Renew the Spirit of Raucus Caucus 2008: Vote 2010 Kickoff!

It was a cold night in February.  Citizens young and old of every color, rich and poor crowded into the parking lot of Begich Middle School.    People driving from work listened to KUDO's Aaron Selbig on the radio as he attempted to guide folks through the traffic to the site of the Democratic Caucus in Anchorage 2008.

Many dedicated Democrats used to modest participation in such affairs, were pleasantly surprised to discover this would be one of the best attended political events in Anchorage history.  No one could have predicted the turn out that filled practically every hall, alcove, nick and cranny of the newly opened middle school named for the father of Senator Mark Begich.

I can remember being pressed against the wall down the hallway in this picture.  People crowded against the table behind which I stood filling out form after form as new voters swarmed to register as Democrats.  My throat tightened with emotion and pride to see so many people inspired to participate in their government. These wonderful people came to the middle school to vote for their Democratic presidential candidate.   Many them had never voted before in their lives.  Some them were switching party affiliations in order to try and change the direction their country had taken politically. All that mattered was to get them registered and encourage them to jump into the fray with both feet.  Jump they did, and the energy and determination of these new voters renewed the hope and strength of many life long voters.

If you took a left hand turn before reaching the hallway in this picture, you would have found yourself in the gym surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of people waiting patiently and not so patiently in lines waiting to caucus for their Democratic Presidential candidate.   The atmosphere was loud, hot and confused.  People milled about impatiently with many bewildered as to what to do at a caucus.  No one had planned for the massive crowd that showed up.  No one had fully anticipated the power of Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and all the other candidates offering change to inspire heretofore unregistered voters in Alaska to come out and have their votes counted.  Elderly citizens shifted painfully on their feet for hours as they waited, but wait they did, and they were determined to be heard.

I remember standing in the center of the gym surrounded by folks with a burning desire to caucus for their candidate, but first they needed to register to vote.  There were so many of them, and the lines were confusing. The air in the gym was thick and hot from the sheer volume of people.  I had lost all hope of finding my own District 19 in the crowd. I registered anybody and everybody.  From behind me, somewhere in the bleachers, a voice roared out over the crowd.  I recognized the voice of Shannon Moore as she invited, nay insisted, that people come to her to register to vote.  All I could see of her was her hard hat.  Pens flew, and the ranks of new voters swelled.  Later, above the din and confusion, swelled another voice from the glory days of KUDO,  CC, armed with a bull horn, began directing traffic from the balcony above the gym floor.  The voices of those two women never faltered that evening, and from what I learned later, neither did the voice of Mr. Selbig.  I am forever grateful to them for their help and support during that amazing evening.

That amazing evening more than fortified  my belief in our system of government, a government of, by and for the people.  It blew that belief out of the water, and for the next several months sustained me through long hours as volunteer to register and educate voters in my beloved District 19.  I do not believe in term limits, because I have never stopped believing in the power of the people to effect change through the power of the vote.  If a politician remains in office for too long, the blame rests on our shoulders.  If we didn't get the votes to bring in a new, better candidate, then we didn't try hard enough, and the hard work, grass root campaigning and volunteer work that led up to the 2008 Presidential election reinforced that belief.

Midterms are just around the corner.  President Obama and the progressives currently serving in U.S. Congress have done a lot of heavy lifting.  President Obama has been methodically and without much fanfare putting the pieces of our government back together rebuilding such departments as the FDA, Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor to name only a few, while progressive Congressman have worked feverishly to create legislation to restore some semblance of regulatory sanity to our nations laws.

Now it is time for We the People to pick up our share of the load once again.  We need to get voters out to the polls, and the push to do so begins this weekend as Organizing for America launches its Adopt a Voter campaign.  Sarah Mouracade of OFA explains the strategy in this statement:

We decided to do this campaign, which is unique to Alaska, because it helps volunteers reach out to first-time voters from 2008 and share President Obama’s accomplishments with them. We believe talking to first-time voters is very important because many progressive candidates in Alaska who fight for issues that correspond with President Obama’s agenda will benefit by having these first-time voters go back to the polls in 2010. In fact, they are likely to be the critical votes in both local and federal elections this November. People who adopt first-time voters will be assigned 10 – 15 people who live in their community and asked to help get them back to the polls in 2010. Simply put, the message the volunteers are delivering to these first-time voters is, “It’s time to make your voice heard once more.”

A painful lesson was learned with the election of Mr. Sullivan into the office of Mayor.  He won because we failed to get out and get the vote.  We left the polls open to the conservative.  We forgot to reach out to those voters whose power was felt on that cold night in February when hearts in Anchorage burned bright.  The formula for a healthy democracy is very simple.  Get citizens to participate in the process of elections and of governance.  We who claim to support the progressive idea of freedom and justice for everyone should feel compelled to get out and register as many people as possible to vote, then get those newly appointed guardians of freedom to the polls.  The people who showed up at the caucus are  still eager and hopeful to have a chance to determine their own future.  Some have no transportation.  Some do not know how.  Some are just overwhelmed and need some encouragement.  Those of us who can need to step out of our comfort zones, and reach out to other citizens whenever and where ever possible.  Reach out and adopt a fellow citizen and pass on your love of democracy. 

Learn how to Adopt a Voter this weekend.  To attend and one of 16 house meeting in Alaska this Saturday, June 5 or Sunday, June 6,  visit http://bit.ly/9htaLY to find a list of events.

If you want to get your feet wet immediately and begin Adopting voters visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/akadoptavoter.

Renew the spirit of Raucus Caucus 2008 by getting involved in Vote 2010 today.