My report from the Nevada caucus.

[Punkingal]

Whew! It was exciting. Four years ago, about 700 people showed up, but today, there were a few thousands. There were so many people that the fire marshall closed the gym, and everyone had to move out to the football stadium for the pre-caucus rally.

We arrived early, because Kerry was supposed to be there at 8:30am for a rally in the parking lot. He was late, so we went ahead and registered, then went back outside to wait for Kerry to arrive. (He is the only candidate to come here this week.)

My sister and I were standing in a line waiting for Kerry when our Congresswoman, Shelley Berkeley arrived. She got out of her car, saw all of us standing there and said, "Wow. We are going to win in November!" Her face just lit up when she saw how many people were there. After fighting off numerous assaults on my front of the line position, I did get to shake Kerry's hand. He was coming down the line asking people to vote for him and shaking as many hands as he could.

At one point before Kerry arrived, some creep showed up with a sign calling Dems hypocrites. A lot of people were yelling at him, and finally this little old lady walked over, grabbed the sign, and tore it in half, much to everyone's delight! She was cheered wildly, and Fox News (yuck) interviewed her.

Kerry had the largest supporter presence there, but there were a lot of Dean people, and a small contingent of Kucinich people. Edwards had a table, but there was only one worker at this table.

As for the voting, well, it was exciting to finally cast a vote that to me means the beginning of the end of George W Bush. And after listening to people today, I have great faith that we are going to beat him in November. You can feel it, and I heard people saying it, and I am now a believer. Bush is going down!

[fearnobush]

1. Nice Story - Thanks.

[madmax]

2. Great report

Thank you - I'm feeling very Kerry today :silly:

[texasmom]

3. Thanks for the report.

I hope this determination to get rid of Bush continues through November.

Hooray for the little old lady! A toast to her and to you for going and participating!!

:toast:

[Adjoran]

4. They broke one of the immutable laws of nature

"Never piss off a little old lady."

Thanks for the report, and for taking the time to be there!

[Adelante]

5. You gave me chills

Thanks for the great report. Ooooh. Ooooh. Ooooh. They're gone, they truly are -- out the door in November.

:bounce:

[radfringe]

12. gave me the chills too....

thanks for the great report...

don't know about the rest of you...but sometimes I get damned depressed at the thought of another 4 years of duh-bya...

have to go :puke: now - duh-bya just told drivers to start their engines...

[quinnox]

6. sounds fun

I am jealous you got to shake the next presidents (and a great man) hand!

[sistersofmercy]

7. Thanks for the report

and cheers to the little old lady :toast: . Yep, bush* is done in November.

[Punkingal]

8. I forgot to mention

There was a young man there with a DU t-shirt on, and I grabbed him and asked his handle. He says he doesn't post, he just comes to read. I told him to please join us, so hopefully he will.

[MaineDem]

9. Isn't the excitement fantastic?!

I'm encouraged by the numbers of people turning out to cast a vote that will mean the end of the BFEE. If we can harness ALL the Democratic electricity that's out there, Bush is surely toast!

Thanks for the great report.

[Nevernose]

10. You got your turn on Saturday, eh?

Didn't I tell you that the guy just LOOKS like a president?

I missed the caucus (family obligations), but I here that there were literally ten times the number of people than in 2000. Did you read the Sun article?

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2004/feb/14/516356316.html

"An estimated 6,000 Democrats voted in the Las Vegas caucus -- about 10 times the number that voted in the 2000 caucus.

The caucuses in Reno and Carson City also saw huge turnouts, with almost 2,000 people casting votes in those two cities.

"The activists always show up, but people came today who have never shown up for one of these in their lives" said Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas."

[Punkingal]

11. Yes,

I read the article, and it was very good. I must dispute one thing it said, though. Mayor Goodman did not get more applause than the Senator did. LOL I don't know why they said that. (I don't dislike the Mayor, but that was a silly thing for them to print.)

It really was so much more exciting than I am able to convey. I wish I were more articulate. The way the crowd enjoyed the little old lady tearing up the sign, the look on Shelley's face when she saw all of us, the different conversations I heard going on by people in line are all things I will never forget. People are much more aware than we here sometimes realize. I came away feeling sure Bush is going down in November.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. Thank you Punkin

I'd like to believe people are much more aware than we give them credit for too.
Your report was awesome and appreciated. Saying it was so much more exciting than you were able to convey actually helps to convey it!
BTW How was the handshake with 'the MAN'?

[Punkingal]

14. The handshake....

Well, he was grabbing as many hands as he possibly could, so it was more like a quick grab. He was surrounded on all sides by huge guys, for protection I'm sure, so I didn't get eye contact or attention like I did when I met Clinton in 92 or Gore in 2000. But the situation was such that it had to be that way. He could easily have been mobbed. There was that much excitement...which I also think is a very good sign for us come November.