Wednesday, August 04, 2004
"Let's all of us straight, white men vote for Bush!"...Zelmo Attends the Republican Side of the Duel In Davenport
"I'm here to ask you for your vote...I'm here to ask you for your help..." ~ George W. Bush - Davenport, Iowa rally; roughly 2 hours ago at the time of this post
President Bush and Sen. John Kerry are within a quarter-mile of each other Wednesday as they both campaign in Iowa, a state where polls show them neck-and-neck in the race for the White House. ~ Both Bush, Kerry Campaign in Iowa - Fox News report
I just got back from Davenport, Iowa; from my first ever political rally. I normally don't give these things the time of day, as they are often filled with your typical political rhetoric, propagandistic, pep rally tripe. And this one was no different than any of the other highlights that you've ever seen on TV. The only difference here, is that I actually attended this one in person. I went there with a buddy of mine who had some extra tickets. We're both fairly moderate Bush supporters; myself a born-again Bush supporter only recently, after the Fahrenheit 9/11 movie convinced me that I'd rather have the country in the hands of Bush than in the hands of liberal liars that endorse a liberal, lying, unsure-of-his-own-agenda presidential candidate.
My buddy picked me up here in East Moline at around 7:30 this morning, and we got to Davenport and the John O'Donnell Stadium at around 8:00 AM. The President was supposed to arrive and take the stage at around 10:40 AM, but he didn't show up until around a quarter after 11. Before then, we had to endure the run-of-the-mill, support-your-president, rah-rah-rah, yay team, pep rallying vocalized by Iowa's local and state politicians, as well as by a couple of Washington congressmen. Then, as it became apparent that the President was going to be late, one of the Gatling Brothers hit the stage to entertain us with some of his group's hits from 40 years ago. Red, white, and blue was everywhere. As was the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, and local police. Security was a bitch to get through. My buddy and I ended up going through at least 10 different checkpoints before we got to the park outside the LeClaire Park Bandshell, where we had to stand for roughly 3 hours before the President finally hit the stage.
A pretty decent crowd turned out for Bush's speech; roughly 13,000 tickets were given away. I don't have an exact transcript of the speech as of yet, since I went there without pen & pencil or tape recorder; I went there to see the most powerful man in the world, and to attempt to get an idea of why the man is so hated by a large portion of the American population. Standing outside the circle of unity that was present at this very Republican Bush rally, I could see the patriotic support of your average American, your loyal nationalism of your average veteran, and the subtle fanaticism of Republican hard-liners that were present at the rally.
Where did I stand in all of this? Mostly in the mud. It had rained very heavily the night before, and the grass was extremely wet and muddy. That, and after 3 hours, my feet were fucking sore as hell. That, and there was no water or water fountains present by the time that my buddy and I were starting to get really thirsty in the heat and humidity; all the water available had been consumed hours before the President hit the stage. A suggestion for the next pro-Bush rally: Supply more water and free food & beverages for the people that you wish to hoot and holler for 3-and-a-half hours non-stop.
Oh yeah, you were asking about where I stood in the entire political spectrum present at the rally? I stood Moderate, in that I was able to acknowledge the Republican posturing by those present. I agreed with some of what Bush proclaimed regarding the War On Terror, the War In Iraq, and health care. I disagreed with other issues regarding victories in the War On Terror and in Iraq as making our country safer; I believe it made those countries safer, and perhaps crippled any terrorist faction activity abroad. But one thing that we've learned about terrorist cells, is that they are often independent of the core group; thus capturing and/or killing Al Qaeda leaders, even Osama Bin Laden himself, won't stop terrorists from destroying American landmarks and/or institutions. The War On Terror must be fought equally abroad as well as on American soil if it is to be successful. While victories in Afghanistan and Iraq are certainly not bad things, they are independent of maintaining and/or achieving victory over domestic terrorism here in the U.S..
Therefore, the phrase that was repeated numerous times by Bush at the rally earlier, "America and the world are safer", is only true when addressed as two separate issues; America and the world are not one and the same. Let's 'stay the course' of consistency, Mr. President.
Now, on to the real highlights of the rally. The liberal war protestors were present, but a definite minority in all the proceedings. Almost an afterthought. There were the few 'No More War' fanatics that barged in and attempted to interrupt Bush's speech, but their picket signs were ripped out of their hands by the veterans that were present before they were promptly led away by security. Boy, I felt safer already. Damned rude liberals, anyway. *wink wink*
And as we were leaving the rally, there was a very small group of protesters standing on the corner across the street, holding up their signs and yelling at us evil Bush supporters. Most of them were young kids, and I had to laugh when some of them saw me exiting the rally and crossing the street toward them wearing my
t-shirt; one called me a "traitor to the Democratic Party"; another said that "Bad Religion doesn't vote for Bush, so why are you wearing a Bad Religion t-shirt?" A third kid uttered my favorite line while holding up an anti-Bush sign, "Let's all of us straight, white men vote for Bush!"
I thought about stopping and explaining to them that Bad Religion's liberal politics mean nothing to me. That I dig the band's music alone, and I like their non-conservative, anti-religious message. But these young little 16 year old shits wouldn't understand my nihilistic views. Nor would they understand the nihilistic rebellion required for one such as myself to wear a Bad Religion t-shirt to a Bush rally. But kids today are stupid in general, anyway. So why waste my breath? That, and I was starving and needed a bite to eat and something to drink. Supporting your President is pretty hard work, after all.
Just to piss off you liberal fucks who can't differentiate between good music, politics, and religion; or the lack thereof.
Oh yeah, and Republican chicks are HOT!
(0) comments
President Bush and Sen. John Kerry are within a quarter-mile of each other Wednesday as they both campaign in Iowa, a state where polls show them neck-and-neck in the race for the White House. ~ Both Bush, Kerry Campaign in Iowa - Fox News report
I just got back from Davenport, Iowa; from my first ever political rally. I normally don't give these things the time of day, as they are often filled with your typical political rhetoric, propagandistic, pep rally tripe. And this one was no different than any of the other highlights that you've ever seen on TV. The only difference here, is that I actually attended this one in person. I went there with a buddy of mine who had some extra tickets. We're both fairly moderate Bush supporters; myself a born-again Bush supporter only recently, after the Fahrenheit 9/11 movie convinced me that I'd rather have the country in the hands of Bush than in the hands of liberal liars that endorse a liberal, lying, unsure-of-his-own-agenda presidential candidate.
My buddy picked me up here in East Moline at around 7:30 this morning, and we got to Davenport and the John O'Donnell Stadium at around 8:00 AM. The President was supposed to arrive and take the stage at around 10:40 AM, but he didn't show up until around a quarter after 11. Before then, we had to endure the run-of-the-mill, support-your-president, rah-rah-rah, yay team, pep rallying vocalized by Iowa's local and state politicians, as well as by a couple of Washington congressmen. Then, as it became apparent that the President was going to be late, one of the Gatling Brothers hit the stage to entertain us with some of his group's hits from 40 years ago. Red, white, and blue was everywhere. As was the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, and local police. Security was a bitch to get through. My buddy and I ended up going through at least 10 different checkpoints before we got to the park outside the LeClaire Park Bandshell, where we had to stand for roughly 3 hours before the President finally hit the stage.
A pretty decent crowd turned out for Bush's speech; roughly 13,000 tickets were given away. I don't have an exact transcript of the speech as of yet, since I went there without pen & pencil or tape recorder; I went there to see the most powerful man in the world, and to attempt to get an idea of why the man is so hated by a large portion of the American population. Standing outside the circle of unity that was present at this very Republican Bush rally, I could see the patriotic support of your average American, your loyal nationalism of your average veteran, and the subtle fanaticism of Republican hard-liners that were present at the rally.
Where did I stand in all of this? Mostly in the mud. It had rained very heavily the night before, and the grass was extremely wet and muddy. That, and after 3 hours, my feet were fucking sore as hell. That, and there was no water or water fountains present by the time that my buddy and I were starting to get really thirsty in the heat and humidity; all the water available had been consumed hours before the President hit the stage. A suggestion for the next pro-Bush rally: Supply more water and free food & beverages for the people that you wish to hoot and holler for 3-and-a-half hours non-stop.
Oh yeah, you were asking about where I stood in the entire political spectrum present at the rally? I stood Moderate, in that I was able to acknowledge the Republican posturing by those present. I agreed with some of what Bush proclaimed regarding the War On Terror, the War In Iraq, and health care. I disagreed with other issues regarding victories in the War On Terror and in Iraq as making our country safer; I believe it made those countries safer, and perhaps crippled any terrorist faction activity abroad. But one thing that we've learned about terrorist cells, is that they are often independent of the core group; thus capturing and/or killing Al Qaeda leaders, even Osama Bin Laden himself, won't stop terrorists from destroying American landmarks and/or institutions. The War On Terror must be fought equally abroad as well as on American soil if it is to be successful. While victories in Afghanistan and Iraq are certainly not bad things, they are independent of maintaining and/or achieving victory over domestic terrorism here in the U.S..
Therefore, the phrase that was repeated numerous times by Bush at the rally earlier, "America and the world are safer", is only true when addressed as two separate issues; America and the world are not one and the same. Let's 'stay the course' of consistency, Mr. President.
Now, on to the real highlights of the rally. The liberal war protestors were present, but a definite minority in all the proceedings. Almost an afterthought. There were the few 'No More War' fanatics that barged in and attempted to interrupt Bush's speech, but their picket signs were ripped out of their hands by the veterans that were present before they were promptly led away by security. Boy, I felt safer already. Damned rude liberals, anyway. *wink wink*
And as we were leaving the rally, there was a very small group of protesters standing on the corner across the street, holding up their signs and yelling at us evil Bush supporters. Most of them were young kids, and I had to laugh when some of them saw me exiting the rally and crossing the street toward them wearing my
t-shirt; one called me a "traitor to the Democratic Party"; another said that "Bad Religion doesn't vote for Bush, so why are you wearing a Bad Religion t-shirt?" A third kid uttered my favorite line while holding up an anti-Bush sign, "Let's all of us straight, white men vote for Bush!"
I thought about stopping and explaining to them that Bad Religion's liberal politics mean nothing to me. That I dig the band's music alone, and I like their non-conservative, anti-religious message. But these young little 16 year old shits wouldn't understand my nihilistic views. Nor would they understand the nihilistic rebellion required for one such as myself to wear a Bad Religion t-shirt to a Bush rally. But kids today are stupid in general, anyway. So why waste my breath? That, and I was starving and needed a bite to eat and something to drink. Supporting your President is pretty hard work, after all.
Just to piss off you liberal fucks who can't differentiate between good music, politics, and religion; or the lack thereof.
Oh yeah, and Republican chicks are HOT!
(0) comments
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