Washblog

Correction #1 -- this Sunday is April 13.

Correction #2 -- this Sunday's event is the King County convention (platform, resolutions).  The CD caucuses (electing delegates and alternates to the DNC in Denver) will take place on Saturday, May 17; the WA-07 caucus, picking 9 delegates and 1 alternate, will be held at North Seattle Community College.

Comment -- 250 people vying for 41 delegate slots comes to 6.1 candidates/slot.  That's not bad, but it's nowhere close to the 43rd, where we had just over 400 people trying to fill 53 slots (7.6 candidates/slot).  And even that ratio is lower than the Clinton camp in the 43rd, where 109 people sought 14 positions (7.8 candidates/slot).

You're only young once, but you can be immature forever -- Larry Andersen
Blogging at Peace Tree Farm

by N in Seattle on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:27:21 AM PST

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Over in the 41st we had well over 300 candidates to fill 36 Obama delegate spots.

what really amazed me was the number of people who were still there at 11:30pm when we finally adjourned.

by wrog on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:30:56 PM PST

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--from one of our alternates

http://digitalsingularity.com/photoj/dem_ldcaucus_2008/dem_ldcaucus.htm

http://digitalsingularity.com/photoj/dem_ldcaucus_2008/index.html

by eridani on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 01:15:32 PM PST

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2 20-somethings I work went to their respective caucuses.  Both went at about an hour early (9 for a 10 a.m. start in the 36th), both left at 2:00 fed up and finished.

I saw 1 of them in line at Ballard High School - she is a math teacher where I teach math.  

(I was sign holding for Semler for Superintendent of Public Instruction, VS. Terry Bergeson and her 15 year math complete disaster for our kids.)

We chatted briefly as she went by in line.  When I saw her at lunch at Monday, she related how at the begining how psyched she was with all those people, and how she was going to get all her friends involved, and after sitting on her butt for hours with hundreds of people voting on things which weren't going to change much of anything, and then someone wanted a vote on 1 of these issues COUNTED, she left at 2:00 and felt like rescinding her voter registration.

As she related her tale at lunch, the science teacher across the way chipped in with her similiar experience - interest, psyched up, boredom boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedddddddeeeeedddddddddddd, and then left at 2 because she couldn't take it anymore. (she lives in greenlake? fremont? so, her district is ... whatever, north of canal world)

As disclaimers - I KNOW people put in a lot of time and lot of work ... DUH.

I am NOT knocking efforts of the peeee-ons - we all have lives and jobs and saving the world is our hobby / pastime, and

IF we don't keep those lives and jobs running well we won't be saving the world.

But, back to my anecdote(s).  I just couldn't count the number of people I've met over the years who try to jump in and jump out in disgust / frustration, and they got overwhelmed with bullshit unproductive processes which exist because:

1. the people paid to make things run are freaking incompetent at making things happen,

2. people working part time don't have the time, AND won't get pay-the-bills-health-care-retirement rewards anyway, to really figure out how to make things work better,

3. like the tribes who didn't want to use that round wheel cart thing to carry rocks cuz they've carried rocks on their heads forever

we always do it this way!

IF people felt that their time was accomplishing something more than the work it takes to sit at meetings for hours to accomplish 3 minutes of stuff they care about

they'd participate more.

Right now, the most important participation we all can do is to NOT

support and buttress the current bunch of incompetents, BUT

to work for ALL new leaders =

ONLY HELP IN PRIMARIES AGAINST INCUMBENTS (for the Federal Level ... )  

As I was leaving a 12 buck tip on a 50 dollar dinner tonight, I remembered how

RONALD RAYGUN THE FUCKING FASCIST

established taxes on waitron tips,

with the help of that first Dem sell out,

Tip O'Neil

cuz waiters and waitresses, working odd ball shifts so some other adults would be available to babysit the kids,

cuz waiters and waitresses making 4 or 800 bucks a week needed to pay MORE taxes

so the defense department could have MORE graft and corruption,

so the savings and loan thieving managers could be bailed out by the taxpayers,

so the leveraged fund managers could be steal pension funds and then be bailed out by the taxpayers,

AND WE HAVE TO STOP SUPPORTING ALL FEDERAL INCUMBENTS.  

People are NOT psyched about the Dems, they are psyched about getting rid of dipshits,

AND

I hope they hold the Dems accountable too, versus dumping their limited time and money into sell outs.

rmm.

http://www.liemail.com/BambooGrassroots.html

by rmdSeaBos on Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 09:35:40 PM PST

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