The MSM may have moved on to other states following the horse race, but the January caucuses were not the last word in Iowa.

I performed my next installment of my civic duty and went to the (Polk) County Convention today. Being an alternate pledged to Edwards, and having no word of an endorsement from the candidate himself, I spent a good deal of time wondering what to do next. In the end, I decided to stay with Edwards–for two very different reasons.

The first is a deference to the process. Edwards is the leader of a faction of the party, and I promised to support him in January. I do my best to keep my word (though my creditors would doubtless dispute that), so I will stay in Edwards’ camp until I am released from the obligation or can no longer do so. More about that last caveat below.

The second reason for staying with Edwards may sound worse than the first. It struck me that I could use the circumstances to advance LGBT visibility and–dare I say it? power. I get email from the Stonewall Democrats asking for LGBT representation and citing the party’s affirmative action goals, which include us. I had attended a caucus workshop held by One Iowa (our state’s LGBT advocacy group), and we were encouraged to participate in the later levels of the process as out members of the rainbow tribe. On reflection, it seemed to me that events were providing me with an opportunity. I thought I had a greater chance of getting selected as such a delegate in Edwards’ caucus (not to confuse anyone, but that is what the meetings of the candidates’ respective delegations are called). It turned out as I had hoped, and I am an Edwards delegate to the (congressional) district convention in April–with reassurances from experienced partisans that I stand a very good chance of going to the state convention in June.

Perhaps this will strike other Blenders as manipulative or even crass, but now that I have found myself in possession of a modicum of political power, I feel it would be wasteful of me to fail to exploit the opportunity it presents. What is more, I feel sure Edwards, in his own way,  is doing the same. How else is he to ensure that his views get the most attention from the rest of the Democratic party?

Of course, all this may yet prove moot. I applied for a job with USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) and took the exam a week or so ago. If I am accepted for a position, I don’t think I can continue in the convention process. I don’t expect test results for several more weeks, and then I have to be selected to proceed with the application process. That may take even longer now, as I read the head of USCIS announced his intention to resign in a month. With this in mind, I didn’t start rounding up signatures from fellow delegates today for that trip to Denver.

Please tune in for the next exciting chapter….http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03…