Yeah. Your sign? Totally upside down.
As you may remember, I was nominated to be an alternate delegate to the 23rd Texas Senatorial District Convention during the March 4th democratic primary. This had nothing to do with me wanting to be part of the convention. I was nominated partly because we needed six delegates and six alternates (and there were only thirteen people left in “Camp Hillary” by the time we got around to “electing” people to go to the convention) and partly because my across-the-street neighbor pointed at me and said, “I nominate her!” Yeah, that neighbor? Lucky Number Thirteen. Had I been that quick, I could have avoided the situation all together, too. Boo!
I really didn’t think much about going, though. I was an alternate, after all. I would only be needed if one of the delegates called to say that they couldn’t make it. And I was one of SIX alternates (i.e. there were five other people could take slacker delegate’s place in a pinch. It didn't have to be me). The odds were I wouldn’t get called.
Or so I thought.
Yep. I got called.
So, even though I had only JUST returned home from Galveston the night before, I got to wake up before the sun rose and haul my a$$ down to the Ellis Davis Field House IN FREAKIN’ LANCASTER, TEXAS. Because why not make everyone drive down there on a Saturday morning?
Yeah, me? Not such a happy camper.
I was even less happy when I encountered traffic on I-20. Until I realized that the traffic was being caused by the number of people attending the convention. Thrilled I was, let me tell you (Grrrrrrrr…)!
Finding a parking place was not easy, but I wasn’t prepared for the registration process. Oh, holy hell was it crowded. You couldn’t move. Not even if you wanted to. I mean, seriously! It may sound cliché, but we were like sardines in a can. I’ve never felt so clausterphobic. Ever.
I finally got registered around 10 AM. This is impressive only if I tell you that I walked through the doors at 8 AM. That’s right: TWO HOURS STANDING IN LINE WAITING TO REGISTER!
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Only then was I able to go and find my precinct (of course much, much, MUCH easier said than done considering the number of people in attendance AND the fact that they had made a lot of last minute changes to the precinct locations) and sit down.
Did I mention that they had told us to plan on staying for six hours?
Because were there for twelve.
Yep. Nothing to do but wait. And try to read.
I’d tell you what we were waiting for, but I honestly cannot understand why it took so long. I heard a rumor that a bunch of the other precincts had to re-caucus. Apparently they had sent too many delegates and alternates, and it took hours for them to decide on who got to vote in the convention (a lot of people felt very strongly about getting to vote for their presidential preference). Don’t get me wrong, it was great to see so many people excited about participating in the democratic process. I just can’t comprehend the time it took to accomplish…well, anything that day.
It was frustrating.
And LOUD. 5,000 people cheering and chanting almost nonstop for twelve hours is both deafening and incredibly annoying.
Even more so since MY candidate doesn’t have a good chant. Actually, we had NO chant. At least none that we were aware of. It was okay, though, because we were in the minority. VAST minority. Our voices would have just gotten lost in all the noise.
We finally started the first caucus around 6 P.M. And this was only after clear, plastic donation bins were passed around. Apparently, the convention cost around $40,000 to put on, and we (the ever-patient patriots) were told that we each needed to contribute $10 a piece to cover our part.
Uhmmmmm, yeah. Nice try. But no thanks. Next time you pay me.
The first caucus took about an hour to complete. Tempers were short. There was one pregnant woman who made the long process even longer by complaining about how long the process was taking. Really? Is that the best use of time? Because I’m pretty sure everyone was KEENLY aware of how LONG it was taking. No one needed for her to point it out (namely, because pointing out how long it is taking only takes more time). If she wasn’t pregnant (and so clearly a hormonal mess), I might have been inclined to smack her.
The second caucus only took about ten minutes. Theoretically, it should have taken longer because we were voting on two people from our precinct (one delegate and one alternate) to send to the state convention in Austin. My precinct, however, had already (unofficially) decided on who were going to nominate and vote on beforehand (there are only so many different things a group of strangers can talk about for twelve hours). It came up, and we all agreed we should have a plan - lest we be there all night.
So, yeah. That was my Saturday. It was kind of like having my wisdom teeth pulled – I’m glad it’s over but I’d never want to do it again. How’s that for an analogy?!
2 comments:
I'd always wondered what really happens at these things. I think it's pretty cool that you were actually a delegate at a caucus. And yet, I can see how it would be the kind of thing that it's cool to say "I did that", but the actual doing of it could have been skipped.
Don't you fall into the trap. Democrats are full of crap.
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