MSU ONE Attends Edwards Rally.

January 31st, 2008 at 6:26 pm

Monday, January 28th, three members from MSU ONE (namely, Melissa Hill, our president, Emily Whate, our Director of Visual Media, and me, Eric Mayle…the V.P.) went to a Teamsters’ Hall here in Springfield, MO to hear John Edwards speak at what would be one of the last events of his campaign.

They had anticipated 150 people.  Closer to 1,050 showed up.  It was packed.  There were three paths to the stage, and each path was guarded by a ONE member with a pocketful of bands and a mind full of questions for the Senator.  Finally, the Teamsters’ President took the stage, introducing former Missouri Lieutenant Governor Joe Maxwell (a rowdy guy who has to hold the microphone around his waist to keep from messing up the sound system).

“It’s our turn!”  Maxwell yelled, “The big corporations have had their turn!  The rich have had their turn!  It’s middle America’s turn, it’s the working class’ turn, it’s OUR turn!”  Then, after the applause had died down, he said the words we’d all been waiting to hear…”Ladies and gentlemen, Senator John Edwards.”

Strains of Springsteen’s “The Rising” filled the Hall as Senator Edwards makes his way to the stage.   He is using Melissa’s walkway…things are going great…except he’s being crowded on both sides by adoring Union members!  He makes his way to the stage without any of us being able to talk to him.

He gave a great speech, perfectly tailored the the audience, who ate it up.  He didn’t take questions at the end, but as he was leaving, Melissa did a little elbowing of her own and was able to get into position to give the Senator a ONE band and tell him that ONE members will be thinking about poverty as we go to the polls.

Looking back, it seems irrelevant, but we don’t think it was.  We here at MSU ONE think that now Senator Edwards knows (as Governors Huckabee and Romney, and Senator Obama will hopefully find out in the next few days if they in turn come to Springfield) that even when he comes to a Union Hall in a small town, he will be talking to people who are concerned with ending global disease and extreme poverty.