Socialism, authoritarianism and patriotism: Republicans hold rally ahead of election
Around 500 Republicans gathered at Whitaker Bank Ballpark Friday night to whip up support for President Donald Trump and the Republican ticket on this November’s ballot.
The Fayette County Republican Party’s Pro-America rally began with the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, “God Bless America” and a prayer and a sung version of the Lord’s Prayer, and included speeches about the Supreme Court, the perils of socialism and support for law-enforcement — the staples of Republican campaign rallies that have become rare in an election season mired by a pandemic.
“It’s been not a great campaign season, you know, with everybody concerned about the virus, it’s been hard to have rallies,” said. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul before the event. “And I think it’s really good we’re having one and having it outside.”
Safety precautions had an undeniable influence on the occasion — people were spread out throughout the stands and most were wearing masks — but when pandemic precautions were mentioned in speeches, it was often with a critical eye.
Paul called Gov. Andy Beshear “DWP Beshear,” which he said stands for “drunk with power,” and urged the Kentucky legislature to restrict the governor’s executive powers.
Rep. Andy Barr, who is running for reelection against Democrat Josh Hicks, called the orders passed by Beshear “draconian.”
“Yes, this virus is a big deal and we’ve got to be careful, we’ve got to be safe,” Barr said. “The damage that is being done to our country by shutting down our economy is disastrous. And we can open up this economy safely and sensibly instead of succumbing to authoritarianism in state capitols.”
It was a message different than the one touted by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has been touring the state during his reelection bid talking about the need to follow the advice of the nation’s top doctors and saying the shutdowns were on the “good advice” of top experts at the CDC.
McConnell, who is running for reelection against Democrat Amy McGrath, did not attend the event.
Instead, former state Rep. Jonathan Shell, who is chairing McConnell’s reelection effort, spoke as a surrogate and stressed the staples of McConnell’s campaign: adding conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and the CARES Act, which provided economic relief to stem the effects of the shutdown.
“Together, the two of them have changed the course of this country,” Shell said of McConnell and Trump. “And that’s a big ship to have to turn, and they have to continue to work out through 2020. And we are counting on you.”
On their way in, attendees drove past a group of protesters from the group LPD Accountability, who were waving Black Lives Matters signs and shouting chants.
“This is supposed to be a pro-America rally,” said organizer April Taylor. “We feel like America is not what the Republican Party stands for, so we wanted to do what we consider a pro-America rally.”
The group has been calling for police reforms in Lexington, and Taylor said police are “in bed with the Republican Party.”
“As a group, LPD Accountability believes that Trump is a white supremacist,” the group said in a media advisory announcing the protest. “His presidency is a danger to many people. Trump has encouraged racism and violence, separated immigrant families from their children and rolled back policies that protect marginalized communities. His inept response to COVID-19 impacts Black and brown people disproportionately.”
The protesters were briefly mentioned during the rally by Fran Anderson, the chairman of the Fayette County Republican Party, who expressed confusion about why they were protesting.
“I don’t understand how you can protest people being pro-America and our country,” Anderson said, to cheers. “But the message that sends to me is that we’re doing something right here tonight.”
Paul talked about his own experience with protesters, telling the story of how he was accosted after a Republican National Convention event in Washington D.C., before saying “we’ve got to take back our cities.”
“We should not tell our young people that ‘Just go break the window. Everybody hates you. Go break a window. Take your stuff now, because that’s reparations, baby.’ That is not America,” Paul said.
The event served as somewhat of a “get out the vote” rally as the polls are set to open to in-person voting on Tuesday. Barr urged people not to wait until Election Day to vote, as there are only eight polling locations in Lexington this year. At least 36 percent of registered voters in Fayette County have requested mail-in ballots.
“We are going to win the Election Day vote by a landslide,” Barr said. “But I want to tell you, it’s OK if you want to vote in-person early, because you need to make way.... for the scores and hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands of Donald Trump voters who are going to vote on Election Day.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 10:57 PM.
