Rte 90 Run-N-Gun Tour cont… We continued on Rte. 90, stopping in the Wisconsin cities of La Crosse, Madison, Straughton and Beloit. In Madison, I passed out some campaign literature to a man-on-the-street who said he wanted a “Fair Tax” instituted. That is, he’d like to see a uniform Federal “flat tax” on all items across the board — and the elimination of the income tax altogether… In downtown Beloit, while hopping back into the “average Joe” mobile, I sat on a Yellow Jacket bee. While he/she (to be politically correct) didn’t sting me at the point of contact, so to speak (thank God), he/she flew around to the front and stung me on the forearm. Apparently he/she wasn’t taken with our platform. Then it was on to Illinois. Note: Another oil drilling platform has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Could it be we are starting to hit somewhat of a “bottom” with our addiction to fossil fuels?
“Welcome to Welcome”
Rte. 90 Run-N-Gun Tour speeds on… In Worthington, Minnesota, we parked our camper/campaign vehicle in a Wal-Mart parking lot, right next to an auto racing dirt track. Talk about loud … The next day at Mass, we saw a man with a t-shirt that read America has now crossed the 51 million abortion mark, and counting… We headed further east, flying right by the town of Welcome (really, that’s its name), Minnesota. The city limits sign says: “The Friendly City!” If I’d been on town council there, my sign proposal would have been: “Welcome to Welcome!” …We drove on to Fairmont, Minnesota, where we took the kids swimming in Budd Lake (no idea who ‘Budd’ actually is, or was). After swimming a bit, I found myself in a round table, or rather round beach chair, discussion with some people who’d gotten together for a family reunion. The topic of “the border” came up. I said, for one, as president I’d do everything possible to keep drug cartels out. And common sense would say that part of keeping drug cartels out, is reducing the demand for drugs on this side of the fence. On an earlier campaign tour, I interviewed a sherriff’s deputy in Las Cruces, New Mexico, who said he’s regularly in on border drug busts involving 18-wheel trucks and thousands of pounds of, say, cocaine. But he also works with the local DARE Program for teenagers, to reduce the demand for drugs on this side. When I talked about this, some of the people at the beach had a rather “aha” moment. Note: While passing out campaign cards and stumping at the park next to Budd Lake, I told one man wearing a Minnesota Viking cap that when I became president — I’d introduce a Bill suggesting we change the Statue of Liberty to, that’s right, a big Viking. (Liz keeps telling me I’ve got to stop doing that from state to state.)
“One and Only Corn Palace”
In Mitchell, South Dakota, our seven-year-old Jonathan and I went downtown on a Saturday morning. We went to Jitters Coffee Shop first, where we stumped with some people there. While passing on a campaign card to the owner, she said: “You’re running for president of the United States?” I replied: “Well, somebody has to do it.” She laughed… There were some political debates slated for today at the “One and Only Corn Palace” in Mitchell. Jonathan and I left Jitters and headed to the front of the Corn Palace (big spires on the top of the building that look like ears of corn, the whole thing) where we passed out more campaign cards to a lot of people wearing various campaign buttons, etc. I ended up in a conversation with Steve Sibby, who is running for South Dakota Senate as an independent candidate. He said he was running because he was concerned big business had taken over both big political parties. His campaign motto: “Making YOU the citizen bigger.” That would have been ours too, if Mr. Sibby hadn’t thought of it first… We then went into the “One and Only Corn Palace” and sat in on a debate abut a Smoke Free South Dakota. A woman from the Cancer Society said those in South Dakota deserve a smoke free environment because, for one reason (or rather for ’60’ reasons), second hand smoke has 60 known carcinogens in it. Note: George McGovern was in the audience this day. He is a former senator and former Democratic nominee for president. What’s more, he was appointed by John F. Kennedy to be the director of the Food for Peace Program.
a calculator, that works
Rte 90 Run-N-Gun Tour cont. (at warp speed): In the last entry, I forgot to mention we stopped at the world famous — or at least pretty famous in South Dakota — Wall Drug. This has morphed from a small town pharmacy, to a rather extensive set of tourist stores with all kinds of Wall Drug memorabilia, arts and crafts, and the like. People were here from all over the country, so we walked about passing out a good number of campaign cards. I talked with people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida… In fact, an elderly man from Florida said he was absolutely sick about our federal deficit (almost $13 trillion now). I said our platform plank in this area is: “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone in D.C. with a calculator, that worked.” He smiled… In Mitchell, South Dakota, we met with Nick and Laura Baus. Great couple. They have a number of children, including a foster child they adopted six years ago. He has “verbal aprexia,” which is basically slowness in speech. His birth mother had been mentally handicapped, said Nick, and hadn’t been very conversant with the child early on. This led to the speech problem. Both Nick and Laura have been very patient with this child, as they laboriously work to help him improve his speech pattern. Both Nick and Laura said that in their teens, they both had a child (from different relationships) that they gave up for adoption. Now, reciprocally, they wanted to help in a different capacity. Note: Nick is very pro-life, and noted that we shouldn’t be surprised that there is a massive attack against the babies in the womb, because, after all, it is children that we can learn so much from. Jesus once said that you have to become like a child in order to enter the kingdom.”
30 minutes to doomsday
Rte 90 Run-N-Gun Tour cont.: We stopped at the National Park Service’s Minuteman Missile Headquarters just outside Cactus Flat, South Dakota. Among the displays here, was the simulated flight course of a Minuteman nuclear missile from southern South Dakota to Moscow. It would take 30 minutes. Chilling. At the height of the Cold War, there were 150 Minuteman missile sites in South Dakota. Each missile could deliver a payload equal to 60% of all bombs dropped during World War II… We then headed east to Murdo (pop. 550, including this one poet guy.) While I was passing out campaign literature on the street, I came across M.J. McMillan. He read the campaign card about me being a “common man,” and replied: “Wow, that’s what I write about.” Turns out he’s written two books of poetry titled: Common Man Poetry and Common Man Poetry 2. He recited a short, four-line poem that’s essence was that one can experience sunshine, or rain, dependent, not necessarily on the weather, but rather your perspective. Common sense… After putting up one more flier on Murdo’s downtown community bulletin board, we headed to Pesho, S.D. and then Chamberlain, S.D. where we passed out yet more campaign literature. One man-on-the-street said running for president must be some undertaking. “Yeah, it’s an uphill thing,” I joked. “And we’re not even sure if we’ve gotten to the hill yet.” But we are sure that we got to Mitchell, S.D. by sunset. Note: I just read where China’s one-child policy has been in effect for 30 years now, resulting in some 130 million abortions. Because many of the babies being killed are girls, some are calling it ‘gendercide.’
Hell, with the fire burned out
We stopped in rural Wasta, South Dakota, where we spent the day at the Trax Ranch. Pat Trax, with a group of other local ranchers, are fighting monopolies by four major Packing Companies “who control 80% of the slaughter industry,” said Pat. He told me the Obama administration is “right minded” in some areas in respect to fighting this type of monopolistic control. And he said the administration has been fairly good in general about helping the small family ranchers and farmers… While in Wasta, I also interviewed Ray Olsen, who had been on his ranch for three generations. His grandparents had come from Norway and established the beginnings of the ranch here in 1889 (you can still see wagon ruts nearby from the early settlers heading across). The family originally homesteaded here on 160 acres, under the Homestead Act signed by President Lincoln. Olsen added his would be the last generation on the land because, in part, it was becoming too hard for small ranchers to make a living off the land… We then headed further east, just skirting the “Badlands” of South Dakota. It is writtten the topography here is like: “Hell, with the fire burned out.”
Cold War era, and ‘war’ in general
We stopped in Rapid City, South Dakota, where they have bronze satues of many of the U.S. presidents on various street corners in the downtown area. My in-laws are here from New Zealand and are currently traveling with us in another motor home. They took our kids down to see Mt. Rushmore, just south of Rapid City. I stayed behind to go to the Bargain Barn Automotive Repair Shop (Have I mentioned it’s a low budget campaign?) to have our tail pipe and muffler replaced… This particular weekend in Rapid City, the Civic Center was displaying a replica of part of the Berlin Wall, a symbol from the Cold War era. We then headed east on Rte. 90 to the South Dakota Air & Speace Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Here, too, were many reminders of the Cold War, and war in general. This included the mamoth B-1B Bomber standing at the entrance of the museum and about 15 other older planes (Corsair II, Skymaster, Thunderstreak, Sabre…) around the periphery. Another of the planes was the same model that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima… Just as we were leaving the parking lot of the museum, another motor home pulled up beside us. I struck up a conversation with Tom Sitler, and his wife, from Reading, PA. He said he was recently in Hamburg, PA, doing volunteer work for Advent World, which trains Christian missionary pilots. Tom had done all the wiring for the runway lights there. Note: I recently saw a bumper sticker that read: Who Would Jesus Bomb? Note 2: Another Cold War is currently playing out in the Middle East. The threat of a nuclearized Iran.
‘pro-motorcyle’
Route 90 Run-N-Gun Campaign Tour continued: We headed into southern South Dakota where we first stopped in Spear Fish. The city limits sign has a picture of (that’s right) a fish with a spear through it. Clear enough. I put up a flier in the town grocery store, then Jonathan and I walked about a bit, including passing out some campaign cards to patrons in the Common Grounds Coffee Shop. Then it was on to Sturgis, SD, where the week before there had been the annual (and massive) Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. This year it was estimated there were some 600,000 bikers. We came across a few stragglers, but for the most part the bikers had cleared out. I stopped in at the Motorcycle Museum here, then walked about town passing out more campaign cards. Every chance I could, I said I was “pro-motorcycle.” Well, when in Rome… Then it was on to Rapid City, South Dakota. Note: We are asking our supporters to go about their town(s) posting and passing out handouts in as many places as possible. This is our answer to the big money campaigns. Grassroots.
Butch Cassidy and, well, Harry Longabaugh?
The I-90 Run-N-Gun Tour continues: While still in Wyoming, I noticed the tail pipe on our campaign vehicle was hanging by a thread. I went to Nappa for some muffler tape. I’ve gotta be the only presidential candidate buying muffler tape. And that populist appeal goes on, and on… We stopped in Sundance, Wyoming, right near the eastern border of that state. This is where Harry Longabaugh spent 18 months in jail for “horse rustling.” When Longabaugh got out, he helped form the Wild Bunch Gang, which then set out to establish the longest string of bank robberies in Old West history. Because of his time in the Sundance jail, Harry Longabaugh was dubbed: “The Sundance Kid.” Which was probably good. I mean, how much draw would a movie title like: Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh have had, huh? Note: Speaking of crime (sort of), we have an extensive position paper on how to cut crime dramatically in this country (‘horse rustling’ notwithstanding). Note 2: While in downtown Sundance, I walked about passing out campaign cards to people on the street, then stopped in at the Aro Restaurant (town hub), where I put up a campaign card on the notice board and got a cup of coffee to go. While waiting, I noticed a sign behind the cash register. “Warm beer, lousy food, terrible service… Have a nice day!” Yet another five-star “average Joe” restaurant.
Street Fair
We have headed east out of Billings, Montana, on our I-90 Run-N-Gun Tour. (I realize this is a bit of a departure from our Moseying in Montana Tour, but the polls are showing we’re behind — and no one else has even declared yet!) Yesterday we stopped in Sheridan, Montana, where I lifted some weights at The Body Shop Gym, then the family and I headed downtown for a Street Fair with, it seemed like, a couple thousand people. Liz, the kids and I walked about passing out a lot of “average Joe” campaign cards, and talked politics. (Incidentally, we urge our supporters to get creative with making up some “average Joe” cards yourself and stump in your respective areas — and beyond.) At the street fair, I got in a conversation with Alex Lee, who is running for City Council in Sheridan. He said his biggest plank is a one cent tax on everything sold in Sheridan, which he estimates will generate $5 million a year for local roads, a senior center, and other city services. Shortly after talking to Mr. Lee, I found myself in a conversation with a couple from Clovis, NM, who were vacationing here. They said they’d like to see a simplified tax system where a certain percentage was taken from every dollar they made (with no tax loopholes, etc.). They weren’t adverse to paying taxes. “We are willing to pay taxes for the privilege of living in this country,” the husband said. Note: We propose a simplified, progressive tax with an easy to decipher one-page form.