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And what a night it was! The good doctor came to Rapid City, SD, as part of his 50-state strategy and to encourage and fundraise for the South Dakota Democrats. I decided that I couldn't spare the fifty dollars it would have cost to attend the private dessert reception, but attended the public meeting that took place directly afterwards. The downtown hotel where he was speaking and staying was just a couple blocks from my apartment, so I just walked there.
I had thought that the public rally/meeting would be held in a large ballroom-type area, but was very pleasantly surprised to find that it would take place in a much smaller, more intimate meeting room. I got there early and managed to snag a seat in the second row. It was a good thing I arrived early (probably one of the maybe five times in my life I've actually been early for anything!), as the room began to fill up almost as soon as I sat down, and it quickly became standing-room-only.
When I registered, I noted a South Dakota Democrats poster displayed prominently next to the registration table. The banner headline was "Proud of our Past, Working for the Future", and it had pictures of 1972 presidential candidate and South Dakota senator George McGovern, and a young Tom Daschle as congressman, as well as later pics of him as senator. I remembered the 1972 election; I was seven years old and living in Aberdeen, SD. My second-grade class held a mock election, and I was the only one to vote for McGovern (only because that's who my parents were voting for, at that age, I really didn't know much about it). I shared that memory with the woman at the registration table, and she laughed and said that was a common memory for SD Dems, but hopefully wouldn't be for much longer. We both agreed that we took comfort in the fact that we were right about Nixon after all, and made the right choice with McGovern.
I began talking to the woman next to me, an older woman who told me she'd been a South Dakotan and a proud Democrat all of her life. I said that I'd been surprised to find, when I first moved here last year from Ohio, that the state's Dem party was larger and stronger than I'd thought it would be. The woman then said that the 2004 election had really energized the party, and she was feeling more hopeful than she'd felt in years.
Finally, the big moment came. The usual SD Dem party leaders trooped to the microphone at the podium directly in front of me and made the usual, dutiful remarks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we thought, just get to the important part. And then the man himself was finally introduced and was at the podium. I know it's a cliche to say things like "the crowd went wild", but they REALLY did! The room was absolutely jam-packed by that time, and I was very glad to have found a seat and one right at the front. The good doctor got a standing, cheering ovation for several minutes, literally, and he seemed to be really surprised and honored.
When he was finally able to speak, he thanked us and quipped that he didn't realize there were this many democrats in SD, which got a knowing laugh. Then he began to speak. One of the first things I noticed was just how low-key he was, unlike all of the hyped-up media portrayals of him. He welcomed the republicans who were present (the SD repub party has become very extremist and hostile to moderates, many moderates are leaving the party or thinking about it) and talked about the importance of reaching out to everyone regardless of beliefs or party affiliation. He made the point that there is no "them" or "those people", that we are all Americans, with the same common goals, dreams, hopes and fears, just with different beliefs on how to accomplish them.
He then talked about the necessity for a new direction for the country, and how the current "leadership" was mired in a culture of corruption; he named a litany of the politicians/advisors, etc., who were under indictment, suspicion, arrest, etc., including the first WH staff member to be arrested in over 135 years. He then talked about the growing Democratic victories, including recent election victories in seemingly solid red states like Oklahoma. He discussed the need for universal access to health care, education, etc. He talked about the purpose behind his 50-state strategy, saying that we couldn't just focus on the national level, but had to start from the ground up with grassroots organizing and really listening to all Americans, not just Democrats and those who agreed with us.
He said that SD was a very moral state, and that ensuring that children were not hungry or abused/neglected, that people had the health care they needed, etc. WERE strong moral values; he nearly brought the house down with that one.
He ended by saying that he wanted each of us to talk to our neighbors, co-workers, etc., and find out what their goals, fears, hopes are and what they want. Then he wanted us to talk to them about why were were democrats, what our party's goals were and how we were helping people and working to improve their lives. He really DID bring the house down when his speech was finished, and his smile was warm and genuine. He came down and shook the hands of those in the front row before he was led away. While I didn't get to shake his hand, I was literally right next to him which, for me, was enough. Again, he was very low-key, genuine, down-to-earth, and nothing like the media portrayals of him.
I walked back to my apartment in the beautiful night air, beyond thrilled that I'd finally met the man who's bringing our party back to the national prominence and strength it once had and feeling more hopeful than I'd felt in a very long time.
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