Day 1: January 12th, 2016
The original plan for my day was to attend a guest lecture by Dr. Chris Galdieri of St. Anselm College with the rest of my class, but because Ted Cruz had two events planned in the area, another student, Kirby, and I were able to miss the event in order to help the Ted Cruz campaign set up and work both events. As my fellow classmates left for the lecture, we waited for our campaign supervisor, Michelle, to pick us up to head to the first rally, which took place at the Granite State Indoor Range in Hudson, NH. She was excited to have us volunteer with the campaign and both Kirby and I were eager to get started.
When we arrived at the gun range for the 2nd Amendment Rally, we started setting up the venue, which was basically a stage and a roped-off portion of the lawn. As people came in, I was told to pass out literature on Ted Cruz's stances on gun rights, which were obviously in contention with the President's executives orders that he put in place a few days before the rally. As more people came in, the rally started to get crowded, which was a good sign that people were interested in hearing the Senator and getting to know what he believes in. Once the rally began, I made my way towards the front of the crowd to watch the many speakers that would talk before Cruz. When Cruz came up on stage, things took an unexpected turn.
The moment Cruz came on stage and the country music stopped, two men came on stage one after the other to gain attention for their group, Armed Americans. However, because their mannerisms and they words made them seem like protesters, the audience started booing the two and Cruz told them that they must be confused and that they should exit the stage, which I believe was the right thing to do. Once that was out of the way, Cruz gave his speech, which was praised by the gun-rights activists that were in attendance. Cruz promised that if he becomes president, he would defend gun rights and make sure that the Second Amendment would be used to fight tyranny. He also spoke about how massacres almost always occur at places where guns are not allowed, so nobody could defend themselves from the gunman. When the rally ended, I had the opportunity to take a picture with Cruz and I got him to sign my Ted Cruz Pocket Constitution.
After we cleaned up, we headed to the next rally, which took place at Londonderry High School. We had to set up chairs, pass out literature, and pass out rally signs before the rally began. The rally started way later than expected because we had to make room for the massive overflow of people that we had! This rally was called "The State of OUR Union", so Ted Cruz pretended he was the President giving the 2018 State of the Union. He talked about repealing Obamacare, filling out our taxes on a postcard, and thanking his imaginary special guests: The Little Sisters of the Poor and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After getting the crowd excited with his speech, he answered about five questions before ending the rally and meeting with fans. I had the chance to tell Cruz that I was a student who came all the way from Virginia to volunteer, and that I looked forward to helping him while I am in the state. He thought it was really cool that I came so far to help and he thanked me for everything I have done so far.
When we returned to the hotel after the rallies, both Kirby and I were so excited to tell our fellow classmates everything that happened during the day. After that, I went back to my room and thought about the day, and when trying to connect what we learned in class to what we witnessed on the trail, one thing stood out the most. In order to enter both rallies, guests had to fill out a card that had their name, phone number, email, and whether or not Ted Cruz had their vote (with an undecided option, too). The potential voters didn't seem to mind it, and it was a great way to get voter information so that the campaign could possibly get them to volunteer for the campaign. In class, we learned that when campaigns have secured a voter's allegiance to their candidate, they go a step further and ask for donations and volunteer time in order to take their candidate to the next level, and that is exactly what the Ted Cruz campaign is doing with these entry tickets.
My first day in New Hampshire could not have gone any better. I got to attend two amazing rallies and got to speak to the Senator twice. I am very proud to be working with what I see as an organized and effective campaign thus far, and I look forward to helping the campaign even more through the next nine days through phone-banking, canvassing, and working more events.
In Liberty,
Jacob Stech '18
When we returned to the hotel after the rallies, both Kirby and I were so excited to tell our fellow classmates everything that happened during the day. After that, I went back to my room and thought about the day, and when trying to connect what we learned in class to what we witnessed on the trail, one thing stood out the most. In order to enter both rallies, guests had to fill out a card that had their name, phone number, email, and whether or not Ted Cruz had their vote (with an undecided option, too). The potential voters didn't seem to mind it, and it was a great way to get voter information so that the campaign could possibly get them to volunteer for the campaign. In class, we learned that when campaigns have secured a voter's allegiance to their candidate, they go a step further and ask for donations and volunteer time in order to take their candidate to the next level, and that is exactly what the Ted Cruz campaign is doing with these entry tickets.
My first day in New Hampshire could not have gone any better. I got to attend two amazing rallies and got to speak to the Senator twice. I am very proud to be working with what I see as an organized and effective campaign thus far, and I look forward to helping the campaign even more through the next nine days through phone-banking, canvassing, and working more events.
In Liberty,
Jacob Stech '18
No comments:
Post a Comment