On Inauguration Day, Stan Hollenbeck wore black. In a sports shirt, blazer, and boots, the bearded Hollenbeck looked like a funky priest about to preside over a funeral.
“I want these people to see the mainstream, and I want the mainstream to see them,” Hollenbeck said. “It doesn’t make any sense to have them out of the Democratic Party. I think Nader showed that. We’ve evolved a two-party system over the years. It doesn’t have to be the same parties, but it’s developed that way. The conservatives and liberals have coalesced into one party or another.”
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Hollenbeck’s affair didn’t start until three, so before then he planned to hit every anti-Bush event in town. First he took a minivan down to Hyde Park to eat breakfast at the Salonica Restaurant. His table companions included two women running for village trustee in Fox River Grove, a Young Democrat from the University of Chicago, and a former stripper from Ohio who was making her “first foray into political activism in this part of the country.”
In the vast sanctuary of the temple, Reverend James Meeks was comparing Jesse Jackson to King David, the Biblical sovereign who “defeated a right-wing giant named Goliath,” then fathered a baby out of wedlock, but remained a leader of his people.
Hollenbeck slipped out and bought a “Hail to the Thief” button from a sidewalk vendor. He pinned it on as he led his group to Daley Plaza. “This is a Bush-bashing event,” he explained. “I’ll take it off later.”
“One-time Bush! One-time Bush!”
So get Bush a-wa-ay from me.
