Thursday I infiltrated a John McCain rally at my old high school. I wore a red shirt, my mom’s fleece and hoped they wouldn’t smell my elite New York liberal bias. It was a weird 6 hours in which I spoke with many different people, looked around at my old school and reflected on my past and more or less had to lie about everything I believed in.
For example I had to pretend that I didn’t care about the environment. In fact, when at one point I heard a man say, “That green stuff is crap” in response to a flyer about the environment, I somewhat quietly said (even though I knew it was a stretch in reference to McCain’s actual practices) “Well, I think both candidates have admitted that we need to pay attention to the environment.” I immediately got 5 dirty looks and I stopped talking about the environment.
At one point, after I told someone I worked in film in New York City, they asked me what it was like wearing a scarlet letter amidst a bunch of Obama supporters. I told them that I had a good community of friends and that we talked about the issues openly. I felt good that I didn’t have to lie, even if the people I was talking with made their own assumptions about what exactly that meant.
Other fun rally moments included:
*While in line and while in the gym I heard people say “spread the wealth” more than I’ve ever heard the term. I’m fairly certain none of the people who said it make over 250,000 dollars a year.
*I got handed dollar bills that had a picture of a Communist Barack Obama on them.
*I heard multiple middle aged men talk about how hot Sarah Palin is. One called his wife and told her that if Sarah showed up he planned on bringing her home.
*There were Obama sucks and NObama shirts a plenty.
*During the actual event, I listened to my local Ohio Congressman contend that the Democrats were going to do illegal things to win the election.
*I also had to listen to this man perform 4-5 songs:
(ugh)
Beyond that the rally was the same as all the ones you’ve seen on TV. People cheered for Joe the Plumber. McCain stumbled through his stump speech about taxes and experience and negativity. Cindy McCain stood by and smiled blanky into the crowd.
The best thing about seeing it in person was watching John McCain salute and wave to the audience and seeing that there wasn’t actually anyone he was waving to. I can only hope is that his waves to no one are indicative of how the election will turn out tomorrow…
Although after listening to McCain supporters for an entire afternoon, I know that that isn’t true.
I’ll be voting tomorrow to voice my true opinions, be sure to takepart and vote vote vote too!
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I found your post while browsing Google for a list of Mentor’s ballot initiatives. I didn’t attend the rally - there’s no way in hell I’d have gone - but I’m saddened to hear all the liberal hatred that emerges out of the Republican party at these rallies. I don’t think I will ever understand why “liberal” is such a 4-letter word to a great number of people.
I totally remember you, I stood in front of you (in the PINK McCain/Palin shirt) at the Mentor Rally. Thanks for displaying the Obama bill, that my husband passed out !! Calling Joe the Plumber a Fraud is quite an uninformed statement. He was brought into the spotlight by Obama and spoke nothing but the truth and his feelings. Obama, to this day will still not explain his associations, so who is actually the fraud. To make the statement that you are “fairly certain” that the people in line do not make over $250,000 is another non-fact, we happen to know many Republicans in that room (you definitely misread that) I find it kind of refreshing that you had the opportunity to see and hear a true American hero speak.(with values and beliefs in the rights of unborn children) I did not see any where in your blog any appreciation for a man that fought for your rights and safety. I think there was a lot of excitement and hope in that room, AND I waved at John McCain, he wasn’t waving to NO ONE. Now, that Obama is the president I will support him, we will respect him. Too bad you didn’t show much respect for The McCain Family on your visit back to Mentor. I am PROUD of who I supported and hope & pray that our future is bright with the most Liberal President ever.
Debi,
I think you may have missed some of the humor in my post but I’m going to respond to some of your points. What made me so upset about the McCain rally was the negativity. The fake money your husband handed out (and that is photographed above) is completely disrespectful towards a man that has done nothing but serve our country. Spreading ideas that Obama is a Communist or a Socialist is wrong and uninformed. Obama never spread lies about McCain, he only discussed his policies. At Pro-Obama rallies I never got any anti-McCain gear, while at the McCain rally it seemed like all I was handed was Anti-Obama gear.
Also, nowhere in my post do I say that I disrespect John McCain - I simply talk about the people I met and what I observed at the rally. And I have to say that I observed a lot of people disrespecting Barack Obama.
And regarding “Joe the Plumber” - I recommend you read this post: http://www.takepart.com/2008/10/16/joe-the-plumbers-story-full-of-leaks/
I think everyone should support who they like, but the Mentor Ohio McCain rally was not truly about support for one candidate - it was about tearing another candidate down and spreading lies.
Any rally you go to supporting one candidate is going to have those supporters not supporting the other one. That’s why it’s a rally. Your post came across just as bad as their “obama sucks” t-shirts by your disrespect for John McCain’s speech and actions. I don’t find your posting very intelligent and leads me to believe you’re just another sheep in our generation. It’s said that morals and family values have been erased from so many in our society.
As Debi said, I will also respect our new elected president. I may not agree with anything he stands for or the reasons people voted for him, but as a classy citizen of the United States I will keep my opinions to myself while he is in office. Unlike the democrats who have bashed George W. Bush for the past 2 terms… which makes you all the king of “tearing another down and spreading lies.”
You HAD to listen to that man perform? He’s singing about our country, his love for it and how awesome its citizens are. That comment alone shows how liberal and ignorant you are. I’m sorry you HAD to listen to someone sing about your country. Must have been tough!
It’s easy to be a following liberal, especially in the place you have now chosen to live. Everyone “thinks” the same way so there’s no confrontation or debate… doubt an intelligent comment is passed between any of you. I can say this because I’m the girl who is standing up for all her beliefs and this country by myself in Hollywood… and I came from Mentor too.
So continue to listen to P Diddy, the uninformed you surround yourself with, the low moraled and the liberal media if you want our country to fall apart. Or be as smart as you say you are and educate yourself correctly. You have chosen the most liberal president ever… in which the media will protect 90% of the time. But I’m praying your decision wont destroy what our military has risked their lives for and former presidents have worked so hard for.
Have a nice day.
I believe Asian Nails is on tyler Blvd. if you ever make it back to Mentor….
I don’t want to spend too much time on this but I do want to restate a few things I said above
1) I didn’t disrespect John McCain’s speech, I simply said he stumbled through it, which he did.
2) I didn’t disrespect John McCain’s history of serving our country.
3) My main comment was on the atmosphere of the rally, which I found to be quite negative. I mostly heard anti-Obama sentiments not pro-McCain sentiment. This was upsetting
4) At the 2 Obama rallies I attended I was never once given any kind of derogatory piece of McCain paraphernalia or merchandise, nor was any for sale. At the McCain rally I was not only handed 2 pieces of disgusting, disrespectful anti-Obama paraphernalia, there was quite a bit for sale.
5)At the Obama rallies I attended nobody (in the audience or on stage) lied abort John McCain or disrespected him - they only discussed why his plans for our country weren’t the best. At the McCain rally many people, including McCain, said things that were untrue about Obama, like hinting at the fact that he is a socialist, which anyone who knows anything about his economic policy knows is untrue.
6) In New York City we may all generally feel the same way but there is still a lot of room for debate. My friends and I often have the same general hopes for the world but we see many different ways to get there and we discuss these quite often. I have die hard Democrat friends, Anarcho-Catholic friends, friends who are independents in the truest sense and a lot of friends who define themselves in no way. If anything our flaw is our idealism, we believe we can make this world a better one for all people and we’re putting that before our own comfort and security
.
7) I think this quote from Sarah Vowell also addresses your concerns over my chosen residence : “If the East Coast Is American enough For Al-Qaeda, It should be American enough for them.” Them being the Republicans who consistently disparage New York City and other East Coast towns.
7) I found the overly tan man’s music not to be to my liking and simply wished I didn’t have to listen to it. He also sang mostly about ladies and blue jeans and not our country - just so you know.
Also, thanks for the advice on my nails - I was doing a lot of canvassing/work while in Mentor and didn’t think it was the right time to be worried about the appearance of my nails. I thought my energy might be better used worrying about my country.