Bill Clinton visits Las Vegas
in 2010 Bill Clinton is in Las Vegas to support Harry Reid’s re-election campaign for US Senate.
I am a supporter of Senator Reid. I signed up online to attend the event. I am a Green Party candidate running for Governor of Nevada. Harry Reid’s son Rory is also a candidate.
I’m in line and speaking with another supporter. The supporter notices a book I have on me The Next 100 Years by George Friedman. I had happened to pick it up at the airport book store. I realize the supporter perhaps thinks it odd (right wing) so I say something to him like “It’s important to keep the enemy close”. I think he steps away for a bit and probably tips off the event coordinators that I am maybe trouble. Or maybe it is the military style light jacket I am wearing.
They give the attendees a Harry Reid sticker to put on.
I put mine on to get in, I am let in to the event and sit up in the bleachers.
But then I peel off the sticker and put it on the Friedman book.
Soon, a black man, wearing all black walks up to me pointing and motions for me to come with him. So I do.
He leads me around the corner into a restroom. There is a metropolitan police officer and a guy in a suit who flashes an ID badge. I didn’t catch if the ID was Secret Service or FBI or what really.
He starts asking me questions.
He asks me who I am.
I tell him “I am David Curtis, the Green Party candidate for Governor, and that it is a little weird (me being at a Reid event) since I am running against Harry Reid’s son.”
He: “Why are you at the event?”
Me: “I’m here to support Harry Reid, his opponent Sharron Angle is a lunatic.”
He asks if I have any weapons.
I say: “A Swiss army knife” He asks me if I was in the army, I say no.
He asks if he can go through my bag.
He asks me “The Green Party, what is the Green Party?”
Me: “You know, Ralph Nader, ran for president, they are , uh, environmental”
He: “Where do they fall on the political spectrum?”
I sort of lie saying: “I guess they are in the middle.”
I say I think “it is strange there are no metal detectors.”
He says “Why?”, I say “You know, a public place”.
He goes through a small note pad I have in my bag, he points to a sketch, he says: “What is this?”
I say “a sketch of the fireplace in my house.”
He asks me how I got to the event.
I say “I drove my wife’s car.”
He: “Your wife’s car”
He says: “Look: I’m going to let you go back out there, but there are a lot of cops around, so no going up for pictures, no shaking hands (with Clinton).
I say “I’ll stay in back and not cause any trouble.”
DC 10/28/2023
Originally published in Green Change 2010
Pi-Des 