If you want to go see Barack Obama speak on the last night of the Democratic National Convention, you’ll have to agree to be the guinea pig for his first exercise in forced volunteerism:
Some of those hoping to wrangle a seat for Barack Obama’s speech were told this week they have to put in six hours of volunteer work for his campaign by Friday to have a shot at a ticket.
And that ruffled at least a few feathers.
“My whole reason why I’m so mad about it is because Democrats need to act like Democrats,” said Heather Kreider, a working mother from Centennial.
“Democrats work for a living, and they have to work and take care of their families. And they say these are open to those in the community, so they shouldn’t ask people to drop everything in their lives for this,” Kreider said Tuesday.
“It’s not fair. It’s elitist. And they need to practice what they’re preaching,” she added,
Doing the volunteer work only makes someone eligible for a ticket and doesn’t guarantee one, according to the phone message from the campaign.
(…)
People asked to volunteer are those in line for “all star” tickets that will put them closer to the stage and are being contacted first, said Stephanie Mueller, campaign spokeswoman. Applicants who didn’t offer to volunteer will be contacted later this week, she said.
But Kreider said she is certain she didn’t hit the “volunteer” box on the online application.
Still, Kreider got a message telling her that she had to do six hours of volunteer work by Friday if she wanted a chance at a ticket. Kreider said she will not do the work.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “Now it’s pure principal. I was a Hillary Clinton supporter, and this is literally my first touch with the Obama campaign. And it’s just disappointing.”
You come on now, you can’t tell me you’re surprised.
After all, Michelle told us months ago that Barack Obama would require us to work.
Welcome to Obama Nation, my friends.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Heather must really be a moron. This is PRECISELY “Democrats acting like Democrats.”