PATRIOTS RALLY FOR AMERICA IV ON C-SPAN TODAY, 1:05 P.M. EST, 3/02/03

C-SPAN ^ | Sunday, March 2, 2003 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

Shiver along with the D.C. Chapter, FReepers from across the country, other patriotic Americans and Iraqi exiles as C-SPAN broadcasts the Patriots Rally For America IV today at 1:05 p.m.

Recorded yesterday at the cold, fog-shrouded, snow-covered grounds of the Washington Monument, the rally held to support our troops, President Bush and the American policy on Iraq features former Rep. Bob Dornan, Aziz Al-Taee, Blanquita Cullum, John Armor, James Parmelee, Kevin Martin, Adam Ramey and yours truly.

Also featured are singers Cullen Martin, Stephanie Souders and, from Nashville, Lowell Shyette.

The program, if shown in it's entirety, should run three hours and fifteen minutes.

Get some hot chocolate ready, pop some popcorn, put on your red, white and blue sweaters and get ready to root for the home team: the men and women serving in our Armed Forces.

EAGLES UP !!!

[FreeTheHostages]

Thanks. But I hope deb doesn't feel I'm putting her on a spot because she didn't come. I'm not lashing out or even criticizing: I'm sure she pulls her share of work. I'm just saying that there are *lots* of people who are conservatives who don't *like* the idea of coming to these rallies, and in a city without a local conservative talk radio hero, it's hard to reach our target audience of people who *will* come. Obviously, I appreciate the input, and I'd say I'm actually only sad that so far no one's suggested something that we didn't actually try to do this time. It's frustrating.

E.g., it sounds so easy to say "build a coalition with the college Republicans" -- but the area ones are more than a little disorganized and don't turn out in numbers for their own activist stuff. They tend to "meet" a lot, but we've never had so many college Republicans as we did at this one and you best believe I hunted out every one of their email names!

[CounterCounterCulture]

To wrap things up...

Kristinn Taylor
D.C. Chapter of FR co-leader

Hoo-yah!

[3D-JOY]

DC Freepers have been great role models...

They have been very welcoming when I can visit there...now as I plan a more permanent VA home I will be proud to be part of the group.

[Mo1]

Thanks for that Link Julie

My bumper stickers and sign came in the mail this week

AS for those who say this isn't a big rally .. might I remind folks of the 2000 elections

At first, not many came out because conservatives normally don't protest like the left does

But the DC Chapter and others showed us the way .. and I remember the numbers of folks that started to come out after they lead the way for us

For those that can't come to these rallies for whatever reason .. there other ways to show our support

[hole_n_one]

[FreeTheHostages]

"That FTH shore can be a pain in the arse"

:D

Great shots of you at CSPAN. Mudboy, you know I respect you as a real patriot. Thanks for dragging your sorry self up from Richmond with that big flag. :) You're the best! True, I was busy, sorry we didn't have a chance to talk much.

[Dolphy]

Rush won't plug anything but golf events as far as I am concerned.

I think it's a heck of a challenge to bring people to a rally. I have stood often in the cold with barely more than 20 or 30 people and only a few horn honks of support. One mistake we realized we were making was not contacting other organized groups who were rally veterans. Not saying that you haven't, that was just an experience of mine.

[hellinahandcart]

Great job, hon; can we have the lyrics to that last song?

[Jerez2]

Just think, Mr. Stein, if you had put your law books down and come to the Rally -- it WOULD have been bigger.

Or, you could have done as High Road to China, and FLOWN a few thousand miles to get to a bigger one. I hear Houston hit 10,000.

OR, since you are in college, you could have joined up with the College Republicans in your area and made sure THEY knew about the rally and were coming.

But it IS so much easier and satisfying to just complain about how badly other people do a job and how much better YOU could do if you tried....

:-(

[CounterCounterCulture]

Kristinn gets all the veterans on the stage. There's our man Kevin Martin!

[FreeTheHostages]

I'm not hot -- I'm just cheerfully typing away and giving my responses. A lot of my response to you was really to the peanut gallery.

But I do mean it when it does appear, so far as this trend is long enough to be statistically significant, that Rush is extremely resistent to the idea of plugging any of these grassroot activist rallies. Maybe he doesn't think they're effective. There are certainly some good conservatives here on this thread that might agree (not you). But we tried. (I'm with Jim R. -- we shan't criticize Rush if that's his view -- let's criticize the left instead. I'm just saying by way of explanation that I'm not sure it's *possible* to crack that walnut open. I think this trend indicates some serious resistance to doing such on-air plugging on his show. That's what I think we're seeing. That's what I'm beginning to infer.)

[Mudboy Slim]

Yer boy Bill seems like a real good dude...IGNORE all that KRAP the DeeCee FReepers have been saying about him...LOL!!

FReegards...MUD

Just kiddin', Bill...honor to finally meet you....grab a Screen Name and join in and play.

[AGreatPer]

I missed this part, I was one of the cars parked illegally.

[Mudboy Slim]

"grab a Screen Name and join in and play"

That goes fer all of youze Patriots out there....LURKIN'!!

FReegards...MUD

[sauropod]

Hmmm.... Pooping on the thread already?

[Mudboy Slim]

You STOLE my "333"...SHEEEEESH!!

LOL...MUD

[FreeTheHostages]

I LOVE that idea of putting the veterans on stage. And plugging the other rallies too. GOOD WORK YOU GUYS!!

[Mo1]

Needs repeating

I think ALL the chapters who were out at a RALLY this weekend need a huge round of applause...

[Dolphy]

Oh, let me also say, I am one hundred percent behind your great efforts. I am in Western Michigan and have absolutely loved the C Span coverage this afternoon. If anything, it makes me feel guilty for not having organized something close to home, and for not being out there, "putting my money where my mouth is."

[tgslTakoma]

I have to say that you are absolutely wrong.

If we had not held our rally yesterday, what would CSPAN have on in its place? My guess is that it wouldn't have been anything supportive of the administrations efforts WRT Iraq. And I surely doubt that they would have some other programming that would be supportive of the US military who are ready to defend us.

We in the DC Chapter are so very used to the "helpful" advice of folks who for whatever reason, cannot see the big picture. Maybe you have to live here to understand why we do what we do.

It's sure not because we like to spend all our time and family budgets on these events.

And it's not because we want to be stars on TV.

It's because if we don't stand up and say something, who will?

It's because the voices and stories of people like Aziz Al-Taee and his fellow exiles need to be heard.

Aziz was heard across the US on CSPAN at our rally in October, and CSPAN has again given a forum to the voices of Iraqi exiles who would otherwise be ignored.

So, you and others can say how our rallies are dismal failures, but we know you are sadly mistaken.

People across the US and around the world are watching this rally on CSPAN, so we have MILLIONS attending our rally.

Thanks for your support and your comments. That and a dollar will get me a soda.