20 years ago today George Bush Sr. Came to Tacoma

[norepubsin08]

I posted this earlier, but wanted to again because there was more I wanted to tell.

On October 27, 1988 with the 9 electoral votes of Washington State hanging in the balance. George Bush came to Tacoma for a campaign rally. It was to be the last campaign rally by a Republican Presidential nominee inside the city limits of Tacoma to date.

What happened: George Bush was well ahead of Mike Dukakis, but wanted to run the table so to speak and had chance at the State of Washington. A week earlier Bush came to speak at Seattle University a Jesuit institution. At that speech, a Jesuit priest who had worked his whole life for the poor and for peace and justice had asked Bush a question and was dragged from the hall. One week later Bush wanted to come Tacoma and chose the University of Puget Sound as his backdrop. UPS informed him that to keep the intellectual integrity of the College, he would have to have a question and answer session...at that point Bush took his show to the Bi-Centennial Pavilion in downtown Tacoma. A group of us working with the Jesuits found out about it and made plans to challenge the Vice President on his policies. We did phone banking and had 500 people protesting outside the pavilion that morning. During that protest I was spit upon, had my glasses yanked away from me and punched. Tickets were tightly controlled, but seven of us got in. Every few minutes one of us asked a question. When I was removed by the Republican security team, the national press wanted to interview me and they were told if they followed me, they would be under arrest also. After the fourth questioner was bloodied, Bush's handlers hustled him out of there 17 minutes early.

The upshot of that was, that from that point on, this military, blue collar, slightly conservative town has grown ever more progressive. This was the lead story on all three national news programs that night and Dukakis won the state by a couple of thousand votes. Washington has voted Democratic ever since.

For me, it radicalized me. I went from progressive to radical. I know longer feared to protest and began to see it as my duty to speak up when needed. I went on to run for US Congress from the left of our DINO, didn't win, but got more in the primary than anybody has in 28 years and made him switch his vote on the School of America's. Believe me, I was scared when there was just 7 of us in the midst of 4-5,000 rabid Bush fans. But we got through it.

Lastly I want to pay tribute to 2 of those that were with me, that are no longer among us that would love to have been alive on Nov 4th of this year. Sr. Beverly Bentley OP who in her Sister's habit pleaded with the police to arrest her to no avail and apologized to me after the event that she "failed" And Robert Gallucci a senior citizen who was roughed up speaking out for the poor that day.

To them...you have taught me to have voice for those who don't...I am so grateful for your witness!! Mike Collier

[cliffordu]

1. thanks for the lovely post, Mike. K&R