Just when I thought I had seen the last of the gorgeous Red Rocks amphitheater for the season, I caught wind of one final event at the amazing venue. I couldn't believe it. My wish had been granted! One final show to get inside and rock out before old man winter arrived. The show was sure to be a ton of fun with a line-up that included Kid Rock, Rodney Atkins and the one and only ........ Mitt Romney?
So it turned out the final Red Rocks event of the season would be a political rally. Less than 24 hours after the debate in Boca Raton, Romney would be flying to Colorado to rally his supporters. Not exactly what I was hoping for but I'll take it. The event was titled the "Victory Rally with Mitt, Paul and the GOP Team". I agree, the title is a bit premature but you have to admit confidence is an important trait for any candidate to have.
I'm sure my Democrat followers have probably closed this webpage, quit following the blog and have thrown their computer against the wall by now with the image of me cheering and shouting in support of Mitt Romney in their heads but hear me out. I had very little political motivation for attending the rally. When have you ever had the chance to go to a political rally and see the potential future President of the United States in person? I've never had the opportunity and I don't know when the next chance will come. Especially if I end up back in CT where the state's 7 electoral college votes make up roughly 1.3% of the 538 total and always votes Democrat. The rally was also intriguing because there would be good music by B list stars in one of the best amphitheaters going and best of all it was free. Why wouldn't I go to the rally?
So last night my roommate Alex and I headed to the Victory Rally. Traffic was crazy. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to travel what should have been 20 minutes. It didn't help that the Secret Service had blocked off the main exit ramp to Morrison, the town home to Red Rocks. After maneuvering through the traffic, taking some strange back road, parking, hiking up the trail to the venue, and waiting in line, we were in. Problem was we did not expect the commute to take as long as it did so we were late and had missed the Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins (we did see Kid Rock get escorted away on a golf cart while waiting in line though). Kind of a bummer but we still were able to see Paul Ryan speak as well as Mitt Romney's full speech.
The speeches were good and the crowd was into it, just like one would expect. There was plenty of cheering and clapping in agreement as well as a few "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt" chants. Alex has been to plenty of concerts at Red Rocks in the past and had never seen parking so full and the amphitheater so packed with people. I was happy I was able to attend and even get within a few feet of Governor Romney. He was headed my way, going down the line shaking hands and kissing babies when suddenly one of the members of the Secret Service turned him back toward the stage. So close, almost touched him!
(The image in the crowd is the "C" on the Colorado state flag)
Do I think Mitt is a great business man? Yes. Does he know how to throw a rockin' rally? You betcha! Do I think he has a shot at winning the the election? Sure. I still think Obama has the edge though. Romney had a ton of support at the rally and according to one local poll he is in the lead in Colorado but there are other important swing states such as Florida and Pennsylvania that will be major factors in the election. Whatever your preference, Romney or Obama or Ron Paul, make sure you do your civic duty and vote!