I’ve been invited to attend a Tim Walz rally tonight, and I have no idea what to expect. Share your stories and get me pumped up to see our next VP!
Update: Everybody was right, lots of standing and clapping, but what I really didn’t expect was the sense of family I felt with all these strangers around me. We’d bump into each other, and laugh it off, one guy was telling me about how his son was thinking about going to the college that I work at (I was still wearing my shirt from work), and we all just knew that we were working together to make great things happen. I’ll probably skip the next one, but it was a great experience. I’m glad I went, and would recommend going to one if you have a chance, and a candidate you believe in.
I went to one for a candidate for the House district I lived in a few election cycles ago, It was mostly stump speeches and other “rah rah we’re gonna win!” style pontificating. But one thing I did not expect and I actually found interesting was the house candidate spent a lot of time introducing other local politicians that were in down ballot races in the district. City council seats, education board seats etc. That turned out to be really useful, because it meant I got to meet/ hear from candidates who I either had no idea existed or who were just a name of a flyer before then. I suppose that experience may not transfer to a national candidate rally though.
No, but I’m interested to hear the experiences from those who have.
I, personally, just don’t get the appeal and am curious to find out if I’m missing out on anything. All I really want from candidates is a website that lists their policy positions and legislative voting records / accomplishments. Attending a rally just seems too “cult of personality” for my taste. Though I would and have attended smaller, town hall style meetings.
Yeah, it’s not something I’ve ever really considered doing before, but the opportunity fell in my lap, so I might as well see what the fuss is about!
I think its quite possibly the best way to determine if a candidate truly represents you (if you are good at sizing a character) by hearing that candidates points and comparing them to yours, gauging the crowd and seeing if they are like you, and lastly seeing if the energy you feel is positive or negative. At the end of the day, the media will spin it however they want to give them more coverage or clicks, and hearing them on video just doesn’t translate that crowd energy either.
I went to a Sanders rally in 2016 here in Seattle. I went on to be a county Delegate for the caucus - our last caucus, thankfully. The energy was huge, the people were absolutely stoked, and the arena was 100% packed with lines wrapping around outside.
'Had a similar experience with a 2020 Bernie rally in Los Angeles. Big arena, lots of energy, long lines. It was loud but a good experience. I’d recommend it at least once for a candidate that you feel strongly for.
PS: I went on to canvas for Bernie. He won the primary in California!
He won quite a number of primaries in 2016. We were robbed of a better past future.
Yeah, the Democratic party really showed us how they think about positive change when they blocked Bernie. We’re seeing the same dysfunction with how Harris has softened her position on a number of issues. That party machine mainly thinks of itself.
Hey, me too! I just commented about it. We got there two hours early. After about an hour I went up to the balcony to vape, and the line outside was at least a mile long. The rally itself was pretty much the same thing we already heard on TV, but it was fun to show our support.
We also became delegates for him, and moved on to the following caucus. After that fiasco we passed the torch to someone else to carry, because the caucus was a complete train wreck. There were 600 people packed into a tiny middle school gymnasium, and we had to debate for 6 fucking hours over whether we could start debating yet, since some Hillary delegates didn’t show. The other Hillary delegates refused to accept the delegate count, hoping they’d get some more support from the missing delegates, and us Sanders delegates kept arguing that we had waited long enough and should start the debates. All-in-all it was a miserable experience, but I’m glad that we were able to experience it before they changed how votes are handled here in Washington State.
I went to a Clinton rally in 1992.
It was interesting. They didn’t allow signs on sticks, and Clinton was over an hour late. Really all I remember.
Went to a Trump Rally during the 2016 primaries for the meme. That’s when I realized it was really serious. The crowd literally assaulted local college protestors.
