Grass Roots Presidential Politics 2

I thought that I would have this blog posting done last week, but circumstances took me
off track. Oh my, how time flies! But I still want to make some comments about my partici-
pation in the Republican caucus for the county on Saturday, March 3.

After waiting in line for nearly an hour, I was finally able to register for the caucus. Then
I went into the crowded assembly hall to find my precinct site. There were so many people
and precinct signs that I felt overwhelmed by all of the humanity crammed into such a con-
fined area. There was so much to take in; my senses were saturated. But I persisted in the
search and finally spotted my precinct and the table it shared with another precinct. I signed
the precinct list and still had a bit of a wait before the proceedings got going. Earlier I was
greeted by a good friend I knew in high school. He was a year ahead of me, had taught his-
tory in the area school district, and had gotten involved in local Republican politics and local government. He has a long history of serving on the city council. He is currently the mayor,
a post he has held several times before. I hadn't seen him since the early 1970s, but as soon
as he saw me he greeted me by name as any good politician would do. It turned out he was
the captain of the precinct I was registered in.

After a long delay, we got started with the election and appointment of caucus officers and
an overview of caucus procedural process. Then we finally got down to choosing delegates
from each precinct to attend the county Republican caucus April 21. I am happy to report
that I am an official delegate to the county caucus! I expect that I will still be here then, pre-
paring to head back to Scotland. We had eight persons at our precinct table, and seven could
be elected to go as delegates. Two people were not available to attend the next caucus. So,
six of us were automatically elected without speeches or anything to be delegates. There were
two of us in favor of Mitt Romney, one for Newt Gingrich, two for Ron Paul, and one unde-
cided. Other precincts did not have it as easy and took longer to elect delegates. I was able to
leave ahead of the crowd.

I learned later that Romney won the Cowlitz County Republican caucus with 273 votes of
809 total votes cast (33.7%); Paul came in second with 228 votes (28.2%); Rick Santorum
was third with 210 votes (26%); and then Gingrich with 68 votes (8.4%). There were 25 un-
decided votes (3.1%) and 5 write-in votes. Statewide, Romney won the state straw poll based
on the caucuses. Romney gained 37.6% of the vote, Paul was second with 24.8%, Santorum
at 23.8%, and Gingrich at 10.3%. The undecideds came in at 3.4%.

This was Romney's fourth victory in a row after recently suffering a string of small defeats to
Santorum. The caucuses were a straw poll only, but Romney's showing only increased his
momentum. Because of the caucus system, Washington's 43 delegates to the Republican Na-
tional Convention at the end of the summer will not be determined until the the state conven-
tion earlier in the summer. It has been estimated that 50,000 people turned out for the caucuses,
more than four times the turnout in 2008 Washington State caucuses. Fourteen thousand dele-
gates were chosen on the precinct level to attend the county caucuses. I will be one of them!
The number of delegates will be gradually whittled down through several more steps of the
caucus process until the 43 delegates will be elected and commissioned to the national conven-
tion. Only longterm committed Republican activists usually get the privilege of attending the
national convention as delegates. Hopefully, they will be nominating the next President of the
United States. Anyway, I expect to be back in Scotland by that time. I will request an absen-
tee ballot in order to vote in the November elections. 

I am hopeful that change will come to the people of the USA. I yearn for a change in leader-
ship from a Democratic-controlled Senate and Presidency to Republican leadership in those
areas of Federal government. I am excited about Romney. He exercises the intellect, skills,
character, and experience to lead the American people through much needed change, espe-
cially in the areas of jobs and the economy. I would, however, give my full support to San-
torum or Gingrich if they were deemed the Republican candidate for President of the United
States. After bitter disappointment at the results of the 2006 and 2008 elections, there is hope
that this great nation can get back on track again.

Blessings to you and yours,

Grass Roots Presidential Politics

I just got back from seeing the stirring movie Act of Valor with my two best buds in the whole
wide world. Afterwards we talked about the movie and current events while chowing down
on the best hamburgers I've eaten in a long time. I really enjoyed being with them and going
to the movie together. It was great buddy time. Our time together was a great way to cap a
busy day for me. In the morning I attended the Cowlitz County Republican Convention to
choose delegates to attend county and state Republican conventions. Then delegates will be
chosen to attend the National convention that will choose the Republican presidential candi-
date to oppose President Obama in November.  

I have been watching the process to select the Republican presidential candidate with great in-
terest since the fall of last year. I have been seriously concerned about the course of the coun-
try since the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. Things seemed pretty dismal until
the 2010 GOP election victories across the nation. I am enthusiastic about Republican candi-
dates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich, but not as much for Ron Paul. Of the
first three, I am most supportive of Mitt Romney, although I would fully support any of them
against President Obama. I admire Romney's stance on the issues, especially economic poli-
cy. He has the experience in business and government to serve well as chief executive of the
country. Romney has the character and integrity to tackle the critical issues that the USA faces
at this time in history.

With all this in mind, I set my sights on attending the county Republican caucus when I first
heard about the date earlier in the year. I was excited about going and being part of the politi-
cal process. When I got to the place it was held, I was surprised to see a long line to register.
People were in a line that stretched outside and down the street for a good ways. All the park-
ing lots were full, so I finally found a place to park a short walk away. I spent close to an hour
in a slow moving line to register. There were people of all ages there and most were white. I
listened to conversations of people who were extremely concerned about the way the country
was heading with the current administration. A change in the direction for the country was
yearned for. Ron Paul supporters were out in full force with their signs. There was a festive
mood as we entered into the building where the caucus was held. I was excited to be involved
in this process. The hall was jam packed with people. They were crowded around tables, one
table for one or sometimes two precincts. Many people were left standing with all of the chairs
taken.

Far more people attended than was expected. The caucus was called to order at 10:00 with
prayer and the pledge of allegiance, but then put on standby until registration could be con-
cluded. We didn't proceed with the caucus until close to 11:00. I will write more about the
caucus tomorrow or the next day. There's a lot to share.

Blessings to you and yours,