Not Going to Boston

The Edwards caucus meeting last Sunday was a real hoot. It took me a long time to actually find the building where the caucus was being held, at the Chinese Community Center near 9th and T Streets in Sacramento. There was a sign announcing the building's purpose - in Chinese, which unfortunately I don't read. The English fine print was hard to read as I passed by in my car.

A handful of people gathered outside the building. Volunteers registered participants. One fellow, Harold Fong, was actually campaigning to be a delegate. Inside, I was handed a ballot. Ballot instructions indicated that the voter should vote for no more than six candidates (given that there were only six candidates, two women and four men, it would be hard to do more, I thought). A fellow waved the ballot box around, collecting ballots. He said he was watchfully preventing ballot irregularities, but I thought what he really wanted to do was go home and watch the basketball game. So I voted for four candidates and left.

Then as I walked back to my car I remembered that, as a candidate, I was supposed to deliver a speech. So I returned. At 3:10 p.m., voting ended and the fellow called the meeting to order (in a room no larger than a kitchen). Candidates were given 1 minute each to speak (it seemed odd that the candidates spoke after the voting was done and not before). The one woman candidate present refused to speak at all. Myself and another male candidate spoke. Twelve people were present in the room. Upon hearing some audience members speaking just beforehand that they were there only to heckle (Candidate, please explain the Edwards position on Bosnia-Hercegovina?), I started my speech by lifting a chair menacingly towards the audience and saying I was ready for any heckling, and that I had no idea what the Edwards position on Bosnia-Hercegovina was. People laughed. Someone said Edwards position is that he believes Bosnia-Hercegovina exists.

Then the 64 votes were counted. Myself and another male candidate received six and four votes, respectively. Harold Fong, the biggest vote getter, got 35 votes. I murmured "I guess I should have campaigned," as I shuffed from the room. So, it looks like I'm out, unless something odd happens and the whole state of California goes for Edwards in the March primary. Even then, I might have to menace people to get to be a delegate.