election and the importance of this year’s.

President Obama took to the podium with loud cheers and energy from the crowd. He congratulated the Washington Nationals baseball team for bringing playoff baseball to Washington. He made a prediction that the World Series would be a White Sox versus Nationals affair.

The President moved right into the meat of his speech. He said this election is a “choice between two fundamentally different visions for the country”. He continued by criticizing Mr. Romney and Republicans of wanting to continue the practice of “trickle down economics”. The president also made mention of Mr. Romney’s statements about the 47% of Americans who pay no federal income tax saying, “I don’t believe we can get very far with a leader who writes off half the nation as a bunch of victims”.

President Obama said he offers a better plan for the future, one that is “Practical and focuses on creating jobs, growing the middle class, and rebuilding the economy on a stronger foundation”. He broke down his five point plan point by point. First he spoke about exporting more products and outsourcing fewer jobs. His second point focused on controlling more of America’s own energy. The third point focused on education and providing skills the American worker needs to compete in the 21^st century. The fourth point of the president’s plan was reducing the deficit. The fifth and final point focused on national security.

President Obama was victorious in Virginia four years ago. It has become a state his campaign has focused in on and looks to carry in 2012.

This is Shane Smith With Mason Votes reminding you to Be Aware, Get Educated, and VOTE!

You can see President Obama’s remarks in full below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2F9agmYgs&feature=g-upl[/youtube]

President Obama to Rally in Woodbridge on Friday

By Teddy Rose

Young Progressives Come Together

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCjjISpixq8[/youtube]

Apathetic, tuned out, disengaged; these are just a few adjectives often associated with the younger generation of Americans. Even as these adjectives persist there is a large group of young Americans who have taken the initiative to organize, mobilize, and make their voices heard. This group of young progressive Americans found themselves gathered together in Washington D.C. for the Campus Progress National Conference.

Campus Progress, part of the Center for American Progress, is a national organization that works with and for young people to promote progressive solutions to key political and social challenges. Attendees at the national conference had the opportunity to hear from policy makers and activist, network, and discuss the issues facing them as young Americans.

Speakers at this year’s conference came from many different backgrounds. Anne Johnson, Director of Campus Progress, politicians like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) California, Senator Dick Durbin (D) Illinois, and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Administration officials Jack Lew President Obama’s Chief of Staff and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis also spoke. Young activist like José Antonio Vargas founder of Define American and Zach Wahls who’s passionate speech to Iowa House of Representatives defending what he believed to be his lesbian mothers right to marry, stressed the importance of activism. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke about the importance of labor in America and the values that young progressives and American workers share.

The youth vote was a key constituency for President Obama during the 2008 campaign. He will again need the youth vote energized. The polls continue to show the race for the White House is close, but young progressives activity during this election could be the determining factor.