If you, like a quarter of the city, didn’t call off work and jam down to the Moda Center before 7 am this morning, you missed out on a lot of standing. By the time I got to the Rose Quaerter at roughly 9 am, there was a massive ouroboros of a line snaking its way around the building. I’m not sure I ever found the end, which is an apt metaphor for this presidential election.
But it was a Bernie rally, so spirits were high! Some fun things:
This man and his cohort were among the first people on the scene at 4:45 am. I queried him about that dedication, and he just replied “We’re feeling the Bern, man. How about you?” I complimented him on his sign artistry, but then a few minutes later learned the NO HOMEMADE SIGNS would be allowed in the building. Event staff and campaign workers were very serious about this.
Bernie campaign folks: v serious about not allowing signs to rally pic.twitter.com/PO4QAInhA4
— Dirk VanderHart (@dirquez) March 25, 2016
A 16-year-old girl made this sign, I learned. For the trash can apparently. Rough, Bernie.
We’ve all seen those sweatshirts with Bernie Sanders’ face plastered all over them. Who’s seen that shirt’s counterpart spackled in the visages of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-Un, though? I’ll tell you who: This woman’s grandma. It was a 20th birthday present, I was told. She was especially proud of a part of the fabric that had cohered such that Trump’s face “looks like a butthole.”
She was handing out donuts out of the goodness of her heart, flabbergasted that nobody wanted any. (Probably the gluten.)
Natch.
Also seen: A campaign volunteer bragging about how he “worked for the McGovern campaign. 72.”
Not seen, even once: A Hillary pin.
As I write this, the Moda Center doors have only just (theoretically) opened. It’ll be at least three hours before Bernie takes the stage. Probably longer.