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Being a National Delegate isn't a prize. It's an opportunity to work. One of the things I'm looking for in a candidate is to hear what they'll do for Kansas and for Barack Obama at the convention.
I Have A Plan
Senator Clinton said on April 3rd that she would seek to poach Senator Obama's pledged delegates. She wants to convert you into a Hillary supporter even though you've pledged to support Obama.
"There is no such thing as a pledged delegate," she said. Pledged delegates are a "misnomer. The whole point is for delegates, however they are chosen, to really ask themselves who would be the best president... And I think that process goes all the way to the convention."
Since before the Kansas Caucuses, my personal mission has been to convert Hillary supporters into Obama supporters. I've become really good at it.
As a National Delegate I would love to spend my time there converting Hillary supporters into Obama supporters. I feel that she opened the floodgates on this and I know just how to do it, too. I take great pleasure in what I call "nudging people down the O path."
These conversions are important because if Senator Clinton doesn't drop out of the race, we may face multiple rounds of balloting at the convention. The ability to get people to "switch" will be necessary to avoid costly conflict. In the end, we're going to need her and all of her supporters to join us.
Passions
Each National Delegate should have a unique "voice" to add to the conversation about policies, the future, and hope for America.
I've talked to delegates who have sons fighting in Iraq, who can't afford health care, who are worried about Social Security, and who want to improve our education system. These are incredibly important issues and I believe that Barack Obama and the Democratic Party will address these vital issues, successfully. Everyone is engaged on these big hot-button topics.
I am passionate, on the other hand, about water conservation and power generation. Sexy subjects, aren't they? Before you fall asleep or skip ahead, let me say three sentences on this.
Much of Kansas (and seven other states) gets it's water from a huge underground reservoir called the Ogallala Aquifer that has been drying up slowly since the 1950s. All hydro, wind, coal, and nuclear power generation requires water to produce electricity. Once Ogallala is gone, our agricultural industry will collapse and we'll have to import expensive electricity.
As a National Delegate I want to "bend the ears" of anyone who will listen about this issue that no one else seems to be talking about. It's a Kansas problem and a national problem and I think I can help.
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