DC PRIMARY PREP

The primaries for Feb 12. are only a few weeks away. DC, MD and VA all hold their respective primaries on the same day, and today DC held their Democratic Pre-primary delegate selection Caucus. Sound complicated? It is. What the heck is a delegate? Why are they necessary? See here for a quick explanation. What makes strange caucus events like the one today in DC interesting is their increasing relevance. I found the process to be fascinating, but mostly for who showed up, and what they had to say.
Enter Faith (shown above with her two bugles). The first caucusing room I entered was full of Hillary Clinton supporters. I gravitated to Clinton supporters first, mostly because of the difficulty I've had in locating any volunteer-organized events willing to allow me to photograph their activities. No problems here. It became increasingly difficult to avoid looking at and watching a woman enter the room with the head wrap, fashionable sunglasses and two bugles. The delegate candidates gave their 2-minute speeches, and at one point, as I focussed on the front of the room, a bugle blast emitted from the seated voters.

Faith, formerly Faith Dane, has been an active voice in DC politics for near 30 years. She has run for mayor 6 times (most recently in 2002) and starred briefly in "Gypsy" on Broadway, and the subsequent Hollywood remake. I asked her for a portrait outside in the hall. She was more than happy to oblige. Admittedly, she has a long story. Too long for today's blog...

I moved on to the Obama rooms. But I couldn't shake the image of the woman with the sunglasses and bugles. What makes someone hold onto an identity for so long? She told me she "never leaves without her bugles".

The reason she holds on to her bugles is in many ways the same reason the people I saw today show their support for their respective candidates. People like to hold on to their identities. I was thinking about this and wondering how to formulate this on my blog today. But I did a little research on the web. And I am (mostly) wrong. Although identity might explain a little about Faith, it doesn't necessarily predict voters' behaviors. It turns out that black democrats are far more supportive of Clinton, as opposed to Obama, according to a recent Post-ABC News poll. What about women voters, then? Well, according to certain figures she holds that advantage, too.

Maybe after all, identity or demographics aren't necessarily a predictor of success at the polls. Maybe people really do vote for the policies they agree with, rather than who they identify best with. Or better yet, black voters can identify with white candidates because of their policies. Perhaps being the "woman candidate", the "black candidate" or even (not much discussed here today) the "evangelical candidate" doesn't matter much, and instead, it's the message, or the perceived message that gets resonates with voters. That's probably not such a bad thing.
Above, Keirra Johnson, speaks her piece in the hopes of being selected as delegate for Obama. Below, Audrey Hendricks, listens to comments by Dr. Frank Smith, another potential delegate for Obama.
Regardless of how boring an event may sound on paper, "Delegate selection caucuses??", you may very well run into some interesting people, and learn something. And for me, that's the most important thing.