CALM a La Thrills Dems in Western Massachusetts

VP Delivered Exactly What the Dems want to hear: WE CAN WIN IN NOVEMBER!

By Claudia Ricci and Alyson Slutzky

It was an extraordinary experience all around last Saturday at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in the heart of the Berkshires! Hundreds turned out, thrilled to be part of this historic -- or was it HERstoric? -- event

Naturally, CALM a la's supporters were out in force, but so too, were supporters of... oh, well, you know that other guy, the incredibly WEIRD FELON who is running for President as a Republican, along with his even WEIRDER Vice Presidential nominee, J.D. Vance. Increasingly, Vance’s ridiculous positions on women are surfacing from the past, making him look like more and more of a liability. YAYYYYY!!

Once inside, the crowd was instructed not to photograph CALM a la or any of the other participants: Former Massachusetts Governor Duvall Patrick, followed by U.S. Congressman Richie Neal, Massachusetts U.S. Senators Ed Markie and Elizabeth Warren, and historian Heather Cox Richardson, whose highly popular Substack, “Letters From an American,” came to life after DUMP was first elected in 2016.

Oh, and there were a few musical luminaries as well: cellist Yo Yo Ma and classical pianist Emanuel Ax highlighted the entertainment. No less than Berkshire's own James Taylor also emerged and along with Yo Yo Ma and Ax, the threesome played and sang "Here Comes the Sun." What could be better?

Well, maybe when James’ wife and his son emerged and the Taylor family delighted the crowd with that goosebump-producing Taylor favorite: "Shower the people you love with love…”

OK, that's when CALM a la came striding in from the wings of the magnificently restored Colonial, to the resounding applause of the crowd, applause that reverberated around the Colonial Theater, a treasured architectural gem in the heart of the proud city of Pittsfield. An avalanche of American flags were standing at attention right behind the Vice President and a huge Harris for President sign stood above the flags. Her podium boasted the Vice Presidential seal, of course, as well as the nearly invisible wings of a teleprompter.

CALM a la spoke for about a quarter of an hour, just enough to fire up the crowd even more than they were, with more cheering and applause. Interestingly, CALM a la was quite soft-spoken at the Colonial, unlike the way she aggressive way she spoke in her Wisconsin speech, which appeared on YouTube.

Speaking in Pittsfield, she went off script a bit, and I -- I being Alyson Slutzky, who as Chair of the Democratic Party in the Town of Egremont, MA, about 45 minutes south of Pittsfield, actually was able to get tickets for the event. I loved her off-the-cuff remarks best. It was a distinct pleasure (and honor) to be in the crowd at the Colonial on Saturday! Cheering with the rest of those gathered, we were thrilled to hear the Vice President call for unity and a victory in November!

The campaign event -- which had been planned BEFORE President Biden stepped out of the race on Sunday, July 21st -- was expected to raise $400,000 but amazingly, the event raised $1.8 million!

Best of all, I just loved the way CALM a la very CALMly but aggressively took on the opposition! Her tough talk and her willingness to attack DUMP — we will do everything humanly possible to defeat that lying creep — reflect her many years being a Prosecutor, state Attorney General in California, U.S. Senator from California and finally, Vice President. Talented, incisive and really sure of herself, the Vice President cuts through DUMP’s BS like a hot knife melts ice! She makes us feel safe. I believe that she can defeat DUMP in November!

I know that I am speaking for women and men all across the nation when I say "I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my chest. And I hear other people say the same thing. I felt so incredibly hopeless for so long that DUMP was definitely going to win. And now I feel terrific, confident that CALM a la may pull this victory off!"

Volunteers have been working tirelessly on behalf of the Democratic ticket, now headed by a woman. The work of Dems has just been given a huge shot in the arm by CALM a la's visit to Pittsfield.

Need we say more?

Claudia Ricci, PhD., is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. She taught English, creative writing and journalism at SUNY Albany and Georgetown University. Ricci began her writing career as a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, where she won numerous prizes, and later, as a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal. She has published four novels and is writing a fifth novel, called <i>Finding Filomena,</i> a fictional memoir about her great great grandmother, Filomena Scrivano, who delivered a baby -- her great grandfather Pasquale Orzo -- out of wedlock in 1870 in a small town in Calabria in southern Italy.

Alyson Slutzky is a Social Worker and Chair of the Egremont Democratic Committee, as well as Lead Organizer for Left Field, a Great Barrington area Swing Left/Indivible group. She and her husband, Richard, reside in Great Barrington, MA. Because of her political work on behalf of local Dems, Slutzky was able to secure tickets to the campaign event.