I just met Rep. John "Foleygate enabler" Shimkus' sister this evening and you'll never guess where ....
at a "Unite for Change" Obama house party in the heart of Shimkus' home turf!
Boy was I shocked!
It was my second UfC event of a long day. The host couple were recently retired from careers in the Air Force(another shock!) that built a beautiful home in the country near the last base that they were stationed (Scott AFB). They are ready to do what ever it takes to get Obama elected. This was their first venture into poltical campaigning.
When I first arrived, there were probably about a dozen people that eventually swelled to 40+. The only person that I knew there was a good friend who founded a local Democracy for America group which was my route to getting involved in political campaigns for the first time. In 2006 our group helped with Danny's Stover's campaign against John Shimkus IL-19. Our group staffed a campaign office and canvassed in our area of our very large district.
***** interesting side note ... shortly after I arrived, I discovered that Danny Stover's sister was the host couple's next door neighbor! Stover & his wife & sister were suppose to be there, but weren't able to make it.
Talk about irony ... what a sight it would have been to have Shimkus' sister together with the Stovers' at an Obama party. *****
At first everyone mingled and got a chance to learn about each other. The house was quite large and eventually smaller groups broke apart in different areas of the house. About 1 1/2 hours into the evening I found myself in the sunroom with a small group of people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Everyone was talking politics and my friend & I brought up our DFA group and our work for Stover. One of the lady's there (a retired Teamster's executive) whispered with very wide eyes to my friend & I
"You do know that Shimkus's sister is in the other room, don't you?"
Our mouths dropped to the floor!
It's true ... Shimkus' sister is an Obama spporter!
I had met & chit chatted (no politics) with her earlier, but did not know who she was related to at the time. Shortly after my discovery, the "business" part of the evening started. After the video & meeting, I never did get a chance to meet up with her and ask about her "infamous" brother. Hopefully, at future events, I will get to ask some questions.
Very few people knew each other at this Unite For Change "get to know you" party. There was a wide cross section of ages, backgrounds & I suspect class. Know one discussed their "portfolios" of course, but I would suspect that a few people were quite wealthy ... I would label myself as lower middle class. There were two recent college graduates who are working as social workers ... there was a retired shipbuilding (the big kind like the U.S. miltary & state ferries use) executive ... and a player piano restorer. "Variety is the spice of life".
Only Barack Obama could have brought all of these strangers from such diverse backgrounds together.
What a wonderful evening!
And what a great afternoon as well...
Earlier in the day I went to a potluck for Obama party near my neighborhood.
It was held at a home in the historic
LeClaire district which was founded by N.O. Nelson. Nelson relocated his St. Louis factory to this area in the late 1890's. Mr. Nelson was an entrepeneur who ironically fought for worker's rights. LeClaire was built and planned as a community with affordable housing, education and recreation for his worker's. Quite revolutionary for the time. If you are a history buff, you should check the links. The original houses are still there and would be considered a low to mid middle class neighborhood.
This Obama party was a family affair. The hosts were college professors with 2 lovely little girls. Almost everyone there knew each other and were either affiliated with the college or family of the hosts & they all brought their children. I didn't know anyone, although a friend did appear later on... a nice surprise. The hosts were "first timers" , but were very well organized and had used all of the tools made available on the My Barack Obama website. They even printed Obama teeshirts on the spot. We had great discussions and actually made some plans ... I have quite a bit of homework to do. Because that we live in Illinois, we all agreed that as we get closer to the election, our forces will join up with the St. Louis Obama's groups. In the primaries on super Tuesday, Missouri was the last state called for Obama & the late arriving totals from St.Louis precincts were the ones that put Obama over the top.
In the meantime, we will find out our state & county registration guidelines & training requirements. In our county, in order to register a voter, you must take a class given by the county clerk's office. Obama will not need our help in Illinois, but in 2010, after the census, Illinois will lose a Congressional District and it will be our District, the 19th, so the down ticket state legislature races will be very important to ensure that the new boundaries are not determined by Republicans. We need more Democrats voting down party lines in our local precincts. Maybe even getting a surprise bonus victory for Shimkus' very young challenger, Daniel Davis, in the process. It's an incredible longshot, but i can dream ... can't I?
Well, this incredible day is over ... as I share my story with my progressive kossack friends .... and as I think about all of the wonderful people that I met today ... I still can't believe that ....
John Shimkus' sister is an Obama supporter!!