My whole life, I considered myself politically aware and knowledgeable. I certainly voted in every election, from president to city council. I also held strong opinions and grew up in an Irish Catholic family in which political argument would be interrupted with a " pass the mashed potatoes" at dinner.
What I was not was politically active. I am not sure if the Bush legacy of death, destruction, deficits, and debt along with a good helping of his utter incompetence would have done the trick. It certainly may have done the trick. What it did take was this cabal sending my son, a US Marine, into the elective war in Iraq to bring me off the sidelines and get in the game and active.
I started in the summer of 2003 when I heard about General Clark thinking of running. I wanted General Clark as my son's next Commander in Chief. I went to a Draft Clark Meetup not having a clue what to expect. I volunteered untold numbers of hours in what became his campaign as a Regional Volunteer Coordinator. As that effort failed, I turned my efforts over to the Kerry campaign for hours upon hours in the same role. I found it quite an experience (we wont discuss the outcome) and met many wonderful people along the way.
The 2004 elections ended and we still had a local city democratic party that was, being kind, moribund and rather ineffective. It was the network of volunteers that did all the grunt work for the Kerry effort. We decided that a change was in order. About 15-20 people would normally show up for the party meetings every month. As was the case, not much was accomplished. We turned out 80, many new members of the party, and elected a whole new leadership team and I found myself elected Co-Chair of the New Democratic Party in our City.
We have so much work to do to build up our party. I have a vision and dream of what it can and will be. We will raise money. We will build up our precinct organization. We will recruit and fund a farm team of candidates. We are going to build a Democratic Party with one overall mission. We are going to defeat Republicans and elect Democrats in Virginia.
One last bit of news. After 2 tours in Iraq, this last one spent in Fallujah, my son is home safe and sound.