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I decided to go whole-hog with the Nader thing- so I went to a fundraiser at Threadgill's downtown for the Greens and for Democracy Rising. I was surprised at how small it was, but on second thought, Greens don't tend to have gobs of cash lying around and this thing was $50 a head to get in. There was about 30 people or so. I paid my donation, signed in for the mailing list, and went to the table with stacks of Nader's new book (Crashing the Party)- I picked one up, hoping I could get him to sign it when he showed up.
I found a seat and checked out the food. As much as it was to attend I was hoping for more than carrot sticks and ranch dressing, but no biggie; I was dressed in sweats and tie-dye so it would be incongruent to expect pheasant-under-glass or something. As soon as I sat down everyone around me introduced themselves. Everyone seemed very friendly and cheerful, but I was feeling shy so after I introduced myself I stuck my nose in the book and listened to the band, which sounded kind of like the Soggy Bottom Boys. The Ralphster showed up soon after; he was in a mini-van and came out wearing a heavy coat, then took it off after he realized he was in Texas and even in January, Texas is usually windbreaker weather even at it's chilliest.
He came in and gave a short speech about how politics should be about the people and not the money, took a couple of shots at the Enron thing, and did a quick auction of a little device that included a chart that compared our military spending- on one side to other countries' spending (about 10 times higher) and on the other side to what we spend on other programs like welfare (again about 10 times higher) which he said could be used 'as a shortcut in arguments'. Then he sat down to sign books. While waiting in line I listened to the banter around me. Some people were long-time supporters that seemed to be following Nader around the country like Deadheads- one couple was from Oregon. Others were like me that just got interested in him at the last election.
I got to the table and he asked me who to make the autograph out to. I spelled my name ('Stacy') and he asked 'so do some people spell it differently?' and I started to babble about extra 'e's and the male version of the name, then just shut up and stuck out my hand, which he shook. I wanted to hug him but he was sitting down, and I restrained myself from slapping him on the back. He doesn't come across as a very touchy-feely person, and I am. It's probably good I hadn't had any booze or I might've tried to kiss him. I've done it before *blush*
I didn't really see much reason to hang out after that, so I decided to visit Bro until the big rally started. Bro wasn't in a really good mood so that kinda sucked, so I chatted with Eric on AIM. He suggested I throw my panties on the stage. I told him I wasn't wearing any, which was a bald-faced lie.
So I drove down to the rally which was held at this big indoor arena thing. Since I'd been to the fundraiser I got a dot on my ticket which gave me VIP seating. They weren't kidding- it was the front two rows! I didn't feel like climbing over people so I just took a seat on the end of the row, and within minutes a volunteer asked to see my dot. No one else had to show it! I guess it was the sweats.
The first act was a Latino band, whose name I can't remember. Grupo Fantastica, Fantasma, something like that- the way the guy said it the genders didn't agree. They were pretty good, and a bunch of people got up and started dancing. I thought, Nader mosh pit! Maybe he'd dive off the stage.
Then there was some gabbing by local Greens, and next Molly Ivins talked. She reminds me of my mom so much, I just wanted to give her a big ol' hug. Ann Richards had that same effect on me. Molly was funny and witty, pretty much in person how she is in writing. Jackson Browne was next- I had just seen the 'Lawyers in Love' video on VH1 earlier that day which had a lot of close-ups; he really has aged well, and sang great. I was somewhat frustrated by some camera dude that parked his opaque self right in my line of view, and considered throwing something at him (like a ball of paper, nothing dangerous) to get him to move, but I tried to exhibit forbearance.
Next, Jim Hightower spoke. He was a little too good ol' boy for my taste, but fun to listen to nevertheless. Then Patti Smith came on. I've heard people speaking of her in awestruck tones, and her first impression wasn't that great. She had a guitar and had some 20-something with a guitar (both acoustic) and neither played very well at all. And she talked for a few minutes while they were tuning, and came across as, well, as a dingbat. But when she opened her mouth to sing, wow. OK, now I see where the hype comes from. She has an incredible range and a deep, full versatile voice. She put a lot of passion into her songs too. Then she introduced the Ralphinator.
He basically made the same speech he did at the fund raiser, but with a lot more elaboration. He talked about living wages, renewable energy, campaign finance reform, hemp, universal health care, and lots of other stuff. He talks in long run-on sentences, and stutters, fumbles words, and doesn't have a lot of charisma. Frankly, that's what I like about him. He seems more like a grumpy professor than a used-car salesman. Which would you rather have in office, if just going on personality? Besides, I see myself as a grumpy professor sometimes. He also made a few more jokes- he really stuck it to weather forecasters (in a 'why doesn't the news tell us anything important' screed) for which I plan to forgive him, despite my inexplicable love for Jim Spencer. Then after a standing ovation Patti Smith, Jackson Browne, and several other musicians got up on stage and all sang a rowdy, energetic version of "People Have the Power". Nader stood in the back, away from everyone, almost as if he was uncomfortable with all the exuberance the musicians were showing, clapping along (the guy has no rhythm, either). Patti Smith grabbed him by the hand and made him sing along, which made him look even more embarrassed. But he was still smiling in a happy, excited way too.
I found a seat and checked out the food. As much as it was to attend I was hoping for more than carrot sticks and ranch dressing, but no biggie; I was dressed in sweats and tie-dye so it would be incongruent to expect pheasant-under-glass or something. As soon as I sat down everyone around me introduced themselves. Everyone seemed very friendly and cheerful, but I was feeling shy so after I introduced myself I stuck my nose in the book and listened to the band, which sounded kind of like the Soggy Bottom Boys. The Ralphster showed up soon after; he was in a mini-van and came out wearing a heavy coat, then took it off after he realized he was in Texas and even in January, Texas is usually windbreaker weather even at it's chilliest.
He came in and gave a short speech about how politics should be about the people and not the money, took a couple of shots at the Enron thing, and did a quick auction of a little device that included a chart that compared our military spending- on one side to other countries' spending (about 10 times higher) and on the other side to what we spend on other programs like welfare (again about 10 times higher) which he said could be used 'as a shortcut in arguments'. Then he sat down to sign books. While waiting in line I listened to the banter around me. Some people were long-time supporters that seemed to be following Nader around the country like Deadheads- one couple was from Oregon. Others were like me that just got interested in him at the last election.
I got to the table and he asked me who to make the autograph out to. I spelled my name ('Stacy') and he asked 'so do some people spell it differently?' and I started to babble about extra 'e's and the male version of the name, then just shut up and stuck out my hand, which he shook. I wanted to hug him but he was sitting down, and I restrained myself from slapping him on the back. He doesn't come across as a very touchy-feely person, and I am. It's probably good I hadn't had any booze or I might've tried to kiss him. I've done it before *blush*
I didn't really see much reason to hang out after that, so I decided to visit Bro until the big rally started. Bro wasn't in a really good mood so that kinda sucked, so I chatted with Eric on AIM. He suggested I throw my panties on the stage. I told him I wasn't wearing any, which was a bald-faced lie.
So I drove down to the rally which was held at this big indoor arena thing. Since I'd been to the fundraiser I got a dot on my ticket which gave me VIP seating. They weren't kidding- it was the front two rows! I didn't feel like climbing over people so I just took a seat on the end of the row, and within minutes a volunteer asked to see my dot. No one else had to show it! I guess it was the sweats.
The first act was a Latino band, whose name I can't remember. Grupo Fantastica, Fantasma, something like that- the way the guy said it the genders didn't agree. They were pretty good, and a bunch of people got up and started dancing. I thought, Nader mosh pit! Maybe he'd dive off the stage.
Then there was some gabbing by local Greens, and next Molly Ivins talked. She reminds me of my mom so much, I just wanted to give her a big ol' hug. Ann Richards had that same effect on me. Molly was funny and witty, pretty much in person how she is in writing. Jackson Browne was next- I had just seen the 'Lawyers in Love' video on VH1 earlier that day which had a lot of close-ups; he really has aged well, and sang great. I was somewhat frustrated by some camera dude that parked his opaque self right in my line of view, and considered throwing something at him (like a ball of paper, nothing dangerous) to get him to move, but I tried to exhibit forbearance.
Next, Jim Hightower spoke. He was a little too good ol' boy for my taste, but fun to listen to nevertheless. Then Patti Smith came on. I've heard people speaking of her in awestruck tones, and her first impression wasn't that great. She had a guitar and had some 20-something with a guitar (both acoustic) and neither played very well at all. And she talked for a few minutes while they were tuning, and came across as, well, as a dingbat. But when she opened her mouth to sing, wow. OK, now I see where the hype comes from. She has an incredible range and a deep, full versatile voice. She put a lot of passion into her songs too. Then she introduced the Ralphinator.
He basically made the same speech he did at the fund raiser, but with a lot more elaboration. He talked about living wages, renewable energy, campaign finance reform, hemp, universal health care, and lots of other stuff. He talks in long run-on sentences, and stutters, fumbles words, and doesn't have a lot of charisma. Frankly, that's what I like about him. He seems more like a grumpy professor than a used-car salesman. Which would you rather have in office, if just going on personality? Besides, I see myself as a grumpy professor sometimes. He also made a few more jokes- he really stuck it to weather forecasters (in a 'why doesn't the news tell us anything important' screed) for which I plan to forgive him, despite my inexplicable love for Jim Spencer. Then after a standing ovation Patti Smith, Jackson Browne, and several other musicians got up on stage and all sang a rowdy, energetic version of "People Have the Power". Nader stood in the back, away from everyone, almost as if he was uncomfortable with all the exuberance the musicians were showing, clapping along (the guy has no rhythm, either). Patti Smith grabbed him by the hand and made him sing along, which made him look even more embarrassed. But he was still smiling in a happy, excited way too.
