Photos: Deep Blue in a Dark Red State...Obama Rally in Mena, Arkansas.

[bvar22]

The local Democratic Party held a Rally for Obama in downtown Mena Arkansas on Saturday.
This is the same afternoon that Obama drew over 100,000 in St. Louis.
While this little rally in the Red Heart of Republican Land can't compare with the unprecedented awesomeness of the mega-rallies, I found it inspirational in its own right.
It is important for ALL of us to Stand Up.

Being dedicated Democrats, Starkraven & myself put on our colors (Democratic Tee Shirts) and drove the 20 miles to town to stand in support our candidate.
We didn't expect a big crowd, and were slightly apprehensive about a possible counter demonstration or harassment by a hoard of local McShame supporters.




Though small by any standard, the rally was a delight. We counted about 75 people.
We already knew about 1/2 of the attendees through our association with the Farmers Market and the Mena Art Gallery, but it was uplifting to sit with them in a political context on a beautiful Fall afternoon. There were no hecklers or harassment by anyone.
The afternoon was thoroughly peaceful and enjoyable.


The speaker was David Pryor, and he was surprisingly effective.
Since we are recently transplanted from Minnesota, we didn't really know who he was beyond a relative of the current Senator from Arkansas.

David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pryor

The man certainly has credentials. We felt honored that a man with his background would spend a Saturday afternoon during campaign season talking to such a small group. He spoke about the history of the Democratic Party in our area, and the NEED to elect Democrats. We felt important, inspired and uplifted.
Thank You Gov Pryor.




WOW. Looks like a transplant from Minnesota....



The local Chairwoman of the Democratic Party told us that over 600 Obama yard signs had been distributed in our area.
Almost all of them have been stolen.
No one will be getting ours.



We hold no hope that Obama will win here, but I do believe that Obama will do better than expected.
In one-on-one talks, several Hard Core Republicans have privately admitted that they may vote for Obama. I'm crossing my fingers that a significant Reverse Bradley will add to Obama's Popular Vote totals increasing the mandate for a Democratic agenda.

We live in interesting times.

[liberalmuse]

1. Having lived in the reddest state in the union..

I would beseech DUer's never to discount the beauty and dedication of red state liberals. I'd admonish any jokes about red states simply because our brothers and sisters are there, and they deserve our utmost respect. It takes a special person to live amongst such ignorance. And they more than counter it by their very presence.

[bvar22]

2. Thank You.

We moved here in 2006 from Minneapolis/St Paul.
We were prepared, but it was still a culture shock.
We take some consolation in the fact that our Blue vote here weighs more than our Blue vote in Minneapolis (% of population). By moving here, we have made this area a little Bluer.
:hi:

[Bryn]

3. Beautiful Pictures of Southern Blue Warmth

:hi: from Hot Springs, AR here. By moving here I am helping to make this state blue also.

[arKansasJHawk]

5. The Bluing of Arkansas ...

I lived in Fort Smith for four years, and I learned a fair bit about the state during my time there. I think with the explosive growth in NWA, Arkansas will start to trend more blue in coming years. Little Rock is already pretty liberal, especially by comparison to the rest of the state, and a second major metropolitan area in the Northwest could make Arkansas similar to a lot of those states that see a nearly 50/50 rural/urban split.

I moved last year, so I don't know what the latest population figures are, but Fayetteville and Springdale were both rocketing up the population chart so fast they had to do new censuses. And a great deal of that new population comes from the Northeast. I read a story sometime before I left about the area getting a synagogue for all the new Jewish residents.

Finally, of course, a great deal of that growth is attributable directly to Wal-Mart. Wouldn't that be the greatest irony ever, if Wal-Mart helped turn a red state blue?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Those are great pics, and a very inspirational message!

I am proud to give you a K&R!

:patriot:

[Arkansas Granny]

6. Great pictures. I'm surprised to see a crowd that size in Mena.

It looks like it was a great success. I'm a little to the north of you in Fort Smith. :hi:

It has always seemed a little odd to me that Arkansas is so red when it comes to Presidential choices, but our Governor is a Democrat, both of our Senators are Democrats and 3 out of 4 of our Congress critters are Democrats.