(Cross-posted at Ditch Crazy Dana and Obama OC)

History was made again yesterday. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Huntington Beach once again for the Fourth of July Parade. And once again, the OC Democrats had a fantastic time being a part of the largest Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River. And the party didn’t stop when the parade ended, as local activists pitched up tent by the pier to wake up the neighbors, and let them know about the importance of next year’s election. All in all, we all had a great time!

Follow me after the flip as I take you on a tour of the biggest and best party one could be at on the Fourth of July!

For twenty-five years, the Democratic Party of Orange County has been a part of the parade. And every year, we continue to delight the crowds with our rockin’ music and jubilant marchers. This year’s theme of our float was “Opportunity, Diversity, & Freedom”, and boy could everyone see all that and more yesterday! We had young Democrats and long-time Democrats who are still young at heart. We had gay Democrats and straight Democrats. We had black Democrats, brown Democrats, and white Democrats. We had Democrats supporting Barack Obama, Democrats supporting John Edwards, Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton, and Democrats supporting other Democratic Candidates for President. And what brought all us Democrats together yesterday was that we’re all part of the Democratic Party of Orange County, and that we all stand for the right of working families in Orange County to have that opportunity to succeed.

So who was there yesterday? Here I am (left to right) with our newest OC Democrat Mitch Star, the one & only Mike Lawson of The Liberal OC, and Elizabeth and Jason of Orange County Young Democrats (OCYD).

Here I am with (left to right) Garden Grove City Council Candidate Paul Lucas, Mitch, and Mike.

Here’s Former State Senator & Current California Medical Association CEO Joe Dunn with some young Democrats as they prepare for the moment of truth.

Here I am with the great Vern Nelson, the fearless Orange County organizer for Healthcare for All California.

And here’s the float in action!

Now all these great Democrats were a part of the parade, but they weren’t the only Democrats busy in Surf City! Obama OC laid out some blankets on the beach by the pier, put up a canopy, and got to work registering new voters and letting others in the ‘hood know about Barack Obama and the 2008 Election. We had over 30 new registrations yesterday, including a Republican and a Green who switched to Democrat because they’ve been inspired by Obama. And of course, we had dozens more come on over to our beach party, just to talk to us about the election and show their appreciation of us being out in the community.

OK, so a few of us Obama Girls did manage to get in the parade! ; )

And here’s our great booth!

Oh yeah, and could we have possibly held a beach party at a better location than this? : )

Yep, I’d say that yesterday was a huge success for OC Democrats! At the parade, we let the community know that we’re 454,000 voters strong and we’re making a difference for working families in this county. At the beach party, Obama OC showed the folks by the pier that there are progressives who care enough about changing the same old politics of despair and destruction that we get out in the community and let them know that hope is still here. Now what could be more American than this?

Perhaps a terrific fireworks show? What the heck, why not! ; )

Mmmm, mmm, yummy! Today is the day… FOR THE TUSTIN STREET FAIR AND CHILI COOKOFF! Come to charming Old Town Tustin, eat some delicious chili, and enjoy the live entertainment. Oh yes, and visit our Obama OC booth! We’ll be registering new voters and telling folks about what’s happening locally with Barack Obama’s campaign. Please feel free to drop by and say hi! : )

So come on over and find us on El Camino Real. And if you have any friends who need to registered to vote, bring them over as well! What better way to make a difference and be a force for positive change on lazy June Sunday than to eat chili and get people ready for the election? : )

Check out Obama OC’s web site for more on how you can get involved in the Barack Obama campaign here in Orange County! : )

Were you inspired by what Barack Obama had to say to Democrats in San Diego last month? Have you been amazed by all the grassroots energy behind the Obama campaign in California? Are you captivated by the Illinois Senator and what he’s accomplished? And would you now like to get involved?

Well, if you’re in Orange County, there are plenty of opportunities coming up for you to get involved! Follow me after the flip for all the details…

Tonight at 7:00 PM, we’ll be having our Obama OC Countywide Volunteer Meeting. We’ll be talking about what we can do here in OC to spread Barack Obama’s message of hope, action, and change. And of course, we’ll be talking about upcoming actions such as the “Walk for Change” canvasses!

So what can we expect on these canvass walks? Here’s how the folks at Obama for America explain it:

Think of a canvass as a neighborhood walk. Canvasses happen when a group of people get together and go door to door to homes and apartments in a selected neighborhood to spread the message about Barack Obama.

Movements are created one person, one house at a time. One or two individuals can canvass an entire neighborhood and build real support for our campaign to change America.

Your goal in the canvass is to make personal connections with other people who might not know as much about Barack Obama. You are the face of the campaign in your community.

So do you want to be the face of the Obama campaign in your community? Do you want to talk to your neighbors about this different kind of campaign? Would you like to make connections with other people in your area who may not know very much about Barack Obama? Well, then June 9 is your chance to walk for change!

Well, before you get out and walk for change, please check out these events coming up!

Beach Cities for Obama Planning Meeting on June 2 at 12:00 PM in Huntington Beach

New Hampshire Debate Watching Party on June 3 at 6:00 PM in Huntington Beach

Walk for Change Training on June 6 at 7:00 PM in Orange

And here are some of the many Walk for Change events happening in Orange County:

Santa Ana at 9:30 AM

Orange at 12:00 PM

Huntington Beach at 12:00 PM

Los Alamitos at 10:00 AM

Fullerton at 12:00 PM

Irvine at 11:00 AM

Laguna Beach at 12:00 PM

Lake Forest at 11:00 AM

Laguna Niguel at 9:00 AM

So are you ready to get out and make some change?! : )

(Cross-posted at The Obama OC Grassroots Blog : ) – promoted by atdleft)

OK, so just found out about what happened at the Day of Climate Action in Huntington Beach yesterday. Well, the marchers weren’t the only ones in HB to talk about climate change. Obama OC Grassroots also made its presence known at the pier yesterday as local grassroots activists registered new voters, talked about the many challenges facing us regarding climate change, and how Barack Obama is ready to lead on finding real solutions.

Follow me after the flip to find out more about what happened after the rally…
And, of course, for more pictures! ; )

As the rally was getting started at Pier Plaza, the Obama Grassroots team was setting up a table. And as soon as the march began, Team Obama stayed at the pier to register voters and answer any questions about Barack Obama, the grassroots campaign in Orange County, and what he plans to do about climate change should he be elected as our 44th President. Even though the gloomy clouds were beginning to roll in from the Pacific, it was all smiles for Team Obama!

We had a couple of people come up to the table to fill out voter registration forms. Whether or not they had made their decision yet on Obama, we wanted to give them a chance to engage in the democratic process. Now we had plenty more people come up to the table to ask us about where Obama stands on the issues. They wanted to know about how Obama plans to tackle climate change, meet America’s future energy needs, clean up all the corruption in government, and end the Iraq War. We answered all their questions as best as we could, and most were quite surprised to learn about all that Obama has done on these issues. It never ceases to amaze me how people come to like and respect Obama once they learn about all that he’s actually done on all these issues.

We were all pleasantly surprised to hear from local progressives who are as wowed about Obama and all is accomplishments as we were. Of course, we were also surprised to hear from previously apathetic folks who are suddenly excited about politics and the state of the nation again because of Barack Obama and his message of hope, action, and change. And yes, we were heart-warmed to see local environmentalists smile in delight once we showed them that Obama is not just providing rhetoric about climate change, our energy future, and the state of our planet…
He’s actually doing something about it now!

Perhaps this is what I like most about our Obama OC Grassroots team, and about Senator Barack Obama. It’s not about empty rhetoric, but it is about real action. It’s not about wishful thinking, but it is about real hope for real change. : )

Remember when I told you about that Obama OC community gathering in Laguna Niguel on Saturday? Well, I went there… And I found out that in the supposedly “Solid Republican Territory” of South Orange County, there was plenty of interest in joining the local grassroots campaign for Barack Obama!

Follow me after the flip to enjoy some more photos from Saturday’s big event…

Orange County leaders Zinnia Menardi and Renee Schwan are always more than happy to answer your questions about what you can do to help Obama in OC.

South County Leader Giovanni Jorquera talks about what’s happening with the campaign in South County. Zinnia then talks about what it means to be a part of Obama’s grassroots campaign in Orange County. I guess it means writing letters to The OC Register, and planning for the next antiwar rally, and registering new voters at the community colleges… Basically, the grassroots campaign is each of us doing what we do best to reach out to the community and get them involved in this election.

South County leader Sandie Weathers gets the projector ready for the feature presentation…

And here it is! : )

OK, so you may have missed this meeting on Saturday…
No worries! Go onto our new web site, and scroll down to the bottom of the page to join our mailing list so that you can find out about all of our future events!

OK, so perhaps you’re somewhere else in California, and you want to know how to get involved in Obama’s campaign. Well, here ‘ya go! Go onto My.BarackObama.com to find out how this campaign is ALL ABOUT YOU, and WHAT YOU CAN DO TO TAKE BACK OUR NATION from the far right and their politics of personal enrichment and global domination. Go ahead and check it out… Don’t let us OC folks be the only ones having fun with this! : )