In under two hours from now, President Trump will be holding a MAGA rally in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Already, people are heading to the venue. Traffic is expected to be a big mess, coming and going.
I have a ticket for the event, in case I decided to head 120 miles to Albuquerque (Rio Rancho is a suburb). After a long drive, I really didn't relish the thought about fighting heavy traffic. Fellow Jamestown neighbors said that there's only two two-lane roads to the Santa Ana Star Center. Ouch! Plus, even ticket-holders aren't guaranteed getting into the building.
The rally will likely be live streamed, so it won't be as if I'll be missing anything the President says tonight. But, I plan on also watching part two of Ken Burns's documentary, "Country Music" on PBS. So I will stream the rally on my phone while watching the documentary. Ah, modern technology!
I have been to presidential rallies before. The one that immediately comes to mind was the Labor Day campaign kick-off for President Reagan's re-election in 1984. The crowds were huge then as well, but a friend and I made it in. One group that was bused in by the Los Angeles County Republican Party made it to the parking lot, but the people inside weren't allowed into the rally that was held at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, California.
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| Above, President Reagan's campaign kick-off rally in Fountain Valley, California in 1984. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Hopefully, there won't be riots at tonight's rally. A rally was held by the Trump Campaign in 2016 and leftists started rioting, embarrassing New Mexico.
As the Albuquerque Journal wrote:
Reports indicate crowds will close in at Santa Ana Star Center before noon. We caution patience and chivalry while finding your spot to park.
Whatever your viewpoint and stance on the nation’s issues and the man that personifies them, we only have one chance to get this right; there are no do-over’s.
Let’s travel back to the first time Trump came to New Mexico for a campaign rally. Some of us were there, when what was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration turned into a free-for-all.
We can only imagine what the nation thought of us New Mexicans the morning after. Tomorrow we have a chance to start changing that image.
If history repeats itself, then we have learned nothing about how the system of politics works. Sure, people were mad at Trump for what he stood for, but in the end, we looked bad for breaking our own property and beating up each other.
Two words: Behave yourselves!
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