D.C. CHAPTER "RUSHBOTS" FREEP GORE BOOKSIGNING -- 12/07/2002

We began arriving around 2:15 p.m. to set up and get ready for Al and Tipper Gore's booksigning at Olsson's Book Store near the Courthouse Metro Station. People were already inside the store and lining up outside with more people coming every few minutes.

The Arlington County Police sent three officers (in three cars) to meet the FReepers. They had already prepared a demonstration area on the sidewalk in front of Olsson's and marked the boundaries with orange traffic cones.

We were positioned on the sidewalk, separated by a row of small bushes (which we were told to stay out of repeatedly by some liberals we encountered) with another sidewalk alongside the building where Olsson's Book Store was located. We were at an angle and on slightly higher ground than those who eagerly lined up at the front door and there was a very nice accoustic effect that made our voices louder.

One of the officers mentioned that he had worked some of the D.C. Chapter demonstrations before and was familiar with us and our law-abiding ways (our reputation precedes us).

We assured the officers that we would not go into the store or try to disrupt the booksigning and they told us to make sure that we kept the sidewalk clear for pedestrians to walk past us.

It was cold, sunny with a bit of wind and tgslTakoma brought coffee and donuts to feed the troops (thank you).

Our group slowly built to a total of 14 by 3:00 p.m. when Al and Tipper were scheduled to arrive. The roll call for today's freep of the ex-veep included: L_Von_Mises, Jimmy Valentine's brother, BufordP, RFP, kristinn, sauropod, tgslTakoma, Darth Raven, Doctor Raoul, leadpenny, hellinahandcart, Angelwood, BruceFromMtVernon and Taxman.

The Gorons were most upset that we were there. Some examples of crowd reactions: Single digit salutes (lots of them, mostly from women), get a life, get a job, this is silly, what's your point, the election is over and Al Gore won, can't (the poor man) Al Gore sign his book in peace?, Bush doesn't have a brain, or just shut up!

We had a great view of the lines snaking through the various aisles in the store. And they had excellent views of us. One woman in line with two copies of "Joined at the Heart" proudly held up both of her books to mock our signs and then she made a gagging motion with her finger down her throat. She did make us laugh.

A man who used to see us at our White House protests stopped to give Angelwood a big hug and said, when he saw protesters, he knew they had to be FReepers. He was on his way to join the line and get a book signed by Al. Teasing, we told him to check the $1 bin first.

Al and Tipper must have arrived around 3:00 p.m. and entered from another door. We knew for sure they were inside when a veteran joined us. He and his father had heard about our protest on the radio that afternoon (we don't know which station) and decided to come down. They were inside and said Al Gore (and his wife) were way at the back of the store. Al gave a short speech before the booksigning got underway.

The veteran and his Dad joined us for a few minutes. He chose a sign, picked up Doctor Raoul's bullhorn and then gave an inspiring speech about the military and how Al Gore tried to suppress the counting of their overseas absentee ballots during the Florida recount.

Throughout the afternoon, we would ask people who bought Gore's book to tell us how much it cost. One person answered, "Worth every penny."

One man and his friend stopped to show us Al's and Tipper's signatures in his book. Al wrote, "To Chad," with both signatures underneath. We all immediately burst out into laughter and asked the gentleman if that was his real name. The answer was a resounding "NO." Then we asked if he thought Al Gore got the joke. Check out the picture tgslTakoma took -- it's too funny!

Darth Raven dressed in black cape, Ravens sweatshirt and Darth Vader headgear. He even had a light sabre to complete the costume. Kudos to him for wearing that hot mask until the end. Doctor Raoul was dressed in BVDs with a helmet ala General Patton. His sign said, "AL GORE STABBED OUR TROOPS IN THE BACK." On his back was a second sign with a copy of the Gore memo on how to disqualify military ballots and it had a knife sticking out of the back. Jimmy Valentine's brother once again appeared as the Gorinch. His sign read, "Hey Al, The Grinch Knew When He Was Wrong When Will You?"

We had an official SORE LOSERMAN sign used at the vice president's residence during the Get Out of Cheney's House protests. Another recycled sign was Registered's Al Gore "CHEATIES" sign. Darth Raven held the AlGorinch sign while Angelwood brought the picture of Al Gore that said, "Got Chad," which are also favorites from Election 2000. (We want Al Gore to run in 2004 so we don't have to make up many new signs -- the ones we have are sooooooo good -- and because his favorables are 19%. Ha Ha.)

Angelwood brought a sign with pictures of Rush Limbaugh, the FoxNews logo and The Washington Times logo -- Al Gore's Media Conspiracy! She also brought a sign with a picture of her and Rush taken at his brother's (David Limbaugh) book party, which said, "RUSH SENT ME."

To top off the protest, tgslTakoma made Rush Limbaugh masks on popsicle sticks for all of us to hold in front of our faces. We taped these Rush masks on just about every sign we held. After all, we're just "RUSHBOTS" according to Al Gore, Tom Daschle and Bill Clinton.

Al and Tipper had a few supporters who showed up to counter our protest (we don't know who sent them, if they arrived by bus, or if they got paid). There was a quartet who set up as far from us as possible near the corner of the building and entertained the people standing in line. One woman played the guitar and they all sang. They passed out some song lyrics to others who joined in from time to time. We really couldn't hear them very well. Unfortunately, they didn't take requests. Doctor Raoul tried numerous times to get them to play "Desperado."

Another woman who came prepared had a small sign she held up while in line for a book. It said, "Freepers Are Sick."

BufordP had fun asking questions. "Is there anyone in line with the name, Chad? Is there anybody in line whose name is Chad and they're pregnant? Is there anybody in line with the name Chad and are dangling? A little Chad humor, but no takers.

Kristinn confronted a woman who was chanting, "Bush needs a brain, Cheney needs a heart." He reminded her that Dick Cheney does have a heart problem and her chant was mean spirited and she was making fun of the handicapped.

Some people who heckled us while standing in line actually made a point of continuing their ranting after they got their books signed and left Olsson's. One group of three women stopped on the other side of the bushes to engage us in debate...or rather, yelling matches. They didn't want to hear anything that we had to say, but they were outraged that we were allowed to protest. After yelling our points to each other for awhile, the blonde woman said she wanted to ask one question of Angelwood. She started with "What kind of black ooze is in your veins that....?" She didn't get any further. MeanSpiritedArrogantCondescendingLiberal.

A short time after kristinn watched these women take their leave, we heard someone yell from behind us, "You're Rednecks." It was one of the three women back for the last word. She was greeted with calls of "Bigot," "How Judgmental" and spirited words were exchanged once again until she danced her way (taking tiny little steps and waving her hands expressively) to the safety of her SUV. We could hear her still exclaiming as they turned the corner and drove out of sight (bet she wasn't wishing us a Merry Christmas or a good night).

Three young girls in their teens strode through our area several times. The first time, their spokesperson stopped to ask about the meaning of one of our signs. It was the one of Al Gore dressed out in combat gear looking down the barrel of his rifle. After the background of the photo was explained, she changed the subject to gun control. We reiterated that guns are inanimate objects and don't kill people. Only people kill other people. BufordP asked her, "Do you blame the gun when someone stabs someone else?" She didn't get the joke. But she did seriously suggest that we go see "Bowling for Columbine" (by that great propagandist, Michael Moore) to see why there should be gun control. We laughed. But it is sad to see that she was so impressed.

The second time these girls came around, the spokesperson was coughing and choking, saying she choked on a pretzel. We started to show some concern, but her friends quickly let us in on the joke. They were making fun of President Bush when he choked on a pretzel in the White House living quarters.

Doctor Raoul led the chants using his bullhorn. Some of the chants were as follows:

There was only one time that the Arlington Police had to intervene. It was towards the end of the protest and three people who didn't think we had a right to be there approached us on the sidewalk. One man was so angry that he rushed up to Doctor Raoul and came into our assigned space. He carried a paperback book which he swung at Doctor Raoul and either touched or came close to hitting the bullhorn. Angelwood looked around to where the policeman had been standing yelling for police intervention. Soon there were three officers separating the angry man from the rest of us. They made him go with them. He was not arrested but did not return after he calmed down.

The two women were still there and the police made a barrier of cones about 15 feet away for them to stand behind. The policeman stood between us.

One of the women had heckled us when she was standing in the line to get into the store. She yelled about Global Warming, the environment and over-representation of blacks in the military.

The other woman wanted to know what our point was in protesting a private citizen at his booksigning and the book store. This woman also was against war with Iraq (war for oil) and didn't see where Saddam Hussein had done anything to harm the U.S. She began rattling on about a number of things and somehow blamed the Gulf War for Timothy McVey and the Sniper shootings.

She whined that her life was ruined for a whole month. We asked how her life was ruined, anticipating that she knew one of the victims or that she was at one of the shooting sites. But that was not the case at all. She was so self-centered that she saw the sniper attacks only as they affected her own life.

Al and Tipper stayed about an hour and a half signing copies of their books for their fans, which numbered around 400 according to Olsson's and as reported by The Washington Post. The Gores left Olsson's through the front door and were given a heroes welcome by a crowd of around 40 supporters. We interrupted the lovefest with a chant that was all too familiar to Al and Tipper: YOU'RE OUT OF CHENEY'S HOUSE, YOU'RE OUT OF CHENEY'S HOUSE, YOU'RE OUT OF CHENEY'S HOUSE....The members of the D.C. Chapter shouted it out like it was only yesterday and not two years since they had rocked the Gores' world with their "GET OUT OF CHENEY'S HOUSE" protests.

Al and Tipper cut short their visit with their adoring crowd when the D.C. Chapter got into high vocal gear. Without looking back or acknowledging the protesters, they quickly got into their chauffeur-driven black sedan and we swung into refrains of: "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye."

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

MIDI - IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISMAS -- 1st version

There are arrogant condescending liberals everywhere you go
You can see ‘em at White House FReeps
They can give you the creeps
Their heads are where the sun don’t shine, you know

There are arrogant condescending liberals everywhere, it’s true
They tell people they cannot smoke
No, I swear it’s not a joke
They’ll control you

They tell you that you can never defend your own home
Oh no, you cannot own a gun
Because they’re compassionate, they have the answers
And they’ll protect everyone
But if a baby’s in the womb, to kill it is okay
They claim it isn’t living, well at least that’s what they say

There are arrogant condescending liberals…they are all the same
You can see ‘em on your park bench
You can detect the stench
It’s time we beat them at their stinking game

There are arrogant condescending liberals but they’ve had their day
We have taken it to the street
And our victory’s complete
When they’re sent away…..when they’re sent away

NOV. 19, 2002: GORE SPEAKS
by David Frum
http://www.nationalreview.com/frum/diary111902.asp

Scary Republicans: ABC’s excellent news blog, The Note yesterday had an interesting out-take from the Gore family’s interview with Barbara Walters that was broadcast on Friday.

WALTERS: I'm not sure that people realize that while you were in the residence of the Vice President [during the Florida recount] there were crowds of people outside screaming at you. What was that all about?

AL GORE: Well, this was the Republican response to what was happening during that 36-day period, and they organized busloads of people that came and stood outside the house all day and all night screaming at the top of their lungs.

WALTERS: What, "Get out!"?

TIPPER GORE: Things like that, yes, and, and sometimes … things that we don't want to say on your program, and, some people saw that they were buses from "churches," but it was organized. The one thing that, that they did mainly was reach the bedrooms of our children, and Albert was still in school locally, and trying to study, so we rearranged, you know, they … kids moved to a different part of the house, and I was trying to think of a way that we could kind of laugh about this since obviously it was out of our control, there wasn't anything anybody could do so I got all the boom boxes in the house and … I remember sort of what the government did with Noriega … I thought we'd try that, and I aimed them at, toward, you know, where the crowd …

WALTERS: The crowd?

TIPPER GORE: … And I put nature sounds on and turned it all the way up. And at least the kids laughed.

AL GORE: There were a few, more than a few who supported us and were offended by the organized chanting round the clock who came out on the other street corner during the day to express their support with signs, and … You know, emotions were running high throughout the country and it was just an unprecedented time.

KARENNA GORE: Well, when we were in the Vice President's house during the recount, it was it was very intense. And one of the things I remember is that there was a … an organized effort by, I don't know whether it was the RNC or it was … it was right-wing groups, it was definitely Bush-campaign-oriented effort to bus in people to have a sort of siege at the Vice President's house, and, so, they were all lining there, screaming, and it was kind of an assortment of groups. I mean, some of them were anti, um, were anti-abortion groups, and some of them were pro-gun groups, and some of them … they all had their different signs. But they were all screaming, "Get out of Cheney's house," the whole time. And I just remember being there next to my dad, because I went for a run, and I ran back through them, and I was very upset when I came into the house. And my whole attitude was, like, "We've got to fight back harder. And where are our crowds?" And my dad, I'll never forget his response. He said, "We have to do what's best for the country, and it is not good for the country to have this kind of divisiveness. And he was on the phone, really calling off the dogs. There were people who wanted to fan the … the flames of the racial issue and have real unrest. And he was on the phone asking them not to, because of what was best for the country not because of what was best for him politically. And that's really who he is.

WALTERS: Do you remember the crowds outside screaming?

KRISTEN GORE: The crowds that were screaming outside our house, you know, "Get out of Cheney's house." And other things … of that nature, were really upsetting. It was difficult … It was just very … upsetting that someone would … yell those things at us. It felt … we felt sort of like … trapped in this … you know, little house with all these people yelling mean things. It's no fun. You know, whether you're a child of the person who they're directed at, or anyone else. It … it wasn't a good situation.

WALTERS: Were you scared?

KRISTEN GORE: I was scared that the truth was not going to come out. That's what I was.

**

Emotions ran high during the Florida recount and I can understand that the Gores might be distressed by having protesters assemble under their windows. On the other hand, their description of those protests is a little – what’s the word we kept using during the campaign? – hyperbolic.

My family attended the protests Gore complains of. (My Labrador retriever was even photographed by a wire service reporter impressed by Cobber’s “Dogs for Bush” sandwich board.) On the day we showed up, the crowd numbered perhaps 50 people; about a dozen Gore supporters assembled a block away. They did indeed chant “Get Out of Cheney’s House” and wave placards and urge commuters to honk – but they did not scream and it would be absurd to describe them as in any way threatening. Some of them were no doubt a little eccentric, but the median age of the group was about 45, and they dutifully obeyed the police barricades that confined them to the sidewalks on the east side of Massachusetts Avenue, at least 200 yards from the vice president’s house on the west side.

One protester carried a megaphone – and I’ll concede that he made more noise than he should have. But as for the rest, I’m left wondering why it is that when 100,000 people march around the White House to oppose military action in Iraq they are exercising their constitutionally protected right of peaceful protest – while when four dozen Republicans demurely exercise their rights, they can be described without demur on national television as if they were a mob of violent maniacs.

Correction: Bob Woodward’s 1991 book about the Gulf War was titled The Commanders not The Generals. I apologize for the error in yesterday’s blog.

01:08 AM

....
I don't think Al Gore likes Free Republic's Washington Chapter. :lol:

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