Politics

Sandra Fluke delivers campaign speech to mostly empty parking lot in north Reno

Gregg Re Editor
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Women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke on Saturday delivered a speech to ten Nevada residents in the mostly empty parking lot of a Sak ‘N Save grocery store in north Reno, taking “center stage” to urge them to vote for President Barack Obama, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

“I’m trying to do everything I can for an election that I feel is very important. I have a unique opportunity for how I get to do that,” Fluke said. All of the event’s attendees fit comfortably in what appeared to be a compact parking space.

The event had been promoted in the Gazette-Journal for days in advance, though the paper did not make it clear whether Fluke would be speaking in the parking lot or the produce aisle.

“It’s been not quite the 2012 that I’ve expected,” Fluke added, positioned in front of an SUV with an Obama campaign banner draped lazily over its side.

In February, Fluke, then a Georgetown Law student, advocated before House Democrats for health insurance plans to mandate contraceptive coverage. After her remarks, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh attacked Fluke as a “slut” who wants the government to pay for her sexual relations.

“I think she is a brave woman,” a discount-minded shopper told the Gazette-Journal, before pausing to condemn the “intimidating rhetoric” that has been directed at Fluke.

But Fluke herself is no stranger of throwing red meat to supporters. During the Democratic National Convention, Fluke told delegates that GOP vice presidential nominee would “allow pregnant women to die preventable deaths in our emergency rooms.”

This summer, the Los Angeles Times asked Fluke if people “ever recognize you in the grocery store.”

“That happens fairly regularly,” Fluke said. “That’s totally fine. It doesn’t bother me. People are always very kind, and thank me for trying to be a voice on some of these issues that are important. I really appreciate that support, and it keeps me going at the times when I am hearing the negative feedback …. I get people writing to me and things like that. I haven’t had any negative in-person situations, thank goodness.