I just got back from a rally held for Thelma Drake and George Allen. Others in attendance included Councilman Randy Wright, Virginia Senator Nick Rerras and Delegate Leo Wadrup. As I arrived, protesters were set up at the entrances to the parking lot, on the little strip of public property. They were not allowed to come onto the property where the event, billed as the “Fall Family Festival,” was held. The card I received in the mail said that Senator John Warner was to be there as well, but he did not attend.
Since I was not a part of the protest (as far as they knew 🙂 ) I was allowed to enter the event. Here’s what greeted me:
Ugh!
According to Allen’s calendar, he was supposed to be there at 4pm so I got there around 4. Allen was running late; the speeches started around 4:30pm. Shortly afterwards, camera crews and reporters started arriving, including one crew from CNN. A few minutes later, Allen, accompanied by his wife, Susan, and former pro football player Deacon Jones, arrived. Drake introduced him.
Allen spoke about the four “F’s”: faith, family, freedom and football. Just about everything else he talked about has been said in every debate that I’ve ever seen. “If you pay taxes, work for a living, and care about your families, you should be on the A-Team.” Um, no. “I want to protect our freedom. I believe this is the land of opportunity for all. And I want to preserve our foundational values.” Uh oh. Sensing that he was among like-minded folks, Allen used the New Jersey decision as a rallying cry for supporting the amendment. (Needless to say, it was really hard for me to sit through this.)
During the speeches, the protesters – who numbered about 25, I’d say, gathered at the back of the area, again on public property, and shouted various things. As the speakers were using a microphone and the protesters were so far away, I don’t know if anyone was able to hear them. This picture was taken from the back of the crowd listening to the speeches, to give you some sense of how far away they were.
After the speeches, the reporters gathered for a bit of Q and A. I was in the midst of this group, when I was able to capture this shot. One reporter asked about the racism charges, and Allen promptly trotted out his “get out of jail free” cards: Benny Lambert, James Holley & Deacon Jones. I bit my tongue, wandered away, and listened as some reporters were talking to Deacon Jones.
As I approached, Jones was emphatically saying that Allen was not a bigot. I have to wonder: what did Allen promise Jones in exchange for his support? I know he promised HBCU funds to Lambert, and Hope VI money to Holley. But Jones? No idea. And honestly, it was a good thing that the rally was over, as my ability to keep my mouth shut was just about to run out.
As I was chatting with the reporter from CNN about the money promised to Lambert & Holley, a lady was standing by. She made some comment to me about something and then started up about the marriage amendment and the Bible. I told her that I wasn’t going to argue with her about it – she is entitled to her interpretation of the Bible and I am entitled to mine. She kept on. The CNN reporter backed away, saying she didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. The lady was joined by her sister, and kept after me: “What kind of Bible do you read?” 
as if to insinuate that somehow her bible was more correct than mine. Or perhaps it was because I was one of about oh, say, two black folks there that she thought I may be one of those “black muslims” or something. Whatever it was, I really had to get out of there.
On my way out, I chatted with a couple of reporters, including Bob Lewis from the AP and one from the NY Daily News. The fellow from the NY paper, whose name escapes me, was talking about the person there who was dressed up as a monkey. While I told him who it was, I’ll leave it for you guys to try to figure out. Let’s just say the reporter was quite surprised by who was in it.
I did talk to a few folks about Voting NO but this crowd was obviously not the place to do it. One of them is a fellow that I know, who was holding a Vote YES sign in his hand. If nothing else, I believe my conversation with him made him think a bit about the amendment and its potential effects.
Oh – and I see why Allen was late. He was watching a football game over in Portsmouth. For a guy who holds the UVA record for interceptions in a game (5), he still is fascinated with it. He threw some balls into the crowd at the rally. The funniest thing was that the people catching them had to give them back!
UPDATE: Pilot reporter Mike Gruss was also in attendance at the rally. Read his piece here. Funny – the newspaper shows a picture of Allen similar to mine. Interesting tidbit from his piece: Deacon Jones, who is stumping for Allen, cannot vote for him as he is a California resident! Now what was all that stuff Allen was saying earlier about Webb’s California friends?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Well, MB, let’s look at some issues. Bush has appointed conservative judges to the Supreme Court. He lowered income taxes and estate taxes. He has pushed for Social Security Reform. The Clinton Gun Ban was allowed to die. And the economy has recovered nicely from the recession.
Clinton appointees include Ginsburg, lawyer for the “Anti-Christian Lawyers Union.” (I do wish Bush had appointed an NRA lawyer, but we can’t have everything.) Clinton’s civil rights record includes Waco and Ruby Ridge. His gun ban prevented more drive-by bayonettings, of which we had heard so much. He is also the only President to be legitimately impeached, as the S.C. declared unconstitutional the law Johnson was supposed to have violated.
OK Jack, three strikes – you are out! 1) The President drafts the budget and the Congress amends and approves it. Bush43 has NOT proposed a balanced budget in his 6 years. Nor has he vetoed a busted budget. Bonus round: Bush has funded the War off-budget, with a nod from the Republican Congress. In the real world that is called “voodoo”. 2) Ruby Ridge was the work of Bush41, having occurred in August of 1992. 3)When Barry Goldwater walked into Richard Nixon’s office in 1974 he conveyed to Nixon that his impeachment would be sustained, and Nixon WOULD be removed from office – it was time to resign or Nixon would take the Republican Party down the drain. Nixon resigned. THAT was a legitimate impeachment and you would know the difference if you were 1) alive, or 2)sober when it occurred. Peace out.
Very interesting comparisons. Now can we get back to the here and now? Sheesh!! You all keep bringing up the old “who struck John” crap. Let’s admit it… both parties have dead bodies in the closet.
Everybody knows that the president doesn’t make most of the decisions, he proposes what he wants and the “powers that be” decide yea or ney. At least I thought everybody knew that.
Talk about Social Security Reform, how about if EVERYBODY contributed to social security (you know who I mean); and as for the estate tax, isn’t it mostly the wealthy who have mega-bucks to disperse the ones who benefit from that? Come on… get real!
It seems to be a case of follow the party regardless of where it leads. How about following a real person, one who is going to attempt to lead in the right direction? What the heck difference does the party make if the person best qualified gets elected. Again, we already know that there are checks and balances to help steer the ship in the right direction.
Bubby — thanks for the correction on Ruby Ridge.
As for the budget, Article I, section 7: “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives”
Nixon was not impeached, because he had the grace to resign. I was both alive and sober at the time. Generally, those saying “Peace out” were stoned back then.
Graylady — what “qualifications” are you talking about? As I have said before, children and spouses of politicians get appointed to fill their vacancies. My wife could never do my job, nor could I do hers. Politics, is, obviously, unskilled labor. All the qualifications in the world won’t do us any good if the candidate has bad ideas.
That’s exactly my point. It was a “bad idea” to go to war with Iraq. It is a “bad idea” to pass the Marshall Newman Amendment, it is a “bad idea” to stay the course, (although more candidates are willing to re-think that idea), and it is a “bad idea” to privatize the Social Security System. These, just to name a few.
In my opinion, it is also a bad idea to trust a man who uses negative and derogatory comments directed at people in his audience. I guess I find it very difficult to believe using that “M” word was a slip, because it is not a term that is very well known. At least not unless one is use to using such terms on an every day basis. It was an ignorant thing to say and Allen had a smile on his face when he said it. Does he think he is someone privilaged?
And I totally agree that Politics is “unskilled” labor. But, in case you aren’t aware, the qualifications for unskilled labor do not include stupidity! There are a great many people doing unskilled labor who have above average intelligence.