Politics at the Breakfast Bar

Back in the summer 2004, I was staying at the Holiday Inn Select in Bensalem, PA with the family. I remember seeing a bus in the parking lot the night before, wondering what group might be staying at the hotel.

I got my answer the next morning. We were having breakfast, and I saw a number of people with hats, buttons, etc. supporting John Kerry. I saw one of them up at the breakfast bar, and we had the following conversation:

Me: "Hello. Are you folks doing some canvassing for Mr. Kerry this morning?"
Kerry supporter: "Yes"
Me: "Where are you from?"
Kerry supporter: "Most of us are from Connecticut and Massachusetts"
Me: "What is your message this morning?"
Kerry supporter: "We're fighting a war for oil waged by the United States of Halliburton while the top 1% of wealthy americans are giving themselves tax cuts while this evil President just wants to send the gays down to Mexico."
Me: "Ok then. Good luck with that. If I could give you a small bit of advice, you might want to tone down the rhetoric just a bit. This could give you a better chance of having undecided voters consider your message."

I don't know if this was one nutjob, or a symptom of a greater democratic problem. I worry about the latter, since I often get e-mail from my Aunt of a similar nature. It is a bit sad, because the democrats have many ideas thaht I agree with, but apparently haven't figured out an effective way to deliver them.