Had a little chat with Senator Chris Dodd today. He's a real nice guy.

[Redstone]

The Little Guy and I were at the dinky little airport in dinky little Chester (Connecticut) this afternoon, watching the airplanes come and go.

When we were walking back to my car, a black Tahoe pulled in with a license plate that consisted of "1." When saw the white-haired guy get out of the back, I said to my son, "That's Senator Dodd. Let's go say howdy to him." so we moseyed over and I introduced myself and my son and shook hands (while ignoring the hairy eyeballs his aides were giving me).

Mr Dodd asked my son, "Does your Dad fly out of this airport?" and my son said "No, we just like to come here to watch the planes." So Mr Dodd asked my son, "Do you want to come look around the helicopter I'm going to fly out in?"

So we collected the pilots and walked out to the ramp, where the pilot and the Senator gave my son the tour of the helicopter, showing him all the instrumentation, the cabin in the back, and all that. It's clear that Dodd really likes kids; he was resting his hand on my son's shoulder, scootching down and REALLY talking to him, not just going through the motions, and was in NO hurry to get going.

I was impressed. Maybe Mr Dodd found it refreshing to meet someone who didn't fawn over him, just said hello, and didn't try to discuss any politics or ask any favors, just chatted with him...or maybe he's just a terrific guy.

Somehow, I can't imagine Joe Lieberman acting like that.

And boy, is my kid going to have something to tell his friends tomorrow. He was thrilled.

Redstone

[LynzM]

1. That's awesome...

What a great memory for your kiddo to have, and what a nice chance to visit with a politician about non-political stuff. Excellent. :bounce:

[bigwillq]

2. Wow. That's a great story.

Glad you shared. It's cool to find out things about public figures and hear how they are just "normal" people. I always liked Dodd. Good to hear that he seems like a really cool, down-to-earth guy.

:hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

3. I've always been a fan.

He strikes me as Ted Kennedy - lite.

[Redstone]

11. Well, he and Ted Kennedy were drinking & carousing buddies for years,

until he got married and had kids. He's lost a TON of weight from quitting drinking, too. Looked healthy.

Redstone

[SharonRB]

4. What a great story, Redstone

An experience I'm sure your son will never forget.

And now I like Dodd even more than I already did. It was so nice of him to take time out of his day to do this.

[Redstone]

43. Yes, indeed. I'm sure he was on a tight schedule, and hadn't expected

to be interrupted there at that kind of Podunk little airport where there are never many people around.

I've gained a bunch of respect for him.

Redstone

[Rainscents]

5. Wow... how exciting for your son!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. Always ignore the hairy eyeballs of aides.

The high point of their day tends to be in the a.m., when they are getting ready for the day and looking in the mirror at their favorite person. Remember: acting as gatekeeper to the great man or woman is the only power many will ever know, and they are just sluts for power. Suck-start a B52 for a little power, they would.

Nice to hear he was so nice. Stories like that give me some hope. A great example for the kid, too. He will always remember this.

[Redstone]

12. Don't you have that EXACTLY right. 4 PM on a hot day, and those guys

didn't have a hair out of place, or one wrinkle in their shirts.

They hate being ignored, though; I think the one was kinda ticked off when he tried the "sliding block move" with the fake smile on his face and I just did the "do-si-do" around him. And then when the Senator waved him off.

Redstone

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

17. Remember:

A short, sharp kick to his knee, at just the right spot, will tend to concentrate his mind in other directions. ;-)

Rude gits.

[Redstone]

19. Hey,he could have been packing. Besides, it's always better to slick

them then whack them, at least at first.

Not the first time that my odd talent for being there, and then somewhere else with no apparent transition has come in handy. Not to mention my finely-honed skills at acting like someone else isn't there.

Redstone

[druidity33]

56. quite so...

I once took down a 320 lb Rugby player in Scotland at a bar at closing time because i happened to have had the misfortune of being the only American there. A small side step and a sharp kick to the side of the knee and he was bawling and writhing on the floor. His two friends looked at my scrawny 120 lb frame and said, "you know karate?"... I said, "a little" (though not really). By the end of the night they offered me a place to crash and took me out to the clubs. Bawd (the guy i crumpled) went home by way of the closes and i spent a fine week in Edinburgh...

I know scheisskopf... but what's Tandalayo?

Peace out...

[NJ Democrats]

7. Wow, that's so cool

And that Dodd took his time and didn't just say hi or ignore you and your son. What an awsome experience.

[Ikonoklast]

8. He remembers what it was like being a little kid

and watching planes take off and land at the airport. Pretty neat for a Senator.







I just hope that when they were in the cockpit he didn't ask your son if he liked gladiator movies.

Sorry, couldn't help it. The image just popped into my head, and I couldn't get it out.:silly:

[King Coal]

9. Did you tell him about us?

LOL! That is just a joke, kids.

[Redstone]

13. If I'd had a card with "democraticunderground.com" printed on it,

I'd have slid him one.

I need to get some of those printed.

Redstone

[pinto]

10. Neat story. Thanks.

[Roland99]

14. Wow! Cool experience! Here's the 5th rec!

[GreenTea]

15. Too bad (like most Dem's) Dodd doesn't believe there's any Diebold

sliminess going on, nor any republican voting fraud with the republican owned & controlled electronic voting machines...that can easily, extremely easily be hacked within minutes...with no trace if the votes were even counted correctly...and the machines are now in place in over 80% of the country.

Just waiting to be hacked by the republican majority and the republican owned CEO's and companies Diebold & ES&S in November.

http://www.bradblog.com/

[tyedyeto]

21. Too bad you didn't read the OP

No politics were discussed. This is about a person who happens to be a politician.

Does every encounter with a Representative or Senator have to be political? Sometimes it's just nice to see their human side.

[Redstone]

24. Thank you. I also shoot pool with our town's First Selectman (the New

England version of a Mayor) a couple of time a month, and we talk cars and pool, not town business.

Politicians need some time away from business, too.

Redstone

[tyedyeto]

25. My pleasure

:hi:

[Redstone]

34. And exactly WHAT does that have to do with my post? Furthermore, where

so you get the idea that "Most Democrats don't believe there's any Diebold sliminess going on?"

Got some backup for that statement?

Redstone

[Kadie]

16. Thank you for sharing.

What a great experience for you and your son.

[Octafish]

18. Is he Presidential timber?

Thanks for sharing your great story, Redstone.

It gives the impression Dodd's got some of the most important characteristics needed for the White House job -- kind to children and generous to others.

What kind of mind was behind the conversation?

Edit: tIppo

NONELECTED

[Redstone]

23. What kind of mind? I'd say, about as down-to-earth as

bushyboy PRETENDS to be. I do know, just from paying attention, that Dodd had a big turnaround when he got married and had kids. A real, normal-person kind of a change of life, not "Being Born Again" like bushyboy claims to have been.

Redstone

[Olney Blue]

20. It's so nice to hear a fun story about a Dem in public office.

Thanks, redstone. And greetings to your son-our next generation!

[NMDemDist2]

22. how cool was THAT!??!

I bet the boy is on cloud nine and just goes to prove some politicians are actually People too!

:yourock:

[Redstone]

30. It was about as cool as it gets. Especially because it was so random.

I mean, this is a SMALL airport in a SMALL town.

Redstone

[never_get_over_it]

26. Hats off to you

I would have never been able to keep my mouth shut over the state of affairs in this nation and our need for a true opposition party....but then I would have never gotten to see the helicopter.....

[Terran1212]

27. Haha that's cool

good story.

[UTUSN]

28. I'm sorry but I wish DODD would not go on IMUS n/t

[Redstone]

33. Why not?

Redstone

[Peace Patriot]

29. Christopher Dodd is one of three men who are most responsible for

destroying our democracy and our country. The other two are Tom Delay and Bob Ney. The three of them engineered the "Help America Vote Act" (aka, the "Help America Vote For Bush Act"--HAVA '02) which provided a $4 billion boondoggle for Bushite corporations to take over our election system, during the 2002-2004 period, using TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code to "count" the votes, with virtually no audit/recount controls, no paper trail, no ban on partisan vendors (the big three are all Bushites), no controls on lavish lobbying and "revolving door" employment, and secret industry "testing" of the machines.

The two main vendors are...

DIEBOLD: Until recently, headed by CEO Wally O'Dell, a major Bush fundraiser ("Bush Pioneer," up there with Ken Lay) and campaign chair, who promised in writing to "deliver Ohio's Electoral Votes to Bush/Cheney in 2004," and

ES&S: Brethren to Diebold, a spinoff (similar computer architecture), initially funded by rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon Foundation (which touts the death penalty for homosexuals, among other things). Diebold and ES&S have an incestuous relationship--they are run by two brothers, Tod and Bob Urosevich.

These are the people who "counted" 80% of the nation's votes in 2004, under a veil of corporate secrecy...

...thanks to Christopher Dodd and his criminal cohorts.

I'm sorry. This story about the poster's son doesn't touch me at all. I can only think of the danger that this child's life is in, from wars started by the fascist junta that was installed with this NON-TRANSPARENT, Bushite-controlled voting system, of the horrors he may face, of the $10 TRILLION deficit inflicted on him and his generation, and the likelihood that they will see the final end of American democracy, if not the end of the planet that has nurtured human life. The heinous policies of this regime can be laid right at the door of Christopher Dodd and his treasonous destruction of our right to vote. He is one of truly bad guys in the Democratic Party.

[WhoWantsToBeOccupied]

31. "He is one of truly bad guys in the Democratic Party" - "Bad" or naive?

I'm asking. I don't know.

HAVA is obviously subverting our democracy. And its author should admit it and seek to fix it rather than contemplate running for president. But I don't want to believe Dodd is bad. I really want to believe he's just naive and trapped in the DC bubble.

[Redstone]

32. Gee. thank you SO much for pissing on my son's parade. May I politely

invite you to kiss my ass? You know, there's a little more to life than fucking politics. I'd suggest that you give that concept some thought.

I know this post will get deleted, but I hope you read it before it does.

I'll bet you're a TON of fun at a train wreck.

Redstone

[Peace Patriot]

49. I'm not the one "pissing on your son's parade." George Bush and his

fascist junta are. And you can thank Christopher Dodd for that. He was key to the worst, most destructive piece of legislation in our country's history. The damage of our election system, that has been wrought by HAVA, is worse than the Iraq War, worse than the Patriot Act, worse than torturing prisoners, worse than illegal domestic spying, worse than Halliburton's thievery, and Enron's thievery, and worse than anything Bush has done, because it has prevented our country from a corrective change of course, and will continue to prevent it. Transparent elections are the foundation of democracy. Without them, we really do not have a democracy. Dodd was not only a crucial player in wrecking that foundation, perhaps permanently, he has additionally tried to keep Americans stupid about it--making the struggle to restore our right to vote all the more difficult. As for there being "a little more to life than fucking politics," this is a political discussion board. I happen to think that Dodd's role in destroying our election system is vital information that should be placed alongside your story about him and your son, and weighed accordingly. He may be good at "kissing babies" and glad-handing the public, and have a nice human side to him. That's something for people to know. But it is in stark contrast to his collusion with Bushites on private, secret, Bushite-controlled vote counting. I think he should be judged as a politician on what he has done to our country. That weighs far more heavily with me than this incident you describe. Others can make their own judgment about it.

[Redstone]

53. Ah, well, OK, next time I see Sen. Dodd, I'll just say "fuck you." Are you

satisfied now?

Redstone

[KoKo]

37. Yes and he along with Lieberman loosened SEC Regs that

helped the Dot Com CEO's and the current CEO's and Boards of Directors start raping Americna Investors.

Clinton vetoed the bill and they led the fight to overturn his veto.

However, I'm glad that Dodd was nice to your son. It's hard when you see the human side of a politician to really look at their record and remember the bad stuff.

Dodd is very pro-business DLC. And, I'm sure he believes he's correct in his views. He also has young kids himself (at his age) and so must really be able to relate well to them.

Thanks for your report on him....but he's one of those that needs to reform his views because what he's helped the Repugs do has been bad for America.

He did defend Hugo Chavez on a panel where other Dems were going at him, though. So...let's hope he can see his way to reforming some of his harmful ideas.

[globalvillage]

35. What an awesome story, Redstone!

And a great experience for your son. How old is he? Did he know who Dodd is?
I love that he showed him the helicopter. Politicians are people, too (lest we forget), and Dodd sounds like a nice man.
Very, very cool.

edit, I'm using your thread to post one of my favorite pics.

:-)

[Redstone]

40. What a great picture! You can just imagine Dodd thinking:

"Oh, fuck me, not THIS shit again," and Kerry thinking "My God, will he EVER shut up?"

It really is a wonderful picture.

Redstone

[globalvillage]

42. I'm pretty sure it was the Bolton hearings.

Hence the expressions on both.

[Redstone]

45. To actually answer your questions, which I forgot to do: My son is 10.

Yes, he knows who Dodd is. And boy, does he HATE bushyboy!

Not just parroting what I and Mrs R say; we do talk about this stuff in some depth. (But not in such depth that he isn't able to be a kid. He's just a very aware kid.)

And he's learned to be nonchalant around politicians because of my relationship with our town government and our state representative.

Redstone

[JanusAscending]

48. What she said!!

Hi GV !! What is this pic from ? Looks like some kind of hearing? Damn, it's priceless, and also hilarious !! DC

[kevinbgoode]

36. You know. . .I think it would be nice to maybe have your son

...and you...co-write a little thank-you note to the Senator. Maybe..he could draw a picture of a helicopter or something. . .

And maybe you could send a little letter to the local newspaper and tell them what a thrill that was for your son - it will not only back up your son's great story with his classmates, but these are the kinds of things people need to know about their public officials.

hahaha...aren't I bein' awful? Here you just had a really nice time with your son and the senator and I'm looking at ways to use it. . .sorry. :-)

Anyway...it sounds like a great time for both of you, and what a nice thing for the Senator to do!

[Redstone]

39. No, no, your suggestions are good ones. The Little Guy has already

said he wants to send a thank-you note. And to give Mr Dodd some positive publicity would NOT be self-serving; I think he deserves to be recognized for having been a good guy for NO political purpose.

Redstone

[Redstone]

38. OK, I lied. I did make ONE political comment. I asked him "How do you

get to have license plate number 1? I'd have thought the Governor would have that."

He told me: "Look at the bottom of the plate. It says 'U.S. Senate' and I get number 1 because I'm the senior Senator."

I said "I'll bet that Joe hates having to have #2 on his car."

No response except for a chuckle.

What a guy.

Redstone

[madokie]

41. Thanks bro' that is a good feel good story, it made you and your son feel

good, it made Senator Dodd feel good and it made me feel good that you could meet one of your Senators and not gush over him and he not want you too. My hat is off the the three of you.
peace
madokie
:hi:

[Redstone]

44. My friend, it was indeed good. Almost an Australian moment, except that

I don't believe in calling people by their first name...in Australia, the protocol would have been to say "Hey, Chris, how's it hangin, mate?"

We do need to have a minimum of respect, after all.

And I'm damn happy to be able to make you feel good for a moment or two. Sleep well this night.

Redstone

[iamjoy]

46. If It Were A Republican Politician

Say, Governor Rell - would you have said "hi"?

After all, if it was just about their human side, not politics, why not say hello to Republicans?

I don't mean that snidely, and I hope no one treats this as flame.

If you wouldn't, why not? And please, no snide remarks like Republicans don't have human sides.

[Redstone]

47. You bet your ass I would have. And I've done it, too. When I got

invited to Mrs Rell's first "open house" I shook her hand and told her, "You got guts, Gov." which made her smile.

If it had been her at the airport, I'd have done EXACTLY the same.

PS: I've had some good face-to-face discussions with Rob Simmons too, even though I voted against him.

Redstone

[iamjoy]

52. Thanks

And again, good for you. Too many people mix person & politician.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

50. Thanks for posting the story of your afternoon. K&R

It sounds as if Dad will have something to talk abaout as well.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

51. Too bad he opposes Voter Verified Paper Ballots

Dodd was in on Bob Ney's "Dear Colleague" letter to fellow congressman
urging them to oppose any amendments to HAVA to require voter
verified paper ballots.

So, if you are in a state that votes on paperless voting machines,
you can give some credit to Chris Dodd.

Why would he support elections that can't be recounted? HMMMM....

[wicket]

54. Fantastic story!

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like it'll be an experience your son will remember for a long time :)

[WilliamPitt]

55. You're a total sellout piece of crap

You should have slapped his face and then lit his shoes on fire while denouncing him for all the things he's done that you don't agree with. That's what a good, true, real liberal would have done.

Or something. :eyes:

Cool story. I met Senator John Glenn when I was a kid, when he was running for President, and I'll never forget it.

[mopinko]

57. i bumped into jan schakowsky at the grocery store the other day

she is the best. i love her. she was very polite to the cashier, and i thought "how many other congress critters are nice to cashiers?"
we have met a few times, and she recognized me. we had a little chat about her mention in the latest rolling stone, which she had not known about. when she finished checking out, she went back to see if they had a copy.
yup, it's nice when they are regular people.