The Monroe County Democratic Bar-B-Q [UPDATED]

Yesterday my counties Democratic party held their annual Democratic Bar-B-Q. Political events are rare in Monroe County but when they happen it's always a fun time. Our county's Democratic chairman, Herman Zerger, is practically a national treasure. He was a prisoner of war during World War II and has been involved with the Democratic party for a long time. He and Strickland really are friends and when you put them together it's hilarious.

It also interesting meeting new people around here. You know that cliché that everybody knows everybody in a small town? Well at the table I was sitting I was surrounded by people from all over the area that I had never met before and by the end of the event I had found a common acquaintance with every single person at the table. It was also interesting to talk to the two gentlemen directly across the table from me. They were the reverend and the post commander of the Beallsville (pronounced Bells-Ville) VFW. As some of you might know Beallsville suffered the highest per-capita loss of life from the Vietnam War than anywhere else in the nation.

It often seems like Monroe County is forgotten by most of the state, in fact this is the first time our Democratic party has gotten a sitting governor to speak at it's dinner. Strickland did a great job showing that he understood the concerns of rural areas though and even poked fun of urban areas a few times ("I was up in Cleveland, I go up there occasionally... No more than I have to", promising to protect his "city slicker" highway patrol guards down here). He also ran through what he's accomplished so far and what he hopes to get done soon.

And as for that myth that conservatives have a monopoly on religion? At one point Strickland, an ordained minister, lead everyone in a prayer for the trapped Utah coal miners and their families (it's not on the recording below but I did get it). It was a really touching moment.

I have an audio recording of Strickland's speech uploaded. It's not great because I was all the way at the back of the room and the P.A. was lousy (thus loud clapping and quiet speaking) but it worked out a lot better than I had expected it to. He also spoke a little more during other people's speeches, this is just his speech. You can download it (18.7 MB MP3) or stream it (.M3U) and if that doesn't work go here.

Update: I mentioned above that Strickland lead the crowd in prayer for the trapped Utah miners. You can listen to it in this seperate (and much shorter) recording.

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