Today at the Madison Famers Market, there were an estimated 20,000 people who were there as well as State Street nearby. Let's just say it was crowded all day.
We set up at 7:30 am wih signage, a laptop playing the Obama DVD, literature, issue papers, stickers, buttons and bumper stickers with donation cards. We went through all the signup sheets we had (15 or so) and ended up having people sign up on the back of sheets as the day ended around noon.
Mostly, people were just happy to see the Obama table and wanted to find out what they can do. There were a fair amount of people from all over the country that were there as well as a lot of local folks. By noon, we went through jsut about everything we had, which comprised of 50 bumper stickers, 100+ buttons and a number of sheets of Avery labels with the Obama logo.
There were a few moments that were more challenging.
A couple people stopped by and wanted to talk health care. I talked about the need for universal healthcare and had information from here for them to parse through:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/By far, the funniest moment was when some guy in his 30's came up and started reciting Limbaugh talking points about how "Demoncrats" are so bad.
This guy STILL loves George Bush. He went on about how "democrats hate the troops", "want America to surrender", "want to have a lesbian or nig... black guy run" and thought that Medicare should be gone, Social Security should be privatized or eliminated and the government should do "something about you people during a time of war". He went on to say that the war in Iraq was to get rid of the terrorists who attacked this country. He even got teary when he said that "we would remember that a couple of days after 911, that Bush said he would smoke them out and get them before they come here". I asked him what a person should do if they had a medical problem that bankrupted them. He admitted that they should be helped. I said that Medicare and Medicaid are there for that.
I asked him how much it costs a week to fight the war in Iraq. He said he didn't care. I asked him why we didn't destroy Saudi Arabia since a majority of the hijackers (if you believe that whole story) were from there? He didn't know about that. I asked him how many troops have died so far. He said it was a lot less than WWII. I told him that I have met veterans who voted for Bush in the past election cycles that despise him and want him impeached. He said I was just "lying like some commie."
The best part was that he said a President should have military experience to run. I asked him if he supported Kerry. He said that Kerry was never really a soldier because he was a rich kid. I asked what military record Bush had. He said he was in the military. I asked who he would support for President. "Either Fred Thompson or Rudy..." I asked what military experience they had. He said both were in Vietnam. :rofl: I just laughed out loud at him and told him I ran out of tinfoil for his hat. He then screamed that "you guys hate the troops and America!" as he started walking away as a crowd was forming. I then said I would pay for a cab to take him to an Army recruiter...hell I'll buy him lunch before he signs up... he gave me the finger and finally walked away and disappeared into the crowd.
All round the table, people were shocked to see such a person. It was comical and tragic at the same time. An older woman at another table was shocked to see a display coming from someone like tht in real person. I told her that no matter what information I showed or what proof that Bush is the worst President ever, he would still continue to believe in Bush.
Then the enthusiasm came back where people were just happy to see others and talk about Obama and the election. All in all, a beautiful day in the hot sunshine with people who LOVE America and want to rescue it from people like the Bushbot.
Despite the Freeper, the day was fantastic.
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