Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10-25-2006: Today with 13 days remaining John Kerry and his traveling band of staffers took the early continental flight out of Boston heading to the garden state to meet up with Sen. Bob Menendez. The early morning sun reflected off the bay as the full mini van headed to the airport.  JK was in high spirits as he passed around freshly acquired chocolate chip cookies.  We quickly grabbed our boarding passes and headed to our gate.

The fine TSA officers reminded me to take my laptop out of my bag and proceed through the checkpoint. One trick I have learned in my short time traveling throughout this country is to pack items that must be x-rayed on top of your other belongings.  It is a real help to the TSA and you are much less likely to spill your belongings all over the floor (I learned from experience). We arrived refreshed in Newark after a short hop on a 50 seat regional jet. I had a great seat, 2A at the very front of the aircraft.  (These are the seats that come along so rarely that I had to recount it to you here.) <!-more-> Andrew Gournardes, a great guy from Brooklyn, picked the group up and drove us down to the West Orange Fire Station. There we were met by West Orange Fire Department Chief Pete Smeraldo and local veterans who were there to lend support to Sen. Menendez and John Kerry.  Chief Smeraldo graciously gave us a quick tour and briefed Jk on the current situation at the firehouse.  Bob Menendez arrived shortly after and the democratic leaders met and talked for a few minutes.  While they talked I set up shop outside to catch some good stills.  I ran into an old Kerry headquarters staffer and we told some old war stories as we marked our space where press was setting up.

As soon as I had my camera on the two leaders made their way to the microphone set up in front of a red West Orange fire truck.  Bob Menendez spoke first and powerfully about the Iraq war.  He underlined the choice between his opponent who believes in a failed stay the course policy and his belief that a change in our Iraq policy is critical to our foreign policy future.  He went on to blast Kean Jr. by saying, “My opponent relies on so much empty rhetoric when talking about Iraq, sometimes I think we’re listening to George Bush.”

John Kerry thanked Bob for inviting him and thanked the crowd for voting for him in 2004.  JK expressed his gratitude for Senators like Bob Menedez who cast one of the 13 votes to set a 1 year deadline to transition out of Iraq.  ”He stood with me on the floor of the senate and I am proud to stand with him in New Jersey today. ”  Kerry asked the crowd to send Bob Menendez back to the Senate so he can continue to struggle against the current stay the course folly.  John Kerry ended his remarks with a example of what happens when voters make a choice based on name id alone. “I knew his dad and I liked his dad, and his dad has served this country well; but the last time people voted for somebody because they liked his dad, we got W.”

With that JK ended his remarks and went into the crowd to shake hands.  As soon as I had packed up all my stuff JK and Bob Menendez had moved inside to grab a picture with the Seaton Hall College Democrats.  It was good to see so many garden state residents making a difference and willing to stand up and make a difference this November!

Then we headed towards Connecticut to meet up with Ned Lamont—which (in the wacky way things work sometimes) has already been posted here.

Mahalo!

    -- Ted

 

[Editor’s Note: RevDeb who interviewed JK along with Charley from the MTA of BlueMassGroup posted a story today on dailykos that tells the other story that happened on Thursday. We asked if we could share it with all of you. It is crossposted on her own website, ProgressivePulpit, and on BlueMassGroup.]

Charley from the MTA, from BlueMassGroup (diary here) and I were asked to come and meet briefly with Sen. Kerry after a campaign event on Tuesday. The meeting itself has been reported on several blogs and commented on extensively. This is the story that the newspapers didn’t report. I don’t know about the TV news as I was no where near a TV Tuesday night. <!-more-> I arrived early and found myself in a packed auditorium. People were everywhere. Wheelchairs of all types, people with a multitude of disabilities and people with none. The faculty and staff at the Perkins School for the Blind were there. Personal Care Attendants were there. Members of SEIU were there. The crowd was electric. On stage was a trio of students playing violin, drums and accordian enthusiastically playing Stars and Stripes Forever, among other things to the great pleasure of the crowd. I watched from the front corner of the balcony where I stood as all the seats were filled.

I watched as a screen flashed in yellow letters on a blue background the words that were spoken almost as quickly as they were uttered. I saw no one typing them but I did see the laptop that was plugged into the projector. Two different women were on the stage to sign for the hearing impaired. I watched as two Personal Care Assistants in the front two rows were tactilely signed the entire program with both of their hands enfolded by the hands of their clients. I saw a myriad of devices used for communication, the kind of communication that most of us take for granted—spoken words.

This event was FOR the disability community. I felt like I was crashing someone else’s party in a way. But I also felt privileged to be there. The Perkins community gave me a gift of a glimpse into their lives. They didn’t know it, I was irrelevant to the event which was as it should be.

What I saw in the two politicians, Sen. Kerry, and soon-to-be Gov. Patrick was a connection, a deep connection with the people in this community. They both have been involved in one way or another with the Americans With Disabilities Act. They showed a compassionate understanding of the issues, the multiple issues, faced by the people they were surrounded by. They spoke briefly from the stage with no script, Deval only minimally referring to a list of issues on the podium next to him.

Then they went onto the floor and took questions. They engaged with people face to face, wherever that face happened to be, in a chair or standing. They listened. They answered what they could. They heard what they were there to hear. It was obvious to me that this was no ordinary campaign event. I heard Deval say some of the same things I have heard him say before, but it was different here.

This was not about the donors, the debate “issues,” the commercials, the necessary part of politics that wear away at candidates day after day. This was about listening, about paying attention to a community that needs the state and the government to be on their “team.” This was about politics in its truest sense as the “work of the people.” It was about hope. My estimation of both men kicked up a notch. I am glad I was given the gift of a glimpse of this world.

There is a reason that the motto of the Perkins School is “All We See is Possibility.”

Great news!

This morning, the johnkerry.com community will break our all-time email fundraising record for the year: in the last 48 hours, people on John Kerry’s email list have donated $900,000 to 4 Senate candidates in the most critical races in the country: Harold Ford, Jr. (TN), Jim Webb (VA), Claire McCaskill (MO), and Bob Menendez (NJ).

When we called John Kerry with the totals this morning, he sent along this message to thank everyone who’s pitching in to win back the Congress:

“You are incredible!  The story of what the johnkerry.com community has done over the last two years to win these mid term elections is one of best untold stories in politics.  You could’ve licked your wounds, you could’ve given up, but you kept fighting, you dug deeper, you got stronger — and now with it all on the line in the last 48 hours you contributed $900,000 to these must-win Senate races.  You’ve scared the hell out of Ken Mehlman and the Republicans!  Now it’s onwards.  Today I’m with Admiral Sestak and Patrick Murphy in Teresa’s home state of Pennsylvania, defending two veterans who will change the character of Congress.  Let’s go!”

Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10-25-2006: With 13 days remaining, John Kerry met up with Ned Lamont in Connecticut to speak out against the war and the Republicans’ failed “stay-the-course policy.” It was a great day for people craving for real leadership and a change of direction. Kerry and Lamont were clear about what our policy in Iraq should be:

Kerry: “No American soldier should give his life because squabbling Iraqi politicians fail to get their act together and settle their differences “

Lamont: “It’s time we brought the troops home and had the Iraqis stand up for themselves.”

Ned Lamont is a brave voice who will stand with John Kerry to change the direction of this country.

There’s video on the way—we’‘ll post an update here when it’s ready. There’s also the Lamont blog’s youtube of the event in the JK blog roundup here.

UPDATE: Video of the Lamont rally is now available. <!-more-> Enjoy the pics. Mahalo!

    -- Ted

 

JK has been captured by various bloggers during his travels yesterday and today. Here’s a roundup of the posts.

BlueMassGroup did an interview with him for which they’ve put up a podcast and a transcript (thanks to democrafty). Check it out!

Prosense covered it at DU aka Democratic Underground and Beachmom posted a diary over at dailykos about the interview as well. <!-more->




FireDogLake and NedLamont’s blog both covered his appearance in East Hartford, CT today with Ned Lamont. Jane Hamsher said in “>Stand Up Stuff From a Stand Up Guy>

Just wanted to put up a quick post thanking John Kerry for being pretty much the only major Democrat willing to be critical of Where’s The Dough Joe and stand up to his threats to leave the party, repeatedly insult Democrats and promote the Republican agenda.

[...] Not only did Kerry appear with Ned today at the town hall meeting, his staff called to confirm the appearance themselves. Nobody had to harangue Kerry to show up. And yesterday he took the time to meet with local Massachusetts bloggers, including our own RevDeb, and listen to their concerns. He’s also turned up and supported many progressive House candidates that the DCCC couldn’t be bothered with.

The NedLamont blog includes a youtube clip of JK speaking as well as some pictures. Check it out below (with a hattip to the NedLamont blog team and ttagaris)

Taylor Marsh and Pamela Leavey at The Democratic Daily both covered the announcement that JK and the senior senator from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy are donating $1 million to the DSCC and the DCCC as reported by the Boston Globe today:

The Massachusetts Democrats donated $500,000 apiece, half to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and half to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Each works on behalf of the party to elect members to the respective chambers.

[...]

“Sen. Kennedy believes that November 7th is a critical opportunity to reverse the damage done by the Bush Administration and put this country back on track,” said Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

Kerry spokesman David Wade added: “It’s crunch time and he’s going the extra mile with Sen. Kennedy to make sure Democrats have the chance to put America on the right track and reverse the radically wrong course these Republicans have taken our country.”

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the DCCC, heralded the donations.

“These contributions show that Democrats are united behind the idea of a new direction and will fight everyday to make sure that our candidates have the resources they need to win on November 7,” the Illinois Democrat said in a statement. “Both Senators Kennedy and Kerry have been tireless campaigners for House candidates and I join all of our Democratic challengers and incumbents in thanking them for their continued support.”

Kerry donated $1.015 million to the Senate committee in 2004 and also has previously given $500,000 to the House committee, while Kennedy had given $1 million to the Senate committee. Kennedy also has raised over $9 million for his fellow Democrats this cycle, while Kerry has raised over $11 million.

Update: Chris Bowers noted the contribution from the fine Massachusetts senators at mydd. Markos picked up the story a few hours later from Chris in this front page post at dailykos.

Update 2: Josh Marshall notes JK’s and Ted’s contribution with a note at TPM at 2:31 am.

  -- Prepared by the JK Blog team

Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10-24-2006: This afternoon John Kerry traveled to Medford City Hall to meet with Massachusetts mayors including Worcester Mayor and Lt. Governor candidate Tim Murray.

There was a small crowd gathered to greet JK and the mayors as they arrived. <!-more-> Medford Mayor Michael J. McGlynn had arranged a gathering of local mayors to discuss the pressing issues of crime and basic services which being under funded by the current Republican administrations in Washington and Beacon Hill. All of the Mayors have had to cut cops and firemen in the face of growing rates of methamphetamine use and crime because of tax-cuts for the wealthy.

John Kerry began the meeting by asking the mayors and state representatives, “When is the last time any of you met with the governor?” The answer was startling. Not one single mayor had had a meeting with Mitt Romney this year. The most recent meeting that was recounted took place two years ago.

To this JK asked, “How can you hope to govern this state if you haven’t met with anyone whose day-to-day job is governing the state’s cities?” They all agreed that we need a change in America, we need cops on the street and we need a democratic majority that will fully fund crime prevention!

After the meeting, we were off to our next event of the day.

Mahalo!

    -- Ted

Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10-24-2006: With 14 decisive days remaining, John Kerry traveled to his home state of Massachusetts. We arrived into Boston late at night and were met by a energetic and sharp dressed Jason Meinineger, who volunteered some time to drive us around in a indigo black Chrysler minivan.

In the morning John Kerry and his traveling staff (yours truly included) headed west to Watertown Mass to the Perkins School for the Blind. There JK met up with soon-to-be Governor Deval Patrick. The two Democratic leaders met out front and headed in together through the neo-gothic archway. <!-more-> The Perkins School happens to be Helen Keller’s alma mater, and its mission of educating Americans with disabilities continues to this day. Perkins students were in high spirits, shaking hands and taking hugs from JK and Deval Patrick. The whole gaggle of press, staff, and the two leaders headed down the hall to the president’s office to meet our kind host, the president of Perkins School, Steven Rothstein. In the President’s office, Rothstein briefed JK and Deval on the issues facing Perkins students and Perkins alums.

After the briefing, John Kerry, Deval Patrick, and President Rothstein walked down the long corridor to Dwight Hall. The hall was packed with students, alumni, friends and press. As John Kerry and Deval Patrick walked in the crowd erupted into applause. I captured JK’s remarks and they are well worth the viewing: check out the video on our multimedia page. JK was forceful in his remarks that all Americans have equal rights and should have equal opportunity to cast their votes. Perkins motto, “all we see is possibility,” was poignant and relevant to the day’s events. When Deval Patrick is elected as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, possibilities for change for our collective future will be readily possible.

After JK and Deval Patrick finished their remarks, the two men shook hands and posed for pictures with the students. We all had a great time, and if you’re a Massachusetts voter, let’s make sure Deval Patrick is elected this November!

And there’s more pictures from the Perkins visit here...

Mahalo!

    -- Ted

Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10/23/2006: The Tammy Duckworth campaign headquarters is located in Lombard, IL on Rohlwing Road. I could see the Duckworth signs from the corner as I pulled up to the door. The large open space was dominated by yard signs and field organizers pulling together canvassers getting ready to head out and knock on doors. Immediately upon entering the headquarters I was met by a nice volunteer who tried to recruit me for the data entry team. <!-more-> I arrived just in time to take the pulse of the campaign on the day of Tammy’s debate with Peter Roskam. David LeBreton was happy to help as I ate some delicious doughnuts and wandered around headquarters. I got Sandra Abrevaya to tell me why it is important to send Tammy Duckworth a fighting Dem to Washington on November 8th. Take a look at what she had to say and then check out Tammy’s site.

Things were hopping and I needed to hit the road to catch up with JK at a DNC Young Trailblazer’s event going on downtown.  As soon as I pulled up to my destination on Wacker Drive, JK and the traveling crew arrived right behind me.

Rafi Jafri greeted us and led the crew up to the 22nd floor where he introduced us to the gathered group of DNC Young Trailblazers. They had good taste in appetizers which I grabbed handfuls of and ate with great abandon (dinner). JK was all smiles as he took photos and gave out some hugs; Rafi then began the event by introducing John and setting the stage for this election.

JK crystallized this election in terms that anyone could understand. Too many lies have been told and too many lives have been lost for this country to continue the stay the course policy. He went on to say, “that this country needs young people to be involved whether that be volunteering, donating money, or getting voters to the polls. We have a chance to take back the house and the senate but only if we are willing to stand firm and fight for our beliefs.”

With that JK closed his remarks, I grabbed a few more appetizers and raced downstairs to get a good seat for the ride to the airport. Let’s get off the “stay the course” train which is an express train to failure. We need a new ticket and a new direction!

Mahalo everyone!

    -- Ted

Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10-24-2006: With 14 days remaining, JK met up with Deval Patrick, candidate for governor of Massachusetts, to speak at the famed Perkins School for the Blind (Helen Keller’s alma mater). John Kerry spoke at the historic Dwight Hall. JK and Deval spoke out about discrimination against people living with disabilities. <!-more->

After the speeches, JK and Deval Patrick spent time greeting the students and audience.

Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for a road report later….

Mahalo!

    -- Ted

   

Road Report from Ted Chiodo:

10-22-2006: With 15 days remaining, I arrived early in Chicago on Monday to visit two critical Congressional races in the burbs, Dan Seals and Tammy Duckworth.

Chicago traffic was heavy as I headed down towards the Edens and the Dan Seals for Congress campaign. I called Marianne Wood, a Dan Seals blogger with a heart and a keen sense of direction. The Dan Seals Campaign headquarters is located in Wilmette, IL – a 30 min drive north on I90-94. Unfortunately for me, I somehow found myself on I294 and had to call Marianne for extensive directions. I arrived to the Seals HQ at the corner of Green Bay Road and Wilmette Ave, a little behind schedule but in good spirits. <!-more-> The headquarters is in a really beautiful building with lots of refinished oak and craftsman-style trim. Marianne met me at the front door and led me through the din of staffers making calls and handing out yard signs to Campaign Manager Patrick Mogge. Pat is a great guy and in no time at all had me on the phone with Dan Seals.

Dan told me, “Voters in the 10th district want a courageous independent voice in Washington D.C. Someone who will fight for energy independence, the environment, transitioning out of Iraq, and providing our seniors with a working prescription drug plan.”

“These are the ideas I will fight for, and unlike my opponent, who votes 90% the party line, I will represent the values of my district, not the values of oil and drug companies.”

Dan is the man, ladies and gentlemen. Check out his ad on youtube and visit his website.

Look for my next report from the Duckworth HQ soon.

Mahalo!

    -- Ted

Credit: Seals campaign photo