My impression of the rally.

[TheSkeptic]

I missed the march...didn't get in until 1am so I slept in and didn't get to the rally until about 1. However, I was in time for about 10-15 speeches, most notably:

Dr. Paul
Michael Scheuer
Thomas Woods
Naomi Wolfe
Chuck Baldwin
Rep Jim Guest

I am completely guesstimating, but I would say there were about 1,000-1,500 people there. Not good, not bad.

Overall, there were some great speeches and I am glad I made the trip from TN.

However, I think CFL made a mistake by allowing a few of the speakers to say some really fringe things... both in the area of 9/11 truth and Christian activism.

First of all, this movement is about restoring the authority of the Constitution, not making America Christian. A few people took this concept too far. I noticed young people shaking their heads and wincing at ridiculous statements like, "First of all, if you want to be on the jury, God has to put you there." (Marcy Brookes discussing her role as a juror in the acquital of a man charged with tax evasion. Maybe I should've asked her if God put the OJ jurors there, too.)

There were a few speakers who made kooky statements like this, and if the press were so inclined, they could take that kind of stuff and run with it. This is already a movement that struggles with credibility due to its fringe members.

The big thing was the 9/11 truth stuff. Jack McLamb was especially nutty, and told everyone that the government had instituted a program wherein they marked your mailbox with a red, blue, or pink sticker, and when "foreign troops invade", the stickers will tell them who to kill, who to leave alone, and who to take to the concentration camps now being built by Halliburton. I don't put killing American citizens past our current administration, but I can tick off about 10 reasons why this statement is utterly ridiculous. He also blatantly stated that the government blew up the buildings on 9/11, and played the Christianity card VERY hard.

I'm not trying to issue a verdict on 9/11 truth - I've never studied it, and I don't discount it. But rallies like that are NOT the place for radical statements, and I am disappointed that CFL allowed some of the things to be said that they did.

Things like that allow the media, and morons like the Wonkette writers, to continue to marginalize and write off Ron Paul supporters as wackos. They'll completely ignore the 90% that's great and focus on the 10% that's fringe.


(Note: Wonkette DID pick up on McLamb right around the time I made this post. As I said...ignore things like Iraq veterans, NYT bestselling authors, and Congressmen, and focus on this guy. They also let me make some comments, then, after I made a sarcastic one about nuking the Middle East, refused to let any more comments through.)

[TheSkeptic]

Among the speakers, a few really shined.

Ron Paul was great and showed humor, passion, and personality. He's always been criticized for his personability and ability to connect, but he did a great job today.

Michael Scheuer...he was #2 on my list of people to see. This guy is a walking, talking rebuttal to the morons who think non-interventionism is "nieve" and irrational in "today's dangerous world." It's great we have a man with 22 years experience in the terrorism and intelligence community on our side. His speech was eloquent and well written, and had some great points, but was a bit too wordy...I wish he had been more shoot from the hip. Either way, this man is awesome, and I regret that he exited the stage on the other side, and I was unable to shake his hand.


Rep Jim Guest was an unexpected surprise, I didn't remember he'd be there.

Chuck Baldwin was fantastic and delivered a passionate speech. I'm an atheist but was very impressed with him, despite my strong feelings about Christianity. I would vote for the man in a heartbeat.

Naomi Wolfe blew everyone away. She has a lot of energy, and really knows how to captivate and involve an audience. She took a topic that the mainstream media would denigrate as "fringe" - 10 steps by which societies are closed and their people conditioned to accept tyranny - and made it real.

In my opinion, Adam Kokesh from Veterans Against the War gave the most passionate and powerful speech of the day, in terms of sheer power and intensity. I was very glad to see an anti-war veteran presence to help stabilize some of the lunatic ramblings that were slipped in from time to time from others. This guy is eloquent and captivating, and I hope we see more of him in the movement.


Thomas Woods was also phenomenal. In his very engaging speech, he called the administration "bastards". He is, in short, the man.

[TheSkeptic]

Something else...there were a lot of hangers on at this event. What I mean by that are vendors, and people passing out literature for their websites and/or products.

Within 20 minutes I had 5 pamphlets/cards/fliers folded in my back pocket, and was even solicited for donations to a campaign within 30 seconds of walking into the rally area. (I met the candidate John Cunningham later, and talked with him. He's a nice guy and I hope he defeats Ed Markey, the Dem incumbent.) I was also given literature inviting me to attend an after party in support of another Ron Paul Republican running for office.

I understand the cross promotion, but thought there was a little too much going on. Some will probably disagree. It just kind of cheapens it when there are 100 people there trying to make money.

[MRoCkEd]

I have a feeling that when Ron Paul came up/heard of the idea of a St. Paul Rally, in his mind he thought it would be better than his DC March idea. But he didn't want to go back on it, especially since volunteers started putting it together. So, St. Paul is the big one - 15,000 People ? Let's triple it.

[Thrashertm]

I was there for the whole thing today. Had a great time overall. Some of the speakers were excellent. Ron Paul was above average, and it was amazing seeing him live. He was more passionate and lively than from what I recall seeing of him while he was on the campaign trail. G Edward Griffin spoke on the Federal Reserve eloquently and with passion, and seemed to get a good response. Naomi Wolf was excellent as well - she spoke with far more passion than I thought her capable of based on her TV appearances.

I was one of the people turned off by Jack McLamb's Christian prayer/speech. He was emphatically clear that the only hope for this country lies in Christianity, which as an Atheist I simply cannot abide by. Some of the passersby were also voicing their opposition to what McLamb was preaching.

2 people fainted due to the heat by my count. It was funny when the first person fainted, and speaker asked if there was a doctor in the house, the crowd started up a chant for Ron Paul to minister to the stricken attendee.

Also, as far as the # of people attending, I would venture a guess at about 2000. The march was probably a full mile long or so.

[american.swan]

Good post. And I whole heartedly agree with your assessment on the Christian issue. Perhaps we should stomach some of that because the word "Creator" is in our constitution with the idea that you can do whatever the heck you want with your life and that means not being Christian if you want to. Also, Christians make up a good bunch of brainwashed GOP voters and we could use their votes. As a church goer myself, I still agree with your assessment. The Christian pandering could have gone too far and I wasn't even in the audience.

[thx1149]

I was over at the rally as well and had similar impressions. I'm guessing there may have been 5000 or so people, but I really don't know how to tell. 1500 sounds low to me. I don't know what went wrong with revolutionmarch.com's pledge thing, but I would guess we had less than half of the 15000 that pledged to show up. The lawn by the capitol is pretty big and pretty wide. A lot of people were hiding in the edges where there were shade and trees. Up front it was really wide which left our group really spread wide but towards the back gave a lot of extra green lawn making it look smaller than it may have been.

Some of the speakers were really good, but some were pretty questionable.

I don't know the names of the speakers. Perhaps someone else can add those in if anyone wants to know.

A few of them brought up Christianity and God. All of it was unnecessary, and one was very excessive. It wasn't terrible, but I think it makes the message more inaccessible to those who that doesn't ring well with it. Of course it could have the opposite effect on people who like that sort of thing. Personally, I see it as unnecessary and even weakening the arguments when people use god to explain what we need to do, where our rights come from, and other such things. The discussion can be much simpler and more sensible without taking it to that level where things become very sensitive very quickly.

There was another guy (Jeff Lewis) who was against illegal immigrants. He thought that anyone who was for any form of amnesty was a traitor. To him illegal immigration is an invasion, and so the federal government has the responsibility to protect from it. Of course he went off on how illegals are responsible for crime and all that. To me he sounded a bit over the edge and way too extreme. I don't understand what he was doing there or how his almost xenophobic message fit in to the rally.

Then we had our 911 truther conspiracy theorist guy. I think there are a lot of good questions asked by the truthers, but at the same time I am highly doubtful that we will ever get any answers or accomplish much by pushing. This guy wasn't asking questions or showing evidence. He already knew the answer. Some people within our government were in on it. He then went off on red & blue dots on mailboxes and how after the coming takeover they would use that decide to send you to a camp, kill you, or let you work.

Those were the three bad ones I could think of. We probably would have been better off without them. Actually, it likely won't matter too much. I saw hardly any media there. But like theSkeptic pointed out, if the press were up for attacking these speakers gave plenty of ammunition. Also, for those who were wondering there wasn't much police presence either. They were definitely there, but maybe only 2 dozen officers wandering around. I didn't see them bothering anyone and they were in normal uniform. No riot gear or other nonsense. It was refreshing to see them behaving the way police should behave.

There were good speakers too. A lady (Marcy Brooks) spoke about being in a jury and getting someone off for violating a tax law because the court refused to let them see the law. She was pretty good except she didn't extend it beyond tax cases, didn't mention common-law jury nullification, and kept bringing up god. Apparently God gets to decide who goes in the jury box.

A couple of authors spoke and were pretty decent. There was a little bit of inspiring and insightful stuff said that may be worth watching when it hits youtube. I'd recommend listening to Naomi Wolf's speech. If you are interested in the NAFTA highway Terri Hall was good.
Adam Kokesh is also worth listening to. Nothing too spectacular, but Chuck Baldwin is also worth hearing.

Ron Paul's speech was alright. I was actually disappointed in some ways. His speeches are fairly predictable. His message is good, but we've all heard it many times over now. I was hoping for something new. I was hoping to finally hear more about what the CFL is going to do. Instead he gave a standard Ron Paul speech. That's a good thing, don't get me wrong. I was just hoping for something new.

I am a little worried at this point about the rally in September. I won't be able to make that one. It would be a real shame if the showing was worse than this, especially since they got such a big place and they are claiming the media has interest.

Overall the rally was alright. I left after Paul's speech and I'm guessing at least half of the people there did. They still had a couple speakers and musical acts left to go. In some ways a smaller place than the capitol may have been better at keeping it looking like a large crowd and keeping everyone closer together rather than being really spread out. Of course, the capitol is an appropriate place in other ways. I would have liked to have seen more good speakers and less extremist messages. I do think this was a success. More people would have been better, but it was still a nice crowd and some good speeches.

[TheSkeptic]

2 people fainted due to the heat by my count. It was funny when the first person fainted, and speaker asked if there was a doctor in the house, the crowd started up a chant for Ron Paul to minister to the stricken attendee.

I was standing right by the stairs, and he literally almost fell on me. I instinctively dodged and his head just missed my feet. I would've tried to catch him I only saw him falling out of the corner of my eye.

I felt sorry for the guy - he was all dressed up. I hated that it happened during Michael Scheuer, who I think is one of the most important voices in this movement because of his terrorism credentials.

[TheSkeptic]

Yes, the Christian element was way overplayed by some speakers. One reason I really respected Chuck Baldwin was that he pretty much left it out of the equation. I also knew Ron Paul was a Christian but supported him because he didn't try to take advantage of it, like, say, Huckabee... and I trust men like Ron Paul or Baldwin won't try to turn the country into Bibleland if they were given the power.

[TheSkeptic]

1500 sounds low to me.

Everyone was definitely spread out - I waited until Ron Paul was speaking and people came in from the corners to try to assess. I would be very, very reluctant to say more than 2,000 were there. I think 1,000-1,500 is more likely.

Ron Paul's speech was alright. I was actually disappointed in some ways. His speeches are fairly predictable. His message is good, but we've all heard it many times over now.

Yeah, though I loved hearing him live for the first time... but in the debates, I think he lost several opportunities to score major points by devolving into a discussion on his main points - foreign policy and fiscal policy - on any and every question. Sometimes I felt they could've asked him what his favorite food was, and it would have turned into a lecture on Iraq.

Don't get me wrong, these are MAJOR issues that the American people need to have pounded into their heads, but at times in the debates it made him look like a one trick pony. He is so incredibly smart, and could come up with answers for all kinds of issues that would make his opponents like incompetent. Unfortunately this isn't always the image that came across...

[rajibo]

All the previous posts sum up my impressions of the rally pretty well. I estimated about 2000-2500 people there, which I found disappointing. That means there were 13000 turkeys who skimped on a pledge. I think there were more people at the Philly rally. I bailed early cause the heat was just too much, but at least I showed up.

I also wish they would have left out the more radical speakers. There were tons of tourists who were probably turned off by a lot of that. Especially when they hear "9-11 was an inside job." Joe America just doesn't want to be a part of that.

I did get to see dinosaurs in the Smithsonian. Haven't been there since I was a kid....

[american.swan]

Yes, the Christian element was way overplayed by some speakers. One reason I really respected Chuck Baldwin was that he pretty much left it out of the equation. I also knew Ron Paul was a Christian but supported him because he didn't try to take advantage of it, like, say, Huckabee... and I trust men like Ron Paul or Baldwin won't try to turn the country into Bibleland if they were given the power.

I'd like to say one last thing about the Christian angle. Many on this board have never lived aboad. I have. And I know what it means to not live in a Christian nation. The US, it's laws, the publics ethics, morals, and the like are heavily influenced by Christian principles and you may not realize just how much of your day to day life is influenced because of that. The US currently has forgotten the Christian principle of freedom to not be Christain.

[SnappleLlama]

Just got back from the march and rally. I have to agree about some of the speakers espousing Christian ideals (whatever happened to the separation of church and state?), but most people applauded just the same.

RON PAUL WAS WITHIN 20 FEET OF ME!!!! I was so excited...I snapped all kinds of pictures with my friend's camera (mine had conveniently died halfway through the speakers list)...Ron made this joke about arguing with his staff about certain things. He said something to the effect of "how dare they argue with me! Don't they know who I am?!" LOL!! It was awesome, because Ron Paul, always the humble gentleman, made the joke...nobody else could've pulled that one off!

AHG!! I have a crazy sunburn, and for awhile there, I thought I was going to pass out, but I had a good time....Chuck Baldwin even walked right up to me and shook my hand, which was pretty awesome. Naomi Wolfe was great, as well.

Okay, I need water...sorry if this post is a bit jumbled. I'm exhausted!! RON PAUL!!!!!!

[jesco]

To the skeptic, I agree 100% with your review. man, the fella from iraq vets against the war made me want to fight harder than ever for Liberty! I would say 3000+ due to the heat, they were milling around, hard to count. to those who didnt come, shame on you. excuses are like a**h*les, and your's stinks.

[pauletteNV]

It would appear Bob Barr was noticably absent. In the back of my mind, I keep wondering if he isn't a plant to the libertarian party from the Republican Party to distract form Dr. Paul and possibly even Baldwin. (As an aside, I will only vote for Ron Paul or Ron Paul Republicans for other offices, or I will abstain from the vote.) Ever since I saw Barr during his prosecutory role of Bill Clinton, I admired him in some ways, but I wouldn't want him as an enemy...I'd be afraid he wouldn't play fair and use every tactic possible. I don't want that in a President, much less one who seems to have done his own share of flip flopping. I'd prefer religion not be an a topic in a candidacy and that the issue be handled as Ron Paul does. He just fulfills my qualifications as a President...one that during this hard time for our country we desperately need. Nice reporting all....only wish there had been more participants and sorry I couldn't make it.

[Dr.3D]

Jack McLamb was especially nutty, and told everyone that the government had instituted a program wherein they marked your mailbox with a red, blue, or pink sticker, and when "foreign troops invade", the stickers will tell them who to kill, who to leave alone, and who to take to the concentration camps now being built by Halliburton.

Now you have me wondering what those stickers are really for.
I've noticed them in nearly all of the states I've been in.
I have one on my mail box and I don't live anywhere near a fire hydrant, so it can't be used to mark proximity to a fire hydrant. I don't subscribe to any newspapers so I doubt it is used for that. The mail carrier doesn't know anything about them.

What the heck are those stickers really about?

[TheSkeptic]

Yeah, Bob Barr...you'd think he'd try to gain support from the Ron Paul bloc.

Speaking of - I'm still pissed that RP didn't run third party.

The GOP $#@! on him, and he needs to $#@! right back by guaranteeing that they lose this election. He also owes it to the country to make sure the debacle of a McCain presidency never happens... I don't look forward to a welfare state under Obama, but this war has got to stop.

[TheSkeptic]

Now you have me wondering what those stickers are really for.
...
What the heck are those stickers really about?

You've got to be kidding.

If the government was going to implement a plan to mark targets, I think they could come up with something a bit more sophisticated than stickers on mailboxes.

Otherwise, I'll just go to Wal-Mart and buy a pink sticker.

[RickyJ]

Now you have me wondering what those stickers are really for.
I've noticed them in nearly all of the states I've been in.
I have one on my mail box and I don't live anywhere near a fire hydrant, so it can't be used to mark proximity to a fire hydrant. I don't subscribe to any newspapers so I doubt it is used for that. The mail carrier doesn't know anything about them.

What the heck are those stickers really about?

I have never seen those stickers and what he said there about the color codes on mail boxes was kind of nutty. I think maybe he doesn't know much about the information age since he is an older guy. We are all in a database file and are marked as enemies of the state by the CIA I can assure you of that. But what he said about 9/11 was completely correct. It was an inside job and they did indeed blow those towers up.

[Dr.3D]

You've got to be kidding.

If the government was going to implement a plan to mark targets, I think they could come up with something a bit more sophisticated than stickers on mailboxes.

Otherwise, I'll just go to Wal-Mart and buy a pink sticker.

I never said the government had anything to do with them.
I really wonder what they are used for.

Oh, and since you said pink sticker was good, what is the supposed color coding?

[RickyJ]

Yeah he was kind of discrediting the real 9/11 truth movement with that crazy talk. If you had a red one he said you would be taken out and shot when martial law started. One girl that was near me when he said that gasped like it was true.

[RickyJ]

OK what are all you people staying in DC tonight doing?

[RSLudlum]

One girl that was near me when he said that gasped like it was true.

She must have a red sticker!

[TheSkeptic]

Ricky, I started a thread about that...it would be cool to have drinks or something.


The real 9/11 truth movement? What do you mean?

[MRoCkEd]

The real 9/11 truth movement? What do you mean?

I think he means that people who have reasonable questions and concerns about the 9/11 story are discredited by those with extremely crazy views like "the people in the airplanes faked their deaths!!!" etc

[jesco]

as a volunteer firefighter, we will use stickers to mark the homes we have visited for money collection/donations, so as not to overly bother the home owners.

[sunshine05]

I just came from the rally too and I think there were WAY more than 1-3000 people there. We estimated about 20,000. There were a lot of people there.
The march was great and I was so glad to be a part of it. The rally was good, but I think there were too many speakers considering how hot it was. It was tough waiting for Ron Paul to finally speak at 4. I will try to post some pictures when I get home from DC. I'm so glad I went!

[wgadget]

Just got back from the march and rally. I have to agree about some of the speakers espousing Christian ideals (whatever happened to the separation of church and state?), but most people applauded just the same.

RON PAUL WAS WITHIN 20 FEET OF ME!!!! I was so excited...I snapped all kinds of pictures with my friend's camera (mine had conveniently died halfway through the speakers list)...Ron made this joke about arguing with his staff about certain things. He said something to the effect of "how dare they argue with me! Don't they know who I am?!" LOL!! It was awesome, because Ron Paul, always the humble gentleman, made the joke...nobody else could've pulled that one off!

AHG!! I have a crazy sunburn, and for awhile there, I thought I was going to pass out, but I had a good time....Chuck Baldwin even walked right up to me and shook my hand, which was pretty awesome. Naomi Wolfe was great, as well.

Okay, I need water...sorry if this post is a bit jumbled. I'm exhausted!! RON PAUL!!!!!!

Hey, Snapple....Is he just as handsome as you imagined him to be?

[SnappleLlama]

Hey, Snapple....Is he just as handsome as you imagined him to be?

OMG...that and MORE!!!

Actually, I was okay until Ron showed up...then I turned to the next person and said, "ooh...is it hot out here, or is it just Dr. Paul?!"

*swooooons!!!!*

RON PAUL, YOU ARE AWESOME(LY HANDSOME)!!!

[TheSkeptic]

Ron Paul's granddaughters are more attractive than he is.

I just came from the rally too and I think there were WAY more than 1-3000 people there. We estimated about 20,000.

No offense, but that is absolutely crazy.

The best indication of the crowd was when everyone was coming in from the shade to hear Dr. Paul. There were no more than 2,000. I'd be reluctant to say there were that many.