With her faith firmly in Obama, Pittsboro woman heads to Denver

PITTSBORO -- In 1972, Pamela Cash-Roper was a "Nixon girl."

She has voted Republican ever since.

But on Tuesday, this grandmother and lifelong Republican is delivering a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Cash-Roper, 54, has switched her party allegiance for this election.

Roper, who has no health insurance and lives on Social Security checks with her disabled husband, says she's putting her faith in Sen. Barack Obama, who's scheduled to be nominated Thursday as the Democrats' presidential candidate, to bring some economic relief.

Cash-Roper washes down about 30 pills a day. Her husband, Keith, 58, takes just as many. The Pittsboro couple's combined prescriptions cost $3,000 a month, she said.

They've both had open-heart surgery. Keith had it in 1998 and 2000. The second surgery left him disabled and unable to work as a maintenance electrician at WakeMed Hospitals.

His long-term disability insurance carried them until the company dropped his coverage. The company said she hadn't sent in the proper paperwork.

Cash-Roper, a licensed nurse, had her quadruple bypass surgery in 2004. It fixed her clogged arteries but left her with constant chest pain. She had to quit her job as a cook at a Pittsboro diner.

Keith eventually got Medicare, but Pamela can't afford health insurance for herself. They've spent all their savings and live in a home owned by their son.

Their only income is Keith Roper's monthly Social Security check of $1,100.

Looking for a hero

Cash-Roper has been following the campaign closely since the primaries. She considered each candidate.

"I knew I wasn't going to vote for McCain," she said. "He's a warmonger."

She didn't like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, either. So she looked to Obama. His policies made sense, she said.

A week after she decided to back Obama, he swung through Raleigh in June. The campaign wanted someone to speak at an event focusing on Americans without health care and folks struggling to make ends meet. Pittsboro Mayor Randy Voller gave the campaign her name. The next thing she knew, she had met Obama and was speaking on a national stage.

"After the surgery, our medical bills became even more unmanageable," she said June 9. "We found ourselves buried by medical expenses and unable to keep up."

She received a standing ovation. She was riding high after her 15 minutes in the spotlight. Friends called to congratulate her. And Obama was so nice, she said.

"He makes you think he cares," she said. "He's definitely authentic."

But her new-found fame had made her a target. Someone called her a phony on a blog, saying she was never a Republican. And there were the late-night phone calls when anonymous voices would call her names, one based on a racial epithet.

"In this day and age, it's shameful and disgusting," she said.

But it didn't deter her. When she was asked last week to speak at the national convention, she accepted immediately.

National stage awaits

Cash-Roper is not nervous about speaking in front of hundreds of convention delegates and, potentially, a prime-time television audience. Nobody has ever called her quiet or reserved, she said.

But she is worried about staying in hotel by herself and flying. She has been on a plane only twice.

She bought a package of Nabs to eat since meals aren't covered by the campaign.

But she splurged on some highlights for her hair, and her sister bought her a new black pantsuit.

"I pray every night to my God that he wins," she said. "Because if he doesn't, I'm going for my Canadian citizenship."