A day at the fair

Ok, technically it’s not a “fair”, it’s the Wicomico Home and Farm Show. But I was there today to work at the Wicomico County GOP’s table so I bummed around for awhile beforehand.

Yes, I like classic cars. It wasn’t the largest show I’d seen, but there were some cars there that I hadn’t recalled seeing at the other car shows and festivals I frequent. They had a nice red 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 there. It’s as old as I am but in much better shape!

I don’t recall this act from last year – of course last year I was a part of the entertainment and worked the GOP table too so I didn’t wander as much. However, he had a nice little show and would give away postcards and such for free, which I thought was a nice touch. It was fun for the kids and that was what counted. Hey, there’s many worse role models out there than the Lone Ranger.

The other interesting feature I saw was the jousting. My fellow MBA member Stephanie will be proud to know that I remember jousting is Maryland’s state sport. Seriously. But unlike the movie “A Knight’s Tale” there weren’t broken lances or riders knocked off the horses. These guys were pretty easy on each other.

And of course I had good food and a little ice cream too. But I actually came there to work a few hours at our Wicomico GOP table.

If you followed the link earlier, you’d notice that last year the table was brimming with items and candidates were crawling out of the woodwork to be seen. This year was much more subdued.

This is the honest truth. The only candidate whose campaign actually delivered items when I first worked the table Thursday night was Mitt Romney. I personally brought items for John McCain and Rudy Giuliani (plus some other supplemental Romney items) to place at the table, and apparently both the Andy Harris and Wayne Gilchrest camps brought things on Friday. The Harris sign was mine too, I dropped it off Friday morning. But Gilchrest had signs and some literature (a summary of stuff I’ve gotten in my e-mail) while Harris had his own campaign literature and bumper stickers. I’m told Andy was there yesterday as well. And this morning the young man working before me ended up bringing some info about Presidential hopeful Ron Paul.

But the thing that actually went over best at our table was the “Don’t Blame Me – I Voted For Ehrlich” bumper stickers. Most people ignored us but there were a few who needed voter registration cards or picked up something for a Presidential candidate. My small supply of Giuliani stuff was practically gone and some people took Romney items as well. (Meanwhile, no one took any McCain items.)

If I were to gauge the mood of the electorate at the moment, it’s hopeful but wary. I’m not sure that people really care yet, which obviously is different from last year when that primary campaign was rapidly drawing to a close then. Regardless I think having a presence at the event makes us look a little better and more active, as opposed to the Democrats who have skipped the event the last two years. And this gave us an opportunity to push our other upcoming events that make the Wicomico County Republican Club its money.

So we’ll see if the Democrats show up next year or write off Wicomico County.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer. View all posts by Michael