The Last Rally of the Season
You probably figured with me a political buff and in Iowa, that I couldn’t sit on the sidelines.
So in conjunction with my last post as I talk about that weekend of January 25-26, ( I will focus on the last political rally I attended of the Caucus season) it is worth mentioning that I did my part in supporting the Buttigieg campaign.
My role was minimal. As I have mentioned at various points, there are competing interests for my time, but I did do what I could.
My greatest 2020 Caucus memory will be getting a text on a weekend afternoon from Chasten Buttigieg.
Getting communications from candidates are not isolated incidents and what is awesome is hearing stories from staffers how Elizabeth Warren called them from out of the blue.
While the caucus might be flawed, there is an element of it that puts the candidates face to face with their possible future constituents. Nobody can argue that isn’t a good thing. I only hope we don’t get completely Television studio campaigns.
Another highlight was seeing the Petemobile. While I expected it would carry Pete Gear for sale to help raise funds, I was surprised that there were a great deal of free stuff available. Everyone could walk away with something. I would also mention that posting about the Petemobile on social media was a bigger draw than anything I ever had on any candidate (and I had some great pictures).
I was impressed at the approach of the Buttigieg campaign and it’s likely their approach will be copied. The idea was for each precinct to have a team and canvas their neighbors. Meanwhile, whenever I met a Bernie staffer, they inevitably were from New England.
Since I was a Pete supporter, I chose to see him repeatedly, as opposed to seeing multiple candidates. Maybe the wrong idea for a blog, but as an armchair pundit, it was still worthwhile to follow the same campaign throughout.
Campaign rallies are like Rock concerts. They’re loud. They’re exciting. There’s a rush of energy when the headliner takes the stage. The artist you may only know from TV is live in front of you. Of course, go to a concert and you quickly remember the flip side. The standing on your feet, the waiting for hours, the crowd blocking your view.
These events are run by volunteers, lest we forget. I do salute the campaign for pulling these events off. It is a lo of work. On the flip side, the volunteers at this even could have used some customer service skills. While they are volunteering here, it is no doubt I would have gave them a scathing review on Yelp. (I am being overdramatic, but an armchair events planner would have a list of suggestions for improvement).
The event was packed, and was in line with my prediction that Buttigieg would win Iowa. The rub may be that anyone who saw Pete speak got converted, but when I spoke to friends out of state and across the country, Pete was a non-entity. It wasn't so much they didn't like him. He just didn't exist. The Caucus result delay nullified any "bounce" and I am not sure Pete would have survived South Carolina anyway. Still, we will likely look back at 2020 with some "what if"s. The biggest is if Biden wins the nomination and loses in November.
I won't spend too much time on the actual speech. At that point, like a stand-up comedian, the material was well-rehearsed and you were going to get a variation on a theme.
Of that, I was a bit surprised the rally started off with gun control- which is a Dem topic, but Pete was going blue collar and pragmatic. He hit some of his latest topics which included the Deficit and being a better fiscal Conservative than the Republicans. He also shared his anecdote about a friend about the Endless War.
One of Buttigeig's best strategies was the Fishbowl portion. Attendees could put their question in a fishbowl (obviously some screening, I am sure) and Pete would pick them out at random and answer.
Such an effective part of his campaign that Elizabeth Warren ended up adapting it in the final days towards the End.
A telling moment was when he was asked about downtime and his musician side started to show through. He would say as he waited to take stage in these rallies, often at grade schools like this one, or high schools- he would be stuck in the Music Room. Killing time, he might pick up a guitar and start playing it.
This even prompted an audience member to yell Didgeridoo (a reference to Pete's unique talent you might have missed or you might have seen in this Washington Post article in August.
I think it is fair to say that the Pete in January was more tired than the first time I had seen him- when he was polling single digits in Iowa. His schedule was grueling. This rally occurred right before his Fox News appearance in downtown Des Moines, and he had somehow scheduled a living room fundraiser through the same day.
He was no less effective. Pete has a charisma on stage that is up there with Obama, even if it somehow doesn't come across on a TV or computer screen.
So, this was a more hurried, but still considerate Pete. As nice as a politician as I have ever met over the years- with reasonable mention to Tim Pawlenty and Sam Robb.
I did stand in line to meet Pete. I did have an agenda, and I did strike.
Knowing I only had one chance, I asked Pete what his favorite Radiohead album was. Pete has been labelled a Radiohead and Phish fan- seeming opposites- by the media.
He answered "Amnesiac".
So there you go. Pete's favorite album by one of his most favorite bands is Amnesiac.
Or maybe, it isn't. It was loud. He was walking away, My hearing isn't very good.
I am sure he was blindsided. He likely might have named the first Radiohead album he could think of. "Ummm...Kid A... No, The Bends.... wait...."
Besides, he is on record saying Hail to the Thief. (At least in April, though it sounds like it could be in flux).
In any case, he said Amnesiac, which is also one of my favorite Radiohead records.
The 2020 Caucus with all of its two dozen-plus candidates, its colorful events, and its confusing result will not be forgotten.
For me, it started with getting the chance to talk about The Clash discography with Beto O'Rourke to seeing the Isiserettes (the drum corps who played for Obama and Kamala Harris) and ending with asking Pete about Radiohead. Ac with the blog, music flowed all the way through.
So in conjunction with my last post as I talk about that weekend of January 25-26, ( I will focus on the last political rally I attended of the Caucus season) it is worth mentioning that I did my part in supporting the Buttigieg campaign.
My role was minimal. As I have mentioned at various points, there are competing interests for my time, but I did do what I could.
My greatest 2020 Caucus memory will be getting a text on a weekend afternoon from Chasten Buttigieg.
Getting communications from candidates are not isolated incidents and what is awesome is hearing stories from staffers how Elizabeth Warren called them from out of the blue.
While the caucus might be flawed, there is an element of it that puts the candidates face to face with their possible future constituents. Nobody can argue that isn’t a good thing. I only hope we don’t get completely Television studio campaigns.
Another highlight was seeing the Petemobile. While I expected it would carry Pete Gear for sale to help raise funds, I was surprised that there were a great deal of free stuff available. Everyone could walk away with something. I would also mention that posting about the Petemobile on social media was a bigger draw than anything I ever had on any candidate (and I had some great pictures).
I was impressed at the approach of the Buttigieg campaign and it’s likely their approach will be copied. The idea was for each precinct to have a team and canvas their neighbors. Meanwhile, whenever I met a Bernie staffer, they inevitably were from New England.
Since I was a Pete supporter, I chose to see him repeatedly, as opposed to seeing multiple candidates. Maybe the wrong idea for a blog, but as an armchair pundit, it was still worthwhile to follow the same campaign throughout.
Campaign rallies are like Rock concerts. They’re loud. They’re exciting. There’s a rush of energy when the headliner takes the stage. The artist you may only know from TV is live in front of you. Of course, go to a concert and you quickly remember the flip side. The standing on your feet, the waiting for hours, the crowd blocking your view.
These events are run by volunteers, lest we forget. I do salute the campaign for pulling these events off. It is a lo of work. On the flip side, the volunteers at this even could have used some customer service skills. While they are volunteering here, it is no doubt I would have gave them a scathing review on Yelp. (I am being overdramatic, but an armchair events planner would have a list of suggestions for improvement).
The event was packed, and was in line with my prediction that Buttigieg would win Iowa. The rub may be that anyone who saw Pete speak got converted, but when I spoke to friends out of state and across the country, Pete was a non-entity. It wasn't so much they didn't like him. He just didn't exist. The Caucus result delay nullified any "bounce" and I am not sure Pete would have survived South Carolina anyway. Still, we will likely look back at 2020 with some "what if"s. The biggest is if Biden wins the nomination and loses in November.
I won't spend too much time on the actual speech. At that point, like a stand-up comedian, the material was well-rehearsed and you were going to get a variation on a theme.
Of that, I was a bit surprised the rally started off with gun control- which is a Dem topic, but Pete was going blue collar and pragmatic. He hit some of his latest topics which included the Deficit and being a better fiscal Conservative than the Republicans. He also shared his anecdote about a friend about the Endless War.
One of Buttigeig's best strategies was the Fishbowl portion. Attendees could put their question in a fishbowl (obviously some screening, I am sure) and Pete would pick them out at random and answer.
Such an effective part of his campaign that Elizabeth Warren ended up adapting it in the final days towards the End.
A telling moment was when he was asked about downtime and his musician side started to show through. He would say as he waited to take stage in these rallies, often at grade schools like this one, or high schools- he would be stuck in the Music Room. Killing time, he might pick up a guitar and start playing it.
This even prompted an audience member to yell Didgeridoo (a reference to Pete's unique talent you might have missed or you might have seen in this Washington Post article in August.
I think it is fair to say that the Pete in January was more tired than the first time I had seen him- when he was polling single digits in Iowa. His schedule was grueling. This rally occurred right before his Fox News appearance in downtown Des Moines, and he had somehow scheduled a living room fundraiser through the same day.
He was no less effective. Pete has a charisma on stage that is up there with Obama, even if it somehow doesn't come across on a TV or computer screen.
So, this was a more hurried, but still considerate Pete. As nice as a politician as I have ever met over the years- with reasonable mention to Tim Pawlenty and Sam Robb.
I did stand in line to meet Pete. I did have an agenda, and I did strike.
Knowing I only had one chance, I asked Pete what his favorite Radiohead album was. Pete has been labelled a Radiohead and Phish fan- seeming opposites- by the media.
He answered "Amnesiac".
So there you go. Pete's favorite album by one of his most favorite bands is Amnesiac.
Or maybe, it isn't. It was loud. He was walking away, My hearing isn't very good.
I am sure he was blindsided. He likely might have named the first Radiohead album he could think of. "Ummm...Kid A... No, The Bends.... wait...."
Besides, he is on record saying Hail to the Thief. (At least in April, though it sounds like it could be in flux).
In any case, he said Amnesiac, which is also one of my favorite Radiohead records.
The 2020 Caucus with all of its two dozen-plus candidates, its colorful events, and its confusing result will not be forgotten.
For me, it started with getting the chance to talk about The Clash discography with Beto O'Rourke to seeing the Isiserettes (the drum corps who played for Obama and Kamala Harris) and ending with asking Pete about Radiohead. Ac with the blog, music flowed all the way through.
Comments
Post a Comment
Contact us