cross posted at BlueHampshire
Tonight – participants on the Blue Hampshire Blog, and others gathered at Hermano’s to chat about politics, listen to a little music and just generally celebrate the joy of being in a Blue State. Expected were representatives Carol Shea-Porter & Paul Hodes; congressional candidates John deJoie and Annie McLain; Marcos from KOS and various party (as in political not social) officials and unofficials
Although the music started at 4:00 I planned to arrive fashionably late enough so as not stand out and yet early enough to get some food. Concord is the state capital but is not the largest city and really feels more like a town. I was amazed to see several people (perhaps as many as 10) standing in front of the restaurant holding signs and looking miserable. There was a huge sign, which was a grotesquely disfigured portrait of Obama, and several smaller signs saying "no Obama care". There also seemed to be several people carrying signs favoring health care reform. I had heard about these "protesters" but it’s still quite interesting to see them. I’ve been involved in various protest from anti-war to anti-nuke power plants to pro-choice for more than 40 years. The difference with this "group" is that they were not really involved with their audience. No eye contact. This seemed to me to be more an act of belligerence than of communicating a point of view. The overriding emotion that came across was anger and that is what they seemed to want to perpetuate. More anger. In an earlier time, I would have walked over to engage with this group. However, the little voice in my head said "move along, nothing to see here" so I went into the restaurant and easily convinced the "bouncer" that I was an us not a them.
The music was good. Really good. I was sorry my husband was still in his no more gatherings mode because he would have enjoyed this band. It’s a little strange when people who are very comfortable spending hours in front of a computer screen gather in a social setting. I chatted with some people I knew and found some people I knew on line – Dean, Elwood, sleeping giant ... Marco’s, his wife and children arrived shortly after I did. They sat at a table with Dean and greeted the numerous people who came up to speak with them. The children were perfect. Really! Would you be able to take a 2-year-old and 5-year-old to a place full of grown-ups just talking? Probably not. These two behaved very well and displayed the confidence you see in children who get lots of positive attention.
The two candidates for Paul Hodes seat spoke first. Both were about equal in ability. Neither burned down the barn or eliminated themselves from the race. I’m glad there’s going to be a primary because I’m philosophically opposed to coronations and I think a good primary produces a better general election candidate. There’s lots of work to do here. Paul Hodes was good and looking forward to being a senator. Carol Shea-Porter was a little late and was greeted with a lot of enthusiasm. This is her core constituency.
After the gathering Marcos gave a talk and signed books at a local bookstore. The turnout was impressive and the conversation lively. Marcos sat in front of the group with his two-year-old daughter on his lap fielding questions from net neutrality to influence pedaling, to health care, to Obama’s mind to the newspaper industry. He is bright and interesting and funny and clearly a great dad. (Side note: using the f word around a 2-year-old is a bad idea).
I have not been active in the "blogging world" for the last few years because my former job precluded notoriety. As my first venture back into the fold it was great to see so many people who are interested in making things better. New Hampshire is definitely out of the red.