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.
All the small time local politicians from the town hall are also there, and they are fucking STOKED, and they RECOGNIZE YOU. It’s an incredible energy.
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!
Tim Walz seems like a really great guy all around, and truth be told, if I was given an opportunity to attend a local rally for him, I’d probably seriously consider it. Doubt that I would actually go, but it wouldn’t be an immediate hard “no” like I’d usually respond lol.
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.
Same. Sanders rally was my first experience and it was wonderful. Diverse, smart, compassionate, joyful people. Had a lot of fun talking to other people!
I tried to go to Harris/Walz rally but it was over capacity!
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.
“I’ve made a huge mistake”
I work AV and have worked many of these events on both sides of the aisle. Presidents, VP’s, presidential hopefuls, the whole gamut. The democrats tend to be less organized but way more friendly and accommodating, the republicans are very their way or the highway, but tend to have all their ducks in a row. As far as attending you hear someone parrot ideas that you’ve already heard before, and either already agree with or don’t. They won’t take any hard stances and are unlikely to answer any questions, if they do they will answer the softball questions and sidestep the hard questions. All in all, largely a waste of time and resources.
The only two that I’ve worked that didn’t fall into that category was beto o’rourke and chris christy. Both of them were very engaging with the audience, were willing to answer hard questions, they actually seemed like they cared, and were doing this for country, not career.
The democrats tend to be less organized but way more friendly and accommodating, the republicans are very their way or the highway, but tend to have all their ducks in a row.
This is the most believable thing I’ve ever heard.
I went to a Bernie rally in Feb 2020. It was kind of electric. He was saying common-sense things about stuff that people really want changed about society and people were fired up by the huge crowd of agreement reinforcing how badly they were needed. I really thought he had a great chance before the dems kneecapped his campaign.
Bernie was the first politician that ever made me think “I want to hear more about what THIS guy is saying!” I rarely voted before I had heard of him, but learning more about Bernie slowly got me involved!
I can see Tim Walz being that guy for some people. After Kamala’s done her 8 years, Trump will have long slithered back into the shadows, and the GOP is deciding whether or not they should stick with the loud and crazy strategy, if Walz were to run, I think his common sense regular guy style could win over a lot of the rural Republicans. They aren’t all MAGA fiends, they just don’t pay much attention, and their friends like Trump. But if he can reasonably explain to them in their own language that nobody’s taking their guns, we just didn’t want people geared up like they’re in Call of Duty, we might be able to get them to stop considering us as villains.
I went to a John Kerry Rally in 2004. I got there about 30 minutes late and for whatever reason was ushered up to the front corral of people. Inexplicably, Bon Jovi takes the stage and shouts, “You what George Bush’s financial policy is? Bad Medicine!” and launches into the song ‘Bad Medicine’. I started laughing my ass off because it was corny as shit and Bon Jovi and I made eye contact for a brief second.
YMMV
Iowa here: We are where the campaigns try to hone their messages in front of small groups, before they take them nationally. So, I’ve been to many small to medium group gatherings. In small groups you can ask questions, but the replies are almost always some portion of a stump speech that may or may not contain an answer. I have had aides contact me later with better answers to my questions.
The biggest event I’ve attended was the Ames Straw Poll, back in 2012. It was interesting, meeting the candidates up close, then the big meeting at the end. None of the candidates I was interested in made it very far, and I don’t belong to that political party any more, but under the right circumstances I would go back.
