Hi Debby,
Hope all is well with you. Thanks for prodding us all to participate and communicate. You asked for an update:
I spent the month of December in Sioux City, Iowa, working as a volunteer for Barack Obama. Believe it or not, it was some of the best fun I've had in the last ten years, and one of the most intriguing learning experiences of my life! Sioux City is NOT the vacation capital of the universe. The midwestern winter was miserable- subzero cold, ice storms, fog, frigid winds- made Wyoming feel balmy in comparison.I had been planning a trip to Bolivia, and just could not ignore the political situation any more- this country, NOT Bolivia (I suspect that tells your readers something about my personal politics, eh?), so I connected with the Obama campaign and decided to explore the Iowa caucus from the inside.I went to every event, hosted coffees, helped with house parties, had the opportunity to meet and question every candidate who is running (except Gravel who didn't show up in SC, and Romney, who I wasn't interested in seeing). Clinton, Huckabee, McCain, Paul, Obama, Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Edwards, Thompson all held major events. Knocked on doors, talked to voters, enlisted supporters, converted Republicans, worked the telephones and helped organize the Precinct 34 caucus for Barack. And, we won! My personal precinct goal was 3 delegates, we actually got four, so I felt great about the outcome.It was very intriguing to see the entire process first hand. The democratic caucus, in particular, is not very democratic. All sorts of issues with voter access; "viability", were any candidate with low turnout, 15% or less, is dropped from the count; privacy- no secret ballot here; voter education; etc. I saw campaign dirty tricks being played out right in front of my eyes- the Clintons really do cheat! Altogether, fascinating.As a result, I've just arrived in Charleston for the remaining two weeks of the Democratic campaign! Will be here through 1-26, and then probably on to one last state until the super Tuesday vote on 2-5. After that will kayak and bike in northern Florida for a little bit before returning to Wyoming. It's not Bolivia, but all told is a fascinating insight into this particularly historic election cycle.Will try to catch up again after the primary.
Dave
Hope all is well with you. Thanks for prodding us all to participate and communicate. You asked for an update:
I spent the month of December in Sioux City, Iowa, working as a volunteer for Barack Obama. Believe it or not, it was some of the best fun I've had in the last ten years, and one of the most intriguing learning experiences of my life! Sioux City is NOT the vacation capital of the universe. The midwestern winter was miserable- subzero cold, ice storms, fog, frigid winds- made Wyoming feel balmy in comparison.I had been planning a trip to Bolivia, and just could not ignore the political situation any more- this country, NOT Bolivia (I suspect that tells your readers something about my personal politics, eh?), so I connected with the Obama campaign and decided to explore the Iowa caucus from the inside.I went to every event, hosted coffees, helped with house parties, had the opportunity to meet and question every candidate who is running (except Gravel who didn't show up in SC, and Romney, who I wasn't interested in seeing). Clinton, Huckabee, McCain, Paul, Obama, Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Edwards, Thompson all held major events. Knocked on doors, talked to voters, enlisted supporters, converted Republicans, worked the telephones and helped organize the Precinct 34 caucus for Barack. And, we won! My personal precinct goal was 3 delegates, we actually got four, so I felt great about the outcome.It was very intriguing to see the entire process first hand. The democratic caucus, in particular, is not very democratic. All sorts of issues with voter access; "viability", were any candidate with low turnout, 15% or less, is dropped from the count; privacy- no secret ballot here; voter education; etc. I saw campaign dirty tricks being played out right in front of my eyes- the Clintons really do cheat! Altogether, fascinating.As a result, I've just arrived in Charleston for the remaining two weeks of the Democratic campaign! Will be here through 1-26, and then probably on to one last state until the super Tuesday vote on 2-5. After that will kayak and bike in northern Florida for a little bit before returning to Wyoming. It's not Bolivia, but all told is a fascinating insight into this particularly historic election cycle.Will try to catch up again after the primary.
Dave
