One of the highlights for the Missouri delegation on Tuesday was a visit to Blue Moon, a jazz bar / barbecue joint in Midtown Manhattan a few blocks from Madison Square Garden.
When the bus with the Missourians pulled up, the delegates and their guests were greeted by a group calling itself “Gays Against Bush.” A handful attended the start of their protest and there couldn’t have been more than a dozen by the time the Missourians’ visit to Blue Moon was over. There might have been more cops than protesters in the area. Anyway, the gays were expressing their anger over the fact Missouri voted overwhelmingly on August 3rd to constitutionally ban same-sex marriages. They greeted the Missourians with such comments as, “We have rights, too,” and “Homophobia’s got to go.”
For the most part, the Missourians ignored the protest and walked into Blue Moon where they were treated to some great food and Republican operative John Hancock tickling the ivories on the joint’s piano. Can that boy play! Here’s something for people who might want to hear some of what John can do. If you call the state Republican Party in Jefferson City and you’re put on hold, you’ll hear John Hancock’s piano playing. It’s worth the call.
Okay, now we get away from the fun to the pain in the backside stuff. Protesters – no, not the gays – they had their say and it was over, but an organized group of people who decided to sit down in the street and prevent delegates from getting to Madison Square Garden. It’s interesting, organizers of so many of these protests taking place in New York this week say they hate President Bush and the Republicans … in part because the Administration – it is said by the protesters – wants to take away people’s rights.
That’s interesting. Some delegates to the convention (not Missouri’s) were headed to the convention Tuesday night to cast their votes … which, last time I looked, is their right. Clearly, for some of these hate mongers who shouted obscenities and gave the middle finger salute to delegates from all over the country, not all rights are of equal importance. They care a lot about their rights … and they should … but they couldn’t give a flying you know what about the rights of others with whom they disagree. Who’s the real threat to rights here? I think the answer is obvious.