| First, let me say, it was easy to be a delegate for Clinton. I went to Helena determined to represent all the people in Missoula - many of them friends - who had worked so hard on Clinton's campaign. And, above all, to ensure that Missoulian and Senate Majority Leader, Carol Williams, was appropriately honored by electing her as a Clinton delegate representing Montana at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
And I found the Clinton crowd to be exceptional. I had great conversations about the election, problems experienced in the primary, and an unequivocally warm reception even after I repeatedly outed myself as an Obama-ite. I heard real concerns expressed for Clinton's constituents and issues by those that worked on their behalf this primary season. I heard concerns about blogs. I heard concerns about elections. Concerns that need to be heard and acted on, IMHO.
I spent most of the morning running around like a jackass trying to broker deals to send folks to Denver - though the voting rules effectively prohibited deal making, I was to find out - and stumping for Carol Williams. The rules were pretty vague - we weren't sure, right up to voting time, whether we'd have to submit multiple nominees for the delegate spots that would be voted on by the whole floor (including Obama delegates), or whether the Clinton caucus could effectively nominate and elect our own delegates. If the whole floor voted on nominees, we'd have to ensure there was enough support among Obama delegates for Williams.
So I ran back and forth, feeling out support among Obama-ites and the Clinton caucus for Williams. Wondering how to make the voting process as easy as possible.
It turned out to be a fool's errand.
When the time came for the Clinton caucus to vote for its nominees to fill the delegate spot for an elected official for Clinton, Carol Juneau nominated Carol Williams, extolling her accomplishments as a lawmaker; Julie French seconded, praising Williams' mentorship during her stint as a legislator. After an emotional speech from Williams, in which she tearfully praised the volunteers and efforts on behalf of Clinton and said it was the work of which she was the proudest, there was a motion to end the nomination process. The motion was seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote.
Carol Williams is going to Denver.
Overall, on the Clinton side, Missoula's delegation did well. Besides Williams, Rep. Diane Sands and College Democrat Scott Martin were also elected as delegates to Denver, giving Missoula three of Clinton's eight delegate spots.
So. What did I hear from the Clinton crowd?
First, I heard some concerns that the Democratic primary election needs serious reform. For example, caucusing discriminates against those that can't make the caucuses. Infirm seniors, for example, who would otherwise vote absentee in a primary, but who can't make a personal appearance at an event. Or working mothers. Or people who work during caucus hours.
You'll notice that those mentioned fall in those demographics that typically fall into Clinton's camp. Seniors, low-income families, blue-collar workers. That's true. But while most Clinton supporters recognized that it was good campaigning by Obama to target caucuses where his skills as an organizer gave him an advantage, there is a lingering concern about the inequities of those voting systems. Obama won the primary; but plenty of Democrats lost their chance to participate in the election in caucus states. That should be a concern to us all.
Second, while there was absolutely no complaining about the compromise outcome surrounding Florida and Michigan, everybody thought the primary schedule was a problem. I think a rotating regional primary system would find universal support among both Clinton and Obama supporters.
Third, there's concern that not enough women are standing for office. That young women who worked on the Clinton campaign - oftentimes, their first - will be discouraged from volunteering or running for office, in part because of the toxicity of the sexism that permeated the primary election, in part because of the agonizing closeness of the primary and the disappointment that necessarily follows.
I suggested that we could try to funnel this energy and volunteerism to state legislative races where strong women candidates are embroiled in tough re-election battles. (JP Pomnichowski's upcoming HD63 race in Bozeman, for example. Or Whitefish's Brittney MacLean's bid for SD2. Or Cheryl Steenson's battle for Kalispell's HD8. Or Deb Kottel's HD20 race in Great Falls.) But no doubt there's more that could be done.
Fourth, does the advent of new media - the blogs and netroots activism -- discourage women from participating in elections and running for office? Again, there's concern that many women are turned off by the hostile environment of the Internet. Certainly there aren't many women commenters at Left in the West, say, where up until recently we had no front-page women writers.
Besides recruiting and promoting women bloggers here and elsewhere, how else can we encourage women to use blogs as effective political tools?
Good stuff. Here at LiTW, we're always looking for suggestions on how to improve the blog, and willing to try new things. But a large part of what makes the blog work is participation from the readers. Basically what I'm saying is you have a lot of power in what this blog looks like.
In any case, I'm thrilled I saw with the Clinton delegate for the entire day yesterday. I heard stuff I otherwise might not have had I stayed with Obama delegates all day. And that's the key to healing the rifts of the party from the primary, isn't it? And the key to making a stronger, better, and more progressive Democratic party, too, I'd argue...
BTW, the Obama delegates had a much different convention, from what I could tell. It was definitely more lively and more contested than our caucus. Perhaps it deserves its own post. Anybody interested?
Notes: For a list of the delegates going to Denver selected by the state convention, check out Charles Johnson's coverage.
And here are the Missoula county delegates:
Obama delegates:
Jason Weiner
Molly Galusha
Andy Shirtliff
Michele Reinhart
Pom Fontain
Starla Gade
Bridgett "Cate" McCarthy
Jocelyn Siler
Jim Dayton
Diane Smith
M. Caroline Temple
Pete Talbot
Sandy Williamson
Lee Gordon
Z'eva Singer
Sara Bruya
Richard Conviser
Maria (Betsy) Aimes
Marilyn Bruya
Clinton delegates:
H. Diane Sands
Gail Gutsche
Scott Martin
Angela Goodhope
Jay Stevens
John Mudd
Carol Bellin
Carolyn Squires
Nina Cramer
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