Time to Speak Up

by | Feb 11, 2008 | Blog, Medical, politics

My tainted blood is pumping red, white and blue. I know I’m not a politico, though politics have crept into this blog as of late. I’m just excited about the political landscape, and how engaged people are on all sides of the barbed-wire fence.

I support Obama, but I know there are folks who support the other candidates just as passionately. I didn’t want to be an Obama Girl With AIDS, just posting my silly little blog and not doing anything substantial, so the last two days I’ve placed calls for the campaign.

Obama Girl didn’t vote for Obama in the Jersey primary: she was hungover from a Super Bowl party two days earlier. Earlier, she slipped that she was actually for Hillary, who didn’t get her vote, either. Look for Obama Girl in an upcoming American Legends Coin Collectors series.
It’s pretty simple: you log on, create a profile much like MySpace, and you earn points by helping out. If you get enough points, you get a Joe Camel windbreaker. (Not true.) It’s pretty awesome, though, cold-calling folks, and I really like being on the other end of that shit stick for a change.
“Hi, this is Shawn, I’m a volunteer for the Obama For America campaign…”

“I ain’t interested!” *CLICK*
Out of 30 calls, I’ve probably had 5 conversations. Most of the time it’s just as simple as leaving a message on someone’s answering machine, reminding them that the primary is Tuesday and I’m calling as a shill for Barack.

Barack Obama, just before he announced that he was running.
Of course, the easiest thing about making these calls is when someone screams in glee when they hear Obama’s name. “Yes!” It’s cool to hear the enthusiasm, and I don’t try to convert or kill the buzz when I encounter someone who feels the same way about another candidate. One of the reasons I like Obama is because he is respectful of the opposing political party and I, as a person with hemophilia and HIV, know that both Republicans and Democrats have stepped up to help my community, one that can easily fall through the cracks.
So, regardless of who you are voting for, if you live in Virginia, DC or Maryland, try to get out tomorrow (Tuesday) and vote in the Primary. If you don’t know who you like, check out the Candidate Calculator.

Positively Yours,

Shawn
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In other news, Gwenn and I hit the road this week for another semester of speaking!  Here’s a video of us doing our thing.