Barnstorming for Pete
My husband and I took a political themed vacation. Leaving sunny Santa Monica for cold and rainy Des Moines, Iowa, we joined over 140 Californians and 1,000 people from all 50 states as part of Barnstormers for Pete at the Liberty and Justice dinner last weekend.

All the Barnstormers were supporting Mayor Pete Buttigieg for different reasons that are called “my why Pete” stories. But no matter what part of his message of Freedom, Security, Democracy resonated, every single one of us, who paid our own way, and purchased our own tickets, was drawn to his message of inclusion and joy. Yes, joy. At the afternoon rally, Pete’s words to the undaunted crowd draped in plastic rain ponchos, was to be joyful as we spread the message of his campaign. We embraced that message with flash mob dances to his walk-out song, enthusiastic chants and marches through the city, and unbridled indulgence in all things Pete.
At the LJ Dinner, an event akin to a sports event with a dozen teams, Pete’s crowd was by far the largest and loudest in our blue and yellow shirts. While every other candidate spoke of uniting the far-ranging Democratic Party, Pete was the only candidate to talk about uniting the fractured country. While inviting us to imagine the morning after the election, and how good it will feel when the Trump era has ended, he spoke about the importance of bridging the divides that have separated us — the chasm between the left and the right.
On the day after the event, we joined the other Barnstormers and canvassed door to door. We were all a little nervous having never knocked on doors for a campaign before. But as we stood on pumpkin strewn porches, the Iowans we chatted with were really friendly. We learned that they care deeply about politics and our country, with concerns and values not so different from ‘the coasts’. Importantly, they were concerned that the Democratic Party is leaning too left and leaving them behind.
The next day we followed Pete’s bus as it stopped in small towns, islands of under 10,000 people in the fields of corn. The standing-room-only crowds, that locals told us they’d never seen for any candidate before, gave their biggest applause at the mention of women’s reproductive health care rights. And while their questions showed their desire for big, new ideas, they wanted them delivered carefully and with fiscal responsibility. And the standing ovations were an affirmation of Pete’s message of hope.