The very first vote in the very first Presidential primary in DC was cast today, and it was for Dean!
Political activist Timothy Cooper cast the first ballot yesterday after waiting for D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics offices to open at 8:30 a.m.
"I was the first voter, and I voted for Dean," said Mr. Cooper, executive director of Democracy First, which lobbies for full congressional voting power for the District.
"My hope is that as D.C. goes, so goes the nation," he said.
Pardon me for quoting the Washington Times, but its article actually seems to be the best print coverage of this event.
Another interesting quote from the article says (emphasis mine):
Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Wesley Clark of Arkansas said they wanted to avoid threatening the traditional roles of New Hampshire and Iowa as the earliest contests in the presidential election cycle.
Isn't that just the trouble with LiebKerGepEd? Too often, they take what they think is the safest route, the route least likely to alienate supporters, even when they know it is would be right to take a more principled stand (in this case, standing with DC voters and for DC voting rights).
I'm proud that Dean stayed on the ballot. Notice I didn't include Clark in that "too often" dig - I don't have any evidence that he's done this before, but I do think Clark made a tactical mistake in taking his name from the DC ballot. He would really have given Dean a run for his money here.
As it is, DC for Dean is going to be working hard to win this one. I hope it's a victory not only for Dean but for all of the disenfranchised voters of DC.