To look outside or to travel outside would make one think that the 2012 calendar is confused. It says this is February. With the weather we're having, that is hard to accept. And the weather is forecast to continue at least into next Saturday, and possibly beyond. February???
This is the Republican caucus week in Maine. Actually, it began last week and will continue into Saturday this week. I'm sure the results so far are probably posted somewhere, but I haven't looked so can't say how the candidates are doing so far. I'm not really sure it makes a difference. Attendees at the caucuses, at least most of them, are being asked to participate in a straw poll, a non-binding presidential test. I do know the Paul and Romney people know how our straw poll turned out. They counted the ballots.
Maine's delegates to the national convention where the actual nominee will be chosen will be determined in May. By then it will probably be moot as many states will have already chosen committed delegates. They will have to vote according to their states' wishes and if any candidate has a sufficient number (1144 us the required number) of delegates, the convention becomes just one big party. Of course not all states have to vote according to their primary or caucus outcome. Some states, like Maine I think, have non-committed delegates so if the committed ones don't have quite enough, then the convention becomes very interesting.
I attended my town's caucus last Saturday. I think it had a reasonable turnout, but it probably wasn't quite as good as the Town Committee would have liked. I haven't talked to anyone about that so I'm just conjecturing. Town Republicans who did not attend missed a very well organized and run caucus. We were told it would run about two hours and it ended just before the two hour mark.
Like, I believe, most all caucuses, we heard speakers extolling the virtues of some of the Presidential candidates, surrogates for Republican congressional candidates, and Republicans running for the state legislature from our districts.
Only three of the four candidates for President were represented.
It appeared to me, coincidentally sitting right in the middle of the Paul group, that possible most of the people there supported Ron Paul. I had already chosen my seat and then a large group began sitting in the same section. The gentleman who spoke for Mr. Paul did a pretty credible job representing the candidate's positions on various issues.
A lady from New Hampshire was there to represent Mitt Romney and she was outstanding. As you know, Romney isn't my first choice at this point in the process, but this speaker was excellent with a well-prepared presentation that had anticipated all the negative questions about Mr. Romney and answered them before they were asked. Naturally she also had a litany of positives about him. The thought that I'd vote for her entered my mind. She was a very convincing speaker. Probably the Paul people and other non-Romney supporters would take issue with that assessment.
As she began the round of presidential speeches, our moderator told us that only those two people had expressed a desire to speak on behalf of their candidates. When they finished, the moderator explained that a Newt Gingrich state representative wanted to speak and she granted him that opportunity.
It was you know possibly the worst you know speech I’ve ever you know heard. I wanted you know to scream out at him you know that "If I you know knew, why in Hell you know were you trying to you know tell me?" Actually, he didn’t tell me anything. He did apologize to us saying that public speaking wasn't his forte. But I will give him some credit; he did try.
Rick Santorum wasn't represented.
Sen. Olympia Snowe had a very good surrogate who was also a local House candidate herself. She later did an outstanding job for herself. Our other House candidate was also very good. And Patrick Calder, a potential candidate for Congress, was also well represented.
I easily could have been elected to both our Town Republican Committee and to the delegation representing the town at the state convention. Virtually everyone who wants to be on the Town Committee can serve and fewer than the alloted number of town delegates to the convention expressed a desire to run so all were elected.
Our moderator was elected chair person of the delegation. She was opposed by a Paul delegate but the delegates, the only ones eligible to vote, selected the moderator. That sort of puts a big question mark into my statement that it appeared the Paul contingent had the most people there, doesn't it?
That's a rather ad-lib with no authority account of our caucus which began right on time, was interesting and informative, and ended on time. I enjoyed being there.
Finally on another note: What are the Boston Red Sox people thinking in not getting ink on a contract with David "Big Papi" Ortiz? Considering the winter the new management team has had, I'm beginning to worry about the coming season.
Gator
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