Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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Annie Beaman, a 23-year-old native of Madison County, Iowa, had not been very invested in politics before the 2008 race for the presidency. She had voted dutifully each November but not out of any real love for the candidates running. “I never felt excited about a candidate’s potential. I’ve always focused on whether they could win,” she said Sunday in a phone interview. But now her tune has changed. “This time, I’m still worried that whoever gets the nomination might not win, but I think Barack Obama is so exciting that he could really change things if he gets the nomination and wins,” she said. “That’s unlike all the other prospects that are running for president.”
Her enthusiasm for Obama’s candidacy moved Beaman to donate money to his campaign—the first time she has ever donated to a political campaign. Currently an employee of the Des Moines Public Library (though she’ll soon begin law school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison), Beaman wanted to give more but didn’t have the resources. “I was trying to think of some way to use my skills and the limited amount of time I have to enrich my ability to support him,” she said. So she turned to her talents as an artist and with the help of the internet—the social networking site Facebook and the Obama campaign’s own online resources for supporters—she embarked on a creative fund-raising effort for Obama, designed specifically to attract young people.
In Beaman’s fund-raising operation, she uses spray paint and stencils to makes t-shirts with pro-Obama slogans. Obama supporters can then go to the personal fund-raising page Beaman has created and make a donation to Obama, which signals to Beaman that an order has been made and that another shirt needs to be shipped off. The t-shirts can be custom made, but Beaman provides several sample shirts: several say “fresh” or “fresh ideas” next to a picture of Obama’s head; others say “GObama” while another has tree branches coming out of Obama’s head to symbolize his grass-roots support.
Beaman said she has found that “a lot of people who aren’t that invested in politics have become really excited and really care [about Obama’s candidacy]." She said she thought “freshness” was a motto that would resonate with his supporters. “I think that’s part of why people are excited about him,” she said. “Whether or not that’s true, there’s a perception about him, maybe partly because he’s young but he hasn’t been in Washington for a long time, and I know a lot of people like that.” Beaman said she thinks the t-shirts appeal to people who have been brought into politics by Obama, as well as particularly to young people who like wearing unique clothes.
Beaman began selling shirts to family members and friends but quickly realized she could reach a wider audience by creating a Facebook group called Support Barack Obama, look cool while you do it! Facebook is the immensely popular social networking site originally developed for college students but now open to everyone. “There are so many people that I know on Facebook. I thought it would be easier to invite everybody,” she said. “I can reach so many more people that way.” The Facebook group allows members to receive messages from Beaman and see the different shirts she has made. Since she formed the group about two weeks ago, almost 40 people have joined, which while not gigantic, is respectable and would garner at least $400 for the Obama campaign.(Shirts cost $10, but additional donations are suggested and have been given, according to Beaman). Beaman also said the personal fund-raising page she created on the Obama website was helpful. “The Obama website made it really easy, too. All these tools to do fund-raising or plan events…” she said. “I can just give people a link.”
Beaman has already raised more than $300, she said, and though she doubted whether that kind of money would “make a real difference,” she said she was happy to do something she loves and to be a part of the Obama campaign. “It’s really satisfying to me to give friends and other people t-shirts. I like to spray paint and do stencil,” Beaman said. “And I was thinking, if everyone could just do what they like to do for the cause that they want to support… I think that things would work really well that way.”
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