Conversations at the Portland Kerry Rally

Jeff Alworth

From where I stood with my merry band of converted Deaniacs (I the lone Kucitizen convert), the day seemed hot, and the pacing slow. Bursts of interest--Leo, Bon Jovi, David Wu--were punctuated by long periods of speculation about when the next burst might come. We heard something like nine speeches and two (live) songs. This gave me a little free time, so I took it by chatting up some of the folks there.

It was a crowd typical of Portland, diverse by any measure you could find save one--race. I don't know how to gauge crowd size (and it's especially hard when you're in the middle), but it was a healthy showing. The bowl of the South waterfront is roughly stadium-shaped, but smaller. So what, 20k? Going in there were some anti-abortion activists with seriously gruesome signs, but they weren't getting a lot of attention. Mostly the crowd was lighthearted, cheery, and optimistic--there was definitely a feeling that 2004 is the Dems' year.

I started by seeking out younger voters, and there were lots to choose from. With a self-selected group like you find at a political rally, it's hard to draw any conclusions about what the electorate as a whole will look like. Nevertheless, I was struck by how many young people were there.

I started out with a trio of lefty-looking late-teens (two 19 and one 20 years old); they all had their bottom lips pierced and sported a healthy aura of grrl power. Had it been a Bush protest, I wouldn't have been surprised to see them in anarchist black. Yet they were surprisingly enthusiastic about Kerry. One had been registered Green, but decided to re-register Dem so she could vote in the primary. They thought he was good on the environment and the economy. Even though they were anti-war, they were comfortable with his position there, too. Of course, they were down on Bush, but they had genuine affection for the Johns. When I asked how close he measured up to their perfect candidate, they gave him an 85%. Solid.

Next I found a 30ish couple who looked like they might be among the few who hadn't made up their mind. No Kerry paraphenalia, no overt signals of pinko tendancies. I was close to the mark--he was a businessman, she a stay-at-home mom--but they were not undecided. The husband worked for a company that arranged conventions and did marketing for Fortune 500 companies. When I asked how business was, he surprised me. "We were doing pretty well until about April, and then across the board business started drying up. No one is spending money right now. It's been dead." That's odd--April was about the time the business mags and media started declaring the economy truly back on track. Apparently corporations--the ones who are funding Dubya--aren't sold on the health of the economy. It was clear to this couple that the blame lay squarely with Bush.

I continued to poke around for people who might have a unique view on the election. I found a Vietnam vet (IDed by a USMC tattoo), a nice couple with rainbow buttons about whose sexuality I did not enquire, and a family of four. Yet I continued to hear the same kinds of things. In what would become a theme, I asked about Kerry, and they told me about Bush. A few memes turned up: Iraq as a holy war/Dubya as a Christian crusader; Bush's, ahem, mental skills; and Bush's mendacity.

Still, when I probed further, most people expressed sincere support for Kerry--not just Kerry as the not-Bush option. "Kerry was the best of all [the primary] candidates." "His service in the senate shows his moral credibility and experience to handle the job." Of all the people I spoke to, only the vet expressed reservations about Kerry. But not in the way you'd expect--he was still considering Nader. "It's all about jobs for me," he said. Turns out he was a casualty of the Bush economy and was looking for a job.

No survey is complete without a trip to the other side, though, and so I dug around until I found a scrappy little group of Bushies on the safe side of the orange fencing. There were vollies of invective flying back and forth, but I managed to persuade one of the rebels over for a chat. He was student of poly sci at the University of Chicago, and apparently came prepared with talking points. When I asked him why he supported Bush, he had the moxie to tell me, "for the opportunity he provides to lower and middle class Americans." Wow. I pressed him on how exactly Bush would accomplish this. Something about a little-known Bush plan for child care. But when I asked whether he seriously thought it would be better than Kerry's plan, he declined to answer.

What was the most surprising about our exchange, though, was his open-mindedness to Kerry. He said he hadn't heard enough policy positions in the convention speech. He wasn't sure what Kerry's platform was. (I told him it was online.) Still, he said, "I want to hear what Kerry has to say." I asked him if he planned to stay for the speech, and he said he probably would.

"Enjoy it," I told him. Then we shook hands and I went to listen to Kulongoski.

By Jeff Alworth Aug. 13, 2004