… he went to a Trump rally!
But did not do “The Weave”
Ventured into Milwaukee Friday night 11-01-24 — just four days before Election Day — at the instigation of former Dane County Exec Jonathan Barry. For the bucket list experience, like sky diving (which we are not) or binge-watching The Sopranos (which we are). Because, really, do these rallies persuade anyone? On either side?
Do you line up outside a sports palace in what is known as the Deer District for an hour and a half like we did to be wanded by the Secret Service and sniffed by the TSA dog “Bernie” if you’re just comparison shopping between the candidates? We think not.
The audience skewed young, many hauling infants (please, people! No!) All wearing some form of Trump gear (available for purchase at the many kiosks outside). A few wore garbage bags or garbage man reflective vests. Blaska took the middle ground and wore a cap reading “Make America Sane Again.” No one took issue with that sentiment.
An edge in enthusiasm?
Fiserv Forum was completely filled except for the nosebleed seats behind the stage, which were curtained off, and the high-roller suites. Trump accepted the Republican nomination here in July, where the NBA Bucks and Marquette Warriors play basketball. (But no beer at a Trump rally.)
The quick takeaway is that the people here attend because they love this guy and believe he is fighting for them against suspect institutions like the news media, academia, Hollywood, and Washington itself. They’ve been lied to too many times — Russian Collusion, Hunter’s laptop, the draconian Covid lockdown. If Trump promulgates his own lies — like stolen elections — Democrats prepared the soil. So it is believable that the Establishment that calls them “garbage” is still trying to bring their champion down. Spurious “Lawfare” cases made Trump their William Wallace.
If a Trump rally does not persuade, it does rev up enthusiasm. We have no doubt that Kamala’s supporters dearly want her to win, but we do not detect the absolute passion for her that MAGA nation has for Trump, except as a vehicle to defeat the Republican. Or the magical abilities they ascribe to him, abetted by the miracle of Butler PA. Maybe he really can put the war genie back in the bottle, Make America Healthy Again, and tariff our way to prosperity.
The man is 78 years of age but mocked Kamala’s youth and inexperience. “She looks exhausted.” The Milwaukee rally was his third event that day in three different states in the 62nd-straight day of campaigning!
Trump does ‘The Weave’
“I don’t ramble,” Donald Trump averred somewhere in the middle of 90 minutes at the microphone. “I do the weave.” Here the once and possibly future President of the United States dances like a fish might through water, swerving, ducking, and making swimming motions with his arms. “Weaving!” We suspect Eisenhower never did the Weave. “I just have 62 subplots before I return to the main topic,” Trump explained.
The man is an entertainer. Which may be his way of taking the sharp edge off the cutting remarks he utters as a matter of course (or as a matter of coarse). He does not tell the traditional Vegas showroom joke like Reagan did but he is funny. — not like a clown, but he does amuse his audience.
The upper deck farthest from the stage took up a chant that they couldn’t hear. Trump takes the microphone out of the stand and puts it to his mouth, with promises to fire whomever was responsible. That’s a theme of the Trump campaign, that he fires the many appointees who didn’t measure up and that is why people like John Kelly and H.R. McMaster have turned against him.
Then he exaggerates the arm fatigue from holding the microphone, switching from arm to arm and complaining of great pain. Now he is pantomiming speaking while making no sound. 16,000 are roaring with laughter. Beats talking about tariffs.
Changing colors
WI GOP chairman Brian Schimming may have given the best talk, partly because it was brief and because he went first. But a great metaphor: National news media asks when this autumn does Wisconsin change colors? Said 8 p.m. Election Day when Wisconsin turns from blue to red. Good line.
As for the other speakers, they were multitudes, including Bobby Junior, who received a rapturous welcome but was difficult to understand, given the sound problem (probably worn out by the music blasted at a level 11) and his congenital rasp. We did hear him say, “Even though my name is on the ballot, please don’t vote for me.” Another first.
Trump gave credit to Tommy Thompson, my old boss. In 2016, according to Trump, the former governor advised that Trump could not win Wisconsin. As that campaign proceeded, Tommy called with an urgent message: “Come to Wisconsin, you can win!” Trump did both and Hillary Clinton did neither.
Tommy made one of the better warm-up speeches. Eviscerated Kamala Harris. Going to the border? “Too late! You’re fired!” Repeated that mantra through a litany of the Democrat(ic) nominee’s many about faces. Audience roared their approval. Tommy said the idea for Trump in a garbage truck in Green Bay originated in a meeting in a Madison coffee house. Did not name the brain trust.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: This presidential race boils down to pro-Trump versus anti-Trump. Make no mistake, it’s all about Donald Trump.
29 responses to “Blaska missed Woodstock so …”
USA! USA! USA!
Yeah, buddy!
The Gotch
Blaska wrote, “This presidential race boils down to pro-Trump versus anti-Trump — but make no mistake, it’s all about Trump.”
Maybe that’s the single issue for some voters but for me it’s all about the Constitution, either we vote for the Constitution or we vote against the Constitution. There is nothing more important to our society and culture than the Constitution, so don’t let the smoke screen of other issues divert attention away from the threats to the Constitution, it really is that simple.
Let your voice be heard, vote.
THANKS FOR THIS! I’ve never had the pleasure of going to a rally. But I loved your commentary. You are an old pro still practicing the First Amendment. May the Force be with us on the 5th, or all those amendments may go away. And I believe Mr. Schimming is doing God’s work. I LOVE his attitude and his energy.
You are my secret Squeeze, westsidesue!
Barry owed you for the tractor transaction. A stand up guy.
Dems seem hell bent on losing the election the last few days. Comments from Biden, Cuban and now squirrelgate. Wonderful to see them imploding.
Dementia Joe has time left for an even bigger gaffe.
Squirrelgate? Please elaborate!
Peanut the squirrel executed by government overreach. The nation is NOT happy.
Sure; everyone loved that squirrel. What about Fred! Nobody gives a crap about him. That poor raccoon loved Peanut and what did he get? A needle in his arm and an unmarked grave. At least it was a better way to go than have some Haitians eat them.
That’s the spirit Richard!
“At least it was a better way to go than have some Haitians eat them.” Or, one might say, “…than have Kristi Noem shoot them.”
From Ethics Alarms: “ A judge named Richy Rich signed a warrant for a squirrel. Over 10 agents descended on the squirrel’s home, and in a 5 hour raid, killed a squirrel with 3 million internet followers and questioned the owners including investigating their immigration status. What did the squirrel do? Did he endorse Trump or something? Was this to distract the public’s attention from the media’s ridiculous actions lately to try to prop up Harris?”
“Every Normal Man Must Be Tempted, At Times, To Spit Upon His Hands, Hoist The Black Flag, And Begin Slitting Throats.” H. L. Mencken
And The Gotch can resist anything…….but temptation…
The Gotch
Seems the dearly departed P’nut was a philanthropist as well; from Ethics Alarms:
“P’Nut also was a profitable animal. The rodent became the face and name of P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit Longo and his wife started in April. The Longos contribute half of the organization’s roughly $20,000-a-month expenses to run the sanctuary and donors supply the other half, with most of those donations raised largely through cute P’Nut videos posted on Instagram. ‘We have rescued over 300 animals in our sanctuary already,’ Longo (P’nut’s owner) said. ‘Cats, dogs, horses, goats, sheep, donkeys and pigs.‘ ”
The Gotch
The Bucks play basketball at Fiserv? Not so well this season, thus far, and they’re only down one starter; Khris Middleton. Heck, their only win, preceding four (4) straight losses, was against the ’76ers without Embiid.
“binge-watching The Sopranos”
If you are (and who’d blame you!) The Gotch recommends you hit pause ’til you’ve seen Wise Guy: David Chase And The Sopranos.
If you’ve already seen it, you know what he means.
The Gotch
Kamel murdered Peanut????
It was the state of New York. The bastards! I ask you; who’s next. Rocky? Bullwinkle? Bucky? Big Bird? The Eagles, The Lions, The Bears? DEMAND JUSTICE NOW
Who killed Chamberlain Rock? The socialists want to outlaw Halloween now. Seems giving out stuff for free has hit a nerve when youts take the whole bowl. Seems like suburban housewives on Xanax are outraged. Oh the humanity. What next, Santa and the Bunny?
Chamberlain Rock has been executed. What socialist rampage will be next? Suburban liberal white women on Zanax want to cancel Halloween because the comrade youts steal the whole bowl. Free for all. What’s next Santa, Festivus pole dancing or Toyotathon?
Bob Dean: Chamberlin Rock has survived the madness. It sits somewhere on the outskirts of Madison, saved by the UW geology department for teaching purposes.
I love Halloween. If it gets banned, I’ll celebrate the holiday in spite of purists who hate it when other people have a good time.
Ecoli Musk bought it and is turning it into a monument to Peanut according to X. Once again Fred is forgotten.
Richard: Fred and Peanut were forcibly taken from their sanctuary and summarily murdered. NY state officials claim they were testing for rabies, which requires an animal be euthanized to conduct a definitive test. But it is highly unlikely that Peanut carried rabies. Squirrels rarely contract rabies, (for various reasons) and I doubt that Fred was showing symptoms. A rumor was circulating on Turley’s comment section that NY officials had a vendetta against the operators of P’Nut Freedom Farm and that Peanut and Fred were targeted. Sad.
“do these rallies persuade anyone?”
Anyone’s guess, but they can still provide some perspective; to wit:
At a Friday Motor City rally, one of the remaining members of the rapidly disintegrating Squad (Rashida “Impeach The M*****F****r” Tliab) followed the lead of WaPo, the L.A. Times, the U.S.A. Today (387380 print/>5 million online combined circulation), and Gannet’s other 200+ newspapers: Refusing To Endorse Kacklin’ Kamala
The Gotch
Those rallies also apparently attract the skeptical, including no-Trumpers like our gracious host. I wonder how many people attend a Trump rally out of curiosity (or even morbid fascination) and leave converted. I don’t think “persuade” is the right word–“ravish” or “enrapture” might be closer to the mark. Somewhere a political scientist must be studying this phenomenon. I remember watching Trump gyrate to the strains of YMCA (which many regard as the unofficial gay anthem) at a rally during the 2020 campaign and realizing that some kind of boundary had been crossed in American political life. To call Trump an entertainer is an understatement–he’s a force of nature.
Trump a force of nature, Gary? Could be. The rumor mill on “X” says that if Trump posts positive thoughts about Peanut, he’ll win the state of NY come Tuesday. Seems that Peanut is a force, also. 😉
Platinum subscribers: Any ad you might see here urging a vote for Harris/Walz is generated by my third-party ad provider.
What about the Viagra ads?
Or the busty X-Chromosomal Units in T-Shirts and Body Paints?
The Gotch
And now Nasty Teachers? Jeepers, Blaska, your third party ad provider appears to have zeroed in on the…um…preferences of The Werkes’ Platinum Subscribers…
The Gotch
The reason for the sound problem is obvious: Fiserv’s stage hands are union. Trump is a wannabe union buster. Union stagehand gave Trump the mic from the old Mecca and short-armed the stand. Maybe screwed it in a few extra turns after they tested it to make it just a bit too short. The A/V equivalent of short-sheeting. As Woody Guthrie painted on his guitar: “This machine kills fascists.”