One what has been perhaps the nicest day of 2008, I spent my afternoon cooped up in the Woodland Park library with 100 of my closest friends/neighbors, all Democrats, as we partook in the County Assembly. The more I get into this whole “politics” thing, the more I realize how whacked out the system truly is, the old processes by which we elect delegates at a precinct, county, and state level to represent our parties at the national convention, all to elect a president. It makes sense from a historical standpoint, but in this day and age it seems somewhat like pomp and circumstance, not really necessary, but also a very cool way for even the most average of Joes to get involved in the political process. And that’s where I came in…
After a month of calling every registered Democrat in my precinct on behalf of the Obama Campaign, we had a successful Super Tuesday where 2/3 of the voters in my precinct voted for Obama. It was amazing to see lines out the door at the caucus check-in and to be reminded that, although we are a heavily Republican county, there is some interest by the Democrats as well. At the Caucuses each precinct had to elect 9 delegates to attend the County Assembly on their behalf. I was proud to have been chosen as a delegate and represent Senator Obama at our County Assembly this weekend.
The County Assembly was an interesting, odd, and somewhat informal gathering. 96 of us delegates and alternates crammed into a small room at the library, speeches from potential candidates for local elections, state elections, and of course, on behalf of the Democratic candidates themselves. It was no shocker to me that the Clinton campaign didn’t bother to send anyone to speak on her behalf. She plainly ignored the caucus states which require too much effort to court, and I, as a Democrat and a woman, am insulted that I didn’t receive as much as a pre-recorded phone call from her campaign. Heck, even Ron Paul sent me a text message! It doesn’t matter I guess, I wouldn’t have caucused for her anyhow. So back to my story, the Clinton campaign was represented by a nice gentleman who spoke a few brief words to the character of Senator Clinton. The Obama campaign was represented by one of my fellow Precinct Captains who is a disabled young man who has been moved by the politics of the past 8 years to get involved. This will be the first Presidential election he gets to vote in and his speech moved me close to tears. It’s this kind of passion that represents why so many people are on the Obama-wagon.
We also got to hear from some head-honch guy in the State Democratic Party who had sped in from Chaffee County. In a somewhat energizing “rally the liberal commies” speech he spoke about the upcoming elections and how, for the first time, instead of the party trying to tell us this is the most important election in a generation, it was, in fact, the voters who are telling the party that this is the most important election of e generation by turning out en masse. So, yay voters! I expect to see you all in November. Turns out the head-honch is also one of those elusive superdelegates, and it is very rare to view them in captivity, so I was quite excited about that. Also exciting news was he wasn’t one of the superdelegates that had been bought by the Clinton campaign, and thus, was an avid Obama supporter.
In the end, my nearly 4 hours spent in a hot and stuffy room on behalf of the greater good was rewarded as I was chosen to be an alternate at the State Democratic Convention and Assembly. Another chance to get to be a part of the weird and crazy process that is politics. I’m also volunteering to help on a few committees at the event. Next stop after that? Volunteering at the National Convention and then off to President Obama’s cabinet…
And now, for fun, here's a picture from the Obama Rally in late-January.
After a month of calling every registered Democrat in my precinct on behalf of the Obama Campaign, we had a successful Super Tuesday where 2/3 of the voters in my precinct voted for Obama. It was amazing to see lines out the door at the caucus check-in and to be reminded that, although we are a heavily Republican county, there is some interest by the Democrats as well. At the Caucuses each precinct had to elect 9 delegates to attend the County Assembly on their behalf. I was proud to have been chosen as a delegate and represent Senator Obama at our County Assembly this weekend.
The County Assembly was an interesting, odd, and somewhat informal gathering. 96 of us delegates and alternates crammed into a small room at the library, speeches from potential candidates for local elections, state elections, and of course, on behalf of the Democratic candidates themselves. It was no shocker to me that the Clinton campaign didn’t bother to send anyone to speak on her behalf. She plainly ignored the caucus states which require too much effort to court, and I, as a Democrat and a woman, am insulted that I didn’t receive as much as a pre-recorded phone call from her campaign. Heck, even Ron Paul sent me a text message! It doesn’t matter I guess, I wouldn’t have caucused for her anyhow. So back to my story, the Clinton campaign was represented by a nice gentleman who spoke a few brief words to the character of Senator Clinton. The Obama campaign was represented by one of my fellow Precinct Captains who is a disabled young man who has been moved by the politics of the past 8 years to get involved. This will be the first Presidential election he gets to vote in and his speech moved me close to tears. It’s this kind of passion that represents why so many people are on the Obama-wagon.
We also got to hear from some head-honch guy in the State Democratic Party who had sped in from Chaffee County. In a somewhat energizing “rally the liberal commies” speech he spoke about the upcoming elections and how, for the first time, instead of the party trying to tell us this is the most important election in a generation, it was, in fact, the voters who are telling the party that this is the most important election of e generation by turning out en masse. So, yay voters! I expect to see you all in November. Turns out the head-honch is also one of those elusive superdelegates, and it is very rare to view them in captivity, so I was quite excited about that. Also exciting news was he wasn’t one of the superdelegates that had been bought by the Clinton campaign, and thus, was an avid Obama supporter.
In the end, my nearly 4 hours spent in a hot and stuffy room on behalf of the greater good was rewarded as I was chosen to be an alternate at the State Democratic Convention and Assembly. Another chance to get to be a part of the weird and crazy process that is politics. I’m also volunteering to help on a few committees at the event. Next stop after that? Volunteering at the National Convention and then off to President Obama’s cabinet…
And now, for fun, here's a picture from the Obama Rally in late-January.
3 comments:
Lar,
I'm certain that Jane Fondas everywhere are applauding your courageous attempts to put the liberal commies back in the seat of power in Amerika.
Speaking of whom, I hear that in contrast to Richard Fish's fascination with John McCain's wattle, McCain himself was rather more taken with Jane Fonda's sub-chin epidermal features while watching "On Golden Pond."
Cheers.
Either I made a quick overnighter to Trinidad for an operation, or somebody has hacked into the blog and is trying to promote the evil liberal pinko commie agenda!!
Actually, since I am not registered as either a Democrat or a Republican, I cannot be a delegate for anybody. Very, very sad.
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