January 20th, 2016
Today began early as my classmates and I woke up at 5:30am to go to a Marco Rubio town hall in Plymouth, NH. When we got to the Rubio event, I noticed that the room was a decent size with about 250 people, which was more people than I thought would show up for a town hall that took place at 7:30am. I thought that Marco Rubio did a good job of answering questions; he made sure to answer each question by going into detail, much like the other candidates had been doing at their events, minus Donald Trump. He made sure to touch upon many issues including education and gun rights. He also talks about how he represents a new generation of leadership going into a new American century. After the rally, we got the chance to meet and take pictures with Marco Rubio, who was very nice and was willing to meet with every voter who wanted to meet with him before he left for his speech at the New Hampshire State House, where we would be headed next to hear one of his rivals, Ohio Governor John Kasich, speak to the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Once we got to the New Hampshire State House in Concord, NH, we headed up the stairs to the gallery that was above where the legislators were sitting, but before we entered the gallery, we saw John Kasich standing in the hallway with a couple of his staffers. He happily took a picture with us as a group before he spoke. When he got onto the stage, he did not talk much about his political views on certain issues, but he did praise the NH legislature for passing Medicare expansion, which is an issue that many of his Republican rivals do not agree with him on. Kasich also promised to come back to the NH legislature as President to address them because he respects how they are truly a 'citizen government.' He also mentions his journey of how he became the governor of Ohio and how he will use his governing experiences during his presidency.
After his speech, we headed downstairs to see some Rubio supporters gathered around to greet him after he completed his address, which was scheduled to follow Kasich's address. We all took part in this sign-holding and cheering for Rubio, and while it felt sort of weird to be rooting for another candidate for a minute-and-a-half, it was sort of fun rallying for a candidate that was only a few feet away from me. After we watched Marco Rubio get on his tour bus, we all headed to lunch, but not before we got a selfie with the John Kasich tour bus! After lunch, we walked to the Bill Clinton rally that was just across the street, and I was met with surprise when we did not have to go through heavy security as we did when we got to the Trump rally. While the Trump rally had airport-like security, we walked into the Bill Clinton event like it was a regular rally for a candidate without Secret Service protection. Although, when we walked in, we were asked to give the Hillary campaign our names, email, phone number, and zip code; this is similar to the Ted Cruz campaign's entry tickets as a way to collect voter information.
When we all got into the rally, we were met with the terrible news that because Winter Storm Jonas is set to hit Virginia on Friday, we would have to end our trip early tomorrow morning and head back to Virginia to beat the storm. This means that we would have to miss Martin O'Malley tomorrow and Hillary Clinton on Friday. We brushed off the news at the moment so that we could enjoy hearing Former President Bill Clinton speak, but the news would impact us more after the rally. Clinton spoke about his wife and how she would be an amazing president if she was to be elected. He made sure to talk about how his wife had amazing approval numbers at the end of her tenure as Secretary of State. He also made sure to attack the Republicans on many things, including their stances on gun control and defunding Planned Parenthood. At the end of the rally, he was happy to meet with voters behind a barrier to shake hands and sign many different things. I was lucky enough to be able to shake his hand and was able to snap a quick picture of him within milliseconds of the moment. Yes, that is my hand in the picture!
I was very pleased with how the audience acted during and after the rally. There were no incidents that took place due to crazy fans; these voters acted calmly and respectfully towards those surrounding them and towards the man on stage. This was in stark contrast to the Trump rally, where the supporters were pushing people and yelling out during the speech. After the rally, we were finally able to process the news that we would be leaving the Granite State early due to the weather ahead, and our class planned a nice dinner at The Foundry so that we could all spend one last dinner together as a group, but there was one catch; the Cruz supporters had already planned to take part in an invite-only and no-press-allowed house party that Ted Cruz would be at. While it was an honor to be invited to this house party, it was sad for me to not be able to eat with my classmates this one last time.
At the house party, I was given the job of checking people in and making sure that those who did not get invited did not get into the event. About 75 people showed up to the event altogether. After about an hour, the Cruz tour bus showed up and in came the guest of the night. Ted Cruz greeted us at the door and proceeded to the living room where he would give his speech to the quests and answer many questions. He made sure to stay after for a while after the rally to speak to voters individually and to make connections with the voters. I even got the chance to speak with him for a few minutes about volunteering in New Hampshire, the Virginia primary, and Super Tuesday altogether. He even told me that he admires Rand Paul greatly after I told him that I walked into his Richmond rally as a Paul supporter and walked out as a Cruz supporter. After he left the house, I thought about the significance of doing smaller events like this versus doing large-scale rallies like his other events are. I thought of the name of our class, Retail Politics, and how at these smaller-scaled events, candidates can be personal with their voters and let loose without worrying about what the press will say about them; in terms of 'Retail Politics', candidates can sell themselves to their voters.
My trip to New Hampshire began at a Second Amendment rally hosted by Ted Cruz and it ended with a house party with Ted Cruz in attendance. I got to meet many famous political figures during this trip, including Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, and Jeb Bush. I also got to learn a lot about the New Hampshire primary and the state as a whole during this last week-and-a-half. I believe that this experience was a once-in-a-lifetime one, and I am very happy that I was able to figure out a way to go on this trip as it was one of the greatest times of my life. I want to end this series of journal entries with one last thanks to my professor since I know that he is reading these because these entries are part of a grade for the class.
Dr. Fullmer, thank you so much for putting this trip together. I cannot imagine how much time it took for you to convince the school to let this trip become a reality, and I cannot imagine how much time it took for you to get all of us together and in contact with our campaigns. I also want to thank you for letting me switch campaigns at the last minute from Rand Paul to Ted Cruz. I fully enjoyed this trip, and without this opportunity, I could not think of another way that I would have been able to get a hands-on experience of an election that I have been excited for since Mitt Romney lost in 2012. Aside from the educational parts of the trip, I also enjoyed the many moments that our class hung out together as we were able to get to know each other better and grow as a family each and every day. Finally, I hope that we were all good guinea pigs for this class, and I hope that the school lets you do this trip again for the 2020 election. I will be more than happy to serve as a chaperone for the 2020 trip if you end up letting alumni come and if my schedule permits me to do so. Thanks again, and I hope that this was as great of a trip for you as it was for my classmates and I.
In Liberty,
Jacob Stech '18
Once we got to the New Hampshire State House in Concord, NH, we headed up the stairs to the gallery that was above where the legislators were sitting, but before we entered the gallery, we saw John Kasich standing in the hallway with a couple of his staffers. He happily took a picture with us as a group before he spoke. When he got onto the stage, he did not talk much about his political views on certain issues, but he did praise the NH legislature for passing Medicare expansion, which is an issue that many of his Republican rivals do not agree with him on. Kasich also promised to come back to the NH legislature as President to address them because he respects how they are truly a 'citizen government.' He also mentions his journey of how he became the governor of Ohio and how he will use his governing experiences during his presidency.
After his speech, we headed downstairs to see some Rubio supporters gathered around to greet him after he completed his address, which was scheduled to follow Kasich's address. We all took part in this sign-holding and cheering for Rubio, and while it felt sort of weird to be rooting for another candidate for a minute-and-a-half, it was sort of fun rallying for a candidate that was only a few feet away from me. After we watched Marco Rubio get on his tour bus, we all headed to lunch, but not before we got a selfie with the John Kasich tour bus! After lunch, we walked to the Bill Clinton rally that was just across the street, and I was met with surprise when we did not have to go through heavy security as we did when we got to the Trump rally. While the Trump rally had airport-like security, we walked into the Bill Clinton event like it was a regular rally for a candidate without Secret Service protection. Although, when we walked in, we were asked to give the Hillary campaign our names, email, phone number, and zip code; this is similar to the Ted Cruz campaign's entry tickets as a way to collect voter information.
When we all got into the rally, we were met with the terrible news that because Winter Storm Jonas is set to hit Virginia on Friday, we would have to end our trip early tomorrow morning and head back to Virginia to beat the storm. This means that we would have to miss Martin O'Malley tomorrow and Hillary Clinton on Friday. We brushed off the news at the moment so that we could enjoy hearing Former President Bill Clinton speak, but the news would impact us more after the rally. Clinton spoke about his wife and how she would be an amazing president if she was to be elected. He made sure to talk about how his wife had amazing approval numbers at the end of her tenure as Secretary of State. He also made sure to attack the Republicans on many things, including their stances on gun control and defunding Planned Parenthood. At the end of the rally, he was happy to meet with voters behind a barrier to shake hands and sign many different things. I was lucky enough to be able to shake his hand and was able to snap a quick picture of him within milliseconds of the moment. Yes, that is my hand in the picture!
I was very pleased with how the audience acted during and after the rally. There were no incidents that took place due to crazy fans; these voters acted calmly and respectfully towards those surrounding them and towards the man on stage. This was in stark contrast to the Trump rally, where the supporters were pushing people and yelling out during the speech. After the rally, we were finally able to process the news that we would be leaving the Granite State early due to the weather ahead, and our class planned a nice dinner at The Foundry so that we could all spend one last dinner together as a group, but there was one catch; the Cruz supporters had already planned to take part in an invite-only and no-press-allowed house party that Ted Cruz would be at. While it was an honor to be invited to this house party, it was sad for me to not be able to eat with my classmates this one last time.
At the house party, I was given the job of checking people in and making sure that those who did not get invited did not get into the event. About 75 people showed up to the event altogether. After about an hour, the Cruz tour bus showed up and in came the guest of the night. Ted Cruz greeted us at the door and proceeded to the living room where he would give his speech to the quests and answer many questions. He made sure to stay after for a while after the rally to speak to voters individually and to make connections with the voters. I even got the chance to speak with him for a few minutes about volunteering in New Hampshire, the Virginia primary, and Super Tuesday altogether. He even told me that he admires Rand Paul greatly after I told him that I walked into his Richmond rally as a Paul supporter and walked out as a Cruz supporter. After he left the house, I thought about the significance of doing smaller events like this versus doing large-scale rallies like his other events are. I thought of the name of our class, Retail Politics, and how at these smaller-scaled events, candidates can be personal with their voters and let loose without worrying about what the press will say about them; in terms of 'Retail Politics', candidates can sell themselves to their voters.
My trip to New Hampshire began at a Second Amendment rally hosted by Ted Cruz and it ended with a house party with Ted Cruz in attendance. I got to meet many famous political figures during this trip, including Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, and Jeb Bush. I also got to learn a lot about the New Hampshire primary and the state as a whole during this last week-and-a-half. I believe that this experience was a once-in-a-lifetime one, and I am very happy that I was able to figure out a way to go on this trip as it was one of the greatest times of my life. I want to end this series of journal entries with one last thanks to my professor since I know that he is reading these because these entries are part of a grade for the class.
Dr. Fullmer, thank you so much for putting this trip together. I cannot imagine how much time it took for you to convince the school to let this trip become a reality, and I cannot imagine how much time it took for you to get all of us together and in contact with our campaigns. I also want to thank you for letting me switch campaigns at the last minute from Rand Paul to Ted Cruz. I fully enjoyed this trip, and without this opportunity, I could not think of another way that I would have been able to get a hands-on experience of an election that I have been excited for since Mitt Romney lost in 2012. Aside from the educational parts of the trip, I also enjoyed the many moments that our class hung out together as we were able to get to know each other better and grow as a family each and every day. Finally, I hope that we were all good guinea pigs for this class, and I hope that the school lets you do this trip again for the 2020 election. I will be more than happy to serve as a chaperone for the 2020 trip if you end up letting alumni come and if my schedule permits me to do so. Thanks again, and I hope that this was as great of a trip for you as it was for my classmates and I.
In Liberty,
Jacob Stech '18
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