Sixth District Democratic Party congressional candidate Andy Schmookler was a bit out of his comfort zone at a Saturday speaking engagement in Staunton.
Schmookler, 66, of Shenandoah County, who is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte, spoke to the monthly SWAC Breakfast to a group heavy in Republican and Tea Party supporters.
The academic and author came away if not with a few more votes at least a begrudging recognition from those who might otherwise be instinctively critical of a Democrat.
“I’m not sure if I’ll vote for him, but I respect the fact that he came here to speak, and that he listened to what some of us had to say,” said one voter, an Army veteran recovering from injuries sustained on a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Another engaged Schmookler in a lengthy discussion regarding a favorite issue of the Tea Party set involving a supposed world-government effort to strip private-property rights from everyday Americans.
Schmookler left the event with the idea that “a lot of people on both sides of the divide have a sense that something is seriously wrong with our politics.”
“I was delighted to have a chance to talk with people who agree with me and who don’t agree with me about various things. One of the things that I’ve experienced is that people know that I’m for real and that I’m not just doing blah, blah blah political pandering,” Schmookler said.
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