New Mexico Roadtrip Update
It’s been one week since we arrived in New Mexico with our crew of 10: Mark, Vaughn, Adam, Emily B., Tom, Lewis, Brian, Ben, Emily P., and Mike.
After setting up HQ in Albuquerque, we’ve been up and down the historic Route 66 fighting for democracy and gathering the thousands of signatures needed to place Nader and Gonzalez on the ballot.
From the crowded downtown Albuquerque streets on St. Patty’s Day, to the Frontier Restaurant and Old Town shopping center on Easter Sunday—we’ve interacted with literally thousands of people on a daily basis. This trip has given us the opportunity to truly engage with America. And not the America of Hollywood back-lots or McDonald’s TV ads. But the America of families and friends, educators and learners, dreamers and go-getters.
Of course, life on the road isn’t always so peachy.
Yesterday, we were kicked off of three different properties while petitioning to get Nader on the ballot. Moreover, two of the three locations (the New Mexico State Fair Grounds and the National Hispanic Cultural Center) were public property, a.k.a. the people’s property.
It’s interesting to note how the governing officials who make the requirements to discourage 3rd parties from running, also obstruct those 3rd parties from fulfilling those requirements (e.g. by denying us access to the very institutions that the people’s hard-earned money helped build).
But fear not, because when you put people from Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale, Lexington, Boulder, and Baltimore in adjoining hotel rooms, you’re bound to get results…and lots of interesting stories.
Here’s our top three road trip moments (so far):
- 3. In an attempt to stop us from petitioning at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the onsite administrator said, “You can’t do political work on state property!”
- 2. While under a train-bridge, Vaughn asked a burly bald man with a handlebar mustache to sign our petition. The man politely replied, “I’ll blast your a$$ for cash.” We decided not to petition under bridges ever since.
- 1. Everyone in the group wondered whether Ben and Emily were cyborgs after they clocked 300 signatures in just less than 6 hours. The assumptions were later confirmed when Ben was spotted drinking motor oil and changing television channels with the blinking of his eyes.
So what’s ahead for the rest of our trip in NM? Before our April 1st deadline, we will be at the University of New Mexico and we’ll be making day trips to Taos and Santa Fe.
Viva la Nader! Pffft yeah!
Adam
