Hey guys. I wanted to post a public mea culpa after the mass confusion that ensued after I posted what I thought was accurate info on the Texas precinct convention process. Frankly, I went to bed last night feeling like a huge jackass, and I wouldn't feel right posting here again if I did not publicly apologise.
Here's the deal. One: I still have not received the communication that went out from TDP regarding counting sign-ins toward the viability threshold (a friend forwarded it to me after seeing assa's and my threads yesterday). But if Glen Maxey - an authority on the process - says they count towards viability then I am going to take him at his word. You should too. Frankly, I still don't see how we can count them during the actual caucus within the precinct conventions. I know they can be nominated and elected as delegates even if they are't present, but they still can't vote to elect delegates and alternates.
Second, I sincerely would not have posted the information if I did not think it was accurate. I went through training last weekend, and like I mentioned, several times people asked if sign-ins could count and we were told no. I now see that this was not accurate at all. This is what makes this even harder for me. I really was trying to help and I got misinformed, then misinformed the community. I am not asking you to forget I did it, but I am asking you to at least realise that I made an honest mistake and I am owning up to it. I cannot properly express my regret over that mistake.
I called the Tarrant County Dem Party yesterday night and spoke with a friend who was manning the phones. He told me that the sign-ins count toward viability. I told him that we'd been misinformed during the training last weekend, and put simply, he freaked out. I was assured that the TCDP would be sending another communication out stating that sign-ins would count. So I guess even though yesterday sucked huge, at least one good thing came out of it: TCDP will be correcting the bad info that went out.
The person who trained us was not from Tarrant county. He was from a rural county and all I can think of is that perhaps they do things a little differently outside of the urban areas. I am sure it was not an intentional mistake on his part.
Finally, I think I'm going to try and not blog until March 5. Obviously there's tons of information and misinformation out there, and since I've already made one huge mistake I am just going to refrain from writing any more diaries because I don't want to take the chance of screwing up again.
Now finally some random thoughts on yesterday. I just had a very very rough day and am just going to verbalise some concerns I have. In addition to the diary screw-up, the hubby and I spent all day canvassing our precinct. We found a TON of Hillary people and only four Obama people. Keep in mind this is just a bird's eye view of my own precinct, but frankly, it does not look good where I live. I was told by one of the Obama people that Hillary's already canvassed my precinct (they didn't knock on my door; maybe the Obama sign in my yard is a big clue). I've gotten called by them and so have the folks I met yesterday. Without fail, all the Hillary people we met yesterday are planning on going to our precinct caucus.
Our call and canvass lists are shit. The lists we're working off of have every single registered voter in my precinct. We have been wasting call and canvass time on people who will never vote Democratic. For example, yesterday we found several voters who "would never vote for a black man" and who think that "nobody is worth voting for this year" (those people yelled at us, fun fun). I discovered my neighborhood is full of bigoted assholes, frankly, and I'm really just upset by the whole thing. I'm not the only person in Tarrant county who's got this problem. A lot of our precinct captains are relaying the same stories.
Honestly - and I don't know if this is just because of what I encountered yesterday - I am not feeling as good about Tarrant County today as I was a week ago. I am upset about the training issues and I'm upset that our lists were not pruned more thoroughly before they were turned over to us. I don't blame the field staff; they are working with what they were given. I blame the people who bought the lists. I wonder if people around the state are seeing similar problems.
Anyway, I just needed to get that off my chest. Again, I am incredibly ridiculously sorry for what transpired yesterday. If you have any questions about your convention, please see assa's diary from yesterday as well as the training diary that Philip and I ran two days ago. And remember, if you have any problems at your precinct convention, here is the Team Obama hotline: 877-48-OBAMA
See you guys on March 5, hopefully for a victory dance.