How I Was a Part of Making History

February 6, 2008 Uncategorized 19

(Cross-posted at MyDD and Daily Kos)

Wow… Just wow. After all these months of waiting, Super Duper Tuesday finally came upon us. And like all of you, I actually had a chance to vote in it as I’m a registered California Democrat. But you know what’s even more amazing? I got to personally take part in the campaign.

I watched with my own eyes as people poured into campaign event. I listened with my own ears as our fellow California Democrats were telling me how they intended to vote. And most importantly, I worked my own behind off to make history happen.

Follow me after the flip for more…

After coming home from Nevada, I didn’t want to rest on my laurels and assume that the next couple of weeks would be an easy hill to climb for Hillary Clinton. No, I could sense what was coming. I knew we’d still have a whole lot of work to do. That’s why I was so excited to see my fabulous Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) and State Assembly Member Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) not only endorse Hillary, but reach out to the community and get people from all over Orange County involved with the campaign!

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And you know what was also amazing? It wasn’t just Loretta that took our votes so seriously here in Orange County! In fact in the days between Nevada voting and California voting, the campaign had two offices open just here in OC. And during these hectic days, we always had wonderful volunteers [like me! 😉 ] come in and help us contact other voters.

Take a look at what happened when Former DNC Chair and Current Campaign Co-chair Terry McAuliffe dropped by our campaign office last week. Even as he was coming in, we were still busy making those calls! Whatever you want to say about Hillary’s campaign, you can’t say we don’t have a good work ethic!

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Oh yes, and you also can’t say that we’re not thinking about tomorrow! In fact, I love how Hillary’s always thinking about tomorrow and telling us what her vision for the future really looks like. And yes, I love how President Bill Clinton can also articulate quite well Hillary’s vision for the future!

On Monday, President Clinton spoke to a packed house at Santa Ana College about Hillary’s plan to make our future brighter. And judging from what the audience said afterward, I think they liked what he said.

“She doesn’t want to go back to the ‘90s,” Clinton said, addressing a central theme of the Barack Obama campaign that she is a candidate of the past and that he offers a change agenda. She wants “to go forward to the future.”

Besides, he said, given what’s happened this decade, “the ‘90s look pretty good.” […]

“If we’re going to preserve the middle class, we need to stop making excuses and provide affordable health care for everybody” Clinton said. He said for people who care about that issue the choice is between someone who will do that and someone “who thinks it’s not that important.” […]

Nadia Daboussi, 22, was the first person in line, having arrived at Santa Ana College at 1:30 Monday morning.

After receiving an e-mail from the Clinton campaign, she drove through the rain from San Diego to Orange County and set up a folding chair outside the gymnasium. […]

“I knew I couldn’t wake up early in the morning, so I just decided to drive down here,” the University of California San Diego student said. “You only get so many chances to meet your hero.” […]

Julia Jun, 26, and Adriana Ruvalcaba, 27, left the rally with their support for Hillary Rodham Clinton “reinforced,” as Jun put it: “There’s no way we would vote for anyone else.”

Both are graduate students in American studies at Cal State Fullerton.

“I think he (Bill Clinton) explained pretty well that she’s the candidate with the most experience, which is a key element,” Ruvalcaba said. “Her promises of change will actually manifest.”

I’m still thrilled that I actually had a chance to volunteer there on Monday, and that I was able to help these people come in and see Bill Clinton for themselves. And yes, I’m still thrilled that I actually was able to go inside and see him myself as well. No matter what his detractors say, I think Bill Clinton was a fantastic President. And you know what? So do a whole lot of people here in Southern California!

And you know what else? As great as this nation did during the 1990s, I’m sure we can not only return to greatness… But do even greater things! We can ensure that everyone has quality, affordable health care. We can solve the climate crisis and make this nation energy independent. We can make sure our economy is working for everyone, not just a privileged few. We can cooperate with the rest of the world again instead of trying (and failing) to conquer it.

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That’s why I was working my tail off for Hillary for these last few weeks here in California. That’s why I volunteered at events, and why I contributed what I could, and why I made phone calls from home and from the campaign office. I truly am inspired by Hillary’s vision of real change to help real people, and that’s why I worked my hardest here in California.

And guess what? We won! After all the hours of hard work we put into the campaign, we did it!

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So yes, we won California. We won Super Duper Tuesday. But you know what? We still have a lot of work to do!

We still have more voters to contact, and we still have more states to win. That’s why we need our grassroots supporters to get out, get active and make a difference. Make calls from home. Find a nearby event to attend, or perhaps start one in your area. Contribute what you can. You know, you can also be a part of making history… All it takes is a little bit of action. 🙂

19 Comments

  1. Great job, Andrew! In CA and MA, bellweathers for the youth vote in a GE, Hillary swept the youth vote! Let’s keep it up.

  3. Melanie & Mike-

    Thanks so much! I just did what I needed to do. I knew that despite Hillary’s amazing win in Nevada, that our work was FAR from over. That’s why I got busy making calls, helping with events, and doing basically whatever I could to help Hillary win California. And even now that we won, I’m still not ready to rest on my laurels. It’s time for us to keep up the good work, and together we can take Hillary all the way to the White House next January! 🙂

  4. you’re a good luck charm! how’d you beat the famous field poll??? a 10% margin of victory is a wonderful accomplishment.

  6. Now that’s the spirit ! I hope the other campaign offices that did not have their primaries/caucuses yet will read your article and get some great adrenaline from it.

    This is a great example of the fact that hard work DOES pay off so those campaigning for our Hillary in states yet to vote: keep it up and your reward will come in the form of victory !

    And as for you California volunteers: you have certainly deserved a rest before you no doubt will be campaiging again after Hillary has secured the Democratic nomination.

  7. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but how is it that Hillary “won Super Duper Tuesday”?

    She was ahead in delegates before Tuesday, and now she’s behind. How is that a win?

  12. And like all of you, I actually had a chance to vote in it as I’m a registered California Democrat.

    You shouldn’t make such broad assumptions just because this is “The Liberal OC”. Republicans read it too 🙂

  13. Just a note to Andrew,

    You were referencing a tally of total delegates that factors in superdelegates. Obama leads on pledged delegates 856-847 according to that site you posted earlier.
    Hillary having to loan her campaign $5 million doesn’t bode well, and Obama is favored to win the next several contests in NE, WA, LA, DC, MD, and VA. It could be a tough next few weeks for Hillary.

  14. On a side note, I can’t wait until Obama OR Hillary get to destroy McCain in the GE. The debates will be fun to watch.

  15. Jason-

    Well, since I guess Obama wants this decided on superdelegates… Then it looks like superdelegates may end up being the deciding factor here. Oh yes, and Texas and Ohio come up in March… And these are good states for Hill! And regarding the other states voting this month, don’t count out Hillary just yet… Remember what ended up happening in New Hampshire and in Nevada.

    And check this out…

    http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=26964

    $3 million raised in less than 24 hours? As I just said, don’t count Hillary out just yet. 😉

  16. Hillary is not ahead in the awarded delegate count. She’s narrowly behind after Tuesday. Only the super delegates–the measure of her establishment muscle–put her ahead. Even with the super delegates she’s only about 80 ahead. She lost most of the states that voted Tuesday. She’s not raising as much money, though she raises it from bigger donors. All this is merely a month after a time when she had double digit leads almost everywhere and was the virtually certain presumed nominee. Anyone who fails to appreciate how much trouble her campaign is in, is themselves in denial of the obvious movement. Even with her advantage in super delegates, Obama will likely close the gap with her within this month. Super Tuesday was a disaster for her. Sh polls more poorly against McCain than does Obama and she makes a weaker contrast with him.

  17. Anon 3:15-

    Wow, that’s nice spinning skills you have. First off, Hillary’s campaign is FAR from broke…

    http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/2/7/16157/45598

    Secondly, all the polling I’ve seen against McCain has her either slightly ahead or slightly behind… No different from Obama. Thirdly, I love how you throw around “establishment”… I find it funny how Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, AND MA Gov. Deval Patrick endorse Obama… And Hillary still wins Massachusetts by double digits. Oh yes, and I find it funny how Obama spent millions on ads and a field campaign in California, and pull out all stops with Ted Kennedy, Oprah, and Maria Shriver events here… And Hillary still wins this state by 10.

    And again, there’d be no need for us to worry about superdelegates if the Michigan and Florida weren’t still disenfranchised. But since those delegates aren’t counted, our nomination may unfortunately be decided by superdelegates. Oh yes, and let’s not forget that Hillary leads 55-45 in the total popular vote count of all Democrats that have voted so far (from Iowa on).

    So really, thanks for your “concern”… But I think we’re doing just fine. 🙂

  18. There are many delegate counts out there now, because of the delays in
    counting them and the provisional ballots. The only one that has Obama
    ahead was manufactured and released by the Obama campaign before noon
    on Wednesday, before New Mexico even resumed their incomplete count
    from Tuesday night. If this one is accurate, it must be through
    wizardry, because normal people actually have to cout the votes before
    awarding delegatees. CNN and CBS have Hillary ahead, both
    in overall delegates and in 2/5 delegates. Let them count the votes, please.

  19. Nothing personal Andrew, I don’t even know you, but I am dead set against your candidate and I’m not persuaded by your points above. Yes there are lots of delegate counts out there; they’re all really bad news for Clinton, no matter how they tally-up. I look at the RCP listing of delegates, subtract the super delegates, and see an establishment candidacy struggling to survive like none in my lifetime has had to struggle. Not Mondale against Hart. Not Carter against Kennedy. Pick your count: it’s in no way good news for a Clinton camp that talked for a long long time–even in South Carolina–as if Obama’s wins were narrow and unimportant to the ultimate Feb 5 showdown. She has survived. But instead of a sweep she lost in 13 states. Perhaps you want to argue that there is good news here, but as someone who is opposed to her nomination, I hope she keeps up this impressive momentum.

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