All photos courtesy of Jon Winkleman
The pub crawl started at Bump - a trendy martini bar that I used to frequent after classes while I was a student. I took the Acela Express down from New York to make it to Bump just in time to meet up with my friends and the organizers. Let me tell you that my night was well worth the price of an Amtrak ticket.
Two hours before the event began, Bump had already begun to fill to capacity with an enthusiastic crowd of GLBT Hillary supporters. As an aside, I was pleased to see a friend from Temple University's Beasley School of Law -- formerly a staunch Republican -- at the bar supporting Hillary to be the next President of the United States.
The crowd continued to built until Bump was overcrowded and an overflow of supporters gathered on the sidewalk; the crowd soon traversed its way around the corner. I joined Ed Rendell on his GLBT bar crawl in 2006, and the turnout then paled in comparison to the enthusiasm Hillary generated last Friday night.
After a bit of a wait (Ed is ALWAYS late), Chelsea arrived flanked by openly gay New York State Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, cast members from the drama series Queer As Folk, and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. The crowd erupted into a rowdy cheer of, "Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!"
Before Chelsea could even get a word in edgewise, somebody yelled, "The gays love you Chelsea!" She modestly replied, "Gosh, I don't think that everyone loves me!"
All photos courtesy of Jon Winkleman
The next stop was Sisters, a piano bar that has great drink specials on Thursday nights. I had to wait outside in the alleyway, because it was so full that there was no way I was going to get inside! Curious onlookers gathered and waited for Chelsea to emerge on her way to Tavern on Camac.
After tavern, I sent a text message to a friend on the advance team and walked with him and other volunteers to Woody's - the final stop on the pub crawl. Along the way, people were running up to Chelsea and hugging her, trying to get a picture taken with her, or to simply offer her some words of encouragement.
All in all, it was a great night, and there was quite an anergy. The outpouring of support Hillary received from the GLBT community in Philadelphia was remarkable.
The next morning, I took a train to the Philly suburbs in Bristol, Bucks County - not too far from the town where I grew up. My friend New York LGBT activist and devout Clinton supporter Jon Winkleman joined me on a canvass of Levittown - a hardworking working class town.
Nearly ever household that I had the privilege to pay a call on was strongly supportive of Hillary. Entire families told me that they were going to vote for Hillary together. My most heartwarming encounter was with an elderly woman who told me that she had waited her entire life to pull the leaver for a woman.
An Obama supporter was also canvassing; we shook hands and chatted for a few minutes. In comparison to some other Obama supporters that shouted incredibly rude things at Chelsea from the streets Friday night, he was a terrific guy and had come all the way from Maryland.
I finished my canvassing and got a ride to my mother's house to celebrate my grandfather's 89th birthday. It was a great weekend, and I am incredibly enthusiastic about Hillary's prospects tomorrow.
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