Last Saturday in Downtown Colorado Springs, I headed out with my neighbor Georgia as an alternate delegate for Obama. Georgia picked me up at 6:30 AM, and we were some of the first on the scene.
Lining up with the alternates at 6:45 am, now that’s dedication! Behind us are a CC student and former co-worker from CC, Marla. The line behind us is mostly alternates.
Registering with Georgia (leaning over in front of me).
We waited in a room with other alternates for about 3.5 hours, the time seemed to pass more quickly than that.
At about 11 am, we were called in as alternates. That’s when the real excitement began!
This is an auditorium full of delegates who have been waiting since 9 am for things to start. A bunch of complainers if you ask me, we were there at 6:45 am!
We filled out our “preference” voting ballots and then got to read through 190 resolutions from all the caucuses around El Paso County.
Those provided some entertainment into the long hours of the afternoon. Here are some examples:
#1– We resolve that all presidential signing statements must address only the practicalities of executing the new law at the bureaucratic level. The presidential signing statements will not negate the new law. (????)
#89—We resolve that the U.S. should adopt the Kyoto accords. (voted yes on that one)
#125—We resolve to support Medical Marijuana. (right on freaky bro!)
#155—We resolve to stop illegal immigration (if only it were that easy!).
#158—We resolve that George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld be tried for war crimes. (Did you know Nader is running again? He proposes just this)
#171—We resolve to include precint 335 in a community re-investment act in order to facilitate and limit foreclosures by investing in city infrastructure (sounds good, no idea where that is).
#178—We resolve to question the extreme unaccounted-for energy release at Ground Zero, which were capable of reducing huge skyscrapers to dust containing nano-particles. (huh? Conspiracy theorists?)
#186—We resolve to dissolve the IRS. (hmm, tempting).
That was exhausting! But I got it done and then the convention started, at 12:45 pm (mind you they were supposed to start at 9 am!). They gave us a ½ hour for lunch, then we launched right into the business of electing a bunch of people to sit a bunch of committees.
Various candidates gave short stump speeches; this is Pete Lee running for State Senate 12.
Then we found out at 5 pm that Obama got 1,071 delegates, Hilary 471. We enjoyed a rousing musical act on stage, then split up into our House Districts to decide who would be delegates and alternates for the State Convention, being held in El Paso County for the first time in history! I was selected an alternate, it will be in May, I promise to take better pictures!
Packing for our trip tomorrow, fighting off a cold, trying to keep the kids from fighting and opening presents before tonight, 8 am visit to the vet to get the dog’s health certificate so that we can fly her under our seat for $190 roundtrip, what a ripoff! Our tickets only cost $200 and they’ve never asked for a certificate of health for any of us, animals definitely are second class citizens. 
