Stop the Steal Rally Garners Disappointing Responses

South Carolinians turned out on Saturday at the SC state capital in Columbia as part of a Stop the Steal Rally. Their aim was to demonstrate support for President Trump and demand integrity in our electoral system. The grass-roots event was partially organized by an organization called Engage the Right, that seeks to facilitate conservative involvement at all levels of the political process. Assembled at one end of Freedom Square on the steps of the capital building like a make shift amphitheater, the crowd was a broad cross section of ages, attire and attitudes. Some were angry, others afraid, still others fired up for action. Numerous individuals stepped forward at random from the crowd voicing their opinions, fears and prayers regarding support for President Trump, election fraud and the future of our nation. The remarks were unscripted and from the heart.

But as the speakers continued, my focus turned to observing the events happening around us. My first impression was the emptiness of the Square itself. While our crowd of roughly 300 in number where mostly on the capital steps, the actual square in front of us was mostly empty and could have accommodated another 3000 people. That meant that in a state of 5.2 million residents and 1.8 million registered Republicans, only a miniscule percentage were present that afternoon. Why were their so few of us who were willing to stand up and be counted for such an important point in our history? Why weren’t there more people as angry as we were, concerned and afraid for our future? In politics perception is a power like none other. Many battles are won and lost in the court of popular opinion, where the will of leaders to stay the course or push forward on a cause is predicated on the perception of how it plays out with the people, and especially, the base of the party. Ever since Pericles, politicians have feared and respected a potential of a riled-up citizenry. But unfortunately, they have also known those same citizens find it hard to rise above the monotony of their daily lives long enough to take action against almost everything that transpires in government. Like four-year-old children, their attention can be easily distracted. Give them a few loaves of bread and their anger can be mollified…….everything can be made to blow over, even if needed, with another scandal.

I do know that our gathering had benefits for its participants. Most heard their opinions validated, some gained more information on which news sources to follow, felt comradery with their fellow conservatives and shared networking information. But this was a rally where crowd size was intended to speak the loudest. In terms of sheer numbers however, other than encouraging one another like members of a recovery support group, what message did our physical numbers send to the world, the American people, the Media and to the President himself?

Not helping that cause in the least was the political class, a group that had much to gain by our presence. Not a single elected Republican official dropped in to show support, not one. That would be zero. The null set. It was strange, almost as if they were extinct. Not a phone call. Not even a tweet. Not one of their HUNDREDS of staffers managed to walk across the street for even a cameo or photo op. Nary a page, clerk, or intern. No One. Just too busy I suppose to support their own supporters. Despite having just won re-election on President Trump’s coattails in the most expensive senatorial race in US history, Senator Lindsey Graham was not there.

Despite having his name mentioned and opportunity zone initiative touted at every Trump rally for the past four years, Senator Tim Scott was not there. Despite being endorsed by President Trump in his last re-election campaign, Governor Henry McMasters could find his own backyard and show support. But not to be outdone and saving the best for last, imminent 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley was…..also not there. Yes, that’s correct, the same person that President Trump catapulted to national and international prominence by graciously choosing her to be his first UN Ambassador, in spite of the fact that she opposed him as a member of the Ted Cruz campaign.

Conspicuous by their collective absence were the very people whose mere presence would have lent credibility to the cause, helped to justify sacrificing a Saturday away from the weekend to-do list, and contributed to the overall esprit de corps of the event. Ironically, if they could have only seen it, we gathered on Saturday for them just as much as for President Trump. Should the re- election of the most wildly popular American President since Ronald Reagan be compromised, how expendable are mere Senators, Governors, Congressman, and wannabe’s? Talk about low hanging fruit and easy pickings. How long will any of them remain in office or ever gain higher office? At best they will be reduced to a token opposition, beholden to their Democratic overloads for simply the right to stay in office. At worst, they have all become complacent political dinosaurs, unaware of how the climate, at least for them, is cooling quickly. But President Trump demonstrated that he understands the importance of presence, of team building, and we, the people, love him for it. His Saturday motorcade drive-by was all that was needed to show support, lend credibility and boost morale.

Not only are prominent republicans strangely quiet in the support for the besieged Trump administration that has served them well, they are demonstrating by such glaring sins of omission that they are out of touch with the base of the party. It’s not hard Henry, Nikki & Tim, really, it’s not. Instead of mailing countless non-election related solicitations during an election year building up your presidential image, like the one I found Saturday night after returning home from the rally, how difficult is it to send an aide to a rally of fellow republicans to your own state capital where you have all worked for years with their support? Ironically, the solicitation from Nikki Haley was to support her “Stand for America” organization.

Not to worry, however, we also had drive-by participants, unfortunately none of ours were anything close to the one in DC. But what we lacked in quality we made up for in quantity. All too many of them felt necessary to flip us their IQ and yell obscenities as they drove by. A few even demonstrated their higher levels of societal tolerance for diversity and differing opinions by circling the block time after time, laying on their horns as they passed in an attempt to drown out our speakers and deny us our basic courtesies such as peacefully assembly and speaking freely. As Christian and cultural author Oz Guinness writes, “…the danger to freedom is freedom,” implying that freedom itself is easily abridged by those who would use it irresponsibly.

But my most disappointing observation was the troubling reaction from many of the identically clad USC students who strolled past our gathering, usually in groups of half a dozen or so. Uninhibited with a lack of either shame or decorum, many of them were all too comfortable yelling obscenities and giving us the middle finger in disgust. Sadly, a majority of them were young women. My most memorable example happened as I was leaving the rally. I was on the side walk at street level headed toward my truck, together with both my American and Trump Flags, when I heard a female voice yelling “F Trump.” I looked up to see a young woman on a sidewalk that led up a slight hill about 30 yards away. She was giving me the finger with a callous contempt that was both startling and saddening at the same time. The invective may have been for Trump but the finger and all its passion were definitely for me. Perhaps not my finest moment, I simply shouted back asking if that’s what they were teaching her in school. To my surprise she answered “Yes,” followed by some inaudible justification thanks to the traffic on the street. In truth, part of my sadness did stem for what this person was probably learning in school in order for her to react the way she did. But that’s only the academic part of the problem. What accounts for the cultural decline on full display with this and the other young women that afternoon? Does that young woman not know that giving someone the middle finger is tantamount to telling them that you hate them, that you actually wish them harm, maybe even death, and that in your mind the other person and their opinion should not exist? L ike it or not, when you strip everything else away, it’s pretty much like saying, I wish you were dead.

The late Golda Meir, former prime minister of Israel, once said that a society only rises to level of its women. Women are the ones that represent to future generations the civilizing traits of society like compassion, mercy, and tolerance. If that is lost in the future mothers of any society, then that culture is likely to turn hard, uncivil, lacking the ability to thrive. The young woman who so freely flung her vitriol at me probably has no basis of understanding of why she is actually so free to do so. Even worse, like the entire Democrat establishment, she probably could care less about the corruption of our freedom-perpetuating electoral system as long as her candidate wins. After all, if you hate someone just for existing, should they really have the same rights as you?

At our next rally this Saturday, I don’t expect students like her to behave differently. I can only hope that our Republican leaders will.