Hi--I'm Michael Riley from Potlatch, Idaho. Please vote for me to be an Idaho Obama delegate to the Democratic National convention.
I am running to become your voice at the National Democratic Party Convention as an Obama delegate representing Idaho. Here are a few reasons why I am strongly qualified to help share Idaho’s vision for positive change on a national stage.
As your delegate I will work diligently and effectively to:
• Continue a dialog that keeps Idaho relevant and strategically important—we were a key early constituency for Obama and need to continue to be an agent of change within our Party, our State, and our nation. I will keep the message that the Idaho lesson of organization, action, and a “small states, all states” strategy should continue to work if we get the support we need not just in election years, but also once we have changed the players and leveled the playing field.
• Help craft a Party platform that shares Idaho’s unique vision of Federal and State’s rights—Idahoans speak out with one voice against “No Child Left Behind” and “USA PATRIOT Act” violations of our Constitutional rights. The job set before us now is to build the coalition that invites all of the people who share this common belief into the Democratic Party, where they belong.
• Bring to the Convention the youthful enthusiasm and strong work ethic for social and political justice that has brought Barack Obama to the national stage so quickly and powerfully—we need to seize the energy and excitement of these times and work with all Americans regardless of political affiliation to fix the real problems that we face. I can communicate that passion, live that example of respect and tolerance toward others, and work tirelessly to bring our shared vision to reality.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
My family tree
My father's family is from Little Rock, Arkansas. Most of my uncles and aunts went to Central High School which was the site for the famous Little Rock Nine integration of schools. My father drove by one day and offered words of support to Daisy Bates. A police officer promptly knocked him out cold and jailed him for drunkenness and resisting arrest. Mrs. Bates called my mother to let her know what happened to my father. Click on the newspaper article from the Arkansas Gazette in 1960.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A little bit about me
I'm Michael Riley and I live in Potlatch, Idaho. I'm married and have two sons. I teach eighth grade English and Civics at Lincoln Middle School in Pullman, WA. In order to further the education of my students, I have participated in many experiential activities--as an interpretive historian for the Lewis and Clark/Corps of Discovery and as a willing participant to color my hair pink in the event that my 8th graders could raise enough food for the canned food drive at the local food bank (they won--see my hair above).
My mother is an immigrant from Vienna and met my father while he was a war correspondent in Europe. They settled in Little Rock, Arkansas, where my father was from and where I was born on the day LBJ was sworn in.
I earned a B.A. in English from Washington State University and rowed on the men's varsity rowing team. After graduation, I worked for Hawthorne Valley Farm in New York State and the Zinniker Family Farm in Wisconsin as a farm laborer. I also worked as a service worker for the Lindblad expeditions that went between Alaska and Baja.
My family currently lives in the town of Potlatch.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Breakfast for Obama at Ireland's Inn Cafe, Potlatch, ID--January 26, 2008
My wife and I hosted an event in the progressive hotbed of Potlatch, ID for Barack Obama. We created a group of "Fiddlers Ridge Residents for Obama" (ok, we were thinking _really_ locally...) and thought it might be good to have some kind of event to create some excitement about the upcoming Democratic Idaho caucus in early February. So we hosted a discussion breakfast at Ireland's Inn Café on Saturday, January 26, 2008 from 8-10 AM. This was one of only 3 Barack Obama events scheduled in a 100 mile radius of Potlatch prior to the Super Tuesday caucus.Our breakfast at Ireland's Inn Café was quite a success! We had 18 attendees. Because of local media coverage from Vera White's Friday column in the Moscow Pullman Daily News, we had many unexpected people show up. Matt Nappe, a field organizer for the Obama campaign, brought knowledge, information, and Obama goodies.
Shirley Ringo and her husband, John, came to the breakfast too. Shirley remarked with some surprise, "Are you ALL from the Potlatch area?" to which we all said yes (going to show there's more than the two of us out here). Steve Banks had told his friends from Troy and Genesee that he was going to the "Obama-rama" in Potlatch, and they laughed and said something like "have fun by yourself."
Many attendees came to find out more information about Senator Obama and reasons people supported him while others were there simply as supporters. A question posed by Rev. Larry Vieth from the Potlatch Lutheran and Presbyterian church got the conversation started.
Three Minute Speech on Super Tuesday for Senator Obama
This is the speech I gave at the Latah County Caucus for Senator Obama on Super Tuesday in February 2008:
My name is Michael Riley, and I want to speak to you about Senator Barack Obama and his message of change and hope. It’s not a message concerned with whether you’re White or Black, rich or poor, or even Democrat or Republican, but instead is about the future taking over from the past. For almost half of my life I’ve lived under the leadership of either a Bush or a Clinton. Twenty years of partisan politics have left our nation a “house divided”. I would like to welcome all Edwards and Clinton and undecided caucus-goers to come join us in supporting Barack Obama, and work with us to heal the divisions we have created in the past. Let’s all pledge to work for an America with stronger convictions, stronger leadership, and stronger ties between all who want to reach the high ideals our country was founded upon. Some people will say that’s the kind of change that we can’t achieve, but I’m here to tell you that together, yes we can!
Our nation is currently mired in a war in Iraq that we never should have started, and that our government seemingly has no resolve to end. I’m proud to support Barack Obama for President because he is the only candidate represented here tonight who spoke out courageously against going to war when we still could have avoided it. One of the founding ideals of our party is the promotion of peace and diplomacy over war, and yet Senator Obama didn’t just give those values lip service, he led us with his convictions, and he will lead us out of Iraq if elected.
Barack Obama is not just another politician, but a leader of the kind that comes around once in a generation. He is good for the Democratic Party, he’s good for our country, and he’s helping make the political process more accessible: millions of Americans are turning out to vote and caucus because they are starting to believe that change can be a reality. I can’t help but get excited about being a part of the process that allows Idaho to send the first African American President of the United States to the White House. That is no empty symbolism: that is real change that you and I can make happen.
The Bush Administration will end this year, and we will have a chance to heal the wounds of the last eight years. Our choices really do have the power to work positive changes, and this window of opportunity is open now. Please stand with me tonight for a man who will work to pass a universal health care plan for all Americans. Let’s choose a man who has a record of taking on the issue of lobbying reform and winning a cleaner government, and who will challenge us to join with him and govern our country together, an America that is once again “of, by, and for the people.” If you feel that you can get beyond the cynicism that tells you “no one can do all that”, please stand here with us in support of Barack Obama, knowing that with all of us working together, “yes we can!”
My name is Michael Riley, and I want to speak to you about Senator Barack Obama and his message of change and hope. It’s not a message concerned with whether you’re White or Black, rich or poor, or even Democrat or Republican, but instead is about the future taking over from the past. For almost half of my life I’ve lived under the leadership of either a Bush or a Clinton. Twenty years of partisan politics have left our nation a “house divided”. I would like to welcome all Edwards and Clinton and undecided caucus-goers to come join us in supporting Barack Obama, and work with us to heal the divisions we have created in the past. Let’s all pledge to work for an America with stronger convictions, stronger leadership, and stronger ties between all who want to reach the high ideals our country was founded upon. Some people will say that’s the kind of change that we can’t achieve, but I’m here to tell you that together, yes we can!
Our nation is currently mired in a war in Iraq that we never should have started, and that our government seemingly has no resolve to end. I’m proud to support Barack Obama for President because he is the only candidate represented here tonight who spoke out courageously against going to war when we still could have avoided it. One of the founding ideals of our party is the promotion of peace and diplomacy over war, and yet Senator Obama didn’t just give those values lip service, he led us with his convictions, and he will lead us out of Iraq if elected.
Barack Obama is not just another politician, but a leader of the kind that comes around once in a generation. He is good for the Democratic Party, he’s good for our country, and he’s helping make the political process more accessible: millions of Americans are turning out to vote and caucus because they are starting to believe that change can be a reality. I can’t help but get excited about being a part of the process that allows Idaho to send the first African American President of the United States to the White House. That is no empty symbolism: that is real change that you and I can make happen.
The Bush Administration will end this year, and we will have a chance to heal the wounds of the last eight years. Our choices really do have the power to work positive changes, and this window of opportunity is open now. Please stand with me tonight for a man who will work to pass a universal health care plan for all Americans. Let’s choose a man who has a record of taking on the issue of lobbying reform and winning a cleaner government, and who will challenge us to join with him and govern our country together, an America that is once again “of, by, and for the people.” If you feel that you can get beyond the cynicism that tells you “no one can do all that”, please stand here with us in support of Barack Obama, knowing that with all of us working together, “yes we can!”
Hello--I'm Michael Riley, and I'd like your vote to be an Idaho delegate for Barack Obama to the Democratic National Convention--Blooper
My name is Michael Rutledge Riley. I would like to be an Idaho delegate for Barack Obama to the Democratic National Convention.
Here's another video my kids like:
Here's another video my kids like:
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