Bush Forces Look Worried in Davenport Appearance (10/25)By Connie Wilson
Connie Wilson files yet another classy report from the Bush rally in Davenport yesterday
Considering that one of the Republican bumper stickers bears the message “Flush the Johns,” I learned something surprising at the Bush rally at the Davenport, Iowa, River Center on Monday, October 25th. Republican women don’t flush. At least, not as much as they should. Three stalls on the left side of the rest room. Only one was flushed. [Please join me in a chorus of “Eeeuuuuwwww!”]
The crowd inside the River Center, which holds 4,000, was smaller than I had anticipated. At approximately 2/3 full, this would be 2,640 people. I later heard that only 3,000 tickets were distributed. The crowd was much smaller than that at the Edwards rally in Iowa City on Thursday, the 21st, and much smaller than that at the Waterloo airport for Kerry on Tuesday, October 19th.
I see numerous people I know on my way to the rally: my trust executive from the world’s fifth-largest bank; Andrea Zinga and husband (who, since she is a Republican candidate from Illinois, running against Lane Evans, was surprisingly absent from the stage full of people-props behind Bush); Mary Jane and Rocky Nelson of Hampton, who worked for and with me for years at the Sylvan Learning Center (and, before that, at United Township High School); Jane Robinson of Silvis, former Silvis School Board Member.
In other words, “the usual suspects,” wonderful people all. But growing smaller and smaller in numbers, it seems. And, (with the exception of the above-mentioned account executive and the always-youthful Andrea), older and older. Not a one of them under seventy.
Bush rallies are full of people who are primarily….well…. old. (Takes one to know one.) Bush rallies usually seem to have many present who are better-dressed than their Democratic counterparts. Bush rallyers are more predictable, in that certain “buzz words” are used to denigrate the opposition and set off a Pavlovian response from the assembled mini-masses…”flip-flop”, for example, during this campaign year.
Republican rallies have Country & Western music or really old recorded music…and not much of that. At one point, I thought I heard a Rolling Stones song, but then, listening again, I thought: “Naaaaah.” Republican rallies invoke God, over and over and over again. This makes me increasingly uneasy. (Whatever happened to “separation of church and state?”)
Brian X., a candidate for the Iowa xxxx, recited a prayer which went something like this: “We thank you for raising up a Commander-in-Chief who leads us so nobly. We are so inspired by his devotion to you. We pray you will grant him the ability to beat back our enemies.” (*Note that it is “enemies,” plural now. And growing by the minute!) And, last but not least, there was something about “Hand of love, power, justice, and hope.” This time, unlike the Democratic rally at Vets Auditorium in Des Moines, we were not asked to actually join hands. (Democrats must be more “hands on” people than Republicans.) After the rest room discovery, I was very relieved that I wasn’t going to have to join hands with anyone. Especially any of the non-flushing Republican women. (If they don’t flush, do they wash?)
Next to me was Oliver, who writes for the British weekly “The Guardian.” I wondered what Oliver was thinking about this slice of Americana. He told me that the traveling press was going to a lacrosse game after this. I remember getting an e-mail from the Mark about a lacrosse game and thinking, “Lacrosse? How-the-heck does lacrosse figure in Midwestern life?” This is what the traveling press will take away from visiting the Quad Cities: lacrosse. I leaned over and commented to Oliver, “Politics isn’t like this in England, is it?” He agreed that it was not. At all. We talked about how religion is far less an influence in British politics.
Actually, religion used to be far less of an influence in American politics, until the [s]election of 2000 and the installation of “W’s” fundamentalist group of “Christians.” After that, we had John Ashcroft, our Attorney General, making his employees pray with him every morning in his office. (I repeat: “Whatever happened to separation of church and state?”)
I don’t remember W’s father (George Herbert) doing quite as much Bible-thumping as “W” every time he took a stage. (I do remember him throwing up in the Japanese Prime Minister’s lap, but this is probably not the time to mention that unfortunate incident.) George Herbert seemed more reserved. Chilly, almost. Not like his hot-headed son, George, at all. I guess the apple does fall far from the tree.
A World War II veteran named Charles leads us (forcefully) in the Pledge of Allegiance. Nicole White (Miss Iowa) sings the National Anthem and really reaches up an octave for the high note, to the crowd’s delight. Someone named Kim Franklin, who has a very nice voice, comes out to entertain the crowd during the very long wait and leads the crowd in singing “We Are Family.” (Sister Sledge).
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that song popular in about 1979 or 1980? Amazon.com says, “This song doesn’t just define the disco era, it transcends it.” Sister Sledge has an 8-minute version, if you really want to re-visit the disco era. Personally, I am attempting to keep up with the 2000+ plus years. I never did well with platform shoes. Choosing this song to use at a Bush rally reinforces how out-of-touch W’s people are with the middle America of 2000, …some 20 or 21 years after the song’s release.
Before Kim appeared to sing, “live,” we had Elvis’ posthumous release “A Little Less Conversation,” created from mixes the King left behind before he overdosed on August 16, 1977. An even older chestnut, albeit one that was not released until years after the singer’s death. (*Lyric: “A little less bite, a little more spark; Come on, baby, I’m tired of talkin’ Grab your coat; let’s do some walkin’”.) I was raised Catholic; I was a teen-ager when Kennedy was President…the last President I actively campaigned for, before now. Consider yourself slapped, E. [And that goes double for you, W]. Is this any kind of image for a “Compassionate Conservative” fundamentalist “Christian” to be promoting? Let’s try to be CONSISTENT here, George. You can’t have it both ways. Are you flip-flopping here, or just having a bad acid flashback to your college days and National Guard non-duty days?
Maggie Xxxxxx takes the podium and quotes Will Rogers: “Even when you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” I’m not sure what this has to do with the election at all. It reminds me of the television ad that the Republicans are now running where a WTC victim’s daughter comes out of her lethargy when “W” embraces her (in a made-for-TV moment). Very convenient that the cameras were there to capture “W” doing his “compassionate conservative” bit. I wonder if there is similar footage of him cutting all those kids from after-school programs, Pell grants and Head Start programs.
I now (vaguely) remember George W. Bush making earlier political references to “tracks,” and saying something on the campaign trail about how there were officials in Iraq who had said that they were on a better “track” there than we were here in the United States. If I were Ms. Xxxxxx, I would find a better quote.
The tag team of John Kerry and John Edwards responded to the original “track” jibe by saying that the United States is on the WRONG track under George W. Bush, a refrain which many military men (among them Stansfield Turner, Director of the CIA from 1977 to 1981) echoed at the Waterloo rally at the Five Sullivan Brothers Center on Tuesday, October 19th. This “track” theme, on Ms. Xxxxxx’s part, was probably ill-chosen. Maybe Republicans just like trains and can’t think too critically about anything with a “track” reference. She ends quickly, endorsing Bush.
James Xxxxxx takes a much more statesmanlike turn at the microphone. He sounds almost professorial, urging us all to be less divided as a country during this hard-fought election. Hear, hear! He says that John Kerry is “a very credible standard bearer,” but thinks that the Democratic Party, in general, has few good ideas.
Bombing Iraq back to the Stone Age, a Republican idea, was a “good” idea? And how about that “Crusade” comment by “W” that set the entire Arab world off on a “jihad” or Holy War against Americans? Also a Republican bone-head play. I’m thinking: NOT-so-“good,” Mr. Xxxxxx. What about alienating all of the rest of the world? Can you say, “NOT good?”) Mr. Xxxxxx repeats the refrain about electing “Laura Bush’s husband,” as though Laura Bush was the candidate here. (She’s not, boys; get over it.)
Xxxxxx says that we should “Take a great country and make it better, not take a great country and talk it down.” This echoes almost word-for-word the final lines of Edwards’ speech in Iowa City on Thursday, October 21st, which he ended with these words, “The reason this election is so important is that we believe we should never look down on anyone. We should lift people up.” Given Xxxxxx’s words, he must be squarely behind John Edwards’ candidacy. (Maybe he secretly is?)
Chuck Grassley says a few kind words. Later, when “W” is speaking of Grassley, he says something about how he would like Grassley to mow his lawn (?) saying, “He can get the job done for the American people.”
Chuck Grassley can mow all of America’s lawns? WOW! I wonder what Oliver, of “The Guardian,” thinks about that! Grassley must be like the Santa Claus of lawn-mowers, I’m thinkin’. I wonder if he does them all on the same day, like Santa, or if he goes to individual states on a strict schedule. I vaguely remember a television spot Grassley is running now about “visiting every Iowa county all the time.” Who knew it was because he was mowing all their lawns? He must be very tired. (I hope he used John Deere equipment; the husband worked there 36 years, and we still have stock.) I thought Grassley used an old folksy car for these marathon trips? Does the old car have a large grass-plow attached to its front bumper? My mind begins to boggle.
Finally, Bush takes the podium. He is introduced by former Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani and “W” says, “Today, the world knows him just simply as Rudy.” I immediately think of the movie “Rudy,” about the kid who wants to play football as a walk-on at Notre Dame. I wonder if there might be some confusion, internationally, about who we Americans really mean, if we call Rudolph Giuliani “just simply Rudy.”
Sean Astin played Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger in the 1993 film of the same name. It would be really embarrassing to get the two mixed up in public, in, say, England. (Oliver, take note.) Sean Astin went on to play a hobbit with furry feet in “Lord of the Rings.” I wonder if Rudy Giuliani has furry feet, like Sean in LOTR. The only thing I remember about Rudy Giuliani are the details of his messy divorce after he took a mistress. Trust the Super-Moral “Christian” Compassionate Conservatives to have THIS Rudy introducing “W.” Seems a bit hypocritical, given the history and all. Maybe, next time, they can get the OTHER “real” Rudy.
There was a REAL Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, born in 1948 in Joliet, Illinois,…the inspiration for the movie… who gave us this appropos quote that George W. Bush should take to heart: “Getting what you want is only a problem if you have nowhere to go next.” The REAL “Rudy” (Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger) also said, “Dreaming is a lifetime occupation.”
Interesting how these “Rudy” quotes fit the political scene of 2004 ,because the “good economic news” that George W. Bush now works in to his Davenport speech (from here on out) is really dreaming on his part!
“W” says that “our farmers are making a good living,” that he has created 1.8 million new jobs; that the national unemployment rate is 5.4%; that the unemployment rate in Iowa is 4.7%; that “the economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.” He says this in the face of unemployment really being UP in Iowa.
Ohio has lost 232,100 jobs; Wisconsin has lost 68,000 good manufacturing jobs. Outsourcing of the “good” jobs has doubled over the past 3 years on George W. Bush’s watch. If we have 1.8 million new jobs, I’m guessing that every second job he has created requires the job holder to say, “Would you like fries with that? Would you like that Biggie Sized or Super Sized?” I also remember Sally Pederson, Lieutenant Governor of the state of Iowa, at the Jefferson/Jackson dinner in Des Moines, saying that the director of “Field of Dreams” in Dyersville, created more jobs, hiring people to appear in that one Kevin Costner film, than “W” has created in four years for the entire nation.
But enough about “Rudy,” the movie. And why belabor the twisted and just-plain-wrong facts any more? These poor facts have suffered enough. As have we.
When Bush takes the podium, he repeats much of what he said in his Denver rally, which I attended (*see cached entry on the blog.). Hair jokes (Cheney vs. Edwards). Tort reform jabs (Edwards the target and the scape-goat for all health woes in America.)
Taking a cue from Freshman Rhetoric, “W” announces that his speech has five main parts (or “clear choices,” as he calls them):
1) Family security
2) Family budget
3) The quality of life (education, health care; “the soft bigotry of low expectations in our schools,” leading to the godawful NCLB bill.
4) Retirement.
5) The bedrock values of our country (which, of course, is a chance to bash the very concept of gay rights, stem cell research, people who aren’t Fundamentalist “Christians,” environmentalists, et al.)
He originally left out Point Number 4, so bear with me. It was hard for “W” to “get it right.” It always is.
During the Point #5 portion of Bush’s speech, after saying, “I believe that reasonable people can find common ground,” he rattles off several outrageous comments, one after another. He says that he “proudly signed the bill” against partial birth abortion(s). Dr. Howard Dean debunked this “partial birth abortion” misnomer for therapeutic abortions performed in the third trimester way back during the “Sleepless Summer” tour in Iowa. It is a Republican trick; don’t fall for it. There are no ethical doctors performing “partial birth abortions.” Dean actually checked Vermont’s records for any during his 8 years in office. Total found: zero. There is no need to tamper with the law of the land on abortion. It stopped many, many deaths from illegal abortions, from 1973 on; if George has his way, women will lose the right to decide about their own reproductive rights. This is the Compassionate “Christian” Conservative way…but it is not the American way. Not for the majority of America, anyway.
“W” also talks about marriage being “a sacred commitment….a pillar of civilization and I will defend it.” This gets applause, although I don’t see Mary Cheney in the crowd applauding. On the topic of the appointment of federal judges, Bush says, “I will move this good-hearted nation towards a culture of life.” Girls: if you are of child-bearing age, take note. This is Republican-speak for: “I will roll back Roe v. Wade and make abortion(s) illegal in this country again, if I can pull it off.” Just ask the folks at NARAL Pro-Choice America about this. “W” has a few more words about “keeping American families strong,” and THEN says, “The job of the American President is to solve problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations.” I can hardly believe my ears!
I almost can’t believe that George W. Bush really realizes what he has just said. The man who has run up a tremendous national debt that our children and grand-children will be paying off for generations has the gall to talk about “solving problems” (rather than creating them, as he has). The man who has pissed off the entire world by alienating all of the civilized AND uncivilized world says this! Then he says presidents shouldn’t be “passing problems on to future presidents and generations.” WOW! Hearing that statement at this rally from this pseudo-pResident is …..surreal! I think I need an aspirin. But I would have to journey to the unflushed rest room for the water to take it. So, no aspirin. I will just tough it out, as I have done for four years under this guy. Besides, health care in this country is pretty questionable, so I had better learn to “tough it out,” medically.
The rally ends with Aaron Tippen’s song “Stars and Stripes Where Eagles Fly,” (I ask a very young teen-aged girl, a C&W fan, who enthusiastically gives me chapter and verse on this song) and, as I exit, I listen to some middle-aged matrons “tsk-tsking” about Clinton’s “morals” and praising Reagan’s virtue(s).
I wonder if these ladies remember that Clinton has remained married to Hilary (‘for richer for poorer, for better or worse, till death do us part”), while Ronnie divorced his first wife and family to marry Nancy (or “Mommy”, as he liked to call her.) I wonder if the Biblical phrase, “Let he who is without sin amongst you cast the first stone,” means anything to them? Or, “Judge not, lest ye, also, be judged.”
I realize that, since Reagan’s passing is so recent, we must all pay homage to his memory, even though the memory I have of Reagan is that he ran up a HUGE debt (sound familiar?) and began to “lose it,” mentally, before he was out of office. Not that I hold THAT against him: my own dear father had Alzheimer’s disease.
Degenerative Alzheimer’s disease is a tough thing to watch progress in your loved one. If stem cell researchers were turned loose with ALL the strains of stem cells that “W” has restricted access to, we might be able to cure that disease and many, many others. Still, when the person “losing it,” mentally, is the Leader of the Free World, and it’s happening before your very eyes on national television (as it did), it does give one pause.
“Let me just say this about that.” (Name the President) Let’s be gracious here: some credit Reagan for the collapse of Communist Russia…although that is debatable.
I am extremely happy to add this late-breaking news release from the Kerry/Edwards campaign headquarters. Within 100 days of taking office, John Kerry and John Edwards will hold a “rural summit” meeting in Ames, Iowa, to discuss the problems of Midwesterners. “They will immediately end tax incentives to ship good jobs overseas and, instead, give tax breaks to companies who create jobs here in America.”
Put my vote down for the ideas in that last (Democratic) paragraph, lighten up on the C&W soaring and flying and tube-sinking, and PLEASE, PLEASE: Republican ladies: FLUSH when you’re done in the rest room. (Gack.) I know you were raised better than that in those compassionate conservative households!
(*That last has been a public service announcement; it does not necessarily represent the view of www.blogforiowa.com. Although it should.)
Correction
The very nice Oliver from "The Guardian" corresponded with me to let me know that the "LaCrosse" mentioned in my report from the Bush rally in Davenport, Iowa, on Monday, October 25, (copy of which I sent him) was LaCrosse, Wisconsin, not LaCrosse, the sport. The blog regrets the error and tells all readers to forgetaboutit, as far as foreign visitors leaving Iowa thinking that we all play some strange game with a little stick with a basket attached to it as a way to pass the time. Actually, it is me (not the blog) that regrets the error, but not that much, since the entire article (and evening) was surreal in the extreme.
Oliver did not say what he thought of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, but I'll bet that, since he is assigned to attending only the Republican rallies, while someone else gets to go to the Democratic rallies, that right about now he is thinking about taking up LaCrosse, the sport, just to relieve the tedium. But, thanks, Oliver, for the feedback.
--CW
