Democracy Is Messy
I did not want to be standing in front of 30 of my neighbors, but here I was. I had been nominated for District Chairperson at our local caucus night. The person who nominated me was the current chair and my good friend Julio. I had nominated him as well. So, we were both standing up to answer questions.
Tonight was Republican caucus night in Utah. At least it was for the Republicans. I attended because it’s important. And because Julio had invited me. I would have taken notes and written it up for the local paper, but I had a story to edit. (See yesterday’s post) My plan was to sit quietly, edit my document and vote for whomever seemed like the least crazy of my neighbors.
Nope. Julio wasn’t having it.
I didn’t get voted in for District chair. I knew I wouldn’t. After you are nominated, people get to ask questions. And I was too honest to get elected. I’m not implying that my fellow candidates were not honest. Not at all. But, I know my neighborhood. There are still fading Trump 2020 signs.
Did you vote for for Mitt Romney for Senator?
It’s technically not an allowed question to ask for how people voted. Didn’t matter. Mitt Romney is not particularly well liked in my neighborhood. (Remember the Trump flags?) The other three candidates each gave measured answers that basically boiled down to
I might have voted for him. . .but I didn’t like it.
And this is where my honesty lost me a chance to be the Precinct 316 Chair for the next four years.
I was happy to vote for Mitt Romney and I’d vote for him again.
A couple of people clapped. Grateful to see a like minded individual. Later they told me they voted for me as well. But, as a comedian would say, “It was at that point I lost the room.”
We elected a very qualified woman as district chair. She’ll do great. I was next up for delegate to the state convention. Again, my honesty was not going to go over well.
What do you think of Critical Race Theory and should it be banned from schools?
Again, my fellow candidates gave variations on a theme. The theme was “absolutely not.”
My children are out of school, so I didn’t follow the CRT discussions as closely as many. However, I can tell you that raising 13 kids, seven of whom are black, the history of America is a history of mixed races and how they interacted with each other. It’s important to my kids to hear that history.
I didn’t get voted a State Delegate either. Julio was on the ballot for that one as well, having lost out on the District chair position. He didn’t get elected either.
The caucus went from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. It was a long night. But, it was an important night. Each person elected WANTS to serve in our political process and they have my admiration and my support.
Julio and I walked out together at the end of the night. Neither one of us had any responsibilities going into the election season.
The difference between us was that he was slightly disappointed, I was not.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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