A few weeks ago, I went to my second democratic town committee meeting. A friend nominated me and the committee voted me in. This was the first overt political act I had ever committed outside of voting.
More below the fold...
At the same meeting, I met John Bonifaz. John is the progressive candidate for Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (
His Web Site). He presented his case for getting on the Massachusetts Democratic primary ballot by speaking about elections and his work with the
National Voting Rights Institute.
While I am not an "expert" on election fraud, I am reasonably well read* so I asked John the tough questions about Ohio. He answered the questions with skill while demonstrating a deep knowledge of the subject. At the end of his talk, he shook my hand and thanked me for asking those tough questions.
Right then and there, I volunteered to help. "How can I help," I asked.
"You can call delegates for the upcoming convention," he said, "Just give us your email address."
What was I thinking!?
Within two days, I had a list of a dozen or so delegates to call. I started calling. Boy it felt weird talking up the candidate. I hardly knew his platform and here I was supporting him. In two cases, I was able to correct some nasty rumors about John. This was the second overt political act I have done outside of voting.
Last weekend, Bonifaz made it to the Democratic Primary ballot by garnering 29% of the delegates. This was a big surprise. His opponent, the incumbent Francis Galvin expected to get 90% of the delegates. Go Grassroots!
Today I sent an email offering to help John win the upcoming primary. The campaign responded within an hour. This was the third overt political act I have done outside of voting.
What am I, nuts?
I am not well versed in campaigns but I am willing to learn and I am looking forward to the "heavy lifting." Though I still cannot believe I volunteered.
Warning: This volunteering stuff is contagious. If you do not want to catch it, do not read this diary.
Oops. Too late! :-)
* Reading on Ohio and election fraud: None Dare Call it Stolen and Fooled Again by Mark Crispin-Miller, and Representative John Conyers Report. Recently, Kennedy's Rolling Stones article, and F. Manjoo's response in Salon and a number of rebuttals to Manjoo's article. I also receive Mark Crispin-Millers' blog feed from News from the Underground and read every diary on election fraud at DailyKos.
Tagged: John Bonifaz, National Voting Rights Institute, volunteering, Massachusetts Secretary of State, campaigning