I'm at ISU

and I've made 800 calls. Please people of Iowa, we have all worked so hard to win this. Go vote. It will make you feel big and strong.

Would it be best to organize on a town/city level or county level?

http://www.blogforiowa.com/about/ A progressive politics blog, strong against TPP at a quick glance. It's not huge, but it has been updated relatively recently, and any iowa-specific social media grassroots connection is worth it. We need all the ground level information we can get.

I won't be back in Iowa until the corn is knee-high (July), but I just wanted to open things up and say that I'm excited to join all of you on the campaign trail! I've never taken part in the caucus, but the more I learn, the more confused I am just how it works with delegates and districts, and I imagine I'm not alone. Does anyone have resources on how the democratic caucus process works?

Also, here's the Register's idea of the top 50 most powerful democrats in Iowa politics: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2014/12/14/wanted-democrats-iowa-caucuses/20369231/ Can we get a few on our side? Or how do we organize outside the Iowa Democratic power structure? Food for thought... peace!

(EDIT: I'll be in Urbandale.)

If you are going to be 18 by the general election but not by the caucuses, are you allowed to participate in the caucus?

As an Iowan, what are some things I can do to support Sanders? I would really like him to be president, but I don't know what I can do about it. I realize that I can vote and everything, but I don't understand how a caucus works or when it is. I'm currently registered under the Green Party. Would I need to change that to vote for Sanders in the caucus?

Fat Tuesday hosted a debate viewing last weekend. Would anyone be willing to be 'reddit responsible' and 'http://map.berniesanders.com/#zipcode=&distance=50&eventtype=LIVESTREAM&daterange=all-events&sort=distance'-responsible for that event? You would be helping out a small business by grabbing some cajun-style grub prior/during/after Bernie's Nationwide address.

Feel free to contact Maria via email [email protected]

So as I'm sure many are aware, western Iowa tends to vote conservatively, eastern Iowa tends to vote liberally, and central Iowa can be a toss-up, with Des Moines typically going blue. So, what do? As many are saying, the most effective course of action is going to be convincing Clinton supporters to vote for Bernie, as well as targeting students and other groups who aren't already leaning one way or the other. I figure targeting conservative voters won't be super effective, and it's basically a moot point until the primaries are over anyway.

So, any suggestions? There was a thread posted earlier about what level we all want to organize at, but are there any thoughts about this geographic divide we're dealing with? Is it worth concentrating entirely on the area between Des Moines and the Mississippi and trying to flip Clinton supporters, or do we want to try and hit every population center in the state, starting early? Discuss.

This HAS to be sent to every field office in Iowa. (I'd call them, but unfortunately I lost my voice over 5 1/2 years ago, so I have to type this.) If the following is applied to the end of every Sanders pitch in every caucus in the state, I truly believe this will bring enough voters over to Bernie to win the Iowa Caucuses:

"Back in 2008, as Obama had just won Iowa by single digits & the polls in New Hampshire showed him with a sizable boost to his lead there, New Hampshire voters ultimately voted for Clinton. Why? Because they didn't want the nominating process to be over & done with so quickly after it officially started. They wanted to give Hillary a chance to make her case alongside Obama. That fateful decision resulted in a months-long, coast-to-coast campaign that allowed the Democrats to organize & mobilize the entire nation to vote, not just in the nominating process, but for the general election in November, & the results spoke for themselves. Now in 2016, the pundits are creating a consensus that if Sanders can't win Iowa AND New Hampshire, then the race is over before it even begins. Look at this country today & tell me all you want to hear for the next several months are endless Republican debates--if you want to call them debates--with Donald Trump on every channel in between while Hillary just sits back, watches the fireworks on TV with the occasional jab here & there, but otherwise staying out of the news because it's safer & cheaper? We would be letting the Republicans, especially the Donald, dictate the campaign, right down to every dirty, nasty line of garbage spewed forth from every mouth on both sides ending up all over every voter's TV & computer, turning them completely off the election, sinking turnout just like in 2014, & handing victory to the GOP. We, as Democrats can show them how a contest is supposed to be run, how a real set of debates ON THE ISSUES, that aren't hidden from public view like before thanks to the DNC, makes us the better choice, regardless of who comes out on top. This country desperately needs some grown-ups in control who have some idea how to take this country in a better direction. Their debates & campaign rallies will make for cartoonish reality TV & ridiculous sideshows next to our serious, if spirited, informative debates & campaigns WHERE THE VOTERS LIVE, actually bringing discussions ON THE ISSUES right into their communities. It is THAT contrast that the country needs to see, not just on TV, but right in their own backyards, that will organize & mobilize this nation to our side in the general election this fall."

Yeah, I know. It's probably long, but if the Sanders campaign got a hold of this, it could convince not just every uncommitted & available O'Malley supporter, but it might even get a few Clinton supporters to come along as well, not because they want Sanders, but because they believe that, at the very least, the long nominating process will be an asset to whomever wins the nomination, even if they prefer Hillary & think she'll win anyway. Look, I'll be honest. There's no way I'll vote for Hillary in the fall, anymore than I would vote for any Republican or Bloomberg--there has to be a price for selling this country out--but if that picture I sketched is properly painted by the precinct captains in every caucus, I really believe it'll change just enough minds to give Bernie the victory in Iowa. Please, send this message along to the Sanders campaign in Iowa any way you can. Make sure to tell them to send it up the chain of command so it has a better chance of being distributed statewide. Oh, & a few contrasts on the electability argument: "Wrong Track on the Direction-of-the-County polls rates consistently in the 60s while Obama's Job Approval ratings are consistently in the 40s. No matter how we all feel about Obama, running on his record in the general election is guaranteed to lose. The people are hungry for change. Big change." On gun control: "How is Clinton supposed to beat the NRA without pulling out from under them the one thing that gives them total dominance on the issue of guns: the money they flood into campaign coffers? Who's gonna fight to take the money out of politics? Bernie. Not Clinton."

(P.S. I posted on the O'Malley subreddit about Clinton's plans to screw over their supporters. We'll need their help as well on that particular front if Bernie's gonna win Iowa.)