A Caucusing We Go

Week of Jan 28 - Feb 3

Mon: 9M
Tue: 16.5M 1:58
Wed: 9M
Thu: 16.5M 1:58
Fri: Off
Sat: 12M 1:30
Sun: 20M 2:27
Total Miles: 83

While I haven't gotten much faster, I do feel more comfortable at the paces I'm running. I had good recovery from every run with the exception of Sunday. Of course that was my first 20 mile run in 6-7 months. Even then, I was mainly just tired, not sore. The day off on Friday wasn't really necessary, but I had done the math and realized I would be topping 90 miles (after a previous high around 70) unless I took a day off or adjusted my weekend. I figured it was more important to get the longer runs in and skip the the 60 min run.

Last night Katie and I attended our first caucus. It involved some hectic planning to make it there on time, but we did it and boy was it packed. Based on the emails I received from the Ron Paul campaign regarding our precinct I didn't expect too many Paulites to be in the crowd. However, upon arriving it was readily apparent that we probably had the largest contingent of all the candidates.

Funny aside: I've been following the campaigns very closely and even I found myself surprised to see Alan Keyes on the ballot. He was/is in the race?

After some prepared statements read on behalf of the candidates we adjourned to our precinct rooms and began the process. I won't go into the details of the process, but I was elected a delegate to the district convention in March. From there I think it will be hard to convince the other non-Paul delegates that he is the only true Republican in the field, but at least I'm involved in the process.

I'm torn on what to do when Dr. Paul eventually bids adeiu to his presidential campaign. How I vote in the general election will probably depend on who the Democratic nominee is. At this point I feel as though I will vote for the Democrats because given that there is no difference between Mr. McCain, Ms. Clinton, and Mr. Obama, I'd rather have a Democrat in the White House when the shit hits the fan during the next term. Any of those three candidates is going to continue with the war and increase domestic spending (all in the name of the "common good" according to Hillary) further bankrupting our country leaving a nation of haves and have-nots.

In my mind it might as well be on the Democrats heads. That will give the Republican party four years to re-evaluate where it stands with regard to a platform. Is it still the party that represents small goverment, fiscal responsiblity, protection of personal liberties and property rights, and projects a foreign policy that eschews entagling alliances in favor of diplomacy? Well the current administration that had control of Congress for 4 years and a "mandate" in 2004 has doubled the size of the Department of Education, thrown money down the toilet with a purely pork presciption drug bill, failed to use its veto power to curb legislative largesse, invaded two countries without following the rule of law (congresstional approval), done very little to cut back goverment regulation of the economy and had zero follow-through on the campaign promise of moving towards privatization of social security. Oh yeah and the Patriot Act. Not exactly what we were looking for.

Attending the Ron Paul rally at Northrup on Monday night was encouraging though. How often do you get a crowd of 4500 made of mostly of college students and 30-somethings to show up and listen to a 72 year old gynecologist talk about monetary policy and the proper role of goverment? I guess that shows just how dire the situation is. Its so obvious now that even college students realize their grandparents and, soon their parents, are selling them down the river for instant gratification. Thanks Mom and Dad. They'll get theirs and we'll pay for it. Plus interest. Lots and lots of interest. There a lot of zeros in $2.7 trillion.

So that is the last political statement I will make on this blog this election unless somehow I get to the the Republican Convention in St Paul, in which case I might do a live-blog or something. From here on out it is running and inane b.s. Just like its always been.