Make your plans...

...there's a lot of Election Night parties that you can attend ...but there's only one that is sponsored by the United States' Democratic Party ...and only one in which you can meet and greet Barack Obama's Top Man in South America, Zak Schwarzman!

Not only that! There's only one Election Night party where you can actually shake the hands of the volunteers that have made Argentina a star in the crown of Democrats Abroad International and have gotten out the vote here in Argentina and South America and Central America and the Caribbean ...and even in the swing states of the US.

Those volunteers not only pushed the stone over the mountain top ...but when the US Embassy needed Bi-PARTISAN volunteers ...they were there, too.

I'd like to rant, just a little here, if you'll allow me: over this year... during which the efforts of THOSE volunteers from Democrats Abroad Argentina... did SO much to register and assist ANY eligible voter here in Argentina... we had many doors slammed in our face.

Sometimes our volunteers were allowed to sit OUTSIDE the door ...and, don't get me wrong, I was grateful for even that. If we could register ANY voter for this Tuesday, I was satisfied that we'd fulfilled our duties ...and I was confident that the majority would vote for our candidate.

Many times, we had to pretend that we were not associated with ANY political party.

We registered many Republicans; we registered US citizens of all parties and persuasions.

But we were not allowed entry to many places in Buenos Aires ...because we were TOO partisan. If we could not enter with a "Republicans Abroad" representative, many venues would not allow us to enter. That was the game ...and we had to play it.

The fact that NOTHING along the lines of "Republicans Abroad Argentina" did/does exist ...did not affect certain venues in regard in their decision not to allow us to register US citizens in their houses.

It was unfair. We worked around it as best we could ...but it was unfair.

In those places that refused us, the fact that ANY another US political party WITHDREW from the effort to register any and all voters along side OUR volunteers ...caused us to be excluded.

"Fair and balanced" is one thing ...but this year was not fair and balanced for our VOLUNTEERS that worked tirelessly, under the leadership of our Laura Atkins, to make sure that every US citizen in this city and in Argentina was equiped to cast a valid vote in this Tuesday's election.

Brian Byrnes of CNN reported, and has assured me that he verified, that the US embassy in Argentina held the ONLY "voting day" event of it's kind in the world. It was beautiful: jazz band and snacks and party favors and everything ...all on a LOVELY early spring day.

But when I saw the staffing of the hard-working volunteers of Democrats Abroad Argentina in virtually EVERY post not devoted to crowd-control inside the embassy ...let's just say that I had mixed feelings.

Our volunteers, aparently, did not share my mixed feelings ...they worked just as tirelessly inside the embassy as they did all year outside all the gates locked to us.

Don't get me wrong: I like an neutral embassy and I like things being fair and things being balanced. But this year was an uphill battle for our volunteers ...and it didn't have to be that way.

If you're in Buenos Aires ...and happy about the outcome of the election ...there's a group of people to thank for it. That group will be found at Sacramento Resto-Bar, El Salavador 5729, in Palermo Hollywood, in Buenos Aires, THIS Tuesday, from 9pm until we can't maintain a crowd any longer.

I hope that I have the opportunity to introduce each and every one of them to you.

Let me just say that there is NOTHING that Democrats Abroad Argentina has done to compare with the effort of that fine bunch of volunteers.

Come on down and do it with your Democrats this Tuesday ...and let our volunteers know that you apreciate their work.

Yours in art and labor,
Yanqui Mike