Spring Break in a Blue State

Spring Break in a Blue State

Disclaimer: Texans, you have no reason to send me angry emails after reading this article. I may have been born a yankee, but I’ve spent about 16 of my 23 years on Texas soil and am truly proud of my red state roots. Okay, well maybe “proud” isn’t the best word to describe the full extent of my feelings, but I swear I ain’t tryin’ to hate, ya’ll!

It’s amazing how fast a four-hour flight can seem when you’ve knocked down a few stiff drinks. I owe a big thank you, by the way, to our lovely waitress at Cantino Laredo in DFW’s Terminal D, who so kindly recommended the extra shots of Patron. Before I knew it, we were arriving in San Francisco, one of the most unapologetically liberal cities in the United States.
While there are many obvious differences between Dallas and San Francisco, such as the geography and variances in ethnic composition, I made a point during my vacation to be cognizant of the little things that differentiate these two famous American cities. Frankly, the big picture is pretty clear. When the presidential election results pour in next November, it shouldn’t take too long for Texas to turn red and for California, despite the disapproval of Governor Schwarzenegger, to turn blue on the map. But why? Evidence providing reasons for this inevitable occurrence were all around me, even before leaving the airport. The following report contains five excerpts from the journal that I carried on my trip.
Clue #1- San Francisco International Airport bathroom. I reach for a towel to dry my hands. A sign in an extremely large font instructs me to take “only what I need,” in order to “conserve resources.” I smile at the green gesture and in an attempt to avoid being outdone, proudly wipe my wet hands on my jeans and exit the restroom. What harm is there in a friendly reminder to avoid wasteful consumption? The airport saves money on supplies, and the earth saves trees. Beautiful.
Clue #2- Asia SF, Restaurant and Gender Illusionist Show- The bill arrives at our table and it’s not as bad as we thought. As expected, there is a blank space available to tip the beautiful “ladies” of Asia SF, but there is another charge that I’ve never seen before. A 4% fee is automatically added to the tab, helping to cover the cost of a San Francisco city ordinance mandating that businesses provide health care coverage for all of their employees. On a $120 bill, the charge comes to $4.80. What a small price to pay for such an important step towards providing a basic human necessity to all Americans!
Clue #3- Driving through Sonoma- There is a banner hung from a property that reads, “Honk for George W. Bush in Prison!” Okay, so maybe there’s no real, universal justification for this, but I laugh…and honk.
Clue #4- Highway 101-For the first time in my life, I see more Smart cars and Hybrids on the road than pickup trucks and Hummers. The passenger count isn’t much different, but for some reason, California drivers do not feel the need to operate army tanks. What a concept!
Clue #5- Margaret Cho at The Warfield Theatre- Standing outside in line, I watch a drug deal go down in plain sight. I’m not sure if the participants feel like the two lesbians running by in wedding dresses are enough to distract nearby police officers or if they are just too high to care. Either way, I am utterly fascinated.
As you can infer from the previous paragraph, there are going to be negatives to living in any city or state, red or blue. What’s most important, from my perspective, is that you find the place in this world that you love the most, whether you fit in or not. For me, visiting San Francisco was a reminder there at there are like-minded people out there, and it was quite refreshing. It very well could have been a side of effect of the perpetual smell of 420 wafting through the city streets, but life just seemed a little easier and a lot more carefree in San Francisco than in Dallas. And while being an unapologetically liberal student at the future home of the Bush Library has its interesting moments, getting lost in the crowd was a wonderful change of pace.

WE...I MEAN, SHE DID IT!!!

Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island for HRC, bitches!!!



Even though my part was small, I can't even express in words how gratifying it feels to have been part of Hillary Clinton's March 4 victory in Texas. I know this post is a little late, but since Tuesday I've been trying to save my ass from failing six classes that I've neglected for the past few weeks. It's been such a whirlwind that I haven't even really grasped until now just how quickly you can transition from being a die-hard supporter to being completely wrapped up in working on the ground as a volunteer.
After working to sign up volunteers and manage crowds at an early vote rally with Bill Clinton at Grauwyler Park and Hillary Clinton's Fair Park Rally, sending countless emails, making signs and hours of phone calls as a precinct captain, helping a good friend of Chelsea Clinton organize an event with Rob Reiner at SMU, serving as temporary chair and permanent secretary of my precinct convention, and celebrating with Dallas staffers and volunteers at Metro Grill as the returns came in on Saturday night, I can honestly say that exhaustion has never felt so rewarding. Every step of the experience was an honor because I have never believed so strongly in any candidate.
I met some great people, had some great times, and wish I could quit school and fly to Pennsylvania to do it all over again. Here are a few pics of my adventures:

The Texas Two Step is a Bunch of Bullshit

On Tuesday night, I arrived at the apartment of Ina Ayliffe at around 6:20pm. While it was our first face-to-face meeting, we had spoken over the telephone when I was making calls to Clinton supporters in my precinct, explaining the “Texas Two-Step” and encouraging participation. At 84, she felt uncomfortable driving at night, and I happily offered her transportation to the caucus.

Unfortunately, Ina was not the only person without a way of getting to the precinct convention. Over the past few weeks, I spoke with many elderly voters with health conditions that made it extremely difficult for them to get out and vote once, let alone twice. In addition, the locations where the precinct conventions were held presented even more challenges for those who actually came. Earlier in the day I had visited my polling location and spoken with the Election Judge. I expressed my concern that there was not enough seating to accommodate voters with conditions that make standing for long periods of time a difficult task. He gave me the number of the property management. I spoke with two people who didn’t have an answer for me and finally left a message that was never returned.

Ina and I arrived at the polling location at 6:30. I was approached by the election judge who informed me that the Precinct Chairman was not going to be able to attend. He needed someone to run the caucus, and despite my complete lack of experience, I accepted the duties as temporary chair. At 7:00 I was handed a packet of materials. I had 15 minutes to review the process before the convention was called to order at 7:15. Getting everyone signed in was complete and utter chaos. The packet contained only two sign-in sheets with a total of 40 spaces for names. 195 people were present. I made sure that supporters of both Clinton and Obama were involved in monitoring the process and verifying that voters were eligible. Signing in was slow and tedious and many people became frustrated and angry, but we did the best we could with the resources we were given. In the end, I believe our results were fair and accurate; however, as confident as I may be in my own abilities, there is no freakin’ way that I, or anyone else without official training, should be in charge of something so significant. Period.

Later that night, I joined up with the Clinton staff to watch the returns come in, and I quickly realized that the problems at my convention were nothing compared to others. From stories of sign-in sheets being passed around without supervision and individuals signing in multiple times, to caucuses being held outside with over 900 people, almost every person there had a horror story to tell. I have no doubt accusations from both sides concerning voter intimidation, broken rules, and inconsistencies in results will continue to pour in throughout the state in the days to come.

The system in Texas needs to change. Even if there had been qualified election workers managing and overseeing the process and minimizing the unbelievably large room for error, it wouldn’t change the fact that the process silences certain groups of voters. It is un-Democratic and un-American that elderly, sick, disabled, or evening shift workers who are unable to attend the convention don’t get the full representation of their votes.

The good news is that many people found a way to the polls despite the obstacles. When the convention was over and I felt like I could collapse from exhaustion, Ina was ready to celebrate. As we drank our margaritas, we talked about how amazing it was to see so many Democrats in Texas standing up for their candidate of choice and getting involved in the process. I just wish that every single person had that same opportunity.

Confessions of a Mass Email Artist

How I pissed off some faculty with just one click

I woke up in high spirits on Sunday, put on my “I heart Hillary” tee, and set out on a mission to change the world. I arrived at the Dallas Headquarters for the Hillary Clinton campaign at around noon. It was a little hectic due to an early vote rally with President Bill Clinton which had taken place that morning in Arlington, but I was eventually shuffled to the appropriate person. After expressing my desire to help out with the campaign, I was given a briefing on how to be a precinct captain and discussed options for reaching out to the SMU community. I agreed to do what I could, and I intended to follow through with my promise.

After hearing about emails circulating to student leaders recruiting volunteers for Barack Obama, it dawned on me that I could use the school email system to do the same. I developed a very short, generic message about why I am voting for Hillary, asking those who felt the same to email me with “questions about the process or if you are interested in becoming a precinct captain or volunteering.” I figured that if I got any replies from students, I could help them get in touch with the appropriate person or possibly form a student group on campus to help “get out the vote” on March 4. I used the SMU email directory to quickly send out hundreds of messages simultaneously. I knew that many students would ignore or even disapprove of the email, but I thought that if I even got a few positive responses, that it would be worth it. I still believe in that calculation, but I was not expecting what happened next.

It took about five minutes before angry faculty members were writing me emails, chastising me for being “out of line” in using the directory to send out “spam” to “influence voters”. I didn’t realize that when I searched for addresses under “display name”, that I was targeting SMU staff, professors, and deans. Realizing my mistake, I quickly sent out an apology that explained that I didn’t really believe that people would change their minds after reading my short message and that I was just trying to organize volunteers for Hillary’s campaign. I recognized that I probably didn’t use the appropriate forum for doing so and regretted any inconvenience I may have caused.

To make the matter even worse, many people hit “reply to all” in asking to be “removed from the list.” In a matter of hours, I had caused email boxes all across campus to be filled with junk. My political zealousness had momentarily clouded my judgment, and I was a little embarrassed. But after my initial feelings subsided, I was mostly shocked that certain professors and university employees had such rude things to say to a student who was only trying to get others involved in the political process.

I’m not going to mention any names here for obvious reasons, but I think it’s important to include some direct quotations. I am disappointed that an employee of our school felt it necessary to call me “stupid” for my actions and that “I must be related to Hillary” for supposedly trying to “lie my way out” of the situation. It is even more disturbing to me, that the most hateful emails, four to be specific, came from individuals affiliated with the Perkins School of Theology. I understand that they may not consider Hillary Clinton to be representative of their political ideals, but the condescending tone was uncalled for. One person in particular wrote that, “This is a university, meaning that smart people work here” and that “as a senior at a minimum here you ought to have learned how to think.” I would think that as a faculty member at a minimum here he ought to have learned how to address a student in an appropriate manner.

Despite blatant attempts to discourage me, the negativity has only increased my motivation. I have never felt more strongly for a candidate, and I plan on doing everything in my power to make sure that Texas gives Hillary Clinton the comeback she deserves. In all fairness, however, I have to include a response I got from a member of the Math Department. “Curtis, don't apologize or feel bad. I get all kinds of email every day. From junk about Viagra sales…to notices about events on campus that I am not even remotely interested in. Political activism seems like a much more appropriate way of using email than any of these. Please don't let anyone intimidate you. Stay active. If people were angry, screw 'em. And by the way, I'm not saying this because I'm a Clinton partisan. I'm voting for Obama.”

Hillary's getting pissed....and I love it.

Obama Uh-oh

FROM CNN.COM- "On a conference call with reporters, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said it was clear Obama had “lifted rhetoric” from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Portions of Patrick’s speeches during his gubernatorial run resemble some of Obama’s addresses this year.

“If you’re going to be talking about the value of words, the words ought to be your own,” said Wolfson."

I agree...what do you think?

It's not you, George. It's me.

Breaking up with the President


It’s hard for me to believe that four years have gone by since the last presidential primary in Texas. While the day itself was largely uneventful, 2004 was a difficult time for me. It was my freshman year in college, my mom and sister had recently moved to Chicago, and I was in a serious relationship with a Republican. Don’t ask me what I was thinking.
In my infinite wisdom as an undergraduate senior, I can now offer the following advice: Don’t spend four years of your life with someone you wouldn’t vote for.
Life in suburbia was bland, but I found joy in the daily task of pulling my John Kerry yard sign out of the dirt and placing it back in front of the Bush one, where it belonged. The kitchen table hosted our dinnertime debates, but without a moderator, things frequently got ugly. Out of both patriotism and spite, I decided to volunteer for the Collin County Democratic Party as an election clerk in the 2004 primary. I was the only worker under 70, but I was proud to be a part of what I thought would be a new beginning for America; an America without George W. Bush as President. I was wrong.
I woke up early on the day of the election and drove proudly to my local polling place. I stood in line quietly (for once), knowing that I was largely outnumbered by a bunch of impatient people on their way to hunt. I closed my eyes and prayed that Wylie, Texas wasn’t representative of the national electorate.
It was just about two years after that day before I finally realized that I wasn’t with the right person. I got tired of living with a Republican, and I left. Yes, I’m kidding.
Party preference ultimately had little to do with my failed relationship. It wasn’t easy to say goodbye after four long years, but I knew and still believe that it was the right decision for the both of us.
I also know I made the right decision when I voted for John Kerry, but I wish for America’s sake that there wasn’t so much evidence to prove it. I also wish I could just call Bush up on behalf of America and end our relationship. With about 335 days to go, I would say whatever necessary to get him out of there early. “It’s not you, George, it’s me. I still love you, really I do…I just need time.” Yuck.
Maybe what I’m trying to say could best be summed up in a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. “Many people will walk in and out of your life,” and blah, blah, blah. Never mind. This says it better: People come and people go, but you could be stuck with a bad President for eight years.
This time around, you wont find me checking in voters and passing out stickers, but I will be in line. March 4 is being labeled as the second Super Tuesday, and most political analysts agree that it’s do or die for Hillary Clinton. The race is tight here with a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll showing Clinton and Obama in a statistical tie in Texas.
A lot more has changed in my own life than in the U.S. over the past four years. When I wake up on November 4, 2008, and drive proudly to my local polling place, I’ll still be voting in a red state. I wont have to go home and argue about the morality of stem cell research or run outside to switch the yard signs, but the country will still be at war. As much as I’d love a convincing Democratic victory on the day of the general election, it’s probably going to be a close race and a hard fought battle. This time, however, I won’t be wrong in predicting a new beginning for America; an America without George W. Bush as President. And that, my friends, is something to celebrate.