- A small group of Obama supporters helped the president win re-election in Iowa
- Democrats have struggled to maintain grassroots enthusiasm since 2012
- Democrats interested in 2016 campaigns have already courted Obamadale organizers
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- For a small band of supercharged Democratic organizers, the pleasant Des Moines neighborhood of Beaverdale goes by another name: Obamadale.
The moniker was bestowed three years ago by a motley crew of Democrats who first met as strangers over martinis at a local restaurant in the early days of President Obama's re-election bid, brought together under the aegis of the "neighborhood team" model that defined the campaign's bottom-up volunteer structure.
Led by Kimberley Boggus, a bubbly 33-year-old nursing student, and Sam Reno, a 42-year-old no-nonsense construction crew supervisor, the platoon of volunteers eventually managed to turn out more than 700 Democrats to their local caucus precinct on a chilly January night in 2012 -- and that was for an uncontested race overwhelmingly won by Obama. By November, in another show of force, "we turned out 87 percent of the Democratic voters in Beaverdale," Boggus recalled with evident pride.
After the campaign, Obama's behemoth political organization became Organizing For Action (OFA), but the group has struggled to maintain a coherent identity outside the president's campaigns.
Obamadale, meanwhile, is a small, volunteer-run operation that learned their techniques from Obama campaign officials but has survived and flourished well past the president's re-election fight. Like a political sleeper cell, it is boosting candidates in city council and school board races and playing a key role in this year's closely-watched Iowa Senate race between Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst.
Today, the tightly-knit group of about 20 organizers is one of a handful of Obama-inspired outfits like it across Iowa, an uplifting legacy point for a president who tapped the power of grassroots organizing to win the White House but now struggles with dismal approval ratings and a stalled agenda in Washington. Their talents are already sought out by Democrats thinking about running for president in 2016, and the group is considering whether to throw its weight behind one of them in the Iowa caucuses.
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Up close with Rick Perry's Hail Mary For close watchers of the 2014 midterms, Obamadale is also an emblem of a fearsome and organic Democratic ground game in Iowa that keeps Republican strategists -- who have struggled to keep pace with the Democratic Party's voter turnout machinery -- awake at night.
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Though little-known outside Democratic campaign circles, Obamadale's reputation is so renowned in Iowa that several outside groups working in the state this cycle, including the Ready For Hillary super PAC and environmentalist Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate, have reached out to it for on-the-ground advice. It has also consulted on Democratic races in other parts of the state and worked on issue-based campaigns like a push to get Iowans to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
"Those guys know how to win elections," said Brad Anderson, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state and the Iowa state director for Obama's 2012 campaign. "What's really impressive about Obamadale is they are deeply passionate about the issues and they have been for a long time now, but they understand more than most the strategy of political campaigns, and the importance of phone-calling and door-knocking and election law and person-to-person contact."
A grassroots political force
What's also remarkable about Obamadale is that it thrives independently of the state's Democratic Party infrastructure, even as it consults with the official party on strategy. It is as much a social club as a political operation, deeply embedded in the Beaverdale community and intensely loyal to one another. It IDs voters and secures early voting ballots, but Obamadale members also swap recipes, go to church together, help out when someone is sick and even take road trips together, including a 1,000-mile winter drive from Des Moines to Washington for the president's 2013 inauguration.
"On a campaign you'll be in a phone bank, and it's a big room of people you don't know," Boggus said. "Here, I know the person, I know their story. They are the reason I come back all the time. I miss them if they aren't around in some way. It's 100% because of Obama."
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Sen. Bernie Sanders for President? Beaverdale is a working-class place, mostly white, heavily Catholic and rowed with picket fences and "Beaverdale Bricks," small neo-Tudor homes that have made the community a draw for young families. Though only a short distance from bustling and resurgent downtown Des Moines, Beaverdale feels like its own quaint Midwestern hamlet, where neighbors chat after work in their front yards and gather in family-owned restaurants at night.
The Obamadale members hail from different backgrounds and professions. One is a librarian, one a county health worker, one an office manager. Several are retired.
"What's great about them is they aren't just a bunch of 25-year-olds," said Scott Brennan, the Iowa Democratic Party chairman. "It's an interesting mix of folks that crosses demographic lines and socioeconomic lines. But they are people who are completely committed to the President and committed to Democratic politics."
With no defined budget, Obamadale members fund their operations out of their own pockets, work out of donated office space at a local law firm and rely on the owner of Tally's, a Beaverdale watering hole that serves a memorable ground-bacon-and-beef burger, to open up the restaurant for Democratic campaign rallies and volunteer meetings.
Door-to-door canvasses are launched off the outdoor deck of Saints Bar and Grill, another Obamadale-friendly establishment in the neighborhood. Events and GOTV pushes are usually coordinated on Obamadale's Facebook group, or by phone or text.
People pitch in when and where they can. "Some people don't like to call or canvass, but are more than willing to do postcard writing," said Tammy Keiter, a program manager at the Polk County Public Health Administration.
John Judge, a mustachioed human resources director who has lived in Beaverdale for 26 years, said that his wife, also a Democrat, "was reluctant to be a part of it, but she got involved because she liked the people."
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Before a State of the Union watch party in January, amid below-freezing temperatures, Judge helped Reno haul a flat screen television and speakers from his basement across several icy streets into Tally's for the president's speech. It was barely 10 degrees outside, but over 110 people showed up.
"If we don't have at least 100 people in attendance for an event, even at short notice, it's a failure," Reno said. "That's kind of our performance standard."
Their energy and loyalty to one other is admirable, but Obamadale's most prized asset, for ambitious candidates, is their impressive ability to identify and turn out voters in one of the state's biggest Democratic hubs.
It's why then-congressman Braley wrote a personal letter to Boggus in 2012 thanking her for her work, and why Anderson held a rally inside Tally's on the day he announced his campaign, and why Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is laying groundwork for a presidential campaign, stopped by Saints during a June visit to Iowa to make nice with the Obamadale crew. They gave him a bag of Iowa-shaped chocolates from Beaverdale Confectionary, and Boggus promptly posted a picture of the visit on Facebook.
"Any candidate running in Iowa would benefit from having them in their corner, no doubt," Anderson said.
Building on Democratic campaign lists collected over the years, including some of the vaunted Obama campaign voter files obtained during the 2012 race, the Obamadale bunch runs its own data and field programs. Boggus and Reno won't put an exact number on how many voters are in their database from Polk County and other parts of the state, but they say it reaches well into the thousands.
They are quick to attribute their tactical knowledge to the Obama campaign's volunteer training efforts, and the field marshals of the Obama campaign look at them, and similar groups nationwide that adopted the lessons of 2012, like proud parents would.
"We invested in and trained the members of our grassroots movement on real skills," said Jeremy Bird, the Obama campaign's national field director and an original architect of their volunteer operations. "It's no surprise they're now paying it forward and putting everything they learned about building people-focused, data-driven, digitally-savvy campaigns to work to support Democrats up and down the ticket in their home communities."
But because of Obamadale's local relationships, its work on other races and the mom-and-pop nature of its outfit, the group says its voter intelligence in the Des Moines area is more granular and sophisticated than the larger-scale voter lists of the Obama campaign or the Iowa Democratic Party.
"I definitely think we learned a lot from the (Organizing For America) team model and it influenced our structure, but we went beyond it," says Reno.
In addition to phone numbers, emails and voting history, Obamadale organizers know who has soccer practice on what day, who has health issues or who might have a pesky Republican whispering in their neighbor's ear — whatever factor might influence how and when a person might vote.
Friends and work colleagues look to them for political tips as well.
"A woman on my street told me, 'I always wait for whatever sign you put in your front yard because I know who to vote for,'" Judge said. "I mean, she is a college-educated, young professional. But most people are not obsessed with this stuff like we are."
The Obamadale organizers have day jobs, but they sound like David Plouffe or Jim Messina when talking about the efficiencies of their political program.
"When you see these lists that come from the VAN" — the Democratic Party's voter file software — "they are not the most accurate," Boggus said. "So we keep our own database of people. They are tiered up. Tier one is our core group of people, about 20 of us. Tier two, they were a little more sporadic with volunteering. Tier three, they will come to events only. Tier four, they don't want to have anything to do with volunteering, but they vote, and we make sure they do early vote."
Early voting and vote-by-mail, which begins here on Thursday, was decisive in Obama's 8-point victory over Mitt Romney in Iowa in 2012. The campaign tapped their vast field organization to bank tens of thousands of Democratic votes before November, a bonanza that neutralized Republican turnout on Election Day.
Schooled on the same principles, Obamadale is currently making an early vote push in Des Moines aimed at boosting Braley and other Democrats, like 3rd District congressional candidate Staci Appel and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jack Hatch.
"Every good Democrat that we have ID'd for our candidates, we're going to have their vote in the bank," Reno said. "We are only going to be worried about a very small number of our IDs on Election Day. And the people who traditionally have trouble getting to the polls, we are going to get them there."
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Hillarydale? And other 2016 choices
The next presidential race is on their minds, too.
Over glasses of wine at Tally's last weekend, on the eve of Hillary Clinton's visit to the Harkin Steak Fry, members of Obamadale hashed out their opinions on the likely Democratic field. Clinton, they agreed, was the 2016 frontrunner, though they complained that she was miscast as cold and distant by the media. Clinton was somebody they all said they would consider supporting, but everyone wanted to see a competitive caucus campaign.
"I want to see as many people come through Iowa as possible," Boggus said. "We saw in 2008 that you can be a little-known guy with a funny name and not very much money and do amazing things because you have a ground game."
They gushed over O'Malley, who visited with the crew this summer. "I love him," said Boggus, who was spotted at the steak fry the next day proudly waving a "Ready for Warren" placard in support of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the progressive darling from Massachusetts.
"If Elizabeth Warren and Hillary were sitting at different tables at a place like this, most people would go over and talk to Warren," said Ben Guise, a retired state employee.
Reno would not rule out supporting one of the presidential candidates, though he said the decision "would have to respect everybody's ownership of the group." He said candidates would have to prove their grassroots credentials by stepping out of their comfort zones and listening to voters up close. Stopping by an Obamadale-run event or two wouldn't hurt their cause, he said.
"Honestly, we are doing this for free," Reno said. "And so would have to decide who is worthy of our effort before we get behind them. We are all volunteers. Candidates need to justify the effort we give them, which includes being accessible and respecting how grassroots groups like ours can add some sanity to electoral process, by helping neighbors talk to neighbors in even-minded tones about the issues."
As for the name, it seems like Obamadale is here to stay. Braleydale and Hillarydale, they said, don't roll off the tongue as easily.
"We are deeply loyal to the President," Reno said.
German company Air Food One is running an eight-week trial delivering inflight food -- including this steak dish -- to people's homes. 
Company spokesman Max Thinius says the meals, such as this pasta dish, are "astonishingly OK." 
Thinius says the meals, which include cod and risotto, are better than those served in business class because they're not preheated, but are cooked from fresh by customers. 
Busy families and business travelers who don't want to prepare and cook meals are among customers for Air Food One fare, including chicken in pepper sauce. 
There's no indication yet if the service will be expanded beyond its trial period around Cologne and Dusseldorf in Germany. 
"Veronica Mars" first premiered on September 22, 2004 and a decade later fans are still in love. The movie version, kickstarted by the series' diehard supporters, arrived in theaters in March 2014, and in honor of the anniversary of the debut we catch up with where the cast is now: 
Since playing series star Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell has appeared in TV shows like "Heroes" and "House of Lies," along with lending her voice to "Gossip Girl" for six seasons. On the big screen she had a standout role in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and earned her first major blockbuster with the animated movie "Frozen." 
As Veronica's father, Keith, Enrico Colantoni was a fan favorite. Since then, he's starred on the recently canceled "Flashpoint" and shown up on "Person of Interest." 
Wallace, the Watson to Veronica's Sherlock, was always there to help his friend out of a jam. Percy Daggs III has made appearances on series such as "Southland" and recently had a major role in the film "In the Hive." 
Since his role as Veronica's troubled on-again/off-again boyfriend Logan, Jason Dohring starred in another short-lived series, "Moonlight," took a recurring role on Sarah Michelle Gellar's "Ringer" and guest-starred in The CW's "The Tomorrow People." 
Weevil was a constant in Veronica's life, and always in and out of trouble. Francis Capra has since popped up across the dial on shows such as "Heroes," "Sons of Anarchy" and "Touch." 
Dick Casablancas is one of the more memorable "Veronica Mars" characters, which has undoubtedly helped Ryan Hansen's career. He has since starred on "Party Down" (also from "Mars" creator Rob Thomas) and recently showed up on "2 Broke Girls" as Caroline's boyfriend. But his "Mars" character is so popular with fans that in addition to the 2014 movie, Hansen is set to portray Dick 
Duncan Kane, Veronica's ex-boyfriend and Lilly's brother, was played by Teddy Dunn, who later appeared in "Jumper" and "CSI: NY." 
Tina Majorino played Veronica's friend Mac. She has kept busy since with roles on "Big Love," "Bones," "True Blood" and "Grey's Anatomy." She has also reprised her "Napoleon Dynamite" role on the Fox animated series. 
Sheriff Don Lamb was often a thorn in Veronica and Keith Mars' sides during the show's run. Michael Muhney has since portrayed Adam on "The Young and the Restless." 
Real life couple Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna played Aaron and Lynn Echolls on the show. After "Veronica Mars," Hamlin showed up on "Army Wives," "Mad Men" and "Shameless," while Rinna competed on "Celebrity Apprentice" and "Dancing with the Stars" in addition to her work on "Days of Our Lives." 
Amanda Seyfried often appeared in flashbacks as Veronica's murdered friend, Lilly Kane, during the show's first season. This role put Seyfried on the map. The "Mean Girls" actress has since starred in films such as "Mamma Mia!" "In Time" and "Les Miserables" before portraying adult film star Linda Lovelace in "Lovelace." 
After playing Leo D'Amato, a love interest of Veronica's, Max Greenfield guest-starred on a number of series before hitting it big as Schmidt on "New Girl." 
Sydney Tamiia Poitier, daughter of Sidney Poitier, played Veronica's teacher Mallory Dent during the show's first season. She later appeared on the short-lived reboot of "Knight Rider" and in a guest arc on "Private Practice." She is one of the few "Veronica Mars" faces who isn't appearing in the 2014 film. 
Ken Marino was another actor Rob Thomas brought over to "Party Down." The former Vinnie Van Lowe has also starred on "Childrens Hospital" and had a guest role on the final season of "Eastbound & Down." 
Before playing the title character on ABC's short-lived "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23," Krysten Ritter was Gia Goodman, daughter of baseball team owner Woody Goodman. Before the "B----," she also had memorable turns on "Gilmore Girls" and "Breaking Bad." 
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" Alyson Hannigan occasionally showed up as Logan Echolls' sister Trina. She has since starred on "How I Met Your Mother" for nine seasons, and reprised her "American Pie" role in 2012's "American Reunion." 
Steve Guttenberg's role as Woody Goodman was something of a departure from many of his affable performances in the past. He has kept busy in movies since then and played a fictional version of himself on "Party Down." 
Jessy Schram has been all over the small screen since playing Hannah Griffith. She has starred on "Falling Skies," "Last Resort" and played "Once Upon a Time's" Cinderella. 
Charisma Carpenter was known to audiences for playing Cordelia on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" before she became Dick Casablancas' stepmother, Kendall. She has since had recurring roles on ABC Family's now-defunct "Greek" and "The Lying Game." 
Alona Tal played Meg, one of the wealthy Neptune residents who was actually kind to Veronica -- at least, for a time. Since "Veronica Mars," Tal's acted in TV shows such as "Supernatural" and "Burn Notice" and movies such as 2013's "Broken City." 
Erica Gimpel played Wallace's mom, Alicia Fennel, who was skeptical of Keith Mars' nonchalance about his daughter's private-eye work on the side. The former "Fame" star also has appeared in "Boston Legal," "The Young and the Restless," "Nikita" and "True Blood." 
Amanda Noret played the popular girl everyone loved to hate, Madison Sinclair. Noret has acted sparingly since "Veronica Mars" but reprises the role in the new movie. 
Tessa Thompson's Jackie Cook could earn the most improved award for "Veronica Mars." The character, who dated Veronica's friend Wallace, started out as unlikable, but she quickly transitioned to being one of the gang. Since "Mars," Thompson has had a steady stream of roles, from "Heroes" to the indie favorite "Dear White People" (2014). 
Those on Team Piz will always adore Chris Lowell, who played the good, stable boyfriend to Logan's hotheaded bad boy. Since "Mars," Lowell has appeared in hit films such as "Up in the Air" and "The Help" as well as on TV in "Private Practice." 
