The Road to Denver

On Saturday night, the journey to Denver began. My driving music was already selected, along with my route and stops on the way to visit family and friends. Driving through Kansas reminded me of Australia's outback (the Bush). The land was rather flat and the sunflower fields were amazingly beautiful. The air was fresh and cool. Every chance I got to open the sunroof to feel the sun glare into the car, I did.

Since I've been so busy getting re-elected and doing the standard (and unending) amount of constituency work, I've had very little time to think about an event I've cherished my entire life--the Democratic National Convention. The reason I chose to drive to Denver is because the time would have allowed me to reflect on what was in store for Democrats around the world. As real change is at the brink of a new reality, in this special moment in time we are all connected by an amazing force that has caused a groundswell of people to no longer be apathetic, a groundswell of loyal and long-standing Democrats to understand the opportunity we have before us to finally make a difference in our lives.

For the last couple of years, the reality of our economy and lack of respect for privacy and immigrant rights would put many of our friends in desperate positions. I know if our neighbors and friends remained lax about this election in November, our reality would worsen. This country is wonderful and amazing, but we all have a responsibility to make her potential as great as she can be. No superpower is great because citizens stand at the wayside. It takes work, commitment and sacrifice for sometimes small, yet substantial changes. This is why I love doing what I do as your state representative. I can help make changes to better all of our lives. The payoff is a healthy life for our seniors, children and our communities.

This week the Missouri delegation will spend an inordinate amount of time together. The typical politics we read about or hear about at home is placed on the back burner and we come together as state delegates to make a difference in the presidential nomination process. I've met a married couple from Warrensberg, I've shared refreshments with members of Stonewall Democrats, and I've met delegates from our urban cores that I've never met before. Every morning we meet-up for breakfast and hear tremendous speeches from Missouri party leaders and receive our credentials for the day. In fact, I found out as a Super-delegate I get a guest pass each day. I'm sure one of you would have liked to utilize that extra credential. Without that opportunity, there are some worthy volunteers from the Stonewall Democrats that I'm sharing my credentials with instead.

There are several "amateur" videos that I am taking to give you more insight as to what activities are available for delegates from throughout the country and some background on the people who are here. The videos are not all so clear, but I want you to see what is not on television.