« Sidney Blumenthal: "Isn't this a democracy?" | Main | John Edwards Comes to Roanoke: Details »

August 19, 2004

A lesson learned: The other side is just as passionate

For baseball fans, August and September represent the "dog days" of the pennant races as teams scramble for division titles and wild card spots. On the political battlefield, it's much the same way. Summer is dwindling and fall beckons; the statewide primary back in February seems like a very distant memory, doesn't it? As we tighten our seat
belts for the stretch drive, let's not forget that the other side in this presidential fight wants to win as much as we do. I got a lesson in that the other day from an unexpected source. (By Rick Howell)

My son and I enjoy minor league baseball at City Stadium in Lynchburg. This year, whenever we've gone to a game I've made a point of getting in a little campaigning by wearing one of my Kerry shirts. Each time I've done this, I've gotten a few steely glances, but also two or three positive comments. On our most recent trip, I spotted a
friend, a woman of about 30 with whom I've taken a few classes at Lynchburg College.

The moment she spotted me, she said, "Oh, I can't even talk to you with that shirt on." I'd never known her to be political at all, much less to be a Bush fan. It's not often that I'm at a loss for words, but what she said threw me for a moment, because I just wasn't expecting it from her. Then I started thinking quickly, and remembered that she's a single mother who, like me, wouldn't be able to attend college without state and federal aid. So I said, "Bush? What has he ever done for you?" Her answer came much quicker than my reply had. "He's protecting this country right now so you and I can sit here and watch this ballgame."

My next reply was so lame. I only managed to say "Well, I just don't see it that way." I'll discuss politics with anyone at any time. I'm not above an argument if one develops along generally civil lines. But this was a friend who had taken me by surprise, and I had failed to represent my position well.

Later, I was able to talk with her again and I managed to do better. I made the case that Iraq had nothing to do with Sept. 11; that I certainly wanted to see my country defended when it was truly threatened, but that Bush had dropped the ball on legitimately fighting terror when he forgot about Bin Laden and became so obsessed with Saddam.

I reminded her that we were both attending college with state and federal loans, programs that Democrats by and large established and that Republicans are constantly trying to cut. I felt a little better about the earlier conversation, but later I thought about this encounter again. We talk so much about "persuadables" and "swing voters," and here was one that had gotten away. I still think of her as a person who should be voting for us. As her friend, I had failed to persuade her at a time when she might still have gone our way.

But the line about Bush protecting our country made me realize anew the passion of many of his defenders. They really do believe that. In the heat of a campaign, when we seem to spend so much time preaching to the choir, it's easy to forget that the other side wants this as badly as we do. What we're trying to do is nothing less than defeat an incumbent president in a time of war. I believe, ultimately, that we will achieve that. But let's not get comfortable as summer slowly turns to fall. We've got a lot of work to do.

I'll see my friend again when the semester starts on August 30. Maybe it's still not too late...

Rick Howell is chairman of the Amherst County Democratic Committee, and Host of the Lynchburg Kerry Meet-Ups.

Posted by rickhowell at August 19, 2004 07:36 PM

Comments