You never know

When you're planning a large public event, you never know how many people will show up. How much food should you buy? How much coffee do you need to make? How many plates, cups, napkins, bowls? HOW MUCH FOOD?

We ran out of mac & cheese, slaw and chips last night at our Get Out The Vote Rally and Pig Roast, but there was plenty of pulled pork and soup beans for the latecomers. People just kept showing up, from 5 p.m. until well after 7.

All of us who helped plan it are very pleased, this morning after, with the turnout, the donations, the enthusiasm and the promises to vote for Democrats.

Actually I haven't talked to any of the rest of them, but I feel certain they're happy with the outcome. And I guarantee they're happy it's over and I double-guarantee they're happy (as am I) that Election Day is two weeks from today.

Early voting in West Virginia begins tomorrow. I plan to be there.

What's wrong with this picture?Women in WV make 68¢ for every dollar men make doing the
same job. The national average for women is 15 to 20 cents higher.

We had a lot of fun with a Gender Equality Bake Sale, too, and made our point: As long as women earn less than men for the same work, they should pay less. LOTS of men got it, and paid the men's price for their wives' dessert.

Yes, it was a friendly crowd, but I think some people there had an opportunity to make up their minds after talking with the candidates and hearing a) what the Democratic incumbents have been able to accomplish during their years of service, and b) what the Republican opponents haven't done during their time in office.

We'd love to turn Summers County blue this time. We'd love to keep West Virginia blue. Two more weeks.

Time will tell.

Au contraire

An anonymous commenter said, regarding yesterday's post about Governor Romney and airplane windows, "I guess telling you he was joking would not sway you."

Well, Anonymous, I stand corrected. (But President Obama still has my vote. And who are you, and where are you from?) The first hit on a Google search showed the reporter who wrote the story that went viral knew it was a joke from the start. Unfortunately, she didn't report it as such.

And, frankly, it seemed plausible that Governor Romney wouldn't understand the principles of aerodynamics, given that he studied law and business, not science.

The larger point, however, is that once again he was speaking off the cuff, unscripted, and came across as not quite in touch.

He needs to be more careful. Or not, my guy's ahead right now and if Governor Romney continues to speak artlessly, well, that's fine with me.

I'm not going to sway his supporters, either. My job is to get Democrats to the polls in an election year that is quite a bit less exciting than the one in 2008. Sarah was, if nothing else, entertaining.

"Keep your Mitts off Medicare" doesn't quite have the same oomph as "Sarah Palin doesn't speak for this woman" when you read it on a button.

What I think will happen in my state is that those Democrats who are disappointed in President Obama will either vote for him reluctantly or vote for the Green or Mountain Party candidates. Those Republicans who think Governor Romney would dismantle the social programs which work and help so many here in West Virginia AND those Democrats who just can't bring themselves to vote for a black man won't vote for President at all.

It takes much longer to go through a ballot candidate-by-candidate than it does to simply scratch the rooster, which is what we're encouraging Democrats to do. But when a convicted felon gets 40 percent of the Democratic vote in the primary, the Anyone But Obama party appears to be strong here in the Mountain State.

The second most important day of the year

Matt Carmody, November 2004

It's Primary Election Day here in West Virginia. Those of you who live in Indiana and North Carolina get to vote today, as well. It's a hugely important day in NC, as Amendment One goes to the voters. There's no question I would be voting against it, if I lived in the Tarheel State. It's a bad bill, brought to the voters by overzealous (GOP) legislators who think it's just dandy to peek into your bedroom or crash your wedding reception.

They should mind their own business and quit effing around with the state Constitution.

We Mountaineers are 59 percent Democrat and 29 percent Republican, but you wouldn't know it looking at the last three Presidential elections. Only one Democrat Congressman (mine!) remains in the state. Of our two U.S. Senators, one is a solid Democrat with a lot of seniority (he's not up for re-election this cycle) and the other is a freshman moderate Dem (some call him a  DINO – Democrat In Name Only) hoping to be elected to his first full term in November. Our governor also is a DINO, and also is fighting for his first full term.

Manchin has some opposition, but she's not a serious threat. She is, in fact, to the right of Manchin on several key issues, and has been endorsed by West Virginians for Life. Until we learned that tidbit, my friends and I considered voting for her as a way to send a message to Manchin. In the end, though, we will hold our noses and put him on the November ballot.

Why do I say Primary Day is the second most important day of the year? Obviously because Election Day is the most important. We get to vote twice a year, and voting – particularly now that the Tea Party has highjacked Congress – is the most effective way to make a statement. Protesting feels good. I know, because I've done it. But if something else happens on the day of your protest, you're not even going to get 10 seconds on the evening news. And no one from your Congressman's office is out there counting heads at your rally.

They do count phone calls. They read letters and e-mails, and they answer them. They listen at town hall meetings and chicken dinners and county fairs. And if you think your vote doesn't count, think again.

If West Virginia's five – FIVE – electoral votes had gone for Gore instead of Bush in 2000, what a different country we'd be living in now. I take this very personally, and feel somewhat responsible.

Because I voted for Bush.

(I'm astonished, still, that local and state Democrats have trusted me with leadership positions at both levels, considering what an irresponsible voter I was then.)

Take time to vote today. Vote for Democrats, whether you like them or not. It's not a popularity contest, as I learned the hard way. It's the future of our country. The GOP is hell-bent on preserving the United States for the wealthy, for corporations, for themselves. They'll defend your rights from conception to birth and after that you just need to pull up your bootstraps and go to work, fercryinoutloud. Oh, and when you're 18 they'll strap a gun on you and send you to war, war, war.

This republic has survived for more than 200 years, but we're nearing the end of our life cycle if we don't turn it around now. If we elect Democrats – even DINOs – we can at least flood their offices with letters and phone calls urging them to represent Democratic values and platforms. If we don't …