We're going to Vegas!

In ten days, Robert and I are flying to Las Vegas to help get out the vote for Kerry/Edwards. We'll fly out on Friday, Oct. 29 and start work the next morning. Planned Parenthood Advocates is organizing our group. I don't know how many are in our group, but we have a block of rooms at the Tropicana.

I've heard of other groups that are going to Vegas too. I expect it will be an amazing experience to work side by side with hundreds of others dedicated to ending our collective Bush nightmare. Our Silicon Valley LGBT Democratic Club (www.lgbtdems.org) is sending a bus to Reno this weekend. I'd join that trip too, but I've got some work at home to do.

I've volunteered with the Santa Clara County Democratic Party to be the captain of the precinct where we live in Campbell. I've committed to walking the entire precinct and encouraging people to vote for Kerry and Boxer as well as for an openly gay city council candidate, Evan Low. I've got to finish this weekend. Since Kerry has California wrapped up and Boxer is safely ahead in her race, it's been hard to get motivated to walk my precinct. Evan, however, needs every vote.

The swing states are where all the action is. I just read on one of my favorite sites (http://www.electoral-vote.com/) that even though the race is really dead even, a count of all the state polls shows today that Kerry would get 284 electoral votes, 14 more than he needs to win. I tend to put more stock in these polls when they're going our way. So, today, this analysis is gospel.

Nevada has 2.2 million people and 1.6 million of them live in the Vegas area. Right now, the presidential race is a dead heat. Too close to call. Anyone's guess. So, there's a good chance that a state like Nevada, with its five electoral votes, could be more important than ever. What a disappointment it would be if we woke up on November 3 to find that Kerry lost by just a couple of electoral votes and Nevada goes to Bush with a razor-thin margin. After the 2000 election, we know it can happen.

We got the tentative agenda today. It looks like we'll be walking precincts for about seven hours each day, with lunch in the field. Then, we'll have the evenings to ourselves to enjoy Vegas. I'll try to take that time to update this blog. If my luck at the blackjack tables is bad, I'll probably spend more time blogging.

It looks like we're on our own Halloween night. So, I'm sure Vegas will be in major party mode.

We're scheduled to fly back to San Jose on election night at about 8:40. That means we may be in the air when the rest of the world is finding out who won. That could be an excruciating flight. But, if we're unfortunate enough to see some type of repeat of the 2000 debacle, we won't be sure about the results of the presidential race for days or weeks.

Marty