Now that I've finished my Presidential Candidates series, it's time to tell you the rest of the story!
I had the honor and privilege of meeting these two lovely ladies at the Sullivan Brothers Convention Center during my candidate-stalking journeys. The lady on the left is the widow of a brave soldier who gave his life in the Middle East. The lady on the right is Kelly Sullivan, granddaughter of Al Sullivan, one of the five Sullivan brothers of Waterloo who died together on the USS Juneau when the ship was torpedoed.
If you haven't heard of the Sullivans, you should watch the 1944 film The Fighting Sullivans. I believe it's available on Youtube. Kelly was kind enough to autograph my notebook for me with "May the luck of the Irish always be with you!"
The first town hall meetings we went to had virtually no security. Things changed when Carson and Trump got Secret Service protection. At two Trump rallies, the last Carson speech, and the Clinton town hall, we went through detectors and had our bags searched.
I've had a lot of fun taking photos! Since I've already written about him, the second time I saw Trump, I concentrated on photography. The third time, my sister and I managed to get three pictures autographed!
Meet Tana Goertz! She's Trump's Iowa campaign co-chair. She was runner-up on his show The Apprentice. It is an interesting series actually...I've been watching parts of episodes on Youtube lately!
My most embarrassing moment on the campaign trail? Chris Christie has a campaign worker who could be a doppelganger for my state representative (whom I've met and written to). So, I walked up to him and started talking about an issue I had emailed my representative about. Poor guy! Finally he got around to explaining he was a campaign worker. I was confounded, told him he looked exactly like the representative, mumbled my apologies and walked off. I bet campaign workers all have some pretty interesting stories about strange people...like yours truly!
Inspired by the many beautiful scrapbooks created by Carrie at Northwoods Scrapbook, I created my own scrapbook of photos from the events, autographs, and campaign memorabilia from each of the candidates.
But, sadly, not everything on the campaign trail is beautiful. Haters will hate. There's one Big Valley episode (Hide the Children), where Nick Barkley ended up wearing gypsies' clothes, and people hated and tried to hurt him just because they assumed he was a gypsy.
Try holding signs for Rand Paul or saying you just went to a Trump rally and see what reactions you get. Of course there are a lot of nice people, but there are also people who will insult you and say unkind things to and/or about you as a person just because they think you support a certain candidate.
Many feel strongly about politics, which is understandable. But taking those strong feelings and turning them into downright hatred for certain candidates and judging anyone who dares support or even see them is not wise. I see it from both sides, Democrat and Republican. And to supplement their hatred, they propagate unfounded rumors and even downright lies without checking their sources, just because they "sound good." People!! The truth will set you free.
In closing, I would like to thank Iowa Politics Now for writing a very nice article about me, which you can read here --if you're not already exhausted from reading this post!
"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." --John 8:32
you're done? but you haven't met all 74 Republicans running for president yet.
ReplyDeleteActually I could probably spend until next election writing about candidates if I wanted to. There are currently 1492 people who have filed a Form 2 statement of candidacy with the FEC! (See here for a list.) But I think I've covered everyone who has a chance of gaining the Presidency (and more) with these 16. ;) Thanks for your interesting comments throughout the series!
DeleteWell done, Bethany. I admire your perseverence
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ian!
DeleteIt's about time someone wrote an article about YOU! ;) I read it and thought it was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteYour scrapbook is neat too! What a great idea!
Thanks for doing this series Bethany! Can't believe you're done! Have you made you decision about which candidate you will vote for? I saw in the article about you that your caucus is in less than a month!
Ah, that is a problem. I am currently less sure about whom I want to vote for than when I started the series! But I do hope to make up my mind shortly and do a post with my decision-making process and ultimate decision. :)
DeleteWhat a great article about you! You must be so proud about that. And your blog was featured, as well. Way to go, kiddo. And I totally agree that young people should be more interested in politics. It is your generation that is going to inherit - and have to deal with - everything...the good, the bad and the ugly!
ReplyDeleteTrue. I wish there were a bit more "good" in the deal! Thank you Martha!
DeleteI enjoyed reading the article about you. Hmmm...you may just be more interesting than the politicians themselves.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Ha, I don't know about that, but thank you! They did write a very nice article. Have a great weekend as well.
DeleteI appreciate the time and effort you put into this project. Good job! It was interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteThank you Reader! :)
DeleteWhat a great wrap-up to this blog, Bethany!! You write so very well!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathleen! It has been fun seeing you at all these political events. From what you wrote it sounded like you stood for nearly an hour more than I did at the last Trump event...and out in the cold too! You're pretty tough!
DeleteBravo Bethany!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle!
DeleteI know about The Fighting Sullivans. My hubby loves WWII movies so I've seen it a few times.
ReplyDeleteYou've done an amazing job of seeing so many people and documenting it. The scrap book was a good idea too. I've enjoyed following along, but still am in a quandary about who I'll vote for.
The article on you was great - you are pretty amazing!
WWII is a fascinating, though very sad, time in history. Glad you know about the Sullivans. They made quite a sacrifice.
DeleteI had a lot of fun creating the scrapbook. It is hard deciding whom to vote for. Thanks for your kind words and blessings to you!
What a wonderful experience you have had!
ReplyDeleteIt has been a lot of fun!
DeleteThanks so much for investing your time and talent and resources in creating this informative election series of posts, Bethany. I'm glad Iowa Politics Now wrote an article about you, and used some of your good photos. I enjoyed reading the article and seeing some of your scrapbook, too. It is so difficult to sort through information and determine fact from fiction and I am still thinking and praying about my part in the election process. I have spent a little of my 64 years working on the county level as a registered Republican, but am more aimed at being a good citizen than supporting a particular political party. I am grateful to be a USA citizen and want to do what I can to invest in our nation's goodness and not its fall.
ReplyDeleteGracie, all the best to you as you study and pray about whom to vote for! May the Lord bless you and give you wisdom! It is hard to figure everything out. Thank you for your kind comment!
DeleteHi Bethany, First things first, I wanted to express my sympathy re your post The Shadow of Death. I am sad to hear about volunteer Braden Joplin and the accident that took his life. Thank you for your kindness to let us know. Now, re **Election Extras**, it is neat to read about your experiences during your project to cover all the major candidates running for President. You won’t be surprised to know that I especially like your scrapbooks! A couple of the neatest things I’ve ever found while looking to add to my collection of Yellowstone Park memorabilia are old scrapbooks put together by folks who visited the park in the early part of the 1900s. Scrapbooks are special with their customized presentation of an event. Not that many people put the effort into making great scrapbooks like the ones you have made here. With less than a week to the vote in Iowa, I’ll bet you are busy keeping an eye on all the candidates. I can’t wait to see if you will tell us your choice. And, at least all of us who have been following your blog should be able to make an “informed” choice! Thank you Bethany!
ReplyDeleteAccidents are very sad, especially since they're so unexpected.
DeleteScrapbooks are fun. Our friend "Aunt" Esther, who was born in 1900 and lived till 2009, scrapbooked all her life. We still have her collection of scrapbooks! That would be neat to look at the old Yellowstone Park scrapbooks!
I had fun putting my election scrapbook together, and it will be nice to have something I can actually touch and look through later. I love blogging about the election, but it's not quite the same as having something tangible to look back at.