OPERATION INFINITE FREEP: 6/23/03 Richmond, VA Vice President Dick Cheney Speaks at Fundraiser

Imagine you are standing in a sweltering hot subway car next to a man who badly needs to take some Gas-X. The people around you begin to crowd closer and closer, morphing into hormone deprived menopausal women with Turret’s Syndrome. Satan pops up and says, “Welcome to the ride from hell” and sucks the light and oxygen out of the car.

That is what it was like standing on the curb across the street from the Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond yesterday. Our Vice President gave a speech at a $1,000 a plate Republican Fundraiser. The Left responded with a coalition of Food Not Bombs, Women in Black and Richmond Answer. I don’t know where the Puppet People were. The closest thing to a puppet that I observed was a male with a crock pot on his head and, of course, his little sign that said “This war is a crock”.

When I arrived at 10:15 AM, the very courteous and professional staff of the Hotel Jefferson gave me parking directions and the Richmond Police showed me where demonstrations would be allowed. Much to my dismay, I found I would have to stand on the same side of the street as the motley crew. About 10 or 15 of them had gathered behind some parked cars so I walked further down the block for better access to the curb and they marched off around the hotel chanting with their rainbow flag flying.

While they were off looking for the TV trucks, two elderly females arrived and said, “It looks like we’re the only ones here.” “It looks that way”, I replied, as they stood under my “VIRGINIANS LOVE VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY” sign. Heh heh. I enjoyed their reaction when they realized what my sign said and they moved off. A high school girl (they had some new recruits) asked if she could hold one of my signs and I said, ”Sure, sweetie, just give it back when you are done.” The ensuing conversation between her and one of the comrades was comical and she returned the sign.

Other protestors began to arrive and stand in front of me so I moved further down the sidewalk to a spot in front of an apartment building. The manager came out and demanded to see my signs. After a quick perusal, she smiled and said I was welcome to stand there. I had brought a variety of signs so as to be flexible according to conditions on the street. Holding the Cheney sign on a pole, I was able to hold up other signs as needed.

The Police, meanwhile, chased the marchers back to the front of the hotel and they quickly tried to crowd me out. Their numbers had reached about 50. Luckily, I had a stack of signs behind me, so no could breath down my neck and the curb in front of me, but they still tried all sorts of silly tactics to block my signs. One of the elderly females berated me for coming out to annoy them. I reminded her about free speech. The apartment manager asked them to leave but since they “own” the streets they wouldn’t. She went back inside to get the power washer but her boss stopped her before she could hose them down.

As to the matter of signage, it was enough to make you gag. That motley crew had the filthiest, crudest language I've ever seen in a public place on their signs. Using our President’s last name and our Vice President’s first name, they came up with all kinds of adolescent obscenity. The few signs and banners they had that weren't obscene were the only ones shown on the TV newcasts.

They had a repertoire of chants. Most of them sounded like: 1-2-3-4 NaNaNaNaNaNa-gore. 5-6-7-8 NaNaNaNaNaNa-hate. They started out chanting in unison at the people going into the hotel but the chants degenerated into just screaming obscenities at anyone or anything moving on the other side of the street. It was unbearable. They were making obscene gestures as well and there I stood, right smack in the middle of them.

Since the casual observer probably didn’t notice me or thought I was one of the protestors, I decided to activate Plan B. Still holding onto the pole with the Cheney sign on it, I cycled through the following signs: "Stop Global Whining" (that one was popular with the folks across the street), "PETA ALERT – Great American Chicken Exploited by Peace Movement" (peace being a peace sign in the shape of a chicken foot)and "PETA ALERT – Democrats Still Flogging That Dead Horse Socialism". One sign stopped the motley crew dead in their tracks. I could hear whispers going up and down the street. The sign? "STRAIGHT GIRLS LOVE CAPITALISTS!" (Adapted from DC FReepers signage) Now that was a hoot! Two of the boys finally asked me what I meant by it. “It is humor”, I explained. “But why does it say straight girls as opposed to lesbians?”, they asked. Not wanting to be beaten up with the rainbow flag pole, I replied, “It is just supposed to be humorous. All good humor has a grain of truth in it, don‘t cha know.”

Note to self: Need to make that sign that says HELP! I'M IN SEARCH OF OTHER INTELLIGENT LIFE!

The conversation ended abruptly when someone exclaimed that they had spotted secret service agents on the roof of the building behind us. Everyone turned to face the building and aimed their middle fingers at the roof. After a barrage of “f” this and “f” that’s the protestors turned their attention back to the hotel across the street just in time to catch a large group of what looked like office workers, mostly women, out for one of those lunchtime power walks, coming down the sidewalk. The maroons began screaming over and over: PIGS AT THE TROUGH, PIGS AT THE TROUGH. I kid you not.

Seeing a TV camera approaching, one of the elderly females admonished the protestors to watch what they yelled in front of the cameras as it wouldn’t be good publicity to show them shouting obscenities on the local news. Thanks to Channel 35, Fox News at 10, for showing the footage of me and my Cheney sign last night. There were two boys with filthy signs who stuck by me like glue and insulted me at regular intervals, especially when the cameras were aimed in my direction but at least Channel 35 got a good shot.

All morning, I was able to control my temper for the most part. One of the boys provoked me into calling him an idiot but after that, I told myself to remember Auntie Em’s words in the Wizard of Oz (paraphrased): “I would love to tell you what I think of you, but being a Christian woman, I can’t!”

I left at 1 PM very disturbed, because as the demonstration broke up, I saw a beautiful, little girl being led away by her anarchist mommy and thought of all the filth and garbage that had assaulted her precious ears and eyes on that sidewalk. It was heartbreaking.

You're amazing, Flora! Here's what went on inside.

Jun 24, 2003
Cheney, in Richmond, vows defeat of terrorists
BY TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Dick Cheney told Richmonders yesterday, "There is great work in this world that only America can do."
(MARK GORMUS)

Asserting America's might, Vice President Dick Cheney vowed yesterday to continue the war against terrorism until "every enemy that plots against the American people is confronted and defeated."
"Those [members of al-Qaida] still at large are living in fear and their fears are well founded, because we are on their trail," Cheney said.
He added:
"There is great work in this world that only America can do."
In his first campaign foray for 2004, the vice president poked fun at his lack of charisma and picked up $452,000 for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in a luncheon speech at The Jefferson Hotel.
Guests, mostly members of Richmond's Republican-leaning business and legal establishment, paid $1,000 to $2,000 to dine on halibut, potatoes and mixed vegetables, with chocolate cake for dessert, and listen to a 15-minute speech by the vice president.
Standing in front of 10 American flags, Cheney read the speech and left before lunch was served.
Cheney did not mention weapons of mass destruction or yesterday's Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action. He was one of the leaders who argued that America needed to invade Iraq because it harbored weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons have been found so far.
He drew applause when he talked of the Bush administration's efforts to cut taxes, in 2001 and this year.
"By the time we took office, the economy was already in recession and confidence was further shaken by the terrorist attacks and corporate scandals," Cheney said.
Economists say the recession officially began in March 2001, two months after Bush and Cheney were sworn in, but they trace the economic downturn to the bursting of the Internet stock bubble beginning in 2000 before Bush took office.
Touting the Bush administration's efforts to promote international trade, reform education and reorganize the federal government, Cheney said "there is some pressing business to complete."
Medicare needs to be reformed so seniors get more prescription-drug benefits, and "the health-care system needs liability reform so doctors can spend time healing patients, not fighting off frivolous lawsuits," he said, as the audience applauded.
Cheney also called on the Senate to seat more judges President Bush has nominated to the federal courts.
"They have a responsibility to give every nominee a prompt hearing and an up-or-down vote," he said. Democrats have held up several of Bush's appointees.
Cheney was in Richmond only about an hour. He met briefly in a private room at the hotel to have his picture taken with the event's sponsors before the speech.
Whisked in and out of the hotel, he likely did not see about 35 people gathered across Franklin Street from the hotel to protest Bush, Cheney and the war in Iraq. Police said the demonstration was peaceful.
Cheney flew to Boston later in the day to address another fund-raising gathering in a private home. Bush was expected to raise $4 million at an event in New York City yesterday.
Bush and his wife, Laura, began raising money last Tuesday. The Bush-Cheney re-election team has a goal of raising $170 million, compared with the $100 million they raised in 2000. Campaign-finance laws allow campaigns to tap individual donors for $2,000 - twice as much as in 2000.
Afterward, several people said they were disappointed Cheney was not more spontaneous. However, they expressed admiration for the performance of the Bush-Cheney administration.
State police reported some traffic backups as Cheney's motorcade was escorted from Richmond International Airport into the city via Interstate 64 yesterday morning. His return trip during the early afternoon caused few troubles for area motorists, state police said.
Troopers used a "slow roll" technique to keep traffic behind the motorcade and to block on-ramps, said Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Sara Cross. Traffic backed up "somewhere around 20 minutes," she said.
Richmond police spokeswoman Christie Collins said roads around the hotel were cordoned off but said there were few traffic problems and that "it's pretty easy to divert traffic" in that downtown area.
The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign pays the travel costs to and from fund-raisers, according to a long-used formula.
Any extra costs for state or local police to provide security are borne by state or local taxpayers.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com

Times-Dispatch staff writer Chris Dovi contributed to this report.

RTD

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