Drawing the Short Straw

I got the chance to go to Ft. Worth for a day to attend the Texas Republican Straw Poll tomorrow.

According to the Texas GOP, they've never held one, and theoretically, candidates come and speak and delegates vote for "their" candidate and there's a winner declared and everything. Then said winner gets a big PR boost and so on. Since so many states are going ahead of Texas in the primaries in the Spring, they've billed this as possibly the only chance to help choose a candidate.

Which, when you think of it, is a really crappy thing, but that's a rant for another day. We shall not speak of the Electoral College either, though I support it. I was an inch away from being an actual Elector three years ago. Par-tay!

Anyway, So I'm all excited to be in on this thing. Then I start reading news reports (never do that.) It seems even Mike Huckabee has cited a conflict with the event and has bowed out. So we're stuck with 2 candidates; Ron Paul and someone who I've never heard of.

Yeah. Texas gets the shaft.

So I'm driving about 500 miles round trip and spending $160 before meals and gas to go vote for people who aren't even there.

Shoot, when I'm dictator, the democratic process is really going to get a makeover.