COngressman Tom Tancredo (Left), U.S. Senate Candidate Howard Kaloogian (R) (Center), and KSFO AM 560 Talk Show Host Melanie Morgan (Right)
Posted on 02/22/2004 11:15:39 AM PST by Impeach98
WOW!
Yesterday's rally against giving drivers' licenses to illegal aliens (as proposed by Democrat Gil Cedillo's SB1160 which Repub. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he supports) was a H U G E success.
The rally planning had been going on for several weeks. It was set to take place Saturday, February 21st at the Burlingame Hyatt, where the California Republican Party Convention would be taking place.
Since Governor Schwarzenegger has said he thinks giving drivers' licenses to illegal aliens is a "fantastic" and "excellent idea" (after he made conservatives very happy by repealing an existing law by Gil Cedillo that Gray Davis had signed that did the same), the thinking was that Arnold would get the message when Republicans turned out to say "WE DON'T WANT IT - NEITHER DOES CALIFORNIA."
The location had to be changed a couple times because officials with the California Republican Party establishment were offended that Kaloogian has rallied Republicans to oppose Bush's amnesty/guest-worker plan and Schwarzenegger's "sell out" on the illegal alien drivers' license plan.
With Kaloogian's opponents for U.S. Senate uncomfortable with challenging either the Bush plan or the Schwarzenegger-backed plan (they will speak to vague policy but not these specific proposals for fear of alienating Bush or Schwarzengger and their establishment suppport), the rally united immigration reform advocates and Kaloogian campaign supporters.
A little after 10:00 AM people began gathering outside, right in front of the Hyatt Hotel. Kaloogian for Senate staffers and volunteers were handing out Kaloogian signs, bumper stickers and lapel stickers.
People were simultaneously streaming towards the Kaloogian for Senate table inside of the convention and were being directed to join the now-growing crowd outside.
At the same time, last minute preparations were taking place at a giant tented pavillion located next to the hotel's pool at the back of the hotel complex. A stage with blue-curtain backdrop and "Kaloogian for Senate" wall would serve as the dais. Approximately one-dozen Kaloogian volunteers were assisting in the set-up effort. People seeking out the rally location began arriving at this location too.
By 10:20 AM things were crazy!!! There was now a crowd of a few hundred people outside that was growing fast. More and more people were running up to the Kaloogian table inside the hotel to find out the rally location and at the poolside pavillion (site of the rally) supporters were being directed to join the crowd at the front of the hotel.
Melanie Morgan and Donald LaCombe of the Kaloogian campaign were now firing up the crowd with chants over a megaphone. There were a handful of reporters and cameras covering the mass of people out front who were shouting "Enough is Enough," "No License for Illegals," and "Stop Them at the Border."
Finally at 10:30 AM, with the crowd now a giant sea of people, completely fired up, we opened the front doors to the hotel and Melanie Morgan chanting "Enough is Enough" into a megaphone led the procession of people through the hotel, down one of the main corridors to the back of the hotel where the crowd would exit, walk the pathway towards the poolside pavillion and assemble for the rally.
A number of interesting things took place. First, the procession passed right by the press room and reporters were shocked to see this massive and boisterous gathering of people streaming through the hotel screaming and chanting. Also, liberal Republican Vice Chair of the CRP, Mario Rodriguez, was conducting a seminar teaching Repubs. how to reach out to Latino voters and was horrified to see the protest march... apparently he is unable to distinguish between the difference of "illegal" individuals and legal citizens of the United States.
The throng of people was so wide, two sets of double-doors had to be opened to allow the crowd to flow in. But then the final mass of people who had gathered in the lobby in front of the Kaloogian for Senate booth formed a third 'feeder' stream to the procession. There were so many people now marching towards the rally location in the back that people could not enter the rally tent fast enough... we had a human traffic jam and this 10 foot wide hallway that runs several hundred feet was now completely jam-packed with participants.
People contiued streaming into the giant tent and tried to squeeze in to allow as many people as possible in. But there were so many people that not everyone could fit... there were dozens of people flowing out the side entrance, straining to see over the heads of those inside, and an even larger group of people at the back end of the tent who could not get in because of the overflow crowd.
Melanie Morgan and Brian Sussman of KSFO AM 560 - San Francisco were the emcees and had the crowd fired up... it wasn't hard. The energy in the room was electrifying. They introduced Kaloogian who received a hero's welcome from the crowd.
Kaloogian was on fire and delivered one of the best speeches I've heard him give on the stump so far. And the crowd responded with passion and energy. The tent was rocking folks!!
Just as Kaloogian was finishing his remarks, we got word that Tancredo was arriving in the back entrance (having been picked up by one of our Kaloogian staffers at the SFO airport). So Kaloogian then transitioned into welcoming Congressman Tom Tancredo, a hero to our cause, just as the Congressman entered the facility.
Tancredo bounded up to the stage and grabbed Kaloogian's fist. They raised their hands into the air - pumping up and down. The crowd was hooting, hollering, screaming, chanting. Melanie Morgan and Brian Sussman were up there on stage still and were themselves cheering and beaming from ear to ear. It was a moment of magic and the energy was incredible.
Now during all of this time there was this steady stream of television camera crews arriving. While we had worked the media over pretty heavily to tell them about the rally, and who would be there, they had been dismissive. They weren't interested in covering a bunch of right-wing kooks complaining about immigration policies. So at the start of the rally we only had a handful of print reporters, 4 or 5 television cameras and 2 or 3 radio reporters. But by the end of the rally news organizations, learning of what was happening, had rushed over scores of additional reporters, camera crews, and microphone-carrying radio techs and reporters.
Tancredo gave a great speech. He explained that a series of events had led to him almost not making it. Delayed flights, cancelled flights, being held up on the tarmac, having to change connecting flights and airline carrier. Everything was a mess and a mass frustration (he was supposed to arrive at 9:30 AM so we could get him settled, instead he didn't make it until about 10:55 AM).
Tancredo told this story and explained that he would go through this kind of hassle every single day between now and Election Day if this would help to elect Howard Kaloogian to the U.S. Senate.
Again, the crowd exploded.
Tancredo went on to explain during his speech that he had NOT ONE immigration reform friendly member in the U.S. Senate... and that without an ally in the Senate to join him in leading the charge on the immigration issue that we could not bring about the change in our failed policies that we need.
Tancredo was funny, gracious, passionate and simple but eloquent. At the end of his speech he again urged those in attendance to go to work to get Kaloogian elected to the Senate and announced he'd be doing all he could till Election Day to propel Kaloogian to victory. Tancredo and Kaloogian raised arms again and the crowd cheered and the camera flashbulbs flashed.
Tancredo and Kaloogian webt out back for a press conference/media avail.
Over the course of the next 45 minutes, Mike Spence, Founder of "Save Our License" (the group that collected signatures to repeal the original drivers' license for illegal aliens bill, SB60), Rick Oltman of FAIR, Ron Prince - author of Prop 187 and Proponent of Save 187 all addressed the crowd.
Crowd estimates have varied. I heard one person say 600-800 but I think this was high. Maybe 500-550.
All the press reports have said several hundred people.
Realize that there were only 1400 delegates listed for the CRP convention, so maybe 1200 were actually at the Hyatt. But while Marin and Jones could generate rallies of 50-75 people, Kaloogian had a massive crowd of cheering and raucous supporters who would then linger throughout the convention for the rest of the day - wearing Kaloogian t-shirts, carrying Kaloogian signs and bumper stickers.
It was an awesome day!
SurveyUSA has had Kaloogian at 9% in the last three polls, but they also have Jones in the 31-36% range.
The one thing that strikes me is how all these polls (Field, PPIC, Survey USA) have had this MASSIVE percentage of UNDECIDED voters.
Eight days before an election and 57-73% of Republicans say they are undecided. Marin vaulted from 3% to 12% in that PPIC poll you posted JUST by advertising on southern California talk radio.
I can only wonder how high Kaloogian will surge now that we will be starting not just radio but TV ads.
Yeah, he is...
Trouble is it's IN one ear and OUT the other.
Of course we're all supposed to be placated by the recent Bush Administration "proposal" to Mexico to begin the deportation of illegals to their place of origins, but guess what? Since the Mexican authorities DON'T LIKE THE IDEA, we have to propose another "solution."
It's just a lame attempt at game playing and lip service by this administration to halt the tide of the GOP's mutineers.
We may not need a "permission slip" from the UN to act unilaterally, but we need a permission slip from Mexico??
It's not in Denmark where something is "smelling rotten," is it?
Is it possible the man's blind-spot is that huge??
And yet there are those who expect that we ALL follow Dubya over the cliff to prove our loyalty to him?? Isn't it the other way 'round?
With Rove and the neos goading him on, there's Dubya ill-advisedly pushing in his chips into the middle of the table trying to draw a 2-3-4-5-6 inside straight -- except ALL of the fours have been accounted for already.
The man's won some nice pots since he's became President, but this is one pot he ain't gonna win if he doesn't let US do the math for him.
Yep, because he's that stubborn. What I mean by "learn" is to feel the pain. Let's hope he's not too insulated.
And yet there are those who expect that we ALL follow Dubya over the cliff to prove our loyalty to him?? Isn't it the other way 'round?
Of those individuals I'd say 75% of them are OPPOSED to 57/58, but they are fiercly loyal to Arnold. So they passed out the Arnold material touting 57/58 and wore the "YES on 57/58" stickers.
They are conflicted. I suspect some will end up voting for the measures even though they hate 57 and feel that Arnold caved in on 58 by dropping the Spending Cap and instead settling for a Balanced Budget Amendment which allows the Democrats to continue to raise spending 'according to revenues' - which just means more accounting gimmicks from the Democrats in the legislature.
I really am clueless as to how 57/58 will do. Most polls show it losing, but Democrats oppose it while Republicans narrowly support it, because they want to help Arnold.
This one is tough for me - I voted NO on both... but I am a little sympathetic to Arnold in the fact that I think he recognizes the Democrats suck and he believes he could never get a spending cap through so he took what he thought he could get which was better than a tax increase.
But in good conscience I can't vote for a proposal which to be honest was almost exactly that of Gray Davis which we all abhorred... just pushing off the cuts we need in spending and trying to refinance the debt with bonds.
That is horribly anti-fiscal conservatism... yet, is it better than a tax increase? I guess so, but what I want is for the Democrats to get the message that Arnold would have stumped against them up and down the state for refusing to cut spending and made them take the hits - instead of coming up with a $15 billion bond plan that protects their spending addiction.
If the bond plan had been proposed by a Democrat there is no doubt that 90% of FReepers and 70% of Republicans would have oppose it.
But because it was proposed by Republican Schwarzenegger, who is trying to avoid a tax increase, it pulls at Republicans to rally around him.
The last two polls showed about 42% of Republicans supporting it to 37% opposing it.
I'm sure a lot of the 42% supporting it have a lot of reservations about the plan, just as I am sure a lot of the 37% who say they oppose it feel bad about opposing Arnold's bond when they know the Democrats would have a worse prescription for us - TAX INCREASES.
What I really want is to make sure 56 loses, and then if 57/58 pass I won't be thrilled, but I won't be weeping either. But if 56 and 57 lose I'd be quite content. But then if that happens conservatives need to rally up and back Arnold up against the Democrats in opposing a tax increase.
It's a very very complicated chess game here which is why even though I voted NO on 57/58 I don't hold animosity towards Arnold. I believe he did the best deal he thought he could... I just wish he had tried a different track - beat up the Dems for not supporting the spending cap and building public pressure and demands for their to be CUTS to our bloated state budget.
So, no matter what happens, I won't be beating up the Gov. on this one. Now, if he supports Gil Cedillo's drivers' license for illegal alien bill (as he first said he would to the Sacramento Press Club which generated lots of media coverage of his support) I can't say the same. He made a campaign promise to repeal the drivers' license for illegals bill. And if we were all supposed to figure out that he meant 'but I'll support another one with a different bill number on it' well I'd find that disengenous of him. I'll wait to see what he finally decides... but I am hoping these rallies (and hopefully a Kaloogian win) will make him recalculate the politics of the situation. I was SO pleased with his rollback of the car tax and SB 60... I would like to get back to being pleased with him again :)
The 57-58 commercials don't offend me like the crap put out by the pro-56 fools.
But it was good to see a strong anti-56 campaign at the convention. I managed to score a NO ON 56 button.
The news coverage I managed to see was rather scant, particularly on the Kaloogian rally. Too much focus on gay marriage, gay marriage, and gay marriage. Somehow the news crews found all the log cabin Republicans to express their disappointment in Arnold coming down on the San Francisco gay marriage outrage. Gag.
Finnegan's LA Times story was the best... ironic since he hates conservatives... but in his mind the rally by Kaloogian and following he attracts on the issue of immigration is something to be 'exposed' so we can all rise up to stop it.
I noticed also that on Thursday or Friday MAPA came out to endorse Boxer and they tag-teamed to attack Kaloogian and his proposals. We were encouraged by that. Yes, please, make us the evil people who believe our borders should be enforced. And make sure you rant and rave about that to the media so they can tell the rest of the people of California that Howard feels that way. :)
Are you saying that opposing illegal immigration is an attack on President Bush?? You need to think more clearly. This was a rally against illegal immigration and the mess it brings to America. Read the article.
Go Howard Go.
Note to the Bots: all that Bill Jones and GWBush need to do is...get on the right side of this "issue". Or else...they're going to go down over it. Now that Mr. Gobernator has gone sideways on licenses, doing an about face from his campaign, we can easily point to the consequences of appeasing the RINO front in the Republican Party. No one trusts him now.
So that's all there is to it. Enforce the existing laws, or get diselected. We're doing it to guys like Gray Davis, and Mssrs. Newsom and Lockyer just held up their paws to be next in the Recall Parade. Arnold too if he doesn't get a grip soon.
We want our children to live the American Dream, not the Mexican Nightmare.
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