Now that they were separated, it was impossible not to notice the HUGE difference between the two candidates' supporters. Buchanan had the larger crowd, being the bigger "star" of the two and all. Plus he had the original, larger venue at his disposal, which was looking mighty depopulated once much of the press realized that no more fisticuffs would be taking place. And try as they might to make it seem like this was the convention of a viable and "unified" third party, even the dumbest of Pat's supporters could sense that something rather... UNSEEMLY had just occurred...

And "dumb" is the first word that comes to mind when meeting most of Pat's sheep-like "Brigade." These people seem to be of the type who wander through life like a blank slate, waiting for someone (like, say, Pat Buchanan) to come along and imbue their lives with some sense of meaning or importance. In this case that "importance" is that they're born and raised AMERICANS, from America's HEARTLAND — as if hailing from Missouri is some sort of an accomplishment, to hold over the head of someone who made the "mistake" of being born in a shithole like Cambodia.

And try as he might to distance himself from the more "radical" right-wing types, a lot of Pat's supporters' racism is quite palpable. Their biggest concern by far is illegal immigrants from Mexico — who they sincerely believe are trying to reverse the outcome of the Mexican War; they even presented me with a lot of "documentation" to back up their claims. Of course, Pat Buchanan is doing his best to keep this from happening, but seeing how poorly he's doing in the polls I'd suggest that all you folks in Walnut Creek better start brushing up on your Spanish!