I met Newt Gingrich after the speech on the ropeline and was able to relay JimRob's FreeRepublic.com endorsement in person and that there is a lot of support for him on the website. Newt politely thanked me as we shook hands. He then stepped away, stopped, turned back, looked me in the eye again and emphatically repeated, "Thank you," as if it took a second for him to assess what was said and he wanted me to know he understood.
The event itself was packed, perhaps a thousand in the room and another thousand outside. I barely got in and was in the back a few rows before the press riser. More people were given standing room behind the riser.
I saw Fox's Carl Cameron and ABC's Jonathan Karl among the media. Print reporters and still photographers were brought to the front just before Newt arrived.
The crowd was revved up and waiting to cheer Newt. The speech was well received, as you saw on C-SPAN. While there were reports that leftists would infiltrate the crowd, there were no disruptions. The Q&A which was scheduled for after the speech was ditched. Newt lingered inside the room, Callista by his side, shaking hands, posing for pictures and giving autographs. He did the same when he went out the back of the Holiday Inn Express convention room on the way to his campaign bus. It was almost 45 minutes after the speech ended before he left for his next event.
I met FReepers 3D-Joy and mcmuffin after the speech. They were out sign-waving before the event. 3D-Joy made a special 'FreeRepublic.com supports Newt Gingrich' sign.
I think other FReepers were there, but I didn't see them in the crowds.
Thanks for the update, will you be going to the debate in JAX and do you need tickets and if so is there a cost etc?
Thanks for the AAR and for conveying our support.
Thank you for the info and ping.
Thanks for the ping and the first hand info. Regarding not finding people, Heck, I couldn’t even find my own brother on 9.12 and other events due to the large crowds. WooHoo! This is great news. It seems that the momentum for Newt is really picking up now. Yes!
Cool. Great report. :-)
Thanks for the report!
Forgot you were in Florida.
Did you see this?
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/what-really-happened-gingrich-ethics-case/336051
We're trying to get the information out to as many people as possible, but particularly to the voter in Florida before the primary.
Any ideas or help would be appreciated.
That is a great story. You meeting other Frrepers got me thinking that there should be a more coordinated effort. Nothing complex, just meet up close to an event either before or after. That could be done with a posting on here.
Additionally, sometimes our lives are so busy or planned that we don’t even know an event is occurring. I didn’t know that Newt would be on C-SPAN today, until I saw it on here. I made it in the nick of time to see Newt instead of watching The Five. When possible, I try to watch the news/political programs with my children. My elder daughter (17 years old) was most impressed with Newt today. She signed up last week to work his campaign here in PA. Too bad she won’t be 18 until two weeks after the general election.
Brevard County, Florida Right Stuff ping.Thank you very much for the update and personal experience of being there!!!!
Woo hoo!!
Thank you very much, kristinn!! Thank you, Florida!! Great job, everyone!!
GO, NEWT!!
thank you for the heads up.....
I watched the C-Span coverage live from work and then watched it again online with my wife tonight. I think I was even more pumped after the second viewing. Incredible how Newt almost never had to review his notes. Rather, he spoke for thirty minutes extemporaneously and passionately about the future of America.
For what it's worth, Fox News (why do I keep going back there expecting fair coverage for Newt???) ran a banner along the bottom that simply reported Newt wants people to live on the moon ...of course, completely out of context and to the unsuspecting, probably makes Newt sound as crazy as Glenn Beck.
Anyway, great report. I can't wait for Newt to make it out to the Left Coast.
Great report Kristinn..
All I can add is the numbers for the outdoor crowd and cars turned away for lack of parking.
Several hundred (400?) people were in the outdoor area between buildings. Many more (200) were inside the huge Hotel reception area. Dozens were leaving as I got there. I soon learned they were trying to get a speaker set up in the outdoor area, but were announcing the coverage by C-Span, and that sent some people home to watch it.
The hotel parking lots and close grassy areas were full when I moved there from our previous FReep on the street corner.
About 200 cars were routed to a nearby church lot and then just after I got parked and started to walk to the event site there was no further place to park. The police just turned everyone around and they had no choice but to leave...too bad, they missed a great speech. One officer told me they had sent over 100 cars away. Another laughed and said 200 or more.
Vendors had a great audience for T-shirts and buttons. Candidates trying to get signatures for ballot qualification were active in the waiting crowd.
On a typical Conservative/Tea Party/9-12 event there were no cell phones ringing and no litter left behind. Only the family of a boy, who wore an Obama shirt and carried a blue Obama 2012 sign, even put a bottle or can on the ground.
I agree the speech was just right for the Space Coast area where residents worry about the future of Cape Canaveral. It started with a history lesson and then tied early events in dreams and science to his plan for the future in space.
He asked those attending to think of the future of the area as a busy space airport. The crowd cheered!
That was one outstanding talk Newt gave .. the term 'speech' just doesn't seem to fit, ya know ?
He's as natural an instructor as any I've ever enrolled with.
I've admired the man's vision and talents for many years, and was always saddened that the personal stuff would be used to keep him silenced.
But aside from his professorial talent, he's exactly the sort of fighter we're in need of on the national stage, and a deserving recipient of all the TeaPower we can support him with.
Frankly, I think he's even better at espousing a hopeful and direly needed vision of American Rennaisance than our late, Great Communicator, RR.
Again, thanks for the report !