A Republican campaign worker relates the hazards of working the crowd at a University of Iowa (UI) home game. The Des Moines Register found that the UI faculty leans Democratic by eight to one.—ed.
Boone, Iowa—Much of my interaction with the electorate takes place during college football tailgates, which inevitably involve alcohol. But even drunk Republicans are more polite than sober Democrats. Carrying my clipboard of Vote by Mail requests from tailgate to tailgate, asking fans if they support the President, is perhaps one of the most dangerous duties to befall any political staffer in this election.
More than half of the time you are greeted with enthusiastic support and inquiries from the less informed about the polls and the potential to win the state. But it is that other 45% that creates the danger. It is the hatred the spews from the mouths of Democrats that makes me fear for my very safety and forces me to make sure I never canvass alone:
“I would never vote for that liar!”
“Are you crazy? He’s the devil!”
“Bush is dumb.” (A personal favorite).
“Bush is a b#$$%^# and he doesn’t deserve to live!”
And these are just a sampling of the wonderful greetings I get from liberals. I always smile politely, thank for them for their time, and move on as quickly as possible. Sometimes they follow me to the next group, arguing and cursing. I do my best to ignore them or placate them, but they are usually more interested in verbally assaulting me for being a conservative than even their beer. One time when this happened, the next group I came upon was populated by National Guard members, one of whom had just returned from Iraq.
Never in my life have I been so proud to be an American. This fine soldier stood up, his military toned physique rising above the pasty, underfed liberals and looked them dead in the eyes. “Do you know what they say to us in Iraq? The people?” he asked.
The self righteous, media-inundated liberals smugly replied, “Go home, we hate Americans!” And the Guard looked down at him and said, “They say ‘thank you’ in English.”
The look on the face of the liberal was priceless. He was dumbfounded. Because liberals don’t think that anyone else could possibly not see things they way they do and be right. But there was no way they could argue with my friend the National Guard man.
Amanda Stone is a youth coordinator for Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley’s reelection campaign.
