Today I attended the Itasca County DFL convention. It was held at the high school in Nashwauk, so it was very convenient. Laura Owens (Kayla's mom) and I went together. It was one of those things that went on about an hour or two longer than it needed to. It started 30 minutes late. They had a 45 minute meeting and then they broke for an hour long lunch break. Come on! Get the show on the road!
After the break we had to choose the 12 delegates who will represent our county at the district and state convention. This was the interesting part. They did a true walking sub-caucus format and had to get about 300 delegates into the different sub-caucuses. This was when it became fun to people watch - you see the different cultures within your political party. You saw your labor union people, education people, environmental people (who could be divided into crunchy & extra-crunchy), peace lovers, George Bush haters, and even a legalize marijuana sub-caucus. I often view myself as quite liberal, but I see now that I'm actually one of the more moderate representatives of the Democratic party.
They did a quick show of hands to show which sub-caucuses would not be viable and it gave people who started a sub-caucus the option to remove theirs before people started moving around the room. The young man who submitted the legalize pot sub-caucus was the first to scratch his, but I applaud him for having the guts to stand up in front of a room full of people and list his controversial cause.
I went with the Franken/Education caucus. We teamed up with the Franken/Environment and formed the largest sub-caucus there. We had almost 90 people and we were able to send 5 delegates from our group. The Franken/Labor would send 3. The two Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer sub-caucuses will send 4. The extra crunchy environmentalists and peace lovers were supporting Jack N-P. There is a strong progressive movement in the Grand Rapids area, so he did well with them. I think he fared better in Itasca County than he will in other parts of the state. At this point Laura and I left. We just wanted to help Al Franken get as many delegates as possible. Once we had that done, we didn't care who they sent because we don't know these people anyway.
As you can see from the picture above, Al Franken made an appearance. A larger convention was being held in Hibbing today and he went to both of them. He talked for just a few minutes and stayed a little while to talk to anyone who wanted to ask questions or just shake hands. He was very well received. When I heard he'd be there I decided to take my camera and actually have the guts to ask to have my picture taken with him. My neighbor Heidi (she used to babysit for us) also wanted her picture taken with him, so she and I went together. I'm glad we did.
It was a good day. I got my picture taken with Al Franken and I had an occasion to wear my "Liberal - It's a Good Thing" shirt - I got a few compliments on it too!
4 comments:
Great picture and post Shari. It's neat to hear how the process plays out - especially this year when there's been so much talk about delegates. I commend that you don't just watch the events on TV - you decided to be a part of the process. Most of us don't do that. Also, it's a cute picture of you both. I'm looking forward to Easter and having the whole week off after that. Bring your running shoes to mom and dad's - my feel are feeling better and it would be something to do...Nancy
I was pleased with the picture too. I think it's easier to take part in political events up on the Iron Range. Politicians show up and people here expect them to work for our votes. Our 4th of July parade will be twice as long since it is an election year.
I will bring running gear to Cyrus. I went out at noon for about a 4 mile run. I was wearing a new pair of running shoes and they were very comfortable. It felt good to be outside exercising. I'm hoping that we get some warm sunny days and that the snow on the trail will melt soon. It's much more enjoyable than running the streets.
I will follow you guys on one of the old bikes from the garage or perhaps the old house basement?!?
Shari, we did watch John Adams parts 1-2 last night. It was very good, so good we forgot to check and see who won the HGTV house. Heard it was a gal from Iowa who really didn't seem that excited. We taped John Adams in case Mom ever wants to watch it here.
Those are pretty cool bikes. There was an article in today's Star Tribune (Wed.) about Farmboy/girl apparel. Their stocks are up - a lot of nostalgia sales. I thought of you both and the matching t-shirts you bought without even considering me.
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