Yes, I'm a Democrat and my mom's a Republican. But mom trumps party. So on with the story:
This past Friday evening I got home from work and was looking forward to my first minimal work weekend in a long time. Hang out with my wife and daughters, maybe go see a movie together.
And my mom calls...
The front-runner for the Republican nomination for Senate in Hawaii had dropped out for health reasons. And so, depending on who won the primary (this past Saturday), the nomination would fall to the party to pick.
And among other things I know how to design web sites...
So Saturday was spent laying out a web site. Sunday was putting together a fast one for her to show the committee members. And Monday was spent turning that in to a real web site. Thank god for the time difference. 3:00 pm Hawaii time, 7:00 pm Colorado time, I has finished my last edits as the phone rang.
One minute into the announcement that my mom was the candidate and her new website went up. And because everyone working on it was on the mainland (and also a Democrat), no word of her being the nominee slipped out.
And what are her chances? Republican Cynthia Thielen in Democratic Hawaii? Well first of all, the people of Hawaii love her. I mention my last name anywhere, not just in her district, but anywhere, and people ask me if I'm related. And when I say that I'm her son they tell me that they love her.
And she wins her Democratic district with 70 - 80% of the vote when the Democrats bother to run someone against her. For 16 years she has shown incredible skill, both in getting elected and in legislating. She is an amazing politician.
So it's an uphill battle. But if I was betting money, I'ld bet on my mom. But with that said... She needs you support and your contributions. So please, go to www.cynthiathielen.com and make a contribution.
Update:
When I wrote the above, I did not put in every detail as I didn't want to bore people. But some people reading the above assumed that my mom had the nomination on Friday before the primary. Not true.
What I was told by my mom was she was contacted Friday the day before the primary and that if Coffee won the primary, she was under consideration. I would hope that the Republican Party did some planning ahead so that was a reasonable thing for them to plan for.
I also know the decision was made Sunday because my mom went to whatever group voted on this and then called me when the vote was over - on Sunday. Up until then she did not know who would get it.
I started working on the website when it was first a possibility because they could have voted Sunday afternoon and then announced Monday morning. Try to desgn and create a website in 12 hours. I skipped over these details in my post because I didn’t want to bore people.
I’m sorry if I gave anyone a wrong impression. The bottom line is my mom went in to that Sunday meeting not knowing if she would be selected. And she was first contacted Friday about would she be interested.
trackbacks: Mudville Gazette, California Yankee, Betsy's Page, Captain's Quarters, Counterterrorism Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Volokh Conspiracy, 365 and a Wakeup, The Command T.O.C., Black Five, PDHblog, Max Conservative
