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We went to the Republican Caucus this morning to vote for Ron Paul…It felt WEIRD to register Republican, but whaddya gonna do? There was a HUGE turnout…somewhere close to a thousand people, I am sure…the pic from the line wasn’t even all of it! We waited in line about an hour to check in, which ultimately consistend of getting a colored sticker to put on the ballot. Then we waited about another hour, sitting on the floor by the wall, for others to check in and finally, for people to speak briefly for each campaign, and then to vote.

The biggest cheers during the speeches came for the Huckabee speakers, followed by the RP speakers. The McCain speaker got some token applause, but that’s about it. I only saw one McCain sign the whole time there-the lady looked just like the “funny glasses lady” on the Old Navy performance fleece commerical-and one small McCain Button (and that was on the guy who spoke for him).

And we were far from the only Paul supporters there, as you can see. In our district, about 23% voted for Paul.  (Click on an image for a larger version. Had to doctor the pic with the overall guy, because the damn Huckabee guy in front of me covered part of it with his sign. So that’s why it looks funny.)

My kid was there, too. She just isn’t in this pic. She was playing “Diner Dash” on the cellphone while we were waiting.

Now, I’m not clueless. I know RP doesn’t have a lot of delegates and with Romney dropping out, there’s less of a chance of a brokered convention now, which was his best chance to win the nomination. But you know what? It still feels good to be involved in the process. It’s been YEARS since I felt like my contribution mattered at all, let alone felt inspired by listening to a politician speak about freedom and liberty, and I’m glad that’s changed. So screw “electibility.”  I think that the only real way to “waste my vote” is to vote for someone I don’t believe in or skip voting at all because I don’t think my choice is “popular” enough. I’ve never made my decisions based on popularity, and I have no intention of starting now.

We had a really good time, even though it was tiring and a HUGE amount of waiting. Afterwards, we went out to eat at Old Chicago’s and then made a Walmart run. I’m really glad we went…

I think I have a nap in my future… Best of wishes to everyone who is involved in the process this year, regardless of who you’re supporting. It’s pretty damned cool to live in a place where we have the option of supporting what we believe in, after all. Pretty damned cool.

Peace out.