...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Wednesday, June 18, 2003
      ( 12:32 PM )
 
Well, I Did It

I actually took the step on Monday of going to my elections office and registering officially as a "Democrat." I know, I know, you're asking "but Mama, haven't you long held your voter identification as fully independent ever since the first election you ever voted in?" Yes, dear reader, it's true. It has taken several months of debate with myself about whether to do this or not. I take no small comfort in the fact that I can quickly change it back after the 2004 election. I feel strongly enough, however, that this election is worth my sacrificing my own personal ideals for the greater good: a Democratic candidate who can beat Bush.

That being said, I have mulled over and over which candidate I want to endorse for the primaries. It's not that this blog has much traffic, but I would like to commit to one candidate and be as politically active in the blogosphere as I can to get out the vote for that candidate. I decided that whomever I chose I would also volunteer for that campaign in "real life" in my own community. I can't just preach without practicing political involvement at the most important level: the local level. Even though this blog will be endorsing a Dem candidate, I intend to set up an electoral section with links to information on all the candidates and the election itself so that people can easily access information about what is happening up to November 2004. I also qualify the endorsement by saying that after the primaries are over, unless it's Joe Lieberman (which thank God it doesn't look like it will be), I will wholeheartedly put this blog behind the Democratic candidate who runs against George Bush in the general election. I do this not because I am a lifelong Democrat, and not necessarily because I believe in all the tenents of the platform of the party which has been taken over by the DLC (which I loathe). I do it because it has to be done to save this country and I want to do my part.

So without more ado, I am announcing that this blog will heretofore be endorsing Howard Dean for President in the Democratic primaries. I would ultimately like to see a Dean / Clark ticket, but that is not a reality at this point, and I intend to deal only in realities with this election. Dean plans to launch his official campaign on Monday, June 23 and as of that date, I will include on this site links to the Dean campaign. Martin and I will be attending the Announcement Rally here in Portland on the 23rd (a family-friendly affair that is expecting a turnout in the many hundreds) so that I can get involved in the campaign in our community.

This endorsement will not keep me from being critical of the Dean campaign if anything in it is disagreeable to me, and it will not keep me from being critical of the Dems in general. I'm still the same old Mama. I just feel that it is important to commit to this election in a very real way, and this is my way of doing it.

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