Voter Suppression By Any Other Name

What they don't want you to vote for...

Voter Suppression By Any Other Name

by C.A. Matthews

It stinks. There's no other name for this vile action except "voter suppression."  No matter how the "Democratic" Party tries to put a spin on it, taking a candidate's name off the ballot--a person whose political party has already submitted the required signatures, paid the fees and jump through the hoops, mind you--for political reasons right before a major election is nothing short of voter suppression.

Sure, the GOP have become experts in de-registering voters and shutting down both the number and locations of voting polls in poorer, multicultural areas. You could even claim they've raised the quality of their nefarious gerrymandering activities to a true art form. But this time the Dems have decided to bail out the establishment candidates' lackluster performances by removing Howie Hawkins of the Green Party from the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin 2020 presidential election ballots.

Did the Greens fight back in court? Yes, they did, and it was an extremely expensive endeavor for a grassroots party that accepts no corporate or Super PAC money. The money spent appealing these decisions--which the Greens did and were successful until the Dems forced the decision back into a court with a more " cooperative"  judge --could have been used for promotion and travel expenses for Howie and Angela Walker, his V.P. running mate.

Once again, the big "red/blue" bullies have shown their true colors. They have become green with envy over the growing popularity the Green Party has with voters!

There's a lot to be envious about. The Green Party is the only American political party that has consistently advocated for universal health care that covers all Americans, regardless of income, disability or job status. The Greens are the only party that has been on the record for supporting free education, pre-kindergarten through college, and for student loan debt forgiveness. 

The Greens support peaceful and diplomatic initiatives to put an end to all wars and military conflict worldwide, so there's no fear of your son or daughter being drafted into the army to defend oil rigs in the Middle East once again. And, of course, the Green Party were the creators of the original "Green New Deal" and are supporters of green energy implementation to put an end to the coal-fired plant pollution that is causing Americans to suffer from asthma more than ever before.

When you have two establishment candidates who don't offer much of a platform to run on, let alone inspire voters who are still registered to turn out and vote, these kinds of underhanded shenanigans are to be expected.  Both Trump and Biden have declared that they don't support Medicare for All. Their parties both continually vote for obscenely large military budgets and support military interventions overseas and back home by providing military-grade equipment to municipal police departments. (Yes, the Dems voted for the latest huge defense budget, too. They have gone along with every Republican ask for more money to build weapons of war, so blood is on their hands.).

You can't help but see see why the establishment candidates are so desperate to keep Americans (mostly young, poor, black and brown ones) from going to the polls.  They'll do anything to prevent the voters from having one positive presidential choice on the ballot, up to and including kicking off other viable candidates who support programs that could help ordinary people.

One of the accusations I get on a regular basis.

Surveys show that voters who support the Green Party do not automatically vote Democratic or Republican for president when they don't have a Green option on the ballot. Most Greens will simply leave that spot blank or write in their preferred candidate's name--this time Howie Hawkins for president. While some complain that "third parties" have no business running a presidential candidate (let alone such a compassionate and intelligent one as Hawkins), these people seem to forget that this is how our electoral system is set up.  Small "alternative parties" (as I call them) have to run a presidential candidate on the national ballot in order to run their candidates on state and local ballots.

There's no way around these draconian rules, so the Greens knuckle down and do their best. These tactics give more evidence to how the establishment (consisting of the strange union of the GOP and the Dems) make life harder for other parties and take away choice from the voters at all levels.

I could go on and on about how the so-called "presidential debates" are no longer run by the "unbiased" League of Women Voters (they are actually run by a private corporation owned by the DNC and RNC), but I think I'll stop there. I'll let the following videos featuring the candidate taken off the ballot in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin speak for themselves. And the good news is, at the end of the day, voters will be allowed to write in the names of "Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker" on their ballots for president and vice president if they so desire in those two states. Not all states allow write-ins, so this is fortunate.

It seems that running an honest campaign, aimed at helping the people and not corporations, makes the Green Party  come out the "winners" after all.

Krystal Ball: Dem War On Green Party Exposes Voter Suppression Hypocrisy  https://youtu.be/Jw4sOLfeHng

The following is an excellent interview with a great indie journalist who asks Howie Hawkins smart questions about how the Green Party  would work to help Americans with school lunches, the climate catastrophe, the massive wildfires out west, the handling of the pandemic, and other issues. (Ignore the video's cover image--it's pretty lame.)

 https://youtu.be/t6Nr8xSggwQ

 Jordan Chariton  interviewed Howie Hawkins on the day the decisions to kick Howie off the ballot were announced. Here's a brief snippet taken from a longer interview available on the Status Coup You Tube page.

https://youtu.be/NDchtsxrtsE

In classic Jimmy Dore epic rant style, Jimmy breaks down the hypocrisy of claiming that Americans live in a "democracy" if we as voters aren't even given the chance of voting for a candidate that isn't sanctioned by the establishment oligarchy. He makes some very insightful remarks, so hold onto your hats and listen all the way through to the end. You could discover something about our electoral system that you never realized we were missing.

https://youtu.be/zPhk16CsxEk   Related articles:   Pennsylvania Counties To Print, Send Ballots...Following State Supreme Court Decision to Remove Green Party's Presidential Candidate Howie Hawkins https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/09/17/howie-hawkins-green-party-pennsylvania-ballots-vote-state-supreme-court-decision-remove-presidential-candidate/   Voters May Not Lean Biden Now That Green Party Is Off Wisconsin Ballot  https://wkow.com/2020/09/15/expert-voters-may-not-lean-biden-now-that-green-party-is-off-wisconsin-ballot     *** With Toledo City Council Introduction, #EssentialOhio Campaign Poised to Pass Essential Workers Bills of Rights Across Ohio

Toledo - The Glass City is the first in the nation to take up a resolution supporting an Essential Workers Bill of Rights as part of a new national campaign to deliver better treatment and pay to all “essential workers.” Mónica Ramírez, Founder & President of Justice for Migrant Women, announced Essential Ohio (#EssentialOH), the Ohio arm of this national campaign, today at the City Club of Cleveland and at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute 2020 Leadership Conference.  Ramírez said: “The Essential Workers Bill of Rights is a commitment to honor those we have lost to COVID-19 and to fight for the working people who truly are essential to our communities. Workers in the food supply chain, medical, and care-giving sectors, as well those who serve other vital functions that keep our nation in operation are often paid poorly and forced to work in grueling and even dangerous conditions. They are putting their health and safety on the line to care for us. The least we can do is ensure that their rights and contributions are cared for, too.” The resolution was introduced yesterday at a Toledo City Council meeting by Council Member Theresa Gadus. Eugenio Mollo, an Attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), presented in favor of the resolution. A vote is expected in October. Council Member Gadus said: “The pandemic has pulled back the curtain and reminded many people of the importance of essential workers to a strong, robust economy. These courageous workers have stood on the frontlines, risking their health, their families, and their lives. Many essential workers have made the hard decisions to separate from their families in order to serve their communities; to provide financial stability for their families and support our economy. They deserve the dignity that comes from equity, security, protections, and benefits for their labor and for their labor to take place in a safe environment that values their contributions. I am proud to present this resolution before the Council of the City of Toledo and to support the National Essential Workers Campaign.” “Toledo is the perfect city to launch this national campaign,” Ramírez added. “Recognizing the dignity of work is a Toledo value. We applaud Council Member Gadus for taking this first step, and look forward to celebrating the resolution’s passage in October.”  By passing the Essential Workers Bill of Rights, municipalities commit to transforming their laws and standards to “ensure equity, security, and benefits for workers that are worthy of their labor and their dignity,” regardless of the workers’ status. Local governing bodies also commit to advocating for Federal and State improvements.  The Essential Ohio campaign is calling on cities across the state to follow Toledo’s lead, and introduce ordinances in their own city councils and county boards. Read the full draft of the Toledo ordinance here: http://bit.ly/EssentialToledo.  “#EssentialOH is part of a broader national push to ensure that workers who have always been essential, but are now being recognized as such, have the rights they are owed, and are treated with respect, both during the pandemic and beyond,” Mollo said. “It’s a robust set of commitments to workers, and it’s the only right thing to do. These workers have our backs, and we have to have theirs,” he added. The Essential Ohio campaign is supported by Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), Justice for Migrant Women, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, Cleveland Jobs with Justice, La Conexión, and Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, Local 10. We welcome others to join the efforts.  The national campaign is anchored by National Domestic Workers Alliance, Jobs with Justice, Justice for Migrant Women, and other organizations. For more information and a full list of national partners, see https://honoressentialworkers.com/. ###

From Friends of the Earth: Fires are blazing across California, Oregon, and Washington. The news is filled with images of orange haze and a post-apocalyptic landscape. Trees torched, buildings burned to the ground, and air so thick you can barely see through it. Take action to stop fossil fuel extraction from adding to the climate crisis. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to offer thousands of acres of land in Kern Co. California for oil and gas drilling. This will only add to climate chaos. We can’t let the BLM get away with handing over more of California’s public lands to Big Oil. C.A., will you help stop it? Tell the Bureau of Land Management: Stop exploiting public lands for Big Oil profit! Sign Now The devastating wildfires made California's hazardous smoke front page news across the country. But toxic air pollution is not a new story for San Joaquin Valley residents, who already breathe some of the most polluted air in the country. Kern County is regularly subjected to drinking water with illegal levels of toxic chemicals like arsenic, and we know more fracking will further aggravate the problem. Low-income and communities of color in California already contend with dirtier air and water due to existing pollution from the oil and gas industry. The BLM's fracking blitz is making environmental racism worse. Demand the Bureau of Land Management protect people and our planet from further climate devastation. Sign Now The wildfire smoke is causing the entire West Coast to experience the worst air quality in the world. The air is filled with hazardous levels of particulate matter that exacerbate heart and lung problems. The air is now highly dangerous to breathe.  Ash is raining down on cities, blowing into cracks of windows, doors, and other surfaces. Residents have been warned to avoid outdoor activities and remain indoors. Local lawmakers have also had to open air respite centers to aid vulnerable unhoused residents. Our country is on fire. Our planet is screaming, in bright orange hues, that we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The BLM owes it to the people of California to stop leasing public lands to Big Oil -- but it won’t listen without the voices of people like you. Demand the Bureau of Land Management stop the California Kern County lease sale. Sign Now Standing with you, Nicole Ghio, Senior fossil fuels program manager, Friends of the Earth

Amber Gets To Vote

Editor's note: Little did I know when I wrote about voter suppression in Ohio on March 15 that we would see such blatant voter suppression in the Arizona primary the following week. Here is a succinct article that explains what happened in Arizona's most populated county: http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2016/03/22/maricopa-county-election-officials-writing-off-voters-you-bet/82145554/

There are petitions circulating online demanding an investigation into the voter suppression/voter fraud which occurred in Arizona. Here are two links where you can sign:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/do-revote-arizona-primary-due-voter-suppression

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/investigate-voter-fraud-and-voter-suppression-arizona-3222016-democratic-party

Voter suppression isn't funny--it's downright ugly. It smacks of racism and discrimination against the poor and minorities, the young and disabled. Speak up and speak out about abuses in our elections! Sign the petitions and share the links with others.  The vote you save may be your own.

You can contact Arizona Governor Ducey About your concerns about   #ArizonaVoterFraud  at the link below:
AZGOVERNOR.GOV
http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey

Amber Gets to Vote
(This Woman is Bernie Strong)

words and photos by Cindy A. Matthews

After a long week of coordinating canvassers in your small Ohio city, heading to your local precinct on primary day to vote for Bernie Sanders is something you’d look forward to, isn’t it? So, imagine your frustration when once you arrive at your polling place you’re told you cannot vote because you don’t have proper ID so go on home and forget about it. This is Amber’s story.

Unfortunately, Amber’s story parallels other voters’ stories as well. Young and/or never-voted-before voters were actively discouraged to take part in the political process on March 15 in  North Carolina  and Ohio--and more than likely elsewhere.  (Read about Illinois' solution to ballot shortages.) The “political machines” of the two “major” parties don’t encourage big turnouts because lots of new and idealistic voters like Amber could lead to radical change in the established system. In other words, the two major parties teach their polling staffs to turn away anyone who doesn’t quite fit their mold. Amber, a young woman who hasn’t voted before, didn’t fit their mold. 

The story begins: When I returned to  Amber’s home with my turf sheets from canvassing, I noticed something amiss. Amber acted very sad and angry. Her boyfriend Chris said while he was able to vote Amber couldn’t because she didn’t have the proper ID according to the poll workers. Her driver’s license had expired, and she had only a medical bill to prove she lived in her new home since the utilities were still in her mother’s name. Amber did have her Social Security card and birth certificate, so she could prove she was a citizen, but the poll workers wouldn’t accept a non-utility bill as proof of residence. I asked Chris had the poll workers suggested Amber vote a provisional ballot instead? Chris said they hadn’t. I said we should contact the Ohio Secretary of State’s office for information.

Knowing that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted had recently tried to deny the rights of 17 year old eligible voters to vote in the primary, I had a feeling his office wouldn’t be too helpful. They weren’t. Chris told me the person on the phone said, “Oh, well…” like the poll workers had earlier in the day. The polls would be closing within 90 minutes, so we didn’t have time to waste. I called one of the Bernie campaign organizers who had helped set up the canvassing in our area, and we got the number of a voter protection hotline staffed by volunteers. 

Chris made a quick call to the hotline and explained Amber’s situation. My thoughts were confirmed: Amber should be allowed to vote on a provisional ballot. She shouldn’t have been turned away. We piled into my car and drove back to Amber’s precinct. There we watched as she requested a provisional ballot and finally talked to a poll worker who was willing to give her one and show her how to mark it. Amber got to vote.

While this story has a satisfactory ending, the lessons we Bernie volunteers learned on primary day were clear: You should never take your voting rights for granted. Those in positions of authority can deny you your rights either at their own volition (they’re lazy or can’t be bothered) or because they were told to discourage new voters by their party officials. Chris said the people on the hotline were grateful he’d called back to tell them of the outcome of Amber’s situation. They'd heard from others in Ohio having difficulties voting, and Amber’s experience added to the growing body of evidence of deliberate voter suppression. 

I hate to think of all the others who were turned away at the polls on March 15 and at earlier primaries. How many of those discouraged voters were young or without a permanent address or without one of the usual forms of identification such as a driver’s license or utility bill? It's quite telling how some poll workers can’t be bothered to help new voters exercise their right to vote. No, these politically-motivated poll workers prefer to turn voters away. This behavior demonstrates just how little the rights of the 99% mean to establishment party politicians. They’re more concerned with their big-ticket corporate campaign contributors than their actual constituents.

More than ever, Amber’s experience at the polls demonstrates how much we need a political revolution. We need to make sure that voters like Amber are never turned away and discouraged from voting ever again. We need to elect a person who has ordinary voters’ rights in mind and not the rights of the corporate-owned, super PAC-dominated establishment. We need to elect Bernie Sanders--the candidate funded by ordinary people and not super PACs--as President of the United States.

Because every vote, every ballot counts--including a provisional one. Amber’s smile after she voted proves it.

***

Welcoming Bernie to the Glass City

photos by Adrian and Cindy Matthews

What happens when you get an email with less than 24 hours notice that Bernie Sanders is arriving in your area and volunteers are needed to help out at the rally? You drop literally everything and do whatever it takes and then some.

Here are some of our photos from  A Future to Believe In Rally at the SeaGate Center in downtown Toledo  on March 11, 2016. Even with such short notice, there was quite a turn out in the Glass City--an estimated 2400 people attended. We were treated to speeches from many great speakers including former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, Hawaii  Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Rep. Michael Futrell of Virginia and farm labor activist Baldemar Velasquez. And Toledo was the first to hear long-serving Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's official endorsement of Bernie as the next President of the United States. The jam-packed convention hall roared its approval!

The lines started at the front door and went around the building...and then around the block and then around the next block. Everyone waited patiently.  We were blessed with mild weather with temps in the 50s, quite warm for Northwest Ohio in mid-March. The whole gamut of humanity was there--all colors, all creeds, young, old, families with kids and babies and a couple of protesters with "Socialism is Evil" signs across the street. I heard people went over and chatted friendly with them later that morning. I hope they were invited in to listen to Bernie's speech and learned more about what "democratic socialism" really means.

 The hall had quite a different lay-out to the previous rallies we attended at E.M.U. in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Baldwin-Wallace University south of Cleveland, which were held in basketball arenas. The SeaGate Center is basically a big concrete box, and even as volunteers, you're not guaranteed a special place to sit or stand. After we'd helped take contact info from Berners standing in line and at the door, we squished into the hall and stood on the floor near the back. Seeing Bernie from a side angle across a mass of people (a lot of whom are taller than you are) takes some doing, but the acoustics and sound system in the hall were good, so we didn't miss a word of what any of our speakers said. 

I'm waving my sign for Bernie.

I'm glad we had a variety of speakers before Bernie talked, especially our own Kristin Robideaux (who runs the Toledo Bernie Sanders campaign office) and  Skip Angles, a UAW member who  worked at the now famous Autolite spark plug factory in Fostoria. NAFTA and other disastrous trade policies took a heavy toll on many NW Ohio communities such as Fostoria. From 1300 good-paying union jobs in the early 1990s to less than 70 jobs today, the Autolite facility has become practically empty as jobs and machinery were shipped off to Mexicali, Mexico. Poor Fostoria possesses the sad, resigned air of a town that once thrived but is now barely alive--and for how much longer? Bernie's message of putting American workers' jobs first before the billionaires' personal profits resonated well with Northwest Ohioans. Our corner of the state gave him a significant number of votes last Tuesday.

If you ever get a chance to help out at a Bernie rally, grab it. You won't regret it. Each of us is just one small cog in the machine that is the political revolution our country desperately needs if we want to live in a democracy and not under the power of the oligarchy. Bernie Sanders brings ordinary Americans together and preaches tolerance and compassion to all, as he says, "Love trumps hate." Compassion will be the order of the day when Bernie is in the White House. Government #OfThePeople, #ByThePeople and #ForThePeople will be restored once more.

***

Here's a story that I hope will inspire us all to become more active in phone-banking for Bernie. Tobey shows us how to get it done!


http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/03/11-year-old_bernie_sanders_volunteer.html

Sing along with the following song while you're promoting the political revolution. And remember all you voters in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Hawai'i and Alaska this week--Vote Bernie, Be happy!

Rocking the Caucus

Our two female delegates, Mary and Kay, flank "Bernie" on either side, while Alecia and I take the ends.

Rocking the Caucus

by Cindy A. Matthews

I'm not a political animal by nature. Never in a million years (not an exaggeration) would I have thought I'd "volunteer" to run as a delegate for Bernie Sanders to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this summer. But when I told another Bernie campaign organizer back in early December which district I was in, he said, "You've got to be a delegate!" 

"Okay," I thought, "If Bernie needs help to win our state and I live in a mostly rural, heart-of-Republican-country congressional district, then I'm willing to go out of my comfort zone and do it for him. It'll be a learning experience."

One thing to be said for being a Bernie supporter: You learn a lot of new things in a very short period of time.

My husband and I drove approximately 50 miles to our district caucus site at a Knights of Columbus bingo hall in Marion, Ohio and only got lost once. Yes, we had to travel that far--so did many others, if not further. Some traveled upwards of 95 to 100 miles, one way. Looking at a map of the 4th Congressional district of Ohio, the word "gerrymander" springs to mind. 

Ohio U.S. District 4

You would be shocked to see that it begins in the Northeastern quadrant of the state just outside the western suburbs of Cleveland, zigs, zags and serpentine-crawls it way through the middle of the state hitting our Northwest county of Seneca, dips southeasterly again through Marion in the central area of the state and then makes it way westerly to Lima and then dives south to Sidney, just north of Dayton. In this manner, the Republicans have been able to carve out a niche and install a Tea Party/Freedom Caucus idiot--excuse me, gentleman--named Jim Jordan as our U.S. House representative. We are predominately rural, small town and suburban, yet in one Congressional district we touch upon the outer Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Dayton metropolitan areas. 

Not bad. All we're missing of the top five largest cities in Ohio is Cincinnati, and I'm sure Republicans are working on a way to zigzag in some of their 'burbs. You realize they can't have us rural/small town folks hooking up with an actual big city, don't you? Oh, no! We might be influenced to vote against the G.O.P. if we ever had contact with our big city neighbors.

Dave, one of our delegates.

The well-paying union jobs in our district have long gone to Mexico with NAFTA, and the family farms have all but withered away in the agribusiness takeover explosion of the last decades. You'd be pardoned to believe the Democratic base in this gerrymandered nightmare of a district isn't perhaps the strongest. I believed it, too, until I saw the enthusiastic Bernie supporters in the K. of C. bingo hall. People in our downtrodden district really love Bernie Sanders!

As we came into the hall, the Bernie supporters didn't appear to be in majority, but I learned later that the Hillary supporters had been provided transportation to the caucus by chartered bus, courtesy of a national union whose leaders have endorsed her. Even if we were slightly outnumbered, I can say for certain we were the liveliest and most enthusiastic group there. (Martin O'Malley's campaign failed to get the prerequisite number of signatures to be qualified for the Ohio primary ballot. I wasn't sure if any of his supporters were present or if they had migrated to one corner of the room or the other.)

The "Hillary corner" of the caucus had about twenty more people than our group my husband estimated, but they didn't strike me as the happiest of souls. The word "lethargic" comes to mind. Many were well-dressed. They didn't look like they were "working class" individuals but older, retired couples who enjoy a weekly steak dinner and a drink or two at their local country club… Not exactly working farmers or blue-collar factory workers or high school science teachers or nurses or college students struggling with overwhelming loan debt.

Jamie gives delegate Mary's Bernie stand-up sign a thumbs up!

Frankly, Bernie fans are my type of people. They're animated and came dressed in their t-shirts, hats, hoodies and wearing badges and carrying signs. They can't contain their enthusiasm for Bernie and how much they admire him and his progressive agenda. If I were throwing a party, I'd invite the "Berners" any day of the week. They're fun and friendly people. In direct contradiction to the mainstream media political pundits, we had a much higher percentage of women in our group than the Hillary camp. 

By contrast, the Clintonistas acted subdued, orderly. They just didn't display much pep. We didn't see any t-shirts, hats, badges or anything else that would designate them as fans of the former secretary of state. When an elderly couple wandered in a little later in the evening and sat in the back of the room (not huddling with either group), I thought perhaps when they saw all the cars in the parking lot they thought it meant it was Bingo Night instead of the Democratic delegate caucus. Maybe they really were a part of the Hillary caucus? Their subduedness and apartness fit in with that group's vibe.

To the detriment of all, the bingo hall had terrible acoustics. At half-basketball-court size, it wasn't big enough for the approximately 80 people present. Delegates were given 60 seconds to give their "stump speech" to persuade people to vote for them. Of course, the Clintonistas were doing likewise just a few feet from our tables… Bedlam! Neither side had a mircophone or a megaphone. Talk about challenging for the hard of hearing. I really had to concentrate to hear any of the speeches. 

When I caught one of the Hillary supporters behind us bellowing "I'm a FDR Democrat!" I just had to wonder why this older gentleman was sitting in the other corner of the room. Hadn't he heard Bernie's latest speech on Wall Street? It would have made FDR proud. Of course, an elderly voter probably doesn't watch You Tube or get online very often. More than likely, he watches the local news or gets his political fix from CNN or Fox. Another on-the-fence older couple I talked to earlier in the evening stated, "We love Bernie, but he's not going to win the primary." When I asked them if they'd watched any of his speeches or rallies online and did they know anything about the large number of people attending his events and how inaccurate the mainstream media polling data was, they looked at me with quizzical yet hopeful eyes. I'm happy to say they ended up caucusing with the Bernie group.

Our district gets to select four delegates per candidate--two male and two female--to be sent to the national convention. And what a long slate of names we had! We had eight women and at least six men to choose from--all very intelligent and enthusiastic candidates. It was a tough choice.

How did I do? Since I couldn't hear the first two ladies at all in the noisy hall when my time came to speak, I did like all mothers and schoolteachers everywhere do to get attention: I stood on my chair and projected loudly to our group. I got a nice round of applause, too.

Unfortunately, I came in third place in the female delegate election. I lost by one measly vote. Oh, well. At least I don't have to come up with the two or three thousand dollars to cover the costs of the hotel and travel to the convention in Philadelphia. (Whew!) I can cover the convention online and write about since I know four people from my area who can give me their insights. Odds are, not all four of our delegates will be able to attend, but you never know. Bernie could get 75% or more of the primary vote in Ohio. (Fingers crossed!)

We drove home after the caucus tired but energized. Later I learned that as the Hillary charter bus pulled out, they all "honked and waved" at a Bernie Light Brigade LED sign one our group was demonstrating in the parking lot. It seems everyone in the 4th Ohio Congressional district loves Bernie.

 *  *  *

Are you attending a debate watch party on January 17? Are you planning a Bernie meet-up for the live stream event from the man himself on January 23? Go to the national events page and type in your zip code to find an event nearest you. Better yet, sign up to host one yourself and invite all your friends, family members and fellow Berners.  #FeeltheBern and spread the word--Bernie's our next president!

Bernie's Light Brigade is planning another light up the night for Bernie, January 16. Find out how you can help out at the Reddit link and join in the fun.

The Rockland County BLB mix and matches signs to advertise Bernie.