Unfree People
02-08-2004, 06:44
Cheney came to New Mexico today to give a speech in light of Kerry beating Bush by 10% in the last poll of a state that went for Gore by .1% in 2000.
He came to a suburb of the largest city in the state, and to get tickets to the event, you had to sign a pledge of support for the Bush-Cheney ticket. This infuriated the liberals running the state here, and there was a lot of controversy over it, but it stuck. It was held in a high school gym, and unless you had tickets, you couldn't even get anywhere near the school - you had to park miles away and a shuttle would take you there. Although I live ten minutes away, there was no way I could go hear what my Vice Pres had to say. Protestors lined the road leading to it, but no one paid them much attention.
All this, and Cheney has the nerve to come here and say "I really like this crowd", which ended up being plastered all over our local newspapers, as if Cheney is somehow beloved by our state for saying that he liked us.
New Mexico being a battleground state, a vice pres visiting us is not a big deal. But, this visit coming right on the heals of that poll giving Kerry a clear lead and the DNC, is a little ironic. Especially when our papers have to go praising him for it.
No, I don't think it greatly affected how this state is going to vote, and no, I wouldn't have paid the money to go see him even if I could, but it still pissed me off.
He came to a suburb of the largest city in the state, and to get tickets to the event, you had to sign a pledge of support for the Bush-Cheney ticket. This infuriated the liberals running the state here, and there was a lot of controversy over it, but it stuck. It was held in a high school gym, and unless you had tickets, you couldn't even get anywhere near the school - you had to park miles away and a shuttle would take you there. Although I live ten minutes away, there was no way I could go hear what my Vice Pres had to say. Protestors lined the road leading to it, but no one paid them much attention.
All this, and Cheney has the nerve to come here and say "I really like this crowd", which ended up being plastered all over our local newspapers, as if Cheney is somehow beloved by our state for saying that he liked us.
New Mexico being a battleground state, a vice pres visiting us is not a big deal. But, this visit coming right on the heals of that poll giving Kerry a clear lead and the DNC, is a little ironic. Especially when our papers have to go praising him for it.
No, I don't think it greatly affected how this state is going to vote, and no, I wouldn't have paid the money to go see him even if I could, but it still pissed me off.