Dem
47
GOP
53
We got a LOT of reports from the Hands Off protests, and we think this is an important story. So, we are going to run a few days' worth. Today, it's reports from readers in swing states:
E.M. in Watertown, WI, writes: 175 people showed up in this very red town of 25,000.
T.D. in Milwaukee, WI, writes: Milwaukee Representin!
K.L. in Dayton, MN, writes: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN) came back home to speak at the rally in St. Paul after the marathon budget bill ended at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. She caught a 6:00 a.m. flight to make sure she was here to protest with us!
Per the state patrol, 25,000 people were in attendance at the capitol in St Paul.
E.H. in St. Paul, MN, writes: I took my 78-year-old folks to their first political rally ever on Saturday. Both of my grandfathers were staunch anti-communists and threatened to cut my parents off if they went to any sort of demonstrations in the sixties (one of them said protesters should be shot), so they missed out.
There were a couple of scary moments where I almost lost them in the crowd, but otherwise it was positive and peaceful. I never had kids, but I imagine my experience was similar to wrangling a couple of toddlers in a department store.
One goal of these rallies is to eventually get to the tipping point (around 3-5% of the population). Once you get over that threshold, those in power have to start paying attention. The last count I saw was around 5.2 million showed up nationwide, so about 1.5%—but the tariffs haven't started to bite yet, Congress hasn't finished their budget, and people are only starting to feel some of the DOGE cuts. So I think this summer's gonna be wild.
Beyond that, the rallies are about motivating Democratic (and to a lesser extent, Republican) politicians. Yes, most of the people there on Saturday were pretty lefty but not all—one woman I talked to was definitely conservative on civil disobedience, at least ("if you don't like the law, then change the law, but you have to follow it and if you break the law you're guilty"... I didn't get a chance to remind her that it was once legal to own other human beings before she disengaged). So I think the people showing up at these rallies might be more ideologically diverse than many observers think and if true, that's only going to increase the pressure on Washington to rein Trump in. Believe it or not, even SCOTUS pays attention to public sentiment, even though they'd never acknowledge it.
K.K. in Clemmons, NC, writes: We had planned to go to the protest in Winston-Salem, NC, but then saw one had been arranged for Lexington, NC (known for its barbecue). Since that is our county seat and since it is quite red, we decided to go there to provide support. There were somewhere around 35 or so people who attended but we got many honks and waves from passing cars. There was one sign that stuck out to me and the person carrying it graciously let me take a picture. Unfortunately, we did not stop for barbecue:
P.F.in Las Vegas, NV, writes: Attached is a photo I particularly thought relevant:
A.R.S. in West Chester, PA, writes: A small southeast Pennsylvania borough (approx. 20,000 population) with several thousand gathered to protest:
D.E. in Lancaster, PA, writes: Local headline: "More than 1,000 anti-Trump protesters gather in downtown Lancaster, joining nationwide 'Hands Off!' rallies Saturday"
Again I have to reiterate that if ruby-red Lancaster, PA, is holding an anti-Trump rally this big, then something is definitely stirring in this country and I think Republicans are deluded if they think they can avoid it. While Penn Square is not huge, 2,000 people is certainly enough to have an event overflow into the streets. I've certainly seen public festivals with food and free music more sparsely attended than this event. BTW, today, while warm, was a cloudy day with threats of rain and thunderstorms all day long.
Now to my personal chagrin, there is a quote in the article where one of the protesters said, "Even the introverts are out right now." I am most definitely an introvert, and possibly the least desirable thing in the world for me on my mini staycation would be to get out in a crowd in rainy weather, but even I was planning on attending this rally. It would have been my first political rally (excluding Pride events, which to be honest for me was less about the politics and more about cruising for cute guys). Sadly, due to the cloudy grey weather I overslept. I guess one day my tombstone will read "He Slept Through the Revolution."
Ashamed but proud of my fellow Lancasterians.
We will see what tomorrow's theme will be! (Z)