Monday, May 19, 2008

My Nineteen Days as a Democrat

I never thought it would happen. I've been living blissfully happy as an independent voter since I turned 18. But last Friday night I, Haggs T. Haggardson, registered with the Democratic Party.

I went to the Barack Obama rally in Sioux Falls on Friday night with a few friends. It was a lot of fun. We were apparently sitting in the Augustana College section. There were a lot of students with Augie t-shirts around us and they were all studying for finals while waiting for the program to start.

What a great program. Sen. McGovern gave a wonderful intro. He was hilarious! I loved his Lincoln quotes. And Sen. Daschle's speech was very energetic. All good stuff that successfully built up the main event.

As my nerdy friends might say, Obama's speech was "full of win." I was captivated by it the entire time, so much so I almost wish it would've been longer. I loved to hear him talk about South Dakota's potential for alternative energy. He also made a lot of great points about supporting our veterans. The longer I listened to him, the more I felt a growing sense of hopefulness about the future of this country. I strongly believe Barack Obama can heal some of the problems that have infected our country. When the speech was over, I just had to register. I was going to give the SD primary a pass because I figured I'd get my chance to vote for Obama in November. But something about the speech just made me want to vote for Obama as soon as I could. Maybe hope is more powerful than I thought.

So I've been a Democrat for almost four days now. I've been fighting the urge to become a vegan, listen to NPR, buy a Prius and install solar panels on my roof... but I don't know how long I can hold out. And last night I had a dream about wanting to tax the air we breathe. I wonder what that means?

But seriously, I'm excited to vote in my first Democratic primary. Unfortunately I'm not sure how long I'll remain a Democrat once the primary is over. I'll most likely go back to being an independent (though I'm open to being bribed with an X-Box 360 to get me to stay *hint hint*).

I'll try to keep everyone updated on my crazy adventures in the Democratic Party.

1 comment:

caheidelberger said...

Hey, Haggs! Welcome to the party! No need to go vegan -- I switched parties in '04 for Dennis, but I still eat my steak (or, more usually on my budget, hot dogs). But solar panels... not a bad idea! And Obama will probably help make them more affordable. :-)