Little Rock, the Bus’s Second Home

Posted Sep 13, 2008 at 10:44pm

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS- Our stop in Little Rock on Friday was somewhat of a homecoming for the bus. The Markham Group, the organization who helped Americans United put the bus tour together, is located in Little Rock. Many of the Markham Group staff came out to see the bus, some of whom had done a lot of work remotely for the bus but had never actually set foot inside.

The Markham Group has worked on every facet of the bus tour from helping to put together exhibits, to planning tour stops, to designing and ordering t-shirts. At the stop I was able to take a moment and ask two of the Markham group staffers that have worked the most on the project, some of their thoughts on the tour so far. Jessie Walker deals with tour logistics and works on every stop we make. She deals with local organizations, permitting, and all other arrangements. At at least a fifth of the stops, a local organizer or police officer will accost me as soon as I step off the bus and excitedly say “Are you Jessie?” and I watch the disappointment on their face when I admit that I am not.

Jessie commented on what she thinks is frustrating and rewarding about the project. “ I usually spend weeks talking to organizations on the ground and city officials to get permits for the events but don't actually get to see the location or meet the people who have helped put it together. I hold my breath until the tour staff let me know if the event was a success. “

After having planned over 80 stops already, Jessie shared her thoughts on seeing her first stop in person, “It was so invigorating to hear what people had to say about the bus today and thank us for all we are doing to remind people about the failures of this administration. Sometimes I do get frustrated when people I talk to on the phone are not as excited about the bus as I am but once you see it you cannot help it! It is a wonderful project that I am thankful to be a part of.”

Paul Neaville has been working on the Bush Legacy Tour since its inception. Paul described his scariest moment of the tour so far, “Launch Day was the most nerve-wrecking day, because everything had to work perfectly and we had a big audience. I knew it was a fantastic project but I felt like people would find things they didn't like. They didn't, and I went to bed that night feeling very, very ,good. It felt good to see how the supporters and the dreamers behind the bus--the folks who had the inspiration for the bus--looked at the bus and felt proud. To this day it is the most challenging project I have ever been responsible for, and I'm very proud of the way it turned out and very proud of the response it has received all over the country.”

In addition to our friends at the Markham Group, we had another special Arkansas guest on board the bus in Little Rock. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel made a stop by the event. He was unable to stay and give a speech due to the state of emergency from Ike-related disruptions in the gasoline supply. He did stay long enough to take a tour of the bus and pose for some photos.

After our early afternoon stop at the riverfront we brought the bus to the Arkansas Democratic Headquarters at some of the staff’s request who had not gotten a chance to see the bus. The bus was well received and the staff was very grateful that we brought it over. We then parked the bus outside the Clinton Presidential Library and took a tour ourselves. Seeing the bus in front of what is the largest and most well-attended Presidential Library in history was a quite a sight. This was my first trip to a presidential library and it strongly put into context what we are doing with the Bush Legacy Tour. It is a depressing contrast to spend several hours looking back upon eight years of relative peace and prosperity and then to know your ride back to your hotel will literally be inside a museum showing eight years of war and economic decline.