The Maine Caucuses: The Smell of Democracy in the Morning

It was 8 degrees when I forced myself out from under the warm covers this morning. Showered, shaved, had a coffee, then...this was my wake up post this morning. It’s from dkos front pager Bill in Maine:

My partner, Michael, and I attended the Maine caucuses in Portland yesterday afternoon. The Portland Press Herald provides the numbers. File this under "Holy Mama!!"

The line... My god, the line went for-EVER. I've never seen anything like it. They couldn't attract this kind of crowd for Josh frickin' Groban. We were in line for an hour and fifteen minutes before we got to the steps of Portland High School...all during a snowstorm with flakes the size of anvils.

The crowd's reaction to the weather was a sign that this was going to be one hell of an event. See, it didn't start snowing until after the lines had formed, and a lot of people weren't dressed for snow (it was more like falling slush). Yet I saw nobody who stepped out of line to go home because they were getting soaked and their teeth were chattering. They were here to have their voices heard and, by god, they were serious. I mean, there were couples in their 80s who were going to have their votes counted come hell or high water. Nobody budged. It was phenomenal.

The line continued inside Portland High School, spilling down a hallway and then coiling around the cafeteria several times as if we were participating in some kind of performance art celebrating the workings of the human intestinal tract. "Hi again!" you'd say, as you encountered the same people face-to-face for the third time. The lines were that tight. (Thankfully the coffee breath in the room wasn't too bad, although I did get an occasional blast of halitosis that could fell a horse. We suffered for our country yesterday, I tell you.)

This warmed my soul and confirms what I’ve been feeling about this election cycle. It’s going to be (as Bette would say) a bumpy ride and I am loving it. Too bad it took 7 years of the worst president ever for folks to get involved and their asses out, in a snow storm no less, to make a difference.

By the way, Bill is the author of the "Cheers and Jeers" posts on Daily Kos. Check him out sometime. I love his stuff.

Read the whole piece HERE.

And so it goes.

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