Bush rally in Columbus next Wednesday 9/1

[jmknapp]

Anyone know where it will be?

Hope there's a big Bronx cheer contingent.

[mongo]

1. Let us know if anyone is organizing a protest

I may be able to make it if it is late enough in the day.

[jmknapp]

2. Bush rally details

It's going to be at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday, Sept 1st, 1pm.

They are giving out tickets at the Franklin County Republican Party HQ at 14 East Gay St, Columbus, tomorrow (8/28) at noon. "Tickets are limitied." Yeah, we know!

[Lady President]

3. Protest details

Here's the email from ODP:

George W. Bush will be in Columbus tomorrow, September 1, 2004 at Nationwide Arena. This is an important opportunity for us to show our disapproval of George Bush's tactics and policies, both at home and abroad.

Please join me at the Capitol building beginning at 12:00 p.m to march along High Street to Nationwide Boulevard. THE MARCH ITSELF WILL BEGIN AT 1:00 p.m.

Wear decorated tee-shirts, bring signs, bring friends, flyers and voter registration cards. Let's not waste this opportunity to make a difference.

Tell everyone you know. Please distribute this information as quickly as possible throughout Ohio.Email and call your friends and family ASAP!

Let the People's Voices be Heard!

[jmknapp]

4. Saw Pres. Bush at Nationwide Arena

Saw Pres. Bush at Nationwide Arena in Columbus yesterday. Not much of major interest, but a few observations:

The arena held about 20,000 people and you never saw so many Republicans at once, in the wild. I wouldn't really recommend it. Imagine watching the RNC and not being able to press mute or change the channel. Also imagine a group of people who look fine on the surface (alabaster white) but are sickening bigots who respond like animals every time certain hot-buttons were pressed, like homosexuals, abortion, Jay-sus, prayer in schools, etc.

It was interesting to me that in contrast to the RNC where the delegates to some extent are out of central casting, this was a collection that honestly represented the Republican Party. There was no tolerance for Schwartzenegger-type moderates here. An eyeball estimate yielded about 1% blacks (maybe 0.5%) in the crowd.

Strangely, they ran a video which was a kind of Kerry 20-minute-hate, portraying him as an opportunist and "flip flopper." Since everyone there (except for a few interlopers like me) had drunk the Bush koolaid long ago, I'm not sure what the purpose of that was.

Jack Nicklaus introduced Bush and endorsed him. Bush said something like "I'm glad to get the endorsement of Jack Nicklaus from Columbus, Ohio." There is a veneer of respectability and piety to what Nicklaus said, but I kept thinking, what is he doing up there promoting this bigoted crowd? Religiosity infused the event from start to finish.

There were three incidents of heckling that I saw, where spontaneously someone would start shouting something unintelligible. The Secret Service and/or Columbus police dispatched these persons within about a minute each, marching them out. The people in the section where the outburst happened would all be pointing to the heckler so the cops could find them. I was thinking it was like a GOP immune system in action, with the cops being the white blood cells.

One heckler was being marched up the steps of the arena by a Columbus cop, and said heckler starting giving "Seig heil" hand gestures as he was walking. The cop decked him with one blow. I have that one on video tape. The people around me clucked, "Aha! Columbus's finest took care of him."

Chris Spielman (of local interest as an ex-Buckeye footballer) gave one of the most red-meat Christian fundie speeches I have heard. He pledged to work his entire life to make abortions illegal again, and supports setting up "prayer rooms" in public schools. Of course, he also swiped at gays. All cheered vociferously by the throngs, pumping fists in Morton Downey fashion.

There was a small (maybe 20 people) contingent of protesters across the street from the arena, chanting at the Republicans streaming out after the event. Unfortunately they were caricatures of hippies and not a very good representation of the Kerry side. Driving away I did see another group of people holding Kerry signs, and they looked more normal, so there was maybe more than one demo.