Just looking at the bumper stickers in the parking lot tells you a lot about the activism of this crowd.

Senators Franken and Harkin at the press availability before the speeches.

Before the press availability and the speeches we walked over to one of the entrances. Our media credentials (ours and those issued by the event) were clearly visible. As we started taking pictures of the small group of teabaggers one of them asked, angrily, “Who are you with?” We told him. He said, “Do you have a release?” I replied, “You’re on a public street.” He replied, “If you publish a photo, we’ll sue.”

Uh, no one has a reasonable expectation of privacy on a public street.

Then I thought about posting photos. Why should I put up photos of teabaggers holding up astroturf (and not very creative) signs, further publicizing their inanity, when I could just recount the conversation and show their hostility?

That’s another way of saying the photos sucked. Oh, what the heck:

I dunno, that looks kind of “astroturfy” and “downloads-r-us” to me.

Comrade? Isn’t that some sort of term of endearment? And the hammer a sickle? Don’t workers use hammers and didn’t agriculture workers used to use sickles?

I don’t get it.

Oh, now I understand. They’re calling people who advocate for health care reform communists. That’s really productive dialogue, don’t you think? I guess there must be a lot of communists in most of the other advanced industrial nations in the world.  

The aggressive hostility was similar to that which we encountered at Senator Claire McCaskill’s health care town halls in Hillsboro and Jefferson City.

The food serving operation is very efficient. And the food is good.

Talking with a blogger.

On the “rope line” after the media availability signing autographs for folks attending the steak fry.

He clearly enjoys interacting with people.

There’s that worker thing again.

This individual stood with a picture of Senator Ted Kennedy as the exiting crowd walked past her.

Iowa has a significant number of progressives.

We checked out bumper stickers on parked vehicles as we waited the exit the parking lot after the event.