The Last Parade

This past Saturday marked the end of the summer parade season in Northeast Michigan.  Many towns throughout the area hold festivals, like the Nautical Festival at Rogers City and the Potato Festival at Posen, to highlight the special attributes of their community.  During election years these events attract candidates for office, because marching in a parade allows him or her to be seen by a lot of people, to shake voter hands, and to distribute campaign literature.

So it was that supporters of Robert Kennedy gathered one last time at Curran, "The Black Bear Capital of Michigan."  (It seems that every town in the state is the Whatever Capital of Michigan.)  Our group has turned out for several previous parades in support of Bob, Democratic candidate for the 106th District in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Now we found ourselves on a country road in Mitchell Township, near the intersection of M-65 and M-72, and not a black bear in sight.  From Noon-1:00 we assembled Bob's float, donned T-shirts, slapped Kennedy stickers on ourselves, grabbed handfuls of flyers, picked up signs-on-a-stick, and inventoried our supply of candy.  Candy is very important.

Candidate Bob (left) and spouse Margy assemble
patriotic signs and bunting on their borrowed trailer
as we wait for the parade to start.

Parades highlight public pride and private eccentricity.
I haven't got the slightest idea what these guys are about
...and, frankly, I don't want to know.

Margy greeted the Alcona County Sheriff's Posse and
asked for their votes.  Note that only one rider is a male.

Mitchell Township has a lot of territory — 143.4 sq. mi. — but not a lot of people.  Population at the 2010 census was 352 souls, giving a population density of 2.5 people/sq. mile.  About one quarter of the population are senior citizens, and nearly 17% are over age 65 and living alone.  The Curran "business district" is really just a crossroads, and about the only business-in-business is a bar.  Think "small town."  Really small.

Sign-carrying walkers dash back and forth, greeting the
people, especially the children.

Kids love stickers, and don't seem to mind if they display
stickers for both Democratic and Republican candidates.

The crowd probably exceeded the total population of
Mitchell Township.  People cued up early for a good
view (not hard to find, really) and a chance to take photos.

There is a procedure, or liturgy, which is followed in parades.  A couple people ride on the float, while the others, including the candidate, walk.  Everyone crosses back and forth as the crowd requires, handing out literature, putting stickers on children (kids love stickers!), and handing out candy.  I rode on the float at Curran so I could shoot photographs, but I walked in the Harrisville parade on Labor Day Weekend.  Lots of people wanted candy.  Even adults had bags in which to stash their sweet loot.

Bob seems to relish this "retail" style of politics.  He has knocked on hundreds of doors all over the district, and attended scores of township and city meetings to hear what people are saying.  To his credit, he has steadfastly refused to take money from lobby groups, and instead relies on small contributions from individual supporters.

So, on this occasion, Bob was all over the place, quickly introducing himself, shaking hands, giving the person a flyer, and then running off to the next voter.  If this seems frantic, it is!  The parade moves along relentlessly.  If you dawdle, you will get left far behind.

Bob hands out literature to parade goers.  Almost everyone
was polite, and many were genuinely enthusiastic.

The walkers with candy were very popular!

This was rather like Trick-or-Treat, except that the adults
were dressed up (in T-shirts) and came to the kids.

A happy candidate rode the float back to the starting point.
His Republican opponent didn't bother to show for the
Black Bear Parade.  I suspect the folks at Curran noted that, too.

Bob's approach seems to be working.  Bob has had lots of supporters marching with him in the parades, including over 70 at the Posen Potato Festival, while his opponent has been hard pressed to turn out a half-dozen.  Recently, in support of the incumbent, the Michigan Republican Party (MRP) has sent out a series of dark, foreboding, the-sky-is-falling mailers beating up on Bob.  In one they accuse him of being a crony of former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.  In fact, I don't think Bob has even met the Governor.  Another mailer charges that Bob is behind Obamacare, although he had nothing to do with health care reform.  All this makes us think that the opposition is getting worried.

And sloppy.  In mailers sent into the 106th District, the Republicans urge people to call Bob and complain.  Unfortunately, the number they give is Bob's home phone.  Thankfully, only a few people have been really nasty.  Most hang up when they realize it's Bob's and Margy's home.

But that is not as bad as what the MRP did to a Kalamazoo area Democratic candidate for the state House.  They are using the same set of mailers, just changing the names and phone numbers.  However, the phone number they gave in this case — although it is listed in the candidate's name — is actually a direct line to the candidate's mother.  She is in a nursing home under hospice care.  Chalk that up to bad staff work.  If someone had taken the time to call the number before the mailers were printed, the Republicans could have avoided a PR disaster.  •••