Another Round in a Delegate's 2016 Political Journey, Still Kicken

Here is some more on this adventure into a good political revolution. Off we go! I'm 58 years old, and a New Mexico Democratic Delegate. I don't like the idea of super delegates and want that abolished. In fact, I want the rule making for primary nominations, and the general elections handed over to the FEC, or some other independent body.

James Parks Jr at Pre-Primary

I find the rules made by the parties are designed to exclude people from the process. Let me give my example. Did you know there were ward meetings, or the equivalent, to elect delegates in your community? The Democratic Party rules state that they will make efforts to inform the public with a newspaper ad 2 weeks in advance. In this day and age that isn't effective, and they know it. That's why the ward meeting I went to had only a few people in attendance.

There were 4 open slots for delegates in my ward, and 4 people showed up for the election of the delegates. All 4 of us became delegates simply by showing up. I was the freshman there. The other three were old hands. This happens all across our nation. That hall should of been packed.

Bernie Sanders 4 President Booth

Now I get to represent the will of the people in my ward. I know a lot of them are Bernie Sanders supporters, but what if they were not? What if I was the only Bernie Sanders supporter in my ward, and everyone else supported Hillary? Should I keep backing up Bernie, or bow to the will of my neighbours? I think I should bow to the will of my neighbours no matter how I felt about it. Even so, I would not be required to.

Judge Cindy Leos and I

The other 3 elected delegates who were elected are in the same boat as I. I'm pretty sure they are Bernie Sanders supporters, but what if they were not? I got a taste of the way things are at the Democratic Pre-Primary Convention here in Albuquerque. I met some people who are high up in the Democratic political machine. I'll not say their names. I will tell you the lady is a former elected official of the State of New Mexico. The other gentleman I don't know his status, but I think he was a congressman.

Do you remember when you were a freshman in highschool? Did anyone try to sell you an elevator pass? What about when you asked a question of an upperclassman, did they give you a straight answer? No? That's how the possible congressman tried to make me feel.
There were chairs towards the front of the stage with papers on each one, so I thought they may be reserved. The two people I mentioned were sitting there in the second row. I approached them and asked of these chairs are reserved, to which the fellow replied, "They're reserved for people like you and me." with a smart tone of voice. I asked him what me meant by that, and he just repeated himself. I asked him, "What kind of person am I then?" and the lady cut in and said "Delegates." So I took a seat and began to talk to them. When I learned who they were, I started really talking. I said to them I wanted to discuss some things with them and ask questions. I said that I think the Superdelegate system stinks and I think it needs to be abolished. I don't think the man liked that very much. He said they would make rules to make the abolition of Superdelegates impossible. I replied, "I'm a retired aviation expert. I deal in the impossible and make it possible." He said it wouldn't happen.

Then I mentioned that the Democratic Party needs to make sure they are teaching the everyday citizens of our nation the nuts and bolts of how our Democracy works. The lady said they have outreach programs to get people registered and such. I had to tell her I've seen these outreach programs and that is fine. What needs to be done is make sure everybody knows about things like ward meetings, and how this whole confusing process works. I told them that it is expected of the voter they take it upon themselves to educate themselves about the process, but most of them don't even know where to start. Most of them are never told where to start, or pointed in a direction other than the voting booth. No use teaching the pawns how to be anything other than a pawn. The political parties seem to care little about providing this vital information to the average Jane and John Doe of America. They act like the rules of the process are some kind of secret that only the elite should be privy to. The officials who have taken it upon themselves to learn these complex rules have absolutely no reason to voluntarily pass along what they have learned. That would upset their boat. That might provide competition from the grassroots of our nation and threaten the powers that be. The man distracted the lady with an off the wall question about the Resolution Committee Meeting Report. I don't think they liked it too much what I was saying. I don't think they liked it one little bit. Well, I didn't like that man talking to me in the disrespectful, condescending tone he use. Who does he think he is dealing with? I may be a freshman to the process, but I'm also an elder in our society, and a voter, and a Veteran, and a Human, and any person damn well better respect that, or they get nothing but a hard time from me. Later while we were all going through the items on the Resolution Committee Meeting Report, they went down the list asking if there are objections to each one. I had an objection to one concerning the time line on the abandonment of fossil fuels use in New Mexico. The resolution called for the use of 50% use of renewable energy sources by the year 2030, and 100% by 2050. I was given the mic, and I expressed to the meeting that that is not good enough. That according to everything I've read, that these timelines are inadequate, and we need to get this done much sooner. The situation is becoming critical, and we need faster action. There was a positive reaction from the crowd. So the words "or sooner" was added. This was not really good enough for me, but it was a start. I would like to see that read 50% by 2020 and 100% by 2030. The thing is, there are a couple reasons I bring this one thing up. Remember the rude man I told you about. I kept sitting in the front row seat in front of them so I could hear them talking. After I had said my piece about that timeline he said to me, "See there! You did get to participate in the democratic process.", to which I replied, "How about that!" and turned around as if to brush him off. I think these guys feel threatened. I think they are afraid of us grassroots people coming in and taking over the joint. I think they are scared to death that we are armed with vast knowledge this time around. Their jig is up and they are fighting it. There was a resolution on banning fracking, which I am for banning it. I hear him vote 'nay". So he must be a real Democratic Establishment Oil use promoting person. They feel threatened by persons like me and you who want every American to know exactly how to obtain office if that is what they wish to do. They hate it that we are trying to overthrow their system. They don't like it that we are prying open their secret club, and exposing all their dirty secrets. The lady remained polite. The man was cocky, rude and condescending. That's okay though because they expose themselves. These people are marking themselves for replacement. All the way up and down the line, from city hall to the White House, and in every office of the Democratic Party, all of the persons against the revolution will be replaced. I think some people are not going to like me, just like they don't like Mr. Sanders. Let us all have them not like us. I think that was the root of the man's disdainful treatment of me. Kind of trying to put me in my place. Perhaps he sized me up with my long hair, and being new to this. To bad he can't see into my past. To bad he didn't know I've worked with top people in the aviation industry and millionaires. To bad for him he didn't know that position and money don't mean beans to me as far as to how I treat them, or regard them. Even one of the CEO's of General Dynamics shook my hand when I worked on the MD-11 program, and conversed with me. He even asked me of what I thought of this or that concerning the production line. I've sat around drinking beer with millionaires who treated me like just another one of the guys, and I'm supposed to get all impressed by a congressman? I don't think so. You need to be just as unimpressed too. Always remember, every last one of them are just like you and me. All of them come from the same place, and are going to the same grave. None of them were born any better, or worse then the next Human. They just know the rules better for one reason or the other. Like maybe their parents taught them the rules, the nuts and bolts. Most of us only ever heard ,"Get out there and vote." or "Anyone can run for office." They fail to lead the horse to water so that the horse may decide if it wishes to drink. Instead they give the horse a pre-decided drink with poison added. I heard a woman who was kneeled down next to that rude guy say, "Oh, I just love to hear him speak." talking about the guy. pfft...I guess if I had got all woozy and giddy about his illustrious presence he would have treated me kindly. Homey don't play that! Don't let any of these guys get to you. Don't let any of them intimidate you. You don't have to answer to them. You only have to answer to the dictates of your own conscious. Then you have to deal with the consequences, just like all the persons of malfeasance will have to deal with all their bad choices. Oh yeah, this adventure into the belly of the political beast is getting very interesting. In a couple weeks there will be another Pre-Convention meeting at the Isleta Casino. It is an all day affair. I look forward to going and taking part again in our political process. This isn't a game. This is for real. I would encourage everyone to dig deep and never let up. The establishment is shaken. They have fear of us grassroots. Their fear comes from us being able to find all this information they have been trying to keep a secret. Game over!

The Albuquerque Democratic Pre-Primary Convention