Today, there was a rally in Concord, Ma by a neo-nazi group trying to promote hate speech. Almost every candidate said that they would be there, but only two actually showed up in the pouring rain.
Rufus Gifford
Rufus Gifford was the first candidate to arrive. He was happy to talk to his constituents, and recognized me specifically. He talked about his time spent working with Barack Obama for his entire presidency, and the things he learned from that time.
While he was talking, I turned around to respond to something a park ranger had said about what the counter-protesters needed to do in order to stay safe, and when I turned back he was gone.
Keith St. John
Keith St. John showed up a few minutes after Mr. Gifford left. I noticed him chanting along before I got a chance to talk to him. He invited me to sit down for tea and to talk about the race later, rather than trying to talk about it while we should be drowning out the voices of the neo-nazis on the hill. He pointed out that his website is so sparse because he refuses to ask anyone for money until he has all the signatures he needs, and that means that he doesn't have money to pay a website person yet.
He didn't take a vuvuzela, but he chanted along, and he stayed for over an hour. He was still there when I left, after most of the neo-nazis had abandoned the field.
A message to the other candidates
If you didn't show up, especially if you said you would, then you let us down. You were part of the reason that the neo-nazis outnumbered us for the first half hour. I will remember well the two candidates who DID show up as I continue to write this blog.
Update: Alexandra Chandler reached out to explain that because her wife was busy at 3, she had to back out from attending the rally when the time was changed because she would have had their two children with her. I commend her for not bringing children to a protest rally against a violent neo-nazi group.
Points for Keith St. John, that's leading from the battle lines.
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