Scuffling With Freepers at the Clark/Davis Event

DoveTurnedHawk

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Wed Oct-01-03 05:42 PM
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Scuffling With Freepers at the Clark/Davis Event

Edited on Wed Oct-01-03 06:07 PM by DoveTurnedHawk

So I took a long lunch and trekked over to Hollywood for the big Clark/Davis "No on Recall" event. I got there a bit early, and there was already a healthy crowd of a few hundred. There was less signage than I thought there would be (this becomes relevant in a bit), but everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

After chatting with some of the Clark folks I knew, I made my way toward the front as the firefighters, EMTs and nurses who were being honored (the theme was "Real Action Heroes") started to take the stage. Then I noticed a couple of Freepers had tipped their hands early by holding up pro-recall/anti-Davis signs, and they had pretty good positioning toward the front.

Seeing that no one seemed to notice or care, I went up to one of the coordinators, and when I told him we should get more signs up front to block, he told me they didn't have any more. So I went and took matters into my own hands and urged some of the people holding signs toward the back to let a few of the empty-handed ones up front hold them instead. We got better coverage, and completely obscured the woman with the "Oust Davis" sign.

There was still one moron with a "Tower of Corruption" sign, however, and he was not only toward the front, he was also big, loud, obnoxious and intimidating. He had effectively cowed a couple of women in front of him, and he was getting good exposure with his sign. So I borrowed a neighbor's Draft Clark sign and made my way to the front.

I proceeded to have a blast playing one-man blocker of this guy's sign. Luckily, I was able to get slightly ahead of him, closer to the stage, and -- ahem -- my "stick" was longer (as it turns out, he had no "stick" at all, and his sign was very droopy...OK, I have to cut the innuendo here), so I was able to box him out very well. He tried to push further forward, but the good pro-Clark, anti-recall people were unyielding.

So then this guy starts trying to get PHYSICAL and push forward, and he's also being a clumsy oaf and knocking people with his sign. Then he started to jostle ME. I told him to back the fuck off, and when he told ME to back off instead and continued pushing, I told him calmly that he was in my space, that he needed to stop touching me and pushing me, and that if he didn't cut that shit out right away, I was a lawyer who wouldn't hesitate to sue his ass for battery.

He subsided, but continued trying to jockey for position, which was pretty hard for him, all things considered. Eventually, he gave up in that position, and tried to move to the side, but again, the good pro-Clark, anti-recall people blocked his way! Finally he got so frustrated he just shouted, "All right, back off, I'm moving back!"

The asshole did stick around and made a loud, heckling nuisance of himself, but at least he didn't get prime real estate with his stupid sign. :-)

Anyway, a guy named Pulaski (I think he's a councilman) came on, and gave a few comments, before passing it off to L.A. Mayor James Hahn. Mayor Hahn gave a few more comments, before introducing General Wesley Clark, the main attraction, for me at least.

Clark gave a rousing speech, he has a GREAT voice and stage presence. He again gave his "I would have been one lonely Republican, or a happy Democrat, and I'm proud to be a Democrat speech." He also spoke very eloquently against the recall, and emphasized how undemocratic it was to try to undo a valid election, and that the recall statute was designed for true malfeasance, not just an effort to subvert the democratic system for partisan ends.

He then raised what I felt was a very thoughtful point, namely that recalling someone for no reason does nothing except encourage timid leadership and timid leaders, not the bold leadership LIKE DAVIS that is required to lead a progressive state like California.

He also spoke highly of Davis, and reminded everyone that Davis, unlike Bush, actually served in Vietnam. He also SLAMMED Bush a few more times on his carrier stunt and daring to wear the uniform, and also on the economy. He hit the job losses hard, and Bush's tax plan hard, and the crowd was cheering.

He wrapped things up with urging a "No on Recall, Si on Bustamante" vote and spoke VERY highly of Davis, and the two men genuinely seemed to like each other (and as anyone who is familiar with Davis can tell you, seeing Davis be warm about ANYONE can be a bit jarring).

Davis gave a great speech, basically keying on his accomplishments, echoing much of what General Clark had said, and gave kudos to the assembled firefighters, EMTs and nurses (Clark, Hahn and Pulaski had all done this as well). The crowd received him very well, and there was mainstream press ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Finally, Davis briefly walked the barricade line and shook hands, before departing. I shook his hand and told him, "We're going to beat this!" and he nodded and smiled. General Clark stayed MUCH LONGER and spent more time with the people (my impression was that there were significantly more Clark people and signs than anti-recall people and signs), shaking everyone's hand and exchanging a few brief words. I thanked General Clark for running, told him I was a donor and a volunteer, and that we would all walk through fire for him to beat Bush. He was very gracious, and thanked me as well.

All in all, a fantastic day!

DTH

PS: I also got a sweet, official "Clark '04 - New American Patriotism" button, it's actually very large and well done. The word on the street is that official bumper stickers are arriving either this Friday or next Friday. Hope it's this Friday!