Obama: Off the hook

Dear Arnaldo:

Our records show that you are now located in California's 30th congressional district.

I know you've gotten a lot of messages from us recently, and everyone here at OFA headquarters is pretty tired. But the last reports of calls and commitments are just coming in from events on the West Coast, and I wanted to share the news with you.

As you know, we set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to in a single day by OFA supporters and allied organizations. By 2:30 p.m., you had crushed it. So, we gulped and said let's go for 200,000, not knowing what would happen. But the calls just kept pouring in -- keeping phones ringing off the hook in congressional offices in D.C. and your representatives' district offices around the country.

Then, OFA supporters gathered in over 1,000 living rooms and community centers from Macon, Georgia to Missoula, Montana. You called hundreds of thousands of key voters in your community and got them to agree to call Congress and speak out for reform, too. President Obama joined in at a call party in New York -- and he had some amazing words of support for the folks like you who make this movement possible.I'm looking at the numbers, and with almost all of the reports now in, the tally wasn't 200,000 calls placed or pledged -- it was 315,023. You did it.

Take a moment to watch the President's inspiring words to OFA volunteers on this incredible day.

Your voice was overwhelming -- with reports in the media of congressional offices "completely crushed with calls." CBS News described your effort as an "onslaught." And a congressional aide was quoted with a common response, saying their office was deluged by "pretty much non-stop health care calls from OFA."You set a new OFA record, you caught the national media's attention, and you certainly put Congress on notice. But you know that's not what really matters.

The message I sent earlier talked about a woman, Jenny U., whose insurance company cut off her coverage because they decided her kidney donation to her sick daughter counted as a "pre-existing condition." What really matters is that today you brought America one giant, irreversible step closer to being a place where no one will ever have to suffer that kind of injustice again. That's what all the messages, late nights, and phone calls ultimately add up to.

It's what makes everything we do together worthwhile -- and it's why we'll keep fighting together until the job is done.

Watch President Obama's special message to you from a call party in New York:http://my.barackobama.com/TTDreport

Thank you, so much, for being part of the team.

Sincerely,
Mitch Stewart
Director - Organizing for America

P.S. -- Here are just a few stories from "Time to Deliver" events across the country:
This evening I and three other volunteers got together and made calls. As I was calling, one of the women I spoke with told me that she was inspired by my story -- shared in the email earlier that day -- to get her entire family to call Congress. She didn't know it was me on the phone, but she said she just couldn't stop saying "this isn't right" when she heard my story. It gave me so much hope -- during the evening we made 213 calls and got 64 commitments to call tomorrow.-Jenny U., Missouri VolunteerSeeing the tally go up, hearing voter after voter agree to call, and listening to the real excitement people have about finally fixing this broken system, I was reminded why we do this. Each of us can only give so much -- but when we all do it together, we move mountains. Health insurance reform, here we come.-Sean Knox, California New Media DirectorI want to recognize the folks in this room -- and folks watching online -- who are helping us to do exactly that. And I want to thank all the Organizing for America volunteers for making calls, knocking on doors, and keeping up the fight. You know why this is so important. ... We are nearing the finish line -- and with your help, we're going to cross it. -President Barack Obama