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View Full Version : Initial Report From The July 12 Revolution March In Washington, D.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




pennycat
07-14-2008, 11:44 AM
I'm just getting caught up from spending the weekend in our Nation's Capital celebrating the Revolution March, but I'm so excited about what happened that I wanted to give a quick eyewitness account.

Dominique, Tom, Justin, Chastity, and Jacquelin boarded our van at 5am Friday to make the long drive up to DC from Orlando. Spirits were high even with the early start! Since most of us only knew each other slightly, we were curious about how this 12 hour drive would go. I'm please too say that we have all become much better friends as a result!!

Our early start allowed us to attend a really cool get-together at a Georgetown Bar called Mr. Smith's. Georgetown is THE trendy nightspot for the locals in the D.C. area. Some in our group preferred to hit a restaurant instead of paying $20 a head for a VIP reception that was to feature Ron Paul at some point. I on the other hand preferred to pay and entered the antique door which led upstairs to a small bar area packed with RP supporters. I met several friends from various other RP meetups in Florida. After a couple of drinks, I could smell rEVOLtion in the air! I also met a few other Orlando RP supporters that flew instead of driving.

I hung out there as long as I could and then decided to go with some of the Jacksonville RP people to a Mexican restaurant that was off a side street for a late night meal. Upon coming back I saw the Orlando crew I drove up with on the corner in front of Mr. Smith's. They were very excited and I asked, "What's going on?" They said that RP had just left! They urged me to head on down M Street and catch up with him. "You can't miss him, he's got a small crowd surrounding him." At this point it is worth explaining to that Georgetown tries to keep a 'colonial' period look, and the idea of a crowd of people escorting RP down it's narrow streets was really cool! I decided to leave Dr. Paul to the mercy of supporters that had not had a chance to see/meet him before.

We gathered our Orlando group back together and headed back to the Best Western hotel near the Pentagon to bed down for the night. We all seemed to rest soundly and arose the next morning, boarded the hotel's courtesy bus which took us to the subway station, ending up at the opposite end of the Capital building on Pennsylvania Ave. The subway ride was cool and we saw a few fellow RP supporters squashed into our train car. Then a younger guy sitting down who had boarded at an earlier stop says, "RON PAUL" in a thick accent. I ask him where he's from and he says, Sweden! I give him the high-five for making such a long trip. We chat for a while, and he say's, "Yah! I see this on da YouTube, and I just have to come!" We invite him to hang with us and I tell the others, 'No more compaining about how long the trip is to see a rally.'

The crowd grew and grew in what is called the Capital Mall park. We milled around waiting for the start of the march. We do a little chanting and I walk around meeting more Fl. RP supporters. I then decide that I'll start asking people where they came from. Many, many states were represented. And after a little chanting and hollering, the volunteer 'marshals' heard us together and we begin the march down Pennsylvania Ave. We can see the dome of the Capital building in the distance. There are a lot of pictures of what we looked like (google it), but I'll try and describe it in words.

First, we are right in the street. The marshals try and spread us out, but the many thousands of people are too anxious. Our group gets separated early and as I'm climbing up on stairs to buildings trying to get a better view, I'm completely dumbfounded by seeing what looks like a never ending sea of RP signs filling block after block of Pennsylvania Ave. Cops have closed all intersecting streets and as they sit on their Harley's with lights a flashing, I remember other marches here and elsewhere that I've seen on TV. We requited ourselves quite nicely, and it was more than once that I shouted, "The Ron Paul Revolution Lives!" It was all quite emotional and I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a tear, thinking that so many patriots sacrificed for this event (both historically and now).

Finally we make it to the Capital Building. There, in front is a stage with Amie Allan's 'Wake Up America' cd playing nonstop. The huge grass lawn fills up with many thousands of RP'ers who set up camp for the afternoon's speeches. I had kept asking Washington, D.C. police what their estimate of the crowd was. Most had no idea, but one ventured a guess of 5,000 to 10,000. I'm no expert either but I will say I rarely saw the same person twice on that long afternoon. I've been to my share of outdoor rock concerts, and I'd say that any band would be happy to play before this size crowd;-) Also remember that this was a hot July day and the way the park in front of the Capital is laid out, there are large trees on both sides and far back ringing the main area. Many people stayed under the trees to avoid the direct sun. Sound was excellent so you had no trouble hearing speakers. But you were several hundred yards back and to the side of the stage area, so keep that in mind when you look at pictures of the event.

I decided to work my way right up to the stage area before festivities began. I noticed a couple of tables set up off towards one of the tree areas. Seeing several people dressed in suits I wanted to see if those were speakers waiting to come on. Sure enough, I recognized G. Edward Griffin from the video 'An Idea Who's Time Has Come'. I walk up and introduce myself and tell him how that is one of the best vid's I've ever seen. He thanks me and I start explaining how we intend to takeover the Orange County Republican Party. He listens thoughtfully and says, "I'd continue to push that 1000 percent!" I'm totally blown away that this older expert likes the idea. I then say that I'd like to get him to come down to Orlando to speak. He says, "Sure, if I can spread the word on Freedom Force, I'd be all for it." We exchange business cards--look for further announcements.

I talk to a few other speakers as we wait in the shade. What an incredible opportunity to meet some of my hero's 'up close and personal!'

I then take off to explore the crowd some more. So many great and enthusiastic people. A few were decked out in colonial garb. Too bad I left my George Washington outfit back in Orlando! But I could tell that though the sun beat down on their tri-cornered hats--that they were no sunshine patriots!

Speakers were just incredible. I was very impressed by Naomi Wolfe, (The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot) who gave a speech on the topic of 10 Steps to Fascist Rule in America (google it). Others were very inspiring. A Iraqi war veteran gave one heck of a speech on his opposition to the war. His young age did not limit his oratory skills and several people I talked to said he should run for office!

Yes, Dr. Paul was inspiring. The videos of his speech will be up soon. I'll just say that I've heard him speak live many times. This one was good as well. I think he is getting a little more 'feisty.' An example was when he was talking about Minneapolis. "You know we started out with wanting to rent a place that would hold 5000. Now we've upped it to 10,000. And my staff is arguing that we should even increase that. I tell them, 'Don't you know you can't argue with me?" He was smiling and laughing while saying this, knowing that many of us would get the inside joke about Dr. Paul's well known reluctance to dream big. He then opened his eyes wide and said, "Now if you all (gesturing to the crowd) will come up there... well maybe we better expand some more." One of the great things about crowding the stage is that you get to see more inflections and mannerisms. And today was no exception. Your intrepid reporter sensed that Ron thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon in the park!

All right, there you have it. A biased and interpretive description of what I saw. Others will add and amplify. To me this is a merely a 'dry run' of what is to come! Mark your calendars for the the first few days in September. I smell tea-a-brewing;-)

Nick Egoroff
Orlando Campaign for Liberty Organizer

clintontj72
07-14-2008, 12:05 PM
Thank you so much for the report Nick!

speciallyblend
07-14-2008, 12:14 PM
awesome thanks ,makes me proud to be with you all,even though i know none of you , i feel like i know everyone of you, definetly inspiring all of you folks here in the forums to;)