Can you breath? Did you sign up to be a delegate? Then show up.
That's my frustration speaking, can you tell?
On March 12, in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, what should have been an 11/11 split between Hillary and Bernie ended as Hillary-12, Bernie-10. As many as possibly 80 Bernie delegates and alternates just not showing up was made worse by delegates leaving as frustrations mounted and time dragged on.
This is the day that precinct delegates from each of Iowa's 99 counties choose their district delegates. If all goes properly, the number is already set. We know how many precinct delegates there should be from each county and once at the county convention, the district delegate count is assigned accordingly.
But that is not the case. It comes down to this:
A. How much do you really want it?
and
B. An endurance challenge.
I cannot impress enough that those who sign up to be a precinct delegate must be committed to showing up. We will lose and it may be down to a handful of people who forget how important their involvement truly is.
There is an unsettling number of those in charge of these county conventions who are Hillary supporters. Wasting a lot of time and dragging out counts play out well for the Hillary side. Any observer can see that the Hillary side of the room has more retirees while the Bernie side has more people of age who need to rush out the door and get back to work. This is not a judgement. I was there to observe, but as Quinn Symonds, Bernie Sanders County Captain and owner of @Iowa4Bernie stated, "Anything to win but actual democracy." This was never more apparent than when the time came for realignment, a vote passed unanimously by the now tired and frustrated delegates to change it to one minute rather than the usual one hour. If you are unfamiliar with realignment, it is the time allotted to talk to those on the other side and sometimes, just sometimes your belief, your passion, and your words will bring someone to your side. This is what democracy looks like, talking to each other and sharing your views. Democracy limped home today in the confusion of signing in, being seated, repeated counts, and frustration across Iowa. Bernie supporters in Dubuque, Waterloo, and Polk county among others reported in with concerns similar and much worse.
As we move forward, these mistakes must not be made in any other states. LEARN FROM IOWA. Understand that Hillary has a bag of dirty tricks that include paid delegates, disrupters, those in place whose job it is to throw the counts, and people in high places who run and organize these conventions.
What do we do?
We make sure that those who sign up to be a district delegate understand immediately what they are getting into and the time commitment it involves which may possibly be all day.
understand that we do not depend upon being reminded and if for any reason you cannot make it to the county convention call your Bernie office so they can set up the alternate. If you don't know or have a local Bernie office, get on a Bernie Facebook site and ask for help.
Do not be late. Be early! Mingle. If you are unsure of the time, again reach out.
Make sure you sign in immediately. Get your packet. Sit down.
Monitor, monitor, monitor the situation. Ask names. Get clarifications.
Do not leave until it is over. Don't just take anyone's word for it either. Look for Bernie staffers.
The confusion in Cerro Gordo county was multiplied across Iowa by 99. There are reports from across the state that Bernie delegates did not show up. DO BETTER THAN US. This cannot happen in other states. Learn from this. We must be vigilant. We must stay on top of this situation.
Bernie is in this to be the next President of the United States. We must not let him or ourselves down.
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