By 2:00pm on Saturday, September 24th, over 200 people were lined up from the parking lot into the Spartan Center of Northampton Community College, in eager anticipation to see the Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman. It was instantly noticeable how diverse the turn out was with a wide range of ages, race, and mask wearing preferences. The Democrats sure do a good job at getting people out and excited with their “vote blue no matter who” ideology, but it appeared that Fetterman held a special place in people's hearts as a “far more personable candidate than the average politician”.
Another striking difference noted from a Republican perspective, was the amount of staff from the Wild and Fetterman campaigns. While more staff may help things run more smoothly and efficiently, the cost of excessive staffing must be considered. Then again, the Democrats do have the monetary backings from multi billionaires such as George Soros and Mark Zuckerberg during the election season. That's another strength they have that Republicans don't: money to spend.
Among the speakers were Anna Thomas, state house candidate for district PA 137, J. William Reynolds, mayor of Bethlehem, Lamont McClure, Northampton County Executive, Susan Wild, United States House of representative for Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district, and of course, John Fetterman- Democrat candidate for Pennsylvania's 2022's Senate race.
The topics of conversation were unsurprising and filled with somewhat delusional content- claiming that overturning Roe V. Wade will lead to losing other rights such as gay marriage and contraception- neither of which are constitutional rights nor under any form of attack by anyone. Some of the speakers also focused on a very strange concept that our democracy is being threatened by the Republicans claiming the 2020 election was stolen, which has a substantial amount of hard evidence, including police reports and lawsuits, proving that mail-in ballots were being illegally harvested in large numbers by people who were being paid to commit the act. No matter what side of the political spectrum a voter may be on, every American citizen should be concerned about voting integrity and election fairness.
Speaking of mail-in ballots, Susan Wild workers were witnessed making their way down the extensive line of eagerly waiting Fetterman fans to convince voters how easily using a mail-in ballot can be; claiming all they had to do was go to the election office in Bethlehem (which is false information) and sign a form. It was uncomfortable, but not surprising, to witness the mail-in ballots being pushed so hard, after all the substantial evidence of mail-in ballot abuse. The least Wild's people could have done was give the unsuspecting Fetterman fans the right information.
Over all, however, it was a well-organized rally filled with a diverse spectrum of excited voters. A small crowd stood outside along the intersection of Green Pond and Hecktown Road representing the conservative opponents, to mostly positive reactions from vehicles driving by.
Unfortunately, questions from the audience were not taken by any of the speakers.
-Margie Mandell
Freelance Reporter for WRGOA
Blogger at Game of Politics
margie.mandell@yahoo.com