The Democratic National Committee confirmed in a news release that Barack will visit Bridgeport Oct. 30. Before Bridgeport that day he’ll be in Philly, following Bridgeport it’s on to Chicago.
Presidential visits are a hoot and a nightmare and downtown Bridgeport will be loaded with Secret Service agents during Barack’s visit to the Arena at Harbor Yard on behalf of Congressman Jim Himes and other Democratic candidates.
In 1994 I helped organize President Clinton’s (Hillary joined him as well) visit to Bridgeport on behalf of the Bill Curry/Joe Ganim Democratic gubernatorial ticket. Roy Occhiogrosso who was Curry’s media strategist (Roy is chief strategist for Democratic candidate for governor Dan Malloy) called with the news. I was Joe’s campaign manager. It was one of those good news, bad news calls. Lennie, great news, the president’s coming. Bad news, you have to help organize and deal with the Secret Service.
Yikes. What a pain in the ass. Secret Service, presidential advance team, national media. When you don’t know what the hell you’re doing (that would be me) you call someone who knows how to organize an event. For me that was the late Marilyn Goldstone. When it came to organizing events Marilyn was like a human snowplow (okay, everyone out of the way)! She knew how to get things done. Of course, in doing so I pissed off half the Democratic Town Committee that wanted to be involved in organizing the event.
But we didn’t have a lot of time to massage egos. We had to deal with the Secret Service, advance staff, media, invitations, dignitaries, parking, food, portable toilets, buses, limos. I left Marilyn to do most of the heavy lifting. I was in charge of local media.
This was a mid-term election (like this year) and Clinton was nursing polling numbers that had scared away prior supporters. Clinton landed via Marine 1 at Sikorsky Memorial Airport and he couldn’t believe his eyes, roughly 5000 greeted him. He hadn’t seen a crowd that large in quite some time. Clinton worked the rope line like a rock star. I had one primary job that day, making sure the local media had transportation from the airport to the Bridgeport Holiday Inn for a major fundraising event. Yes, national media had their own van and the locals their own. Marilyn, who worked for the local ambulance company, had made vans available for transport. When the president was done and it was time to shove off I walked to the local media transport van except there was no van. What! Where’s the van? The van was gone. Poof. Disappeared.
I called Marilyn. “There’s no van!”
“What do you mean there’s no van, it was there during the event.”
“I know it was here. It’s gone.”
“You’re telling me someone stole the van?”
“Yes, someone stole the van.”
So I hopped on the van transporting the national media to the Holiday Inn. They looked at me like I was from Mars. Who’s this guy?
So now I’m in a cranky mood. The local media guys are going to skin me alive. They were stranded at the airport without a ride to the hotel. Who cares about pissing off the national media, it’s the local guys I have to deal with on a regular basis. I’m in the kitchen of the hotel screaming through my cell phone at Marilyn who’s screaming through her cell phone at me. A Secret Service guy tells me to tone it down because the president was coming through any second and he didn’t want him walking past a maniacal screamer.
I was not going to allow a fed to deter me from my cell phone argument with Marilyn who was screaming at me with equal force.
“What happened to the van?”
“I don’t know.”
“These guys are going to kill me.”
It was the craziest argument I’ve ever had. As I backed out of the kitchen screaming into my cell phone there was Marilyn in the ballroom screaming back at me. What happens when two adults (that’s debatable) scream into cell phones when you’re feet apart? You throw down your cell phones and laugh.
Moments later I could not believe my eyes. The local media crew was there.
“How’d you guys get here?”
“Oh, the van driver never showed up,” said one of the radio guys. “We got tired of waiting. So I decided to drive.”
Whew!
Everybody in the port is asking can you believe Obama is coming to Bridgeport? I wonder will there be a greater turnout??? On election day we will see.
Word from Imbecilla facebook–Friends, today Jim Himes proudly announced the President is coming to Bridgeport to rescue his campaign. It’s no surprise given Himes voted in lockstep with his party, rubber-stamping their failed agenda. Now, I need everyone to take a stand against Himes and his friends in Washington by making a contribution to tell … the Congressman and his party machine: enough already!
Now here is a comment from one of the users who commented on it. Desperation … Fairfield County, Himes needs Bridgeport. Now it is more imperative that ‘We the People’ in all the surrounding towns grab everyone we know (at gunpoint if necessary) & drag them out of the hose for Dan. Slimes didn’t beat Sh…ays because he overwhelmingly the better candidate. He won on the coat-tails of the then Messiah’s popularity. Slimey (born in Latin America) couldn’t lead a retreat as he’s proven in his tenure in Congress.
Please people, don’t let this administration destroy our Republic by turning us into a socialist nation. Obama & his Union leaders don’t think we are smart enough to rule ourselves.
Aside from getting BPT excited since a great majority of her citizens have their hands out, BO can also be doing us a huge favor with his declining popularity.
VOTE DEBICELLA, MCMAHON & FOLEY
My answer to this is Bridgeport we need to come out and vote for Himes on Nov 2!! Debicella and his friends are a bunch of Anti Bridgeport people. Come election day say no to Imbecilla!!!
*** Need two tickets Lennie or else! ***
Normally it’s great when a president visits your community but in this case we need to speculate on the motive. Barack and Michelle have both been to Stamford already, and now another trip to the 4th? Himes must really be in trouble to get this type of attention. Nov 2 will decide if the gamble pays off.
On another note, I read that Foley paid more in taxes in 2009 than the Malloy total family income. OK, so what? My question is, Malloy was mayor in 2009 and the family income was $247K. Cathy works for a non-profit. The mayor’s salary is about $100K. Where is the rest of the income from??? What type of investments does Dan actually have? How about complete financial disclosures of all income from all candidates?
Lennie–Marilyn didn’t need a cell phone to be yelling at you!
Sound Tigers game canceled for Presidential visit.
For the upcoming Obama Slamma Jamma Fest, the Democrats should book the Ballpark at Harbor Yard with a live feed from the Arena on Jumbo Vision.
Talk about a Souled Out Event!!!
Lennie can you confirm the polls that Imbecilla’s been reporting on his page? First he says it’s a tie now he says he has a 4 point lead and he calls it surveys. Lennie can you confirm this poll??? ‘Cause it sounds like pure BS!!!
There will be a Republican majority in the house in a couple of weeks, so if Himes wins, he will have no clout. Better off voting for the guy who will at least stop the stupid spending.
Obama coming to Bridgeport just days before the election? Let’s see what he sees of the city and what he says. Nation building begins at home not in Afghanistan. Himes was helpful with some things in the city, like taking down the broken Congress Street Bridge which Shays was unable or not interested in. Although Shays had been to Iraq many times where US taxpayers paid much to build bridges and infrastructure … in Bridge-less-Port ours is still broken. We need to connect both Barnum’s old neighborhood Washington Park with the teardrop center of city and much more. Who will present the president with the checklist of what we need and what is on this list?
“independent soul,” I’m a little confused with this statement of yours, “Normally it’s great when a president visits your community but in this case we need to speculate on the motive. Barack and Michelle have both been to Stamford already, and now another trip to the 4th? Himes must really be in trouble to get this type of attention. Nov 2 will decide if the gamble pays off.”
“independent soul,” it’s called “Politics,” that’s what the leaders of their parties do no matter what party is in power. Did you question the George W. Bush visit to Bridgeport? It doesn’t matter if it’s Barack and Michelle or George and Laura, it’s an honor to have the most powerful man in the world come to your city.
I would hope that Mojo’s suggestion of a tour of Bridgeport could be done.
Ron, I’m very well aware of the role of politics in the visit of a President or First Lady to our community. Actually, Laura Bush came to read at the library and not to endorse anything but reading. It’s nice to see so much attention being paid to our area but it’s only because Himes is in trouble. The President will be in and out of the arena faster than the tornado we had.
We need more visits by our elected officials, unlike Dodd and Lieberman have done, to bring home the bacon. I welcome all State and Federal officials and un-officials to B’port … just bring jobs and more grants!!!
Bush 2 came to Bridgeport in 2006 to the Playhouse on the Green.
You would figure if Linda McMahon had a reasonable shot the National Republican party would send someone down here. They must look at her candidacy in much the same way I do …
You people want more grants for Bport? Do you know where the money is coming from? Either the printing press or China. And that’s dangerous. You liberals care about nothing except your handouts and entitlements and have no clue about the consequences. That’s why B’port is the cesspool it is. You have ruined it with your liberal mentality, and this Obama administration and his rubber stamps like Himes are the most incompetent bunch of crooks we have ever had in office.
*** And from Jan 2001 to 2008 the Republicans did better, right? Two wars that basically can’t be won because of the wrong reasons, large tax breaks to the rich, foreign policy with anti-American countries, loss of large corporations overseas, American national intelligence screw-ups, bank industries & Wall St. running rough without any government control. Just to name a few. ***
And now we have a socialist party that’s stalling our economic recovery. The MaoBama regime is a joke, here and all over the world. That’s why the Dems will be losing the majority. Liberalism does not work.