Being a Democrat in West Virginia

It's hard, people. Trying to turn this state blue again is a MAJOR effort, probably impossible this election cycle when it comes to the Presidential race. Despite a majority of voters being registered Democrats, by a two-to-one margin, there's a lot of crossover and too many of them stay at home on election day.

Well, except for those who voted for that convicted felon during the primary. I wish they would have stayed home!

The upside to being a Democrat in West Virginia, and in particular being a Democratic woman, is getting to hang out for the weekend with a couple hundred like-minded souls who just can't wear enough blue. Blue shirts, blue hats, blue scarves, blue jewelry, blue, blue, blue, everywhere you looked.

It was fitting that the convention ended on Women's Equality Day, the day the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing a woman's right to vote was ratified. Republicans seem to be hell-bent on sending women back to their kitchens, barefoot and pregnant. Soon they'll be taking our right to vote away, as they are doing with young people, old people, black people and Hispanic people – most of the people who voted for President Obama in 2008. If they can't beat him fairly, they'll pass laws to suppress and disenfranchise and make it harder.

It doesn't matter how hard it is to vote. We have to do it anyway.

In West Virginia, the most important thing to do is give President Obama a couple more Democrats in the House of Representatives. My Congressman is a Democrat, but he's the only one left here. We're so small we only get three. Our Senators are both Dems, as is our Governor (one Senator and the Guv are decidedly moderate, too much so for my taste, but hey! We'll elect them and then pound them into submission!) It would be amazing if our state could help give the President the Congress he needs to really, truly do the job we elected him to do.

Am I fired up? Why, yes, yes I am. That's what happens at Democratic conventions.

I really wish I were headed for Charlotte the first week in September. If I got any more fired up, though, I might explode!

My hand knit bag and its contents brought $65 at the auction – not as much as I'd hoped, but the auctioneer started it way too low, so it's all his fault. Several women bid on it, and there was an exciting little back-and-forth flurry at the end, so that was fun. Now, though, it's time to campaign and make calls and try to convince folks around here that voting for Republicans is voting against their own interests.

Because believe me, we who live in Appalachia need a tax break more than the 1% do.

Thanks for reading … I'll be off the (blue) cloud and back to something resembling normal tomorrow.

Maybe.