Campaigning for Randy Maatta in South Carolina
Road Report from Ted Chiodo:
With 18 critical days remaining until the election, John Kerry swung through South Carolina to stump for local Democrats. South Carolina is a wonderful place filled with southern charm, committed Democrats and huge palmetto trees.
On our first night in beautiful historic Charleston, South Carolina, the small band of traveling staffers celebrated Marvin Nicholson’s birthday by going to dinner with the best damn story teller in South Carolina, Bill Nettles. Bill Nettles is a brilliant lawyer and a South Carolina native who joined up with our staff as we traveled the state (I snapped a great picture of Bill and his wife Zoe and their twin sons, William and Alex, with JK).
As usual, I was late to dinner due to battery recharging problems. If you ever drop by Slightly North Of Broad on East Bay road in downtown Charleston, I suggest the crab cakes (they were quite delicious). The dinner was a blast and Bill entertained all of us. After dinner the group decided to take a self-guided tour of Charleston’s finest drinking establishments to study the local culture and raise our glasses in honor of Marvin’s birthday.
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In the morning, after an early reveille, John Kerry headed to a rally with Congressional candidate Randy Maatta at Charleston County Democratic Headquarters. As Bill pulled into the parking lot, we could see that headquarters was full of cheering and energized Democrats. JK hopped out of the vehicle and was met by a smiling Randy Maatta and Judge Alex Sanders. Judge Sanders was articulate, funny, and decisive in his blistering critic of the current administration: “We are all loyal Americans, and we are privileged to live in a country like no other country in the world. For various reasons, mainly by accidental birth, we choose to live in the reddest of red states. We laugh today to keep from crying.”
Judge Sanders explained that Democrats must fight on, always laughing and never despairing in face of an out-of-touch Republican majority in South Carolina. With that, Judge Sanders introduced John Kerry to the cheering crowd.
JK began his remarks by thanking the crowd for their past support and asking them to once again take on the Republican smear machine. Electing Randy Maatta was a priority to the future health of our republic. Randy (who is a South Carolina native) will stand up for fiscal responsibility and represent values that favor the safety of children over the preservation of power. JK asked the crowd to reach out to those who were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. He assailed the president’s claim that Iraq is the center of the war on terror. It was Osama Bin Laden and not Saddam Hussein who masterminded the largest mass murder of Americans on our soil. It is a failure of leadership that America finds itself with 7 times the number of troops in Iraq as we have in Afghanistan. He ended with a ringing call to send Randy Maatta to Congress.
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Hi Dick! Hi Karen! We’re doing great here in IL.
love,
Ellen
“After dinner the group decided to take a self-guided tour of Charleston’s finest drinking establishments to study the local culture and more glasses in honor of Marv’s birthday.”
:lol: One of the best euphemisms for bar hopping ever written Ted. Is there anything we can do to solve/mitigate your battery problem?
Happy Birthday Marvin, sounds like a darn good one ;)
Excellent comments from Judge Sanders, especially..
“We laugh today to keep from crying.”
That isn’t just the folks in South Carolina. Some of us alternate between laughing and crying. Fortunately we can multitask crying or laughing and fighting back.
Back to the fight. I’ve had more than enough crying and worrying about the future. The wind and currents have changed, the crowds and tone of these stump gatherings is clearly hopeful, determined and focused. We need to take advantage of both wind and current to take this election with the best margin we can. We will need it when the next Congress goes to work.
“Religion is goodness with its sleeves rolled up.” Magnus Ratter
LOL about Marvin’s birthday hopping. I hope he had a good one! Good luck to Maata in SC! I wish Kerry would come down here to TN for Ford. Hint hint!
I seem to recall doing similar cultural research in Charleston myself, Ted.
I seem to, that is… but due to the nature of the research in question, I’m not entirely certain at this point.
:0)
show me the way to vote home,
Otter
Did everyone catch the ‘Man on Fire’ interview this morning? JK on This Week. JK was so busy slapping Bush down, Stephanopoulos barely got a word in!
The video for JK’s appearance on “This Week” this morning is now available in the multimedia videos.
(I snapped a great picture of Bill and his wife Zoe and their twin son’s William and Alex with JK).
Ted,
Do you think you could post that picture?
Happy birthday to Marvin! (okay so I’m late. sounds like it was quite happy anyway. :-) )
The interview on ‘This Week’ was great! I’m glad I taped it. I loved the use of the L word, the smackdown on that bogus website about the fundraising, the even stronger smackdown on the idea that Bush and Rummy have a “better idea” for Iraq but are saving it until our elections are over (wha?!?) and especially calling Bush on the bald-faced lie “I never said ‘stay the course’ ” (another wha?!? moment).
Best of all the response to the question on Obama was pure grace and class. Thanks, Senator! Maybe some other folks on our side should pay attention to how to answer when invited to dis another Dem.
I’m so glad to see that Kerry is being received well by folks in South Carolina. I hope there will be many more trips to the Palmetto State during the next two years. ;)
As a native South Carolinian (and a current resident of North Carolina) I can truly appreciate this quote by Judge Sanders:
We are all loyal Americans, and we are privileged to live in a country like no other country in the world. For various reasons, mainly by accidental birth, we choose to live in the reddest of red states. We laugh today to keep from crying.”
It’s not always easy to keep fighting, but it must be done!
Oh, and happy belated birthday Marvin!
Posted by Violet | October 22, 2006 3:30 PM
Well done, Senator!!!!
Layin’ it on the line! So good to hear it!
Thanks for posting the link to the video, Violet.
It’s really impressive how much ground Senator Kerry is covering to campaign for Democrats. He’s everywhere!
Also, if anyone missed Kerry’s appearance on “This Week,” watch the video!
http://www.johnkerry.com/multimedia
Awesome!
Thanks for posting that picture. The more of those, the better. It takes starch out of the collar.
I just got a chance to watch the video. WOW! JK was awesome. I have grown tired of the naysayers who criticize JK for not standing tall in the last election cycle. I only wish they could see that last interview. I do my part by going to other sites reminding people to visit this site and watch JK. I know Pamela and others have been at it a lot longer than I have, but it kindles the flames of positive change when I see JK in those kinds of settings. The more other people get to see those moments the less critical they will be.
Enjoyed the interview. Thanks.
Too bad we don’t have an intellectual like Kerry in the White House. To become President of the United States nowadays, you have to be an idiot who can’t even speak English properly and your brother must be governor of either Florida or Ohio.
My favorite quote from John Kerry (speaking on Bush cuts in domestic programs while giving tax cuts to the rich and exploding the deficit):
“If that’s compassionate conservatism, then Dick Cheney is Mr. Rogers” - June 17, 2004
Good to see y’all in SC!
Best Alex Sanders quote ever:
“I don’t like to mix religion and politics, but Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem on an elephant.”
JK was on fire this morning, he has been on fire for the past year. Keep up the good fight sir. I still have your back!!!
Thanks again Ted. By any chance did you get any pics of Senator Kerry with Rev. David Alston ? Senator Kerry has a wonderful band of brothers, I will never forget Rev. Alston and his eloquent inspiring speech at the convention.
QUOTE: especially calling Bush on the bald-faced lie “I never said ‘stay the course’ ” (another wha?!? moment).
My wife and I watched the replay of the long-winded, answer nothing 24 minute interview with “The Decider” (??!!??). When he said he never said “stay the course” my wife and I looked at each other with the most poignant “WTH?” we have since one of our kids said they really liked brussel sprouts. I hope everyone in America will see and remember that one….
Great thread.
It is good to see that Senator Kerry is continuing to campaign for 06. This campaign is far from being finished and needs all our efforts.
Also great from him, in this wonderful interview on This Week, to have plugged a 06 answer on one of these mandatory 08 questions. This is what needs to be done.