The Congressional District conventions are this Sunday. If you’re a delegate, and don’t know where yours is, check your email or your mailbox, because I suspect someone is trying to find you and asking you to support them. Or you could check here. Anyway, I’m going to try to get in, and since people are calling me (hi) I thought I’d share the draft of it here. I obviously need to flesh it out a bit.
Hi, I’m running for delegate to the national convention. I’ve been involved in Democratic politics since I can remember. It seems there were always mailers being stuffed or precincts being walked when I was growing up.
Since I could vote, I supported Bill Bradley, Wes Clark, Hillary Clinton, and now Barack Obama in precinct caucuses. This is my first Congressional District convention.
In January 2004, before most people had heard of blogs, I started one, pseudonymously as Carl Ballard, called The Washington State Political Report. That lasted for several years, and now I write for Horse’s Ass, one of the largest liberal blogs in the state. If I’m at the convention, I’ll write up the experience. I’ll be honest, if you vote for me, I’ll probably swear the most while writing about the convention of any delegate.
When I started trying to be a delegate, I was hoping to get to the convention to push a marriage equality plank in the platform. It looked like that would be a real fight, but fortunately, it got a lot easier since Obama now supports marriage equality. But I’m still hoping to do what I can to make the platform as liberal as possible.
Thank you for your consideration.
I’ve always wondered how that was done (selecting delegates). I thought you had to be elected to some state or county office or something.
No, rhp, that’s the beauty of the WA Dem caucus system. Ordinary people can end up as delegates to the national convention. Sure, you almost surely have to be a real activist, with lots of credentials in volunteer (preferably) or paid political work. But other than that, it’s mainly about politicking with your fellow CD delegates, with a compelling story.
My sister was a national delegate in 2004, for Howard Dean. She became the 7th CD’s one and only female Dean delegate because at least three male delegates from the 43rd LD didn’t show up at the CD caucus … which elevated me from 3rd alternate to a voting credential at the CD caucus.
Of course I voted for her, which got her into a tie for second in the first round of voting; after winning the coin flip to be in the final pair, she won the head-to-head in round 2.
Had I not been seated, what is the likelihood that the guy ahead of me would have cast a round 1 vote for her instead of one of the other couple-dozen women on the list? Vanishingly small, I’d say. I not-infrequently remind her that she got to go to Boston solely because of me.
As a delegate from the 43rd LD to the 2012 WA-07 Democratic caucus, I hereby publicly pledge to vote for Carl as one of my six male choices to be a national delegate.
I already know his real name, so I don’t even have to listen to his speech. :-)
PS to Carl … would you back me if I decided to run to be the 7th District’s Elector? Here’s my campaign slogan:
Sure, N for elector.