California Republicans 'shock and awe' Berkeley [California College Republican Convention]

www.calpatriot.org ^ | April 27, 2003 | Steve Sexton (photos by Ashley Rudmann)

[Bringbackthedraft]

A nice clean cut crowd but relatively small for participators from several schools. They'll have to do better if they really want to impress. I'll give them credit for being gutsy.

[TatieBug]

Fantastic...I hung the LA Times article from my husband's breakfast lamp and he was shocked. Now a Bush supporter, he was at BERSERKLEY in 1969 protesting so this really did my heart good to see how well those R's are doing. I met some of them at the R convention in Anaheim and donated a flag for their commencment. This is just plain fantastic! Thanks so much for the photos.

[RonDog]

the LA Times article...

That would be THIS one, from April 27, 2003:

Right in Their Face:
College Republicans Rally in Berkeley
A band of flag-waving demonstrators defiantly boosts Bush and war in the bastion of the left.

By Rone Tempest, Times Staff Writer

BERKELEY — Borrowing a page from this city's radical traditions, a boisterous band of 200 college Republicans demonstrated Saturday in the bastion of American liberalism, staging a pro-Bush administration rally on the UC Berkeley campus and leading a flag-waving procession down Telegraph Avenue.

As street vendors and merchants looked on in disbelief, delegates attending a state college Republican convention here marched two blocks to People's Park, site of a widely publicized protest incident in 1969, where they chanted "Bush! Bush! Bush!" and sang "America the Beautiful."

By Berkeley standards, it was a minuscule procession played out on a balmy Saturday afternoon on a mostly deserted campus. But to the hardy corps of young Republicans, uniting under the theme "Behind Enemy Lines," it was a highly symbolic event. Even grizzled political warriors said they were impressed by participants' moxie. Longtime Berkeley professors said it represented a political drift to the right at California's pioneer state university...

CLICLK HERE for the rest of the article

(We are not allowed, of course, post the FULL TEXT of articles from L.A. Times on this forum.)

[Victoria Delsoul]

At People's Park, the Republicans encountered some resistance from locals, but were undeterred as they sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America." There was aggressive shouting between the two sides but no physical violence and no arrests, setting the rally apart from liberal Bay Area protests of late.

Wow, wonderful. Can't believe it.

The spirit of your Alma Mater at work. ;-)

[Sabertooth]

Thanks for the ping. When I was at Cal, most of the demonstrations there were loud and silly, but usually non-violent. Nice to see the Republicans taking it into their teeth, though.

[Victoria Delsoul]

There you are, I was just going to bed.

Yep, it's great to see Republican taking their message to the Liberals. They did an outstanding job.

[HighRoadToChina]

BUMP!!!!

[montag813]

Can't they get any cute chicks to march? Most of these are fat or ugly.

[rimmont]

This reminds me of the third infantry's "thunder run" through downtown Baghdad.

[Frank_2001]

Excellent!

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

But as a state party leader from Berkeley noted in an address to the students, Berkeley still votes nine-to-one Democratic and on many of the nation’s campuses, Republicans are still in the minority.

I can't think of any campuses where Republicans would be in the majority.

[ObiJuan]

Can't they get any cute chicks to march? Most of these are fat or ugly.

Check out jerseygop.com and you'll see all kinds of GORGEOUS conservative chicks there.