Hi All,
 
I arrived in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Apr 10th, after flying all night on Wed. 
 
 
I worked for one day at the down Philadelphia main headquarters and then helped open up a new office in Northeast Philadelphia, and that is where I am assigned.  Northeast Philadelphia is receiving a lot of attention from the Clinton campaign.  There is a huge amount of support for Hillary here, and if we can win this area by 85%, then we will be alloted a couple of extra delegates.  The 85% is believed to be do-able.  Our main goal is to get out to the homes of every registered Democrat in Northeast Philadelphia, and so I have done a huge amount of canvassing and it is so fun. 
 
Yesterday I drove Teresa Kruson, a superdelegate, to a very small town called Mechanicsburg where she met up with the Chelsea Clinton entourage for an event.  It was so fun and the people in the town said they had never seen so many people out in the park at once.  We stayed there until after dark.  I drove myself back Philadelphia, but enjoyed hearing Chelsea speak.
 
Today I got up at 7 am and headed down to the Constitution Center where we set up for the pre-debate rally.  We had our signs everywhere and the Park Service would not allow us to attach them to the railings, so we had to stand and hold on the signs.  We had a large number of people and we stayed there until 8 pm.  At about 4 pm, the Obama people showed up and complained that we did not leave any room for them.  I was really unhappy because I figured they could have had some space if they had arrived there earlier.  The Park Service made us give up half of our staked out area to the Obama people.  I asked them if they also needed some pillows and could we get them some cool water while he hold their place for them.  I was being pretty sarcastic but I was sunburned by then from holding our rally spots all day.  It turned out okay, though, because they didn’t have the prime area, and they didn’t even have enough people to fill up their half.  It looked very sparse and their crowd was small.  We were five deep and overflowing into Independence and were loud and organized.  We had a tremendous turnout and Hillary was welcomed to a huge rally on her way in to the Constitution Center, and Obama couldn’t even see his people on his way in. 
 
Without trying to whine too much, the Obama people sure get a lot of special treatment.  I was protesting to one of the Nat Parks Police that they had made us take all tape and ties off our signs and hold them.  The Obama people came in and immediately duct taped all of their signs.  I went over to the Park Service and asked them to apply the rules fairly because they weren’t saying anything to the Obama people.  They were irritated at me and asked why I had to stand by the line between the Clinton and the Obama group.  I told him it was because I had a right to do that and I would appreciate fair treatment.  He told me to stop talking or he could arrest me.  I told him it seemed so ironic that he would order me to not talk while we were standing in front of the Constitution Center.  I guess I was a little sunburned and tired and a little hungry, but I backed off and moved forward.  It was a great day.
 
The media really enjoyed talking to the Obama people, but we did get some media time.  Not sure if any of you watched the debate, but it was amazing and Hillary came out way on top.
 
Hillary needs to win in Pennsylvania and she needs to win by more than 10 points.  She has a tremendous amount of support here, and the Clinton campaign is very well organized.  I think it is much better organized than Texas, but Texas is a lot bigger state so probably more difficult to organize.  I was so amazed at how much work they put into this pre-debate rally and how well it turned out.  It looked like a huge carpet of Hillary supporters and signs that could be seen all the way from Independence Hall to the Constitution Center.  Such a great feeling!
 
Tomorrow is a big day for canvassing and then setting up for Hillary to appear at the Mayfair Diner in NE Philly.  I’ll try to write a little something each night and let you know how it is going.  I know some of our other members on the meetup group are coming to Pennsylvania, and I’m sure they can provide a little on-the-ground.
 
I have seen a lot of the volunteers and staff who were in Texas.  In talking one evening, everyone agreed that being here on the ground gives you a sense of how well things are going, and things are feeling so fantastic here in Philadelphia.  And, the little town of Mechanicsburg sure loves Hillary.  The few Obama people there tried to break up the event with Chelsea by offering a free movie during the time Chelsea was going to speak.  As it turns out, Chelsea was a little late and nobody left the park to go see the movie. 
 
I am so tired out at the end of the day, and I feel soooooooo happy to be here.  All of your efforts at phone banking are invaluable and play a key role in getting this big win.  
 
I know I’m rambling, so I’ll stop here and try to get another update to you tomorrow.
 
Thanks everyone!  Go Hillary!!!!
 
Cathy Wittel

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