Tonight I attended my very first political rally. The candidate that I support is (as I am composing this), debating 2 opponents for the single House of Representatives seat in South Dakota.
By no means do I consider myself great at estimating crowds, however if I were to estimate how many were there supporting the same candidate that I do it would have to be around 60 to 75 people.
The Debate was to start at 8 pm, local time and the rally was to begin one hour earlier at 7 outside the television station that the debate was to take place at. I figured that if I showed up 15 minutes early I would be among the first there, I was kind of right. Although it was 35 degrees outside and a very cold wind was blowing easily a dozen people were there before I was. I had never before met anyone in person that was there but was made to feel welcome and found without exception everyone there was in a great mood and not angry. Between 7:00 and 7:20 pm many more people showed up and the feeling became decidedly like that of a high school homecoming football game.
Around 7:25 pm our candidate showed up out front of the building. She was driven in in a silver pickup truck. She greeted all of her supporters, many with hugs. As she was greeting the people gathered around her I noticed a HUGE white limo that began it's life as a SUV. I kid you not when I say that this thing was 40 foot long. It drove past and headed a little farther past the TV station towards downtown. Shortly thereafter a charter bus drives by.
I wish I had a notebook with me and were taking notes as the time-line of things that happened but I am hoping that as I am writing this less than an hour and a half later that things still are clear.
I think that Kristi Noem was still was still waiting to be let in to the front door when the limo and bus drove by. She was let in along with the 3 to 5 people that I am guessing were part of her campaign team. A minute or 2 after she was let in a gentleman that I learned later was the independent candidate walked up the sidewalk and knocked on the television station door. He had no supporters with him and largely went unnoticed.
Very shortly after this, we were told to form a line on the sidewalk to the south of the entrance to the station. As we did this I noticed that about a block north a group of people were walking our way. We were asked to be respectful, be quiet and just hold our signs, which were given to us by the campaign. We did just that, the people that approached along with their candidate were chanting slogans and when the candidate reached the doors to the TV station her supporters were only a few feet from us.
Once the Congresswoman entered the television station after a few moments her supporters walked back north and crossed the street to assemble directly across the street from us. The chanting began again in earnest on both sides.
The one thing that really made me mad about the whole thing was this. when at about 7:40 it was time for the opposition to pack up they all marched straight to their bus. I can honestly say that I do not know of any one that was bussed from our supporters.
I cannot prove that the congresswoman arrived in that long white limo, although I strongly suspect it. I can prove that her supporters left on that bus because I seen them board it.
I find it very disingenuous that you have to bus people in from God knows where just to be there when the press is taking pictures and video. I cannot prove it, but if I were a betting man I would bet large amounts of cash that the campaign paid for that bus and likely paid those people to be there.
The best part of the evening is that just as the people across the street were getting ready to leave a spontaneous rendition of "God Bless America" came up from the Noem supporters.
God Bless America indeed.
