"Here's one thing that we can feel. If our rhetoric about each other gets that mean, when we don't just disagree with people but we start demonizing people, making wild, crazy allegations about them…that creates a dangerous climate," Obama said at the Michigan Democratic Party's rally to boost voter excitement.
Obama was mentioning recent headlines around 82 year-old Paul PELOSI, the husband of Democratic figurehead and U.S. House Speaker Nancy PELOSI, who was reportedly assaulted and attacked with a hammer in their San Francisco home.
"If elected officials don't do more to explicitly reject that kind of rhetoric, if they tacitly support it or encourage their supporters to stand outside of voting places armed with guns, dressed in tactical gear…more people can get hurt," Obama said, before later being interrupted by a vocal disruptor.
The individual's noisiness captured both the attention of the jam-packed high school gymnasium and the former president.
Obama attempted to keep the crowd calm and optimistic, stating "there is a process that we set up in our democracy. Right now I'm talking. You'll have a chance to talk sometime…"
The crowd chanted "get him out," with a stampede of stomping coming from the bleachers.
Overall, the disruptor was removed quickly, as well as the other one who followed. However, when the crowd started booing as Obama dipped into his criticisms toward Democratic Gov. Gretchen WHITMER's Republican challenger, Tudor DIXON, the past president snapped back.
"Do not boo. Vote," Obama said. "Booing doesn't help. They can't hear you boo, but they can hear you vote."
Today's rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit was hosted by Michigan Democrats to get voters animated for Nov. 8 and currently non-voters motivated. Detroit is especially a point of interest for Democrats.
Although a record-breaking number of more than 5.56 million ballots were cast November 2020, Detroit did not beat its turnout number from November 2008, when Obama was running for his first presidential term.
More than 53% of Detroit voters cast ballots in 2008. In 2020, the percentage was 49.6%.
When discussing the present-state of Republican politicians, Obama said they seemed obsessed with two things: "owning the libs" and receiving the approval of President Donald TRUMP.
"They're not, currently at least, interested in actually solving problems. They're interested in making you angry and then finding someone to blame," Obama said.
As for Whitmer, Obama said she was obsessed with the fundamentals, listing off "good jobs, lower costs, better schools and fixing the damn roads."
Whitmer advised the audience of supporters to "eat a damn vegetable," because she needs the army strong.
"There's too much at stake to take anything for granted, any person for granted, to take any community for granted or to take any hope for granted," Whitmer said. "So please, do something every day between now and this election."
Other speakers at the rally included Detroit Mayor Mike DUGGAN, U.S. Sens. Gary PETERS (D) and Debbie STABENOW (D), U.S. Reps. Rashida TLAIB (D) and Brenda LAWRENCE (D), who's retiring from Congress after this year; incumbent Attorney General Dana NESSEL, incumbent Secretary of State Jocelyn BENSON, incumbent Lt. Gov. Garlin GILCHRIST II and Democratic nominees Richard BERNSTEIN and Kyra BOLDEN (D-Southfield) for Michigan Supreme Court.
One of the attendees was Bree CADY, 35, of Howell. These days, Cady and her husband turn election days into a family event. She specifically said her 6-year-old son hasn't missed attending a poll visit with them.
Before 2016, she was a consistently Democratic voter, but said she never felt motivated to further invest herself into the political conversation.
"It always felt like it went in my favor for such a long time that it didn't feel important enough to get involved," Cady said. "But when Trump got elected, it was soul-crushing. It was soul-crushing, and so I started to slowly read things…and then you get involved in groups…and you know, you just need to do something."
In her professional life, Cady is the first female and non-family member to run a small manufacturing company that deals with recycled plastics. As a woman in manufacturing, Cady expressed supply chain issues are a reoccurring obstacle and source of concern.
"I think with inflation and stuff…and the chance of recession, that stuff slows things down. People get nervous – but I'm not nervous," she said.
She added that she understands the premise that Republicans might win by running campaigns centered on the economy, "but people aren't stupid, right?"
"That stuff about gas prices only lasts so long before people really see that it's just smoke and mirrors," she said.
Early college instructor Carolynn FRANKEL, 44, of Bloomfield Hills, and middle school teacher Dena PAPALOIS from Royal Oak also attended today's rally. Both of them were passionate about Proposal 3, the constitutional amendment question around abortion access, being successful in November.
"I really want to lock that down all over the place. I know a lot of people have gotten burned, and I've had to have procedures done that might be outlawed," said Papalois, referencing Michigan's halted 1931 abortion ban on abortion. "And there's a lot of misinformation about having late-term abortion that I hate."
She said she knows a few people that have had unusual pregnancies and needed to terminate later, and "it was horrible for them."
Meanwhile Frankel said while she enjoys the political theater, she thinks Obama is "political gold" when asked about the influence he might have on the upcoming election.
"It's good to see him getting out and encouraging people," Frankel said. "I'm not so sure what's going to happen, and it makes me nervous…but I think Obama is kind of a shining light on the Democratic Party . The Democratic Party has done a lot to just kind of hurt itself, I feel like. Obama has maintained himself above the fray."
