Bush Legacy Tour

MIAMI, FLORIDA-After making over 100 stops all over the country, meeting thousands of amazing supporters, and having the privilege of infuriating conservatives all over the country, it is difficult to pick a favorite stop on the Bush Legacy Tour. Thursday, our Miami stop may have cemented the title of best stop yet.

We had no idea how eventful the stop would be. The AFL-CIO was hosting us and helped us arrange for our "parking space" which was appropriately outside of the McCain/Palin Headquarters for the county. When we rolled up to the event site, CBS and a few other news outlets had already arrived. Unexpectedly, there were also police everywhere. They had been tipped off ahead of time. It was a wild scene! Due to the police presence we could not even attempt to pull into the spot in the strip mall. We were not even able to pull in for the 30 seconds it would normally take for us to get kicked out! 

The police had motorcycle “escorts” on either side of the bus that made it so that upon circling around the perimeter of the strip mall, the bus was unable to change lanes or turn into the parking lot. The bus continued to circle while about 40 pro-Bush Legacy Bus supporters chanted slogans in front of the McCain/Palin headquarters.  The press interviewed the supporters and also attempted to interview the building manager who apparently was the one who had called the police. 

Finally, we were able to secure a less controversial parking space in front of the AFL-CIO just down the road.  The supporters walked down to greet the bus.  Some of the union members supporting the bus helped us safely block traffic so that the bus could make the turn into the AFL-CIO lot. Considering the size of the bus, it is necessary to cut wide and make the turn from the middle lane. Our driver cut wide and upon turning and parking, a police officer started to write a ticket for turning right from the middle lane. Immediately the crowd reacted angrily to the ticket and defended our driver and the bus. All the while the CBS cameras were rolling. The officer pulled our driver aside from the scene to talk to him. Eventually, the ticket was ripped up. We opened up the bus to the public and things calmed down. We later found out that although we avoided the ticket, several truck drivers that were driving down the road and honking at our supporters were not as lucky. They apparently received tickets for honking their horns! 

Check out the piece CBS did on the stop.

Overall, the event was great.  The event marked a series of firsts: first full-scale police response, first (near) ticket, and the first time we were banned from a parking space ahead of time rather than just being kicked out.  This was not, however, the first time we have had supporters act on our behalf. Yet, this will certainly be the most memorable example of heart-warming solidarity on the tour. With all the excitement, the purpose of the stop highlighting the atrocious voting records of Reps. Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart was almost forgotten. I guess we will need to make another stop in Miami to remind Miamians that both Congressmen voted for Bush’s polices 90% of the time. Maybe this time they will send in the National Guard!