Published: April 12, 2008 10:40 pm      

Democrats pack ‘crucial’ convention

Stephanie Allen and Laverne Borders never worked for a political campaign, but now they say the stakes are too high for them to stand back and casually observe.

The sisters and Beckley residents are both volunteers for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Allen and Borders say politics always interested them. Now inspired by Obama, they are passionate. Both came to Saturday’s Raleigh County Democratic Convention to let their voices be heard and their support for Obama be known.

“We have had eight years of Bush, for one,” Allen said. “These have been very negative years. We have had the war in Iraq, the economy... It’s important for the Democrats to be in charge. We will be better off, overall. We want to see some change.”

Raleigh County Democrats packed the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center to choose delegates for the state’s Democratic convention, scheduled for June 13-14. West Virginia’s delegates for the Democratic National Convention in Denver, scheduled for Aug. 25-28, will be chosen then.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Rep. Nick Rahall, both D-W.Va., addressed the crowd — seated in a room covered with campaign signs, stickers, pamphlets, buttons and balloons. Even though both are political veterans, they said they have never seen such a close and crucial presidential election.

“I’ve been around for a while, with one of the first elections I remember being Truman and Dewey,” Rockefeller said. “I’ve never seen anything close to this one.”

Rockefeller said America’s need to improve its relationships with other countries is one reason this election is critical.

“Whoever we send to the White House must get it right the first day, every day.”

Rahall had been at the Monroe County Democratic Convention earlier in the day.

“We politicians preach year after year that people need to get involved,” he said. “Every politician has preached this since they first said, ‘Elect me.’ This is all good. This is crucial. Some polls have as much as 80 percent of Americans saying they believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. We need new leadership. We need new direction.”

Both Rockefeller and Rahall have endorsed Obama in the ongoing battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. But whether it’s him or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rockfeller and Rahall are confident the Democratic Party will unite and rally around the eventual nominee.

Rahall also dismissed calls for Clinton, behind Obama in the number of pledged delegates, to drop out of the race.

“I firmly believe this will not weaken but strengthen us in the for the fall campaign,” Rahall said. “While I have let my preference be known, I will support Hillary Clinton 1,000 percent and from the get-go (if she is the nominee).”

— E-mail: apridemore

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