Sometimes the most interesting part of a political rally is what unfolds on the sidelines.
As Georgia's top Republican candidates gave their stump speeches on Saturday at an Alpharetta event, a chess match was playing out a few feet from the podium between the Democratic tracker hired to film Gov. Nathan Deal and GOP Senate nominee David Perdue and the crowd members tasked with blocking him.
Republicans and Democrats have long employed trackers in Georgia, and during the primary Perdue was sometimes followed by multiple video-camera armed men hired by Democrats and GOPers hoping to catch a gaffe. Democrat Jason Carter was also tagged with one shortly after he announced his gubernatorial bid.
Often, the trackers are treated like just another TV camera at events, but sometimes they are given the cold shoulder. Here's a glimpse at the complex yet captivating dance between tracker and blocker that took place on Saturday.
It started with a two-pronged effort to block the tracker with a pair of signs:
Then came the fancy footwork:
Next, the tracker pulled at a secondary camera on his cell phone to film the action. Another blocker quickly came to obstruct that lens.
Finally, near the end of the event, the frustrated tracker was hemmed in from all sides. He still was able to get audio, of course, just not any visual to go with his recording.
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