Huntsman Ties Romney in Dixville Notch

A return to reason?

Apart from its hilarious name, Dixville Notch, along with another precinct called Harts Location, is traditionally the first town to vote in New Hampshire, voting at midnight on primary day and the general election.

In tonight's vote, Huntsman and Romney each took two of the nine votes cast, followed by Paul and Gingrich who each took one. (The remaining three were cast in the Democratic primary for President Obama.)

Let me be clear, if by some miracle Jon Huntsman wins the nomination, I will work against him and vote for President Obama. That doesn't keep me from offering him unbridled support, volunteer hours, and rare financial contribution in the primary. I disagree with Huntsman on taxes and healthcare. Still, Jon Huntsman is a patriot, a qualified candidate and a reasonable, intelligent man. It's not that I want Jon Huntsman to be President, it's that I want to live in an America where Republicans choose him to be the nominee.

I've already written a blog post discussing my belief in God, but perhaps my second most controversial belief is my unfailing faith in our system. Yes, we are extremely imperfect, but I still believe in American exceptionalism, in democracy and meritocracy, however flawed our paths there may be. It's no secret that we live in an era of partisanship. Imagine the debates in an Obama versus Huntsman election. Imagine choosing between the better of two candidates. Imagine losing an election and not feeling like half the country has been disenfranchised.

Sure, if Huntsman became the nominee (which he won't) I would necessarily convince myself of his evil, as I have in past Democratic primaries, and I would need to because he is by far the most likely to beat Obama. Still, Dixville Notch's returns bring me hope. At this point in my career the best thing that could happen to me is a worthy adversary. Little by little, Americans are failing at democracy better. Huntsman's showing is a good first step toward restoring our faith in our system.

Happy Primary Day!!!
-Nancy

Bleaugh is the new Black

Gawker:"I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money; I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money." Santorum is pretty sure that's not what he said. "I've looked at that quote, in fact I looked at the video," he told CNN's John King on Wednesday. "In fact, I'm pretty confident I didn't say black." Pretty confident! That's all we need. "I started to say a word and then sort of changed and it sort of, bleaugh, mumbled it," he explained.

Good save, Rick. You're like a bleaugh basketball player getting a rebound.

Citizens United Amendment?

I realized I haven't posted about a very important Constitutional amendment being proposed by Tom Udall (NM), Michael Bennett (CO), Tom Harkin (IA), Dick Durbin (IL), Chuck Schumer (NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), and Jeff Merkely (OR), (all of whom were elected with the help of at least one of my amazing organizer friends, by the way) which would effectively overturn Citizens United.

The amendment as filed resolves that both Congress and individual states shall have the power to regulate both the amount of contributions made directly to candidates for elected office and “the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.”

Bernie Sanders was on the Colbert Report talking about the same thing.

Could it be? Meaningful campaign finance reform? Be still my little organizing heart.

If You're a Bigot and You Know It Clap Your Hands

There has been a lot of talk lately about (gasp) Republicans being racist. Of course not all Republicans are racist, but you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. Check out this article on "S**t Republicans Primary Candidates Say About Black People."

Also see my "favorite?" (hmm that word doesn't seem right) video above where Rick Santorum says he's surprised that a black President is pro-choice since fetuses are also 3/5 of a person. I'm paraphrasing...but not a lot.

If you are one of those Democrats or Independents who is disillusioned with President Obama, you have the right to be, but please, please don't let that stop you from working just as hard as we did in 2008. We need to re-elect the President now more than ever, lest we set our country back sixty years. As Barney Frank quipped recently "We're not perfect, but they're nuts."

Men Are So Unstable

We all know (or should) that women make up a greater percentage of the voting population than men. But did you also know that women's votes are less volatile?

"Paul Kellstedt, a political scientist at Texas A&M University, found that if women move just a little bit to the right or left, men will move many more percentage points."

Check it out here!

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

It's late October of 2010. I'm standing in a Connecticut auditorium with 10,000 other people. Barack Obama has just finished speaking. I'm wearing a staff badge and a red Organizing for America t-shirt.

My boss, my organizer and I are all crying. All three of us are exhausted, but satisfied and grinning through our tears at the lucky ten volunteers we've selected to meet the President. My boss is crying because we've just organized and orchestrated an event with the President three days before the midterm election with precious little resources and even less time. My organizer is crying because she's never heard the President speak before. And I'm crying because...well, it's complicated.

Imagine the same scenario a little over three years earlier. I'm exhausted and crying in an auditorium full of cheering Democrats, enervated but excited by the opportunity I've been able to provide my volunteers. Barack Obama has just given a speech so similar to the one mentioned above that in my mind's eye they are one and the same. Trade my red t-shirt for a white one that says "John Edwards for President." Move the auditorium about 1200 miles Westward. I'm at the 2007 Iowa Jefferson Jackson dinner.

In 2007, I'm crying because I hate the people in the red shirts. I've uprooted my life to work under high pressure at what amounts minimum wage because John Edwards is clearly the only candidate with the substance and experience to pass a health care bill, and to my mind the most progressive on LGBT rights and on education. I just don't get what people see in Barack Obama.*

I've often compared campaigns, particularly that one, to being in love and losing to having your heart broken. It sounds dramatic but I believe it to be apt. To be in love you need to believe that your relationship is worth sacrificing for. You put up with things in the name of future happiness. When it works out, it's amazing and when it doesn't you feel like a fool. I was so convinced that John Edwards HAD to be the next President, as if it were a matter of life and death. But the amazing thing about having our hearts broken is that we allow ourselves to be vulnerable again. Because as much as it hurt, we wouldn't be the same person without it.

I love when things come full circle. There's something beautiful about the cyclical nature of campaigns. The zen of election day, the rhythm of call time. Just like love, there's something about it that you will never understand unless you experience it. It's corny, but it's who I am.

That's why I was crying in Connecticut and that's why I drove up to New Hampshire today. That's why I write this blog. That's why no matter where I am or what I become, I will always be a field organizer.

It's been an emotional day. As my broworker Renner would say, I can't Marcus Bachmann away my feelings anymore. Infinite, infinite love to him and my entire campaign family. The truth is, I would do it all again if it meant I got to know you.


Peace, Love and Walklists,
Nancy










*It should be noted that after Iowa I came to accept that I am a horrible judge of character.

Happy Anniversary to Me!!

Yup.

Hello there! I haven't seen you all year! I was working on a long and cheesy piece about what the four year anniversary of the 2008 Caucus meant to me, but I couldn't quite figure out how to finish it and I have to run because I'm going to New Hampshire!!! In the style most ironic and best fitting our inability to predict the future, I am going to do some primary GOTV for Barack Obama. Can't wait to finish my cheesiness and to tell you all about it.

What a long strange trip it's been!
-Nancy