Shad Planking roundup

The rain managed to hold off for most of the time at the 2009 Shad Planking. It was pretty nippy out there, though, and I’m glad I took an overcoat. Others have written about the events and I’ve posted the three videos of the speeches given by the gubernatorial candidates.  Let me share a couple of stories from the day.

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Having to pick up my ticket at the Shad Planking office, I ran into former governor Jim Gilmore, who was doing the same. A third person entered the building just behind me. Gilmore, ever the candidate, introduced himself to us with a charming smile. He then proceeded to take care of his tickets. As one person behind the counter went to get my ticket, Gilmore was taking care of his ticket situation. Seems he needed three but only had two so the lady told him that the additional ticket would be $25. Gilmore pulled the money out of his wallet and was about to pay when the guy on his left said that he had an extra ticket. As Gilmore started to put his money away, I chided him about helping a good cause. He agreed and paid for the ticket. The two women behind the counter thanked me.

Later, I ran into Gilmore again. He thanked me for telling him to pay, saying he could be a “such a tightwad sometimes.” I said, “Aren’t you the governor who got the car tax?” He beamed and said that he was. I then said something about being a tightwad with his own money and not the state’s. 😉

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I saw Jody Wagner at the event and she said she needed to chat. But we couldn’t do it there. Bill Bolling has a tracker on Wagner. I turned around and nearly hit the young lady who was video-taping – she was that close. I then proceeded to provide some fodder for the recording – said hi to Bolling and such.

The General Assembly needs to take up legislation on these trackers. They should be forced to stand back a certain distance – perhaps 10 feet. Having the trackers in the personal space of the candidates seems too much to me.

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After the speeches, I got a chance to chat with George Allen. During the speeches, I had stood just in front of where he was sitting on stage.  He asked me if we had met and who I was, as he had noticed me standing there during the speeches. He wanted to know if I was a college president or something. I told him, no, I’m not a college president and that I don’t think we met at the rally he did with Thelma Drake a few years ago. I then asked him about running for president in 2012. He said no, he wasn’t doing that. I asked him about being the new RPV chair – he said he wasn’t doing that, either. He said he is focusing on his business and will have something to announce in a couple of weeks. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t convince him to tell me what it was.

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Others have said that attendance was down at this year’s event. I think the Tea Parties probably had something to do with it. I didn’t see the usual gaggle of Republican bloggers there this year and as I look through the postings about the event, those blogs have no coverage to speak of.

I also wonder about the media coverage. Kimball Payne from The Daily Press was there as was Bob Gibson, formerly of the Daily Progress. I didn’t see anyone from The Virginian-Pilot nor was there any mention of it online or in the paper. (There was an obnoxious photographer there from some national outlet. She had an assistant holding up a huge light in front of everyone. Hope she got her pictures, although I haven’t seen then anywhere.)

Nevertheless, I don’t think the Shad Planking has outlived its usefulness. If nothing else, it provides one of the few forums where Democrats and Republicans can mingle, drink some beer, and have a good time.