Hey folks, I just got home from the fabulous Merkley/Gore event in Portland and wanted to write up my reactions. Besides finally meeting the lovely Sarah Lane in person, it was a great time and certainly worth reporting on!
Cross-Posted from Loaded Orygun: http://loadedorygun.net/showDi…
I was not smart enough to bring a camera, unfortunately, so I can’t post any of my pictures but it was a fun event. About a thousand showed up and we had really great fun, especially when we discovered that the metal bleachers a lot of us were sitting on could be stomped on to make lots of noise. I was in the front row on one side of the stack about a third of the way back, so I had a great view!
Below is my review of the speakers who were part of this great event:
Governor Kulongoski: I love Ted, I really really do, and I really wish I saw the fire in his belly more often than occasions like tonight. He did a good job warming up the crowd and MCing the first part of the evening.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3): What can I say, I love Earl. He would make a great transportation secretary in an Obama administration, I’m just saying.
Rep. David Wu (OR-1): Except for an odd little bit about 9/11, he was great! He got some audience callbacks going on Obama/Merkley/Schrader’s names.
Brad Avakian (Labor Commissioner): I love this guy. He kept slipping the name “Jeff Merkley” randomly into his speech, and we went nuts whenever he said it.
Ben Westlund (State Treasurer Candidate/State Senator): Proof that Republicans can see the light and become Ds. I wish he’d had a bit more time because if he gets going he can be a great speaker.
John Kroger (AG to be): Listening to him, you can really tell why he was such a good litigator.
Then they lowered the lights and played this little video (a new Merkley ad):
Jeff Merkley (next US Senator): He was his usual awesome self. Did a great job both laying out his image but also clarifying why Smith’s time had passed. That led us to the main attraction of the evening…
Al Gore: WOW! He really would have been a great President if only given the chance. He was on target all night, even when interrupted early on by a 9/11 conspiracy nut (to which the crowd chanted “Merkley, Merkley, Merkley” to drown out the noise of the guy on the megaphone). Some memorable lines:
There’s a single common thread that runs through all these crises. Our ridiculous, absurd dependence on dirty, expensive, carbon-based fuel. That’s the common thread
This is one of those moments in history when one era is ending and another era is beginning. And you can almost hear the hinges creaking as that door opens up
Gore closed with perhaps his most powerful line of the night:
Do you want somebody who’s 10 percent of the time there (Smith)? Or do you want somebody who’s committed, heart and soul?
After this I feel fired up and ready to go, 11 days to a new America, let’s make it happen!
Let me know what you think.
Yes we will beat Smith!