by Jonathan Del Arco
When I tell people I'm a surrogate for the Obama campaign, I usually
get a bemused smile, a cocked head and the question, "What does that
mean?" to which I jokingly reply with a straight face, "I'm carrying the
President's baby."
I signed up in July because I thought my little bit of celebrity and
the fact that I'm fluent in Spanish could be of some help. Four trips to
swing states and many early morning radio interviews later, I'm
beginning to see how true that "carrying the President's baby" joke
really is.
I'm beginning to experience a lot of the perks and pains of
pregnancy. I have the glow, the gratitude and courtesy of people
(usually reserved for pregnant women), the swollen feet and backaches
from hoofing it door to door or standing all day at local campaign
offices, as well as the morning sickness which I felt the day after the
first debate. Not to mention the barrage of calls and emails from
everyone wanting to make sure "the baby" was all right.
So why do it? I have a busy enough life; I'm on a TV show and have a
day job as the west coast fundraiser for GLSEN (The Gay Lesbian and
Straight Education Network). Plus I have a husband and a family of three
critters that require lots of care.
Simply put, I'm gay, Latino and an immigrant so this President has
displayed his love for me many times over, I though it was my turn to
give it back. I have two sisters and a mother who's a senior and depends
on her hard earned Medicare and Social Security. If I did not do
everything within my power to stop Romney/Ryan from taking office, I
would be a traitor to everything I hold dear, my husband, my mother, my
sisters and my country. Yeah, I think they are that bad!
The setback that Romeny/Ryan would bring to women, gays and seniors,
not to mention the middle class and the poor, are untenable to me. Plus
I'm worried about my Republican friends who don't seem to realize that
unless they are millionaires, Romney's economic plans are not in their
best interests either.
So I've been out stumping. I always show up with a prepared speech,
which inevitably goes by the wayside when one of the local volunteers
shares a personal reason for fighting the good fight and I find myself
fumbling my way through why I'm there since they seem to have matters
well in hand.
Such was the case two weeks ago in Colorado when a man in his late
40's, who is a block leader, got up and shared how he and his partner,
who had AIDS, had been traveling when his partner became ill on the
trip. His conditioned worsened and this man was not allowed to go to his
love's bedside to say goodbye before he passed. He was told, "Family
only in the ICU."
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