What Have I Done? NOT Armando or Zarqawi!

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