When Barack Obama’s campaign bus made a swing through Missouri in July, the unlikeliest of supporters were waiting for him — or rather two of them, holding the banner: “Rednecks for Obama.”
In backing the first African-American nominee of a major party for the US presidency, the pair are on a grassroots mission to bridge a cultural gap in the United States and help usher their preferred candidate into the White House.
Tony Viessman, 74, and Les Spencer, 60, got politically active last year when it occurred to them there must be other lower income, rural, beer-drinking, gun-loving, NASCAR race enthusiasts fed up with business as usual in Washington.
And from the NYT almos 2 months ago:
“We hunt, fish, drink beer and support Barack Obama,” said Tony Viessman, a 74-year old former Hillary Clinton supporter from Rolla, Mo. He and his buddy Les Spencer co-founded “Rednecks for Obama,” a grassroots organization that announced itself outside the Pepsi Center with a huge “Rednecks for Obama” sign. How big is the organization?
There aren’t many of them, but these guys certainly aren’t voting their resentments!