James Frederick Dwight
  ¶ 9/17/2004 02:17:02 PM
  "I WAS A 3 YEAR-OLD GIRL"

My favorite campaign story of the day comes from West Virginia. (Actually, it's my second favorite – the Gallup poll that has Bush up 54-40 is impossible to beat.) Anyway, back to West Virginia. Follow the link.

There you'll see a picture of a precious three year old girl, a veritable Cindy-Lou Who, perched on her father's shoulders. But what should be a happy tableaux instead is a sad one. Three year old Sophia Parlock is weeping. Her Bush-Cheney sign has been snatched by over-zealous Kerry-Edwards supporters and torn to shreds. Next to poor Sophia, you can see a gloating young man wearing a t-shirt boasting of his affiliation with some union clutching what appears to be a piece of the formerly proud Bush-Cheney sign. Sophia's father looks distressed and helpless; none of the on-looking Kerry-Edwards supporters seem to be offering any support, moral or otherwise.

It doesn't please me to report this, but I once was Sophia Parlock, helplessly bullied by backwards hat wearing Democrat partisan thugs. It was during the Romney-Kennedy campaign of 1994. It was a tight race, and the first candidates' debate was being held at famous Boston landmark Faneuil Hall. Both campaigns urged their supporters to come out in force for their respective champions.

For the Romney campaign, that meant the local Republicans would take a night off from dining at their country clubs and hold a campaign sign for a couple of hours. For the Kennedy campaign, bringing out their supporters meant only one thing – mobilize the Unions.

While I'm generalizing a bit, the contrast between the campaigns' supporters was stark. Trust me on that. The Romney supporters were by and large political neophytes unaccustomed to the rough and tumble of such events; the Kennedy supporters were old hands at the form of combat that ensued. See, it was like a battle; both sides wanted to get close enough to the spot where the candidates entered so their signs, and thus their enthusiasm, would be seen by the larger TV audience. This being Boston, there was limited space so the desirable real estate went to the most "determined" supporters.

Suffice to say, the scrum did not go well for the Romney supporters. The Kennedy supporters were slightly more numerous and a lot more "determined." You could see it on the faces of most of the Romney supporters – political activism was not turning out be their cup of tea.

After the disappointing photo-op, it was time to leave. Some went home, some went to bars, my two friends and I made our way through Boston's crooked streets to the debate's after party site for campaign insiders. There it happened – the three of us youthful yuppie types toting our Romney signs came upon a half dozen Kennedy sign toting gentlemen wearing "Tunnel Digger Union" jackets (there was a lot of tunnel digging going on in Boston at the time with the Big Dig and all).

The sight of my business attire was enough to enrage these men: "Look at that fuck wearing that fucking 'Anderson Little' suit. I'd like to fuck him up just for the fuck of it." That was their battle cry.

Although enraged by the suggestion that I would wear an Anderson Little suit, Anderson Little being a local chain not known for selling suits of the highest quality or even ones made from natural fibers, I knew I would have to control my temper. We were outnumbered, not to mention hopelessly effete. I decided to ignore the insult and move on.

But our malefactors had other ideas. They approached us and relieved us of our Romney signs. They were actually quite gentlemanly about the transaction, given the circumstances. I can only wish that I had been sitting on my father's shoulders at the time, safely out of the reach of these Democratic brutes.

So, Sophia Parlock, you've joined a proud tradition at a young age. Your dissent has been stifled and your safety menaced by the minions of a struggling Massachusetts politician. I can only wish that I had displayed the same nobility and courage that evening long ago as you did yesterday.

Responses? Thoughts? Please email them to me at soxblog@aol.com
James Frederick Dwight
  ¶ 9/17/2004 09:13:31 AM