Grass roots still growing
Political scene strong in hopefuls' absence
Political scene strong in hopefuls' absence
Presidential candidate visits have been almost as rare around here as hurricane scares recently, but just because the hopefuls have been stumping elsewhere doesn't mean the local political scene had dried up.
Far from it. The grass roots are growing still.
About 25 supporters of Democratic hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama gathered at his downtown Charleston campaign office Saturday morning to get a pep talk and bottles of water before fanning out into nearby neighborhoods.
Similar groups formed in North Charleston, Summerville, Moncks Corner and West Ashley as part of a Obama's second "Walk for Change" push across the Palmetto State.
"This is the machine," field director Kevin Puleo told the Charleston gathering. "If you want real change, this is how you bring it about."
Bryana Spann, a junior at Wando High School, joined the group. She will be too young to vote next year, but she became active in the campaign after attending an Obama house party in July and realizing that the Illinois senator must be different.
She said he planned to talk about his views on the war in Iraq and on the federal No Child Left Behind Act. "I like his views on education," she said. "You can't expect our country to go anywhere if our young people don't know what to do with it."
David Schutte, 71, traveled more than
300 miles from his home outside Ocala, Fla., to stump for Obama in South Carolina. "I haven't had anybody since Bobby Kennedy that has infused me and given me hope until Obama came along," he said, adding that he appreciated how Obama's support cut across race, age and gender lines.
"I don't think there's a better message this country could send to the world than to elect an African-American president," he added.
Saturday afternoon in North Charleston, about 20 people met at the Radisson Hotel to listen to experts discuss solutions to some of the nation's most pressing problems, such as improving education, stopping illegal immigration and finding new energy sources.
The session was one of several hundred across the country organized by American Solutions, a bipartisan nonprofit group founded by former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. But it also struggled with a technical glitch as the hotel's Internet service didn't work at the start.
Charleston County Republican Party Chairwoman Lin Bennett appeared at the North Charleston event and said she recognized about half of the crowd as leaning toward the GOP. She was one of several people who wanted to hear the immigration talk given by Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.
"It's a very hot button issue," she said. "If our candidates can find a good voice on this, it will be a winning issue."
James McElmurray of Wadmalaw Island said he has not been politically active in the past, but he took part of his Saturday afternoon to attend because he wants to find solutions that will help his three children and three grandchildren.
"I think our country is declining because of the decline of the family," he said. "We don't have the family values that we once had."
The content of the 20 American Solutions programs, each an hour long, is expected to be available in a few days on the group's Web site, www.americansolutions.com.>
Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postand courier.com.
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