Posted on 05/19/2006 10:47:01 PM PDT by DrewsDad
At $100 a pop, a large gathering of Democrat Fat Cats gathered in Austin, Texas Friday Evening at Palmer Special Events Center to hear their idol Bill Clinton. The Heart of Texas Chapter of FreeRepublic.com and local conservative activists were there to show X42 how real Texans feel about him.
The Honor Roll included Gracey, DrewsDad, and Zimmerman( (still standing with the Clintons), Lurkers Judy and Robert(the FReep organizer), and Brad. We set up at the only non-private entrance to the event, so everyone of the fat cats had to drive by us. Needless to say we had plenty of interaction with the attendees with a surprising variety of reactions.
Here are Robert who organized the protest along with Judy holding their signs. One of Robert's goals was to prevent Hillary from getting the Democratic Nomination, so he is holding a Warner '08 sign. This resulted in waves, applause, thumbs-up, and quite a bit of confusion when they saw this sign along with all the others.
Across the entrance were Zimmerman and the ever-faithful Gracey with a Clinton Legacy sign(I thought I spotted a MiaT label at the bottom) and a "Why Anyone "BUYS" Bill Clinton's Lies: P.T. Barnum Knows" sign.
Here is Brad proudly displaying his Blue Dress-Wag the Dog Willie sign.
Here is Zimmerman holding up the Bill Deserves Another Term with the Clinton poster from 0cents.com. He is standing by Gracey's wonderful "Clinton Legacy:National INSecurity banner that stretched out perfectly between the pole and the entrance gate.
Just in case some of them were speed readers, here is a sign laying out Bill's negligence on national security. If you look close enough at the other photos, you might see Gracey wearing a "Never trust Democrats with National Security" button. I was wearing mine too.
Here is our Sexual Predator Alert for all the ladies that passed by. We also verbally warned any ladies that could hear us.
We witnessed hundreds of luxury vehicles ranging from Lexus', BMWs, Mercedes, and numerous fancy sport cars. Many folks just laughed and gave us a friendly wave. Others just looked and remained stone-faced. And of course, we had our share of one-finger salutes to which we would yell, "Show us your IQ". We figured that most of those luxury cars were pretty much sound-proof with the windows up, so next time, we need to bring a sign to turn over. We saw a long white stretch limosine pass by us, but no additional security, so it could have been Bill, but we figured he probably slipped in the back door.
After a successful FReep, we headed across the street for...
Food at Vinnie's Italian Restaurant.
We had good fun, we had good food, we had good fellowship, and we had a good FReep of the Creep.
Thanks to all who showed up and to those who were there in spirit.
Here is the FReep the Creep AAR.
Great pics. G-d Bless.
'sexual predator alert' LOL :)
hahaha, I enjoyed the "sexual predator in the area" one!
Sorry I couldnt join you guys. I just left Austin to come back to my internship in Houston.
When I found out that Clinton was doing the commencement speech, I was glad that I was taking an extra semester to graduate!
That reminds me, I became an Eagle Scout shortly after Clinton left office. My dad jokes that it's because I didnt want a congratulatory letter from him. hahaha
anyway, good FReeping you guys!
ping to X42 AAR
Anyone who missed out can join Judy and Robert in FReeping el BJ tomorrow at the LBJ school of Public Affairs at 11:00.
Just saw an email that said there were 1,000 attendees there paying at least $200 per person. Bill also showed up 40 minutes late and talked about the same things as his recent speeches while hardly mentioning his own terms in office.
Bump!
Awesome pics!
"Sexual Predator Alert: Bill Clinton In the Vicinity"
needs to be a bumper sticker, LOL!
This kind of information is usually inflated. Same kind of story was told at a fundraiser attended by King Billy in Chicago back in the late 1990's. We had a FR "insider" actually in attendance there who was an eyewitness to the fact that there were about 1/2 as much in attendance as was publicly reported.
Nice work, but you really needed a devil in your group to have a truly complete FReep of the Hildebeest.
Never mind, carry on; this event was just the Sinkmeister, and did not include Her Nastyness. That's what I get for posting in the middle of the night, trying to get back to sleep.
Jimmy Valentines Brother made a good Devil...
Really good freep and report. You guys did a good job, no doubt about it.
Great signs, and great job! Thanks very much for posting the photos and after-action report - I love the idea of FReeping the ole' BJ.
I love the signs - they are awesome! You guys did good!!
President Clinton arrived nearly 40 minutes late for his speech Friday night at the Palmer Events Center in Austin. But the people who paid $200 or more to see him didn't seem to mind. He was greeted with applause at the fundraiser for the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Nobody seated around the white-clothed tables in the Palmer Events Center seemed to mind Clinton's traditional (nearly 40-minute) late speech start.
Wearing a dark suit over a white shirt and aqua tie, he entered with smiles to applause and a flock of camera flashes.
In recent appearances, Clinton, 59, has singled out childhood obesity, global warming and the U.S. health care system as crises demanding attention.
Over 20 minutes Friday, Clinton mentioned the same concerns in passing.
But he scarcely touched on his eight years as president, saying only that he and Lyndon B. Johnson, whose daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, served as honorary chairwoman of the dinner, were the only presidents of the past 40 years to balance the federal budget.
He also singled out the former president he defeated in 1992, calling George Bush of Houston a friend, adding: "I have come to love him and respect our differences."
But Clinton focused on praising Rapoport, 88, the self-made insurance businessman who for decades proved a reliable Democratic fundraiser.
He recalled meeting Rapoport and his wife, Audre, when he came to Texas in 1972 saddled with the quixotic task of raising support for George McGovern's presidential campaign. (Richard Nixon, the GOP choice, whomped McGovern in Texas and nationally.)
Clinton said that at the time, he, Rapoport, Bob Armstrong of Austin and Democratic activist John White together represented 40 percent of the total white male vote that McGovern picked up in Texas.
"One of the best things I got out of that was a lifetime set of friends," Clinton said, reminiscing on a trip he took after his presidency with the Rapoports to the Middle East and noting, too, that he's among dozens of "B's" pals who routinely field books and other strongly suggested readings from him in the mail.
Clinton said he's afraid that if he doesn't read the books right away, he'll "get a test and flunk it. So I always do."
Rapoport, accepting the center's "legacy" award, closed: "When too many have too much and too many have too little, we do not have a sustainable society."
Crowd members gave a standing ovation.
wgselby@statesman.com; 445-3644
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