My Democratic Blowout Party 20101028

I went to the Democratic Hoedown this evening (Thursday) in Richmond, KY.  Most all of the candidates were there, and the sheriff even gave me a chicken wing.  Folks have asked me to comment on it, so we shall start with that.

I guess that it is just rural Kentucky, but it was horrible.  No people speaking, no one identifying herself or himself as a candidate.  I did see Conway and our county executive, but they did not talk, at least as long as I stayed.

I got there on time at 5:30 PM, and the place was filling.  The sound system, as it was, was playing MPG country music, very twangy.  Most of  you that read me know that I am not fond of twangy.  At least it was not too loud, considering that acoustics of the hall consisted of all floors and ceilings being just flat, polished surfaces.  Actually, the acoustics got better as more people came inside.

But there is not much that one can do with a single Fender amplifier about the size of a very small suitcase and two freestanding speakers about the size of my computer screen, maybe half again as large.  It was horrible.

Looking over the audience, I saw that I, at 53 years old, was one of the younger people there.  I really looked at the crowd of about 350 to 400 people, and never saw an Asian or Hispanic person.  I DID see perhaps 15 black folks, but at least eight of them were working for the firm that catered the less than excellent food.

There were no candidates speaking, just anonymous faces with buttons.  I did recognize the sheriff who gave me a piece of fried chicken.  If I had been a candidate, I would have put on a big name tag saying who I was and to ask for your vote.

Perhaps it got better later, but I left after an hour.  The horrible acoustics got to me, sort of making my head reel.  If this is a rally, may something else help us out better.

I did get a Conway can hugger, and will probably just keep it for posterity.  If that was a get out the vote function, Paul will win.

I still will go to my polling place Tuesday and vote for Conway.  But this exercise did not impress me.

What I do not understand is why it was not more professionally coordinated.  If a professional had been running it, there would have been Bourbon (this IS Kentucky) at first, then someone to announce all of the candidates, and very short statements from each of them, along with the announcer telling people where their polling places will be Tuesday.  Instead, it was sort of like a church potluck dinner, with the assumption that everyone knows each other.  Out of around 400 people, I found ONE person that I knew, since I used to work with her.  She is retired now, but is a very dedicated Democrat, so I was not surprised to see her there.  We spoke for about 45 seconds, just trading niceties.  After the hour, I just went back to the house.

That is no way to run a function.  Bad food, bad music, extremely bad acoustics, and no plan is not the way to gain votes.  Please tell me what your think.

Warmest regards,

Doc

Crossposted at Docudharma.com and Dailykos.com