April 12, 2008
Looking back to December, when you tried to figure out the race for the Democratic nominee for president, who could have foreseen the kind of neck-and-neck situation that we’ve seen play out this year?
Even the experts couldn’t predict the voters would be “stirred in their spirit,” as author David McCullough said of John Kennedy, and find “somebody who gets the country excited about a political purpose,” as the late William F. Buckley said about all successful presidents.
Once Super Tuesday had passed and the two candidates, Hillary and Obama, were still alive, it was clear that the elections of March 4 had taken on real importance. Hillary Clinton, it was said, would be tossed out if she lost one or both of the big states—Texas or Ohio. So the suspense heading into that day was just short of electric.
As a Democratic Precinct Chair, I was told that the party would hold training sessions on how to hold the post-election caucus the week before the election. After my first session, I decided I’d better attend a second session. The math we needed to determine the number of delegates each candidate would be allotted caused this non-math major to utter that popular one-word response: “Huh?”
After my second session, I still felt somewhat shaky as Election Day dawned with its promise of a lovely day of sun and large crowds. On this day, I would pull double duty: I would stand on the sidewalk in front of the precinct and hand out cards announcing my re-election, and I would remind people to come out to the Democratic caucus following the election that evening. My worries over the math dissolved when Charles, an old friend and fellow voter in the precinct, showed up on my doorstep as I was leaving home that morning.
As fate would have it, Charles and I were on opposite sides. He was an Obamaite while I supported Hillary. Hey, I’d been to see her and her two “emissaries,” Chelsea and Bill, in the last few weeks. I had been undecided before those visits. Then, I figured, “At least she cares enough to come here and present her position in El Paso.” Obama had been, after all, conspicuously absent.
Notable events from that day:
---The Obama side was well represented. David, their leader, happened to be a young, recently-discharged vet who’d fought in Iraq. He had several young guys under 20 working with him who’d come down from New Mexico. They’d walk on the sidewalk and try to line up Obama supporters to come to the caucus. And they were knowledgeable. David invited his guys, and me, to come to his van where the back doors were open and we ate Thai food his wife had cooked. Good eats and good fellowship shared among “enemies.”
---Two Hillary women from California stood on the opposite side of the street regaling passing motorists with their signs. They were not alone—there were Obama people, as well as representatives of local candidates (there were 11 sheriff candidates—remember?) One of these women came over to me during the day, nearly in tears, to complain how Obama supporters were being “aggressive.” I told David and he must have cooled things out—there were no more complaints. This same lady, realizing the crowd entering the precinct was mostly pro-Hillary, took off her badges and went inside the building to tell the voters to come out to the caucus that evening. Her talking must have helped jack people up: we counted more than 180 people waiting for the caucus in the cafeteria when polls closed at 7 o’clock.
---One Hillary supporter, calling herself the “Precinct Captain,” came by to warn me against the tactics the Obama people had been “pulling” elsewhere. “Don’t let them get control of the meeting,” she told me darkly. I looked over at David and his beardless workers. I was warned, but these guys didn’t strike me as “goons.” Still---
When I went inside at 7 and picked up the packet that allowed me to begin the caucus, the site of so many people sitting and waiting was daunting. I told them in English and Spanish that we’d have to wait till the last person voted before we could begin. They were “down” with that. Nobody moved.
Once I saw it was okay to start, about 8:15, David and I agreed to put two people, one from each candidate, on four separate tables which were divided alphabetically. Then people got in line to register their support for one or the other candidate.
With Charles’ math fluency, we were able to calculate the percentages for each candidate in a pretty timely manner. Only one person walked out—and she had another commitment and couldn’t wait. After the numbers were announced, it was a matter of the two groups getting together and deciding who would be the delegates, who would be the alternates, for the County Convention.
The process went pretty much as it was supposed to. No serious squawking. I even had people coming up afterwards to tell me how well the evening went. Gee, I really made a hit in my precinct. Only later, over the evening news, did I discover I’d lost my campaign for re-election. At least I’d been elected as a delegate to the County Convention.
Ah well, I thought, you can’t win ‘em all.
Material that had been sent out in e-mail by the Democrats announced that the March 4 caucuses had drawn over a million participants in Texas—ten times more than any previous caucuses had. The fact the County Convention was moved from Jefferson High School to the cavernous Don Haskins Center was an indication that they expected big crowds at the March 29 get-together.
The blue post card sent to delegates and alternates to the Convention told us: “Do expect a long day…”
They had no idea!
For me, things began the week before the event when I had to phone the people who had signed up as delegates and remind them when to come, what to bring, etc. Since I had only left messages at some of the homes I called, I was nervous about how many would show up.
As it turned out, all 14 of the allotted delegates for Hillary turned out. And all four of the Obama people were also there.
I’d put in to help out, so the day began early for me. At 7:30 I arrived at the Haskins Center. Even at that hour lines were already stacking up: Did someone tell people the Beatles were going to be there? When I tried to enter, they wouldn’t let me in: “We have all the volunteers we need,” one fellow I’d never seen before told me.
Through a glass door I flagged down someone I knew and she got me in. For the next 2 1?2 hours I worked at a table checking people in and stringing and tying a ribbon around I.D. badges. With my un-nimble fingers, it seemed easier to tie a ribbon round the old oak tree than tying those small white ribbons. Somehow, I got them done.
Once I got with my delegation on the floor of the convention, it didn’t take long for all of us to renew our commitment to our candidate. We barely got to nod to each other the night of the election, but now we had time to sit with each other and talk.
It was after 11 when the Convention was gaveled to order. The last words, closing the Convention, wouldn’t come till after 9 p.m. What went on in between? Besides the speeches the local candidates made, there was time for delegates to put up their signs and shout their candidate’s name. An outsider might have thought he’d walked in on a college basketball game from the shouting:
“Obama!”
“Hillary!”
“Obama!”
“Hillary!”
And, of course, we voted. Since our precinct was allowed two delegates to send to the State Convention in Austin in June (one would be an alternate), we elected two Hillary people. I was not one of them but I found out later I might be going with a group that would hire a bus to be part of the proceedings in Austin.
There were challenges during the day to some of the proposals put forth from the stage. There was a reading of a rather long list of Resolutions which the party may or may not decide to act on later. The rest of the time the various committees had to okay the delegates we’d nominated and decide what the percentage breakdown would be for each candidate to send to Austin.
So we did a lot of waiting. And waiting. And waiting…
Finally, around 9 o’clock, I told the few folks left in my delegation that I’d mosey on home, and would they fill me in on---Then, there was a rustling at the podium, the mike was turned on and the chairman, Danny Anchondo, made his announcement.
In essence, he said the committees had determined the breakdown to be 90—10 for Hillary. There was great rejoicing from the Hillary contingent, surprise and disappointment from Obama’s people. Since the Convention, the Obama folks have been writing to the papers and to the State party in order to declare the numbers from the Convention invalid.
I’m sure everyone agreed as they left: The battle over the numbers would be the work of another day. For most of us, dog-tired and ready to skedaddle after our super long day, getting home was heavy on our minds.
And, I think we’d agree—this had been one election season to remember.
Paul Geneson is an author.