No More Funeral-Type GOP Rallies

Team Vander Plaats made the most of Governor Mike Huckabee’s day in Iowa on February 24th.  The luncheon in Cedar Rapids brought in a roomful of large donors with a big portion of them being new to the campaign.  The guests were treated to a photo-op with Huckabee and Vander Plaats and then received a personal message from them during the luncheon.  The Governor and Bob were then flown off to an Iowa Family PAC fundraiser in Des Moines in which they were both showcased again.  (Never hurts to get in front of as many people as possible.)  The Bob VP people also used Huckabee’s visit to generate online donations which brought in quite a few new smaller donors from Iowa and across the nation as the Governor’s online network helped promote it.

The highlight and the most successful part of the day for theVander Plaats campaign was the grassroots rally back in Cedar Rapids that same evening.  Their goal was to make this event into what a rally is supposed to be………. filled with enthusiasm and inspiration and not a bunch of people sitting in chairs feebly holding up a few signs while listening to talking points.  I attended the event and would have to say Team Vander Plaats was successful.  Over 400 people came to the rally and while in the beginning they were a littly grumpy about being forced to stand-up (except for a select few who needed chairs), in the end there was no one wanting to sit down.

What amazed me first about the event is the amount of volunteers that the campaign can harvest in addition to the band coming as far as Spirit Lake, Iowa.  The band played while waiting for the speakers and Peter Teahen was the first one up as he is Bob VP’s county chair in that area.  I don’t know much about Mr. Teahen except for the fact that he was narrowly defeated in the 2008 Republican primary for that district’s congressional seat but I do know that he delivered a fiery speech that day to get things warmed-up.  He was definitely the red meat thrower of the event.  He did take time-out to publicly recognize the people at the rally who were running for office this year.  Nice touch.

Next up was Bob Vander Plaats who took the crowd through what he would do as Governor of Iowa which did include the things he would accomplish after “Day One.”  (I hate to take away from his critics’ rhetoric, but he does have a plan after Day One.)  But it is his promise of what he would do on that Day One that always lights a fire under people and this was once again true at the rally.  The response to his Executive Order putting a stay on the Supreme Court’s April 3, 2009, unconstitutional move in order to give the power back to the people and to protect our freedoms brought a response from the crowd that I can only describe as lit match in one hand and lighter fluid in the other.  Bob finished up his speech by giving a heartfelt introduction of Mike Huckabee.

It’s no secret that Governor Huckabee is hands down the best communicator the GOP currently has and he did not disappoint at the rally.  As a governor himself for almost eleven years in Arkansas he could clearly explain why he has thrown his full support behind Bob VP and the reasons why he would make a good governor.  (At this point in time the rally attendees forgot anything about wanting to sit down.)  And as only Mike Huckabee can, he transitioned his speech into playing bass in the band for three songs.  It was then that I did not know if I was at a rally or at a rock concert because the fans then took control of the event and I swear quite a few of them reverted back to their younger years.  It was a “rally” in the true sense of the word.  After the event Huckabee and Vander Plaats stuck around for photo-ops and to talk with people.

It is fully expected that Governor Huckabee will be back at least one more time before the June 8th primary to campaign with Bob Vander Plaats.