nrh@inmet.UUCP (11/06/84)
#R:bbncca:-109500:inmet:7800151:000:2306 inmet!nrh Nov 3 08:53:00 1984 >***** inmet:net.politics / bbncca!rrizzo / 6:04 pm Nov 2, 1984 >Yesterday 6000 turned out to cheer Ronald Reagan & senatorial candidate >Ray Shamie; the rally was held outdoors at the vast City Hall Plaza, >but attendance was "by invitation only" and the area was cordoned off >by a fence, almost unheard-of for gatherings on the Plaza. The large >number of hecklers & protesters that turned out were forced to watch >at a distance beyond the fence. At one point, a smiling but angered >Reagan turned to the hecklers & said, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!" > >It turns out the "crowd" of 6000 was predominantly made up of people >brought in to Boston on some 150 buses from more conservative New >Hampshire, Rhode Island, & Cape Cod, organized apparently by the >GOP. Not only must Reagan keep the "people" he represents literally >at a distance, but phoney crowds of supporters must be painstakingly >assembled to fill the few public places (whose access must be restrict- >ed) in which Ronnie is willing to appear. > >By contrast, Walter Mondale appeared today at a huge rally on the >Boston Common at which 80,000-100,000 people turned out; no hecklers >or protesters were anywhere in evidence. > Ron, Don't get me wrong -- I think both Ronnie and Fritz are such evil clowns that the debates differed from Punch & Judy shows only in the details. On the other hand, that Mondale (behind in Nationwide polls) is able to get a large rally in a democratic stronghold is no surprise. That Reagan could not is also no surprise. What is surprising is that anyone should remark on this. In short, who cares? Where's the beef? As for Reagan's security -- for cripes sake, how many times does the guy have to get shot before it's okay with you that he take extraordinary precautions? I emphasize again that neither one would (in my opnion) make as good a president as a toenail clipping from David Bergland (the libertarian "hopeful"). I found the Shamie articles interesting. Amazing that the 20th century can support someone like this. I was, by the way, very interested to hear that government give-away programs had less than 10% administrative costs. I understood that United Way (notoriously more efficient than government) was not doing that well. Are you quite sure of your facts?