Sarah Palin in Carson City, Nevada

Me, Myself & I | September 15, 2008 | Ninergold3 aka Nadine from NV

[ninergold3]

OK folks, here is my report on the Sarah Palin rally held in Carson City, NV on Saturday, September 13, 2008.

The day the Palin visit was made, I called the Carson City Republican HQ to get information. The poor woman who answered the phone was tearing her hair out as they had zero information, phones ringing off the hook and people just dropping by.

I picked my daughter up from school at 11AM - she's a senior in HS and won't be able to vote in this election (she hasn't forgiven me for having her 6 months too late). We drove 1/2 hour to the CC HQ and walked in to find a madhouse. I found the woman in charge, explained that I used to run an office and asked if I could help. LOL - she handed me a phone and gave my daughter a pad of paper to take the messages off the answering machine. We spent 3 hours helping out and loving every minute of it.

We went back a couple days later to help but someone had taken all the cell phones so we couldn't make calls. However, the office manager told us to show up at the venue on Friday night at 6PM to help paint signs. She said that the volunteer list for the rally was already full. We were bummed but decided that painting signs would be fun.

When we got to the arena Friday night we found that the sign painting wasn't happening but that the majority of the signed-up volunteers hadn't shown for the meeting. We were in the right place at the right time. We were assigned as part of a group to get there at 11AM on Saturday to put stickers on the McCain/Palin signs (the lawyers were having kittens as the "Paid for by:" was on the signs but the "McCain/Palin 2008" was missing. There were already people waiting in line:

We put stickers on thousands of signs - front and back. Then we had to leave the venue for the sweep by the Secret Service and local law enforcement (dogs everywhere). By this time there was quite a line beginning:

We waited outside - not too patiently but. . . My hubby is front left, my BIL is front center and my SIL is front right.

This little girl was so cute. She had helped make this sign and on the back was a pink circle with arms and legs. She informed me that it was a picture of Sarah Palin. LOL

My husband and I made our own T-shirts. His:

Mine (my daughter wore one too):

Three hours before the gates opened there was already a line snaking through the park:

My husband and I were press escorts and crowd control at the front gate. I took this from one of the press risers:

I do have to say that quite a few of the people attending this thing weren't too bright. The newspapers and TV told people not to bring purses and such as there would be tight security at the entrance. So, what do people do? Huge purses and tote bags. Men with tons of change and such in their pockets. It slowed down security to a crawl. The number of people who had to have pocket knives and mace taken away was amazing!

I thought that my hubby and I had a great position but when all was said and done my daughter had the best spot ever...front row - center. Here are some of her pictures. Hello Nevada!:

There was media from all over the world as well as from the Carson City High School newspaper. The reporter in red goes to our church:

There were Secret Service everywhere. Only problem is that the people in charge didn't explain to us how to distinguish them. So, in doing my job, I stopped a man trying to go through the press area to behind the stage. Turns out he was Secret Service, showed me how to identify him and then said I was doing a good job - I'm glad he didn't laugh at me - I would have died!

She noticed this immediately and commented on it:

Isn't she a perfect lady?

I'm showing this picture as the lady in the flowered blouse on the top tier of the bleachers - far left -goes to our church. She and her husband (he's African American) are wonderful people but have been saying for the last 4-5 months how much they love Obama. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw her show up - then I find out that her husband was there too. On Sunday they BOTH came to church with their McCain/Palin and You Go Girl buttons on! !

This plane flew around the venue all afternoon:

However, here are the pictures I'm most proud of though. My daughter was able to get both of their autographs (twice) and her picture taken with them both. All she kept saying was how nice they both were - stopping to talk to people, signing hats, shirts, signs, etc. My daughter did say that the Secret Service was very strict - go figure. No lipstick tubes allowed out, don't hand her a pen she has her own, there was someone with a bottle of yellow liquid that the Secret Service yelled at to put it away.

The only protesters were outside the venue and never came in - we couldn't even hear them from inside. There was one incident where the Secret Service told a guy to empty his pockets (at the security checkpoint) and he started to, then put his hands back in his pocket. He was told to take his hand out and he started to and then put it back in as if he were reaching for something. That was all it took, one agent yelled "Get Him" and there were 5 agents in the air and on top of this guy. A poor woman was knocked over as well as one of the McCain staffers. The crowd cheered as the guy was arrested - he had drugs and paraphanalia in his pockets.

One more interesting thing...the McCain travel staff was made up of a group of mid-20 somethings. They worked their butts off both Friday and Saturday and they were nice! They made sure my daughter got what she needed to take back to school for extra credit. I made sure to thank them before we left the venue and they looked surprised and grateful at that.

I know this is long but I wanted to give y'all a complete report and some of our pictures.

Ninergold3 aka Nadine from Nevada

[mainepatsfan]

I love new pictures of Sarah.

[A. Morgan]

Wow! Great report and photos!

[Callahan]

Some of the elite conservative opionion leaders are getting a little wobbly on Palin based on her interviews. Not enough depth they say. Meanwhile Obama fanatic Andrew Sullivan is hammering away as if shocked by politics in a political campaign. We have the lead. Its up to the true grass roots to carry this thing across the finish line.

[Rapscallion]

Sounds like Republican disarray in Carson City, NV. Must do better, people!

[Parley Baer]

Excellent report. This will go on your record.

[Mamzelle]

Thanks and bump! What a great report.

Now, who was in Golden, CO?

[Trajan88]

Carson City... SWEET!

Speaking of Carson City... I love my Carson City minted "Morgan" silver dollars... I always carry a silver dollar for good luck (or in my case since I'm a Texas A&M Aggie Former Student... to minimize the "bad" luck).

;-)

[BornToBeAmerican]

Too Cool. Thanks for sharing

[KansasGirl]

WOW! Great job and awesome photos!!!!

[sierrahome]

Last Thursday my wife and I were at the Reno Air Races 1st day. At the opening ceremonies a giant American flag and The state flag slowly drifted to earth via two jumpers. It soon became apparent that the State Flag was the flag of Alaska—the huge crowd went wild.

[a real Sheila]

awesome!

[Bahbah]

Love the report...love the pictures.

They are simply a fabulous looking couple.

[Guenevere]

Wonderful reporting and pictures....!!

[AmericanMade1776]

That is so cute.. what great pictures, and your daughter got such a great shot of Sarah, and to pose with her and the First Dude of Alaska..what a fun time you all had.

Loved the T shirt logos too. Thanks for this Sarah Palin report.

[PowerPro]

Great pics!

[UCANSEE2]

Thank you for providing a thread with some wonderful pictures, outstanding ‘insider’ news, and complete frankness.

I guess you’ll never qualify to be a MSM Journalist.

: )

[lovesdogs]

Terrific pics. Thank you so much for sharing this story. Your daughter will tell her grandchildren about it one day and btw, what a great kid you have!

[littlehouse36]

Thanks! Grateful that I live in a red-state so we won’t be seeing the Straight Talk Express. But a post like this is the next best thing...

[Congressman Billybob]

Thank you very, very much for your able and selfless work, and for your thorough report for the rest of us.

Congressman Billybob

Click here -- I think you'll be surprised and delighted.

Latest article, "I, Obama"

[ninergold3]

I guess you’ll never qualify to be a MSM Journalist

After working with them briefly that day I wouldn't want to. Some of them were rude, pushy, manipulative, etc.

There was a reporter from NBC (don't have a clue who he was or what branch of NBC though) there. He tried to schmooze my husband to get info. My husband wouldn't talk to him about anything of importance so he moved on to me. He tried the, "Your husband was too shy to give me your names" line. He kept saying he wanted the "man on the street view". We told him that if he really wanted the "man on the street view" then he could talk to the people who waited 3 hours in line to get in. What a putz!

[BunnySlippers]

[jazusamo]

Thanks for the great report and great pics, ninergold3. Super effort on you and your family's part.

[upcountry miss]

Loved your account of the actions of Secret Service. Have long been a fan of them. They are invariably soo nice when off duty, but all business when at work Before retirement , I had occasion to interact with them a few times a week. On one occasion, I hosted an appearance by Bush 41 and the Secret Service was amazing. On a walk through of the arena, a pair of sunglasses left on a folding chair fell and before they hit the floor. a dog grabbed and crunched them. Had it been a bomb, the dog would have been blown to bits (along with us, probably.) When Bush was en-route, several Secret Service with their dogs took up position along the perimeter at ease but when the caravan was within sight, the dogs began straining at their leashes ready to do battle at command. Just amazing! I am an avid dog lover so seeing these dogs in action just thrilled me.

[6SJ7]

Excellent on-the-ground report. Thanks.

[ninergold3]

Your daughter will tell her grandchildren about it one day and btw, what a great kid you have!

She is really excited that she has a picture of her with the lady who may be our next Vice President and then President.

She is a great kid and she wants to go back to the Republican HQ to help out some more. She doesn't do phones but anything else is fine!

[seekthetruth]

Thanks so much for your great report! My husband and I had just been talking about not taking anything with us when we go tomorrow to see Senator McCain here in Tampa. Do wish Sarah was going to be with him, but we are going to show our support for McCain and know we will have a great time! Thanks again for all the detail you gave and pictures. Your daughter is a cutie too!

[FrdmLvr]

They just had a local reporter live at one of Biden’s rallies in Michigan (Detroit area) and they showed a measley crowd. She said there were about 1,000 (ROTFL) but “the crowds had thinned out considerably” (QUITE considerably by the look of it). He was still speaking, too. Since this was during the 6:00 news and it was at a high school, I would imagine the rally had not been underway very long. I read a poll today that said McCain was catching up in Michigan, which was expected to go to Obama.

[ninergold3]

I love dogs too. It was amazing to see them at work. The night before the rally they were doing a sweep and one of the dogs "alerted" on a sewer drain. They took a flashlight and looked and looked and looked.

There were also local mounted police around the outside of the venue. Nobody was going to get away with anything at this event!

[AmericanMade1776]

Found these from Carson City today.

BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal An audience member reacts after dancing on stage before Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke to the crowd at the Pony Express Pavilion at Mills Park on Saturday.

BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Steve Kwapich, of Reno, reads a Time magazine article about Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, before her speech on Saturday.

[fanfan]

Thank you.

I love these first person reports.

[ninergold3]

The venue in Carson City was supposed to be at capacity at 3500. However, due to the morons in the crowd who slowed down security, they opened the doors to all. There were about 4500 in the arena.

The news kept saying that it was only 1/2 full. That part is true - what they don't tell you is that the press risers were halfway back so anyone behind them wouldn't see anything. There was a 9'x13' screen and speakers outside the venue so the overflow went out there to see/listen. There were about 1500 out there. It was also a good place to plop ones buns as inside was standing - only the dignitaries and bleacher folk got seats.

[KansasGirl]

I like it!

[ninergold3]

The girls were watching this guy all afternoon. He was having so much fun dancing to the band.

[mrsmel]

I hate to sound shallow (and I could talk about her brains and accomplishments at great length, LOL), but Sarah Palin is just gorgeous! Her husband must feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be married to such a package-brains, beauty, good natured, but a fighter when she needs to be!

[ninergold3]

Her husband must feel like the luckiest guy in the world

The First Dude is no slouch either. He is one very good looking man. Even my daughter says he's good looking "for an old guy". Brat!

[arasina]

Fantastic! Terrific photos and you did a wonderful job of reporting, Nadine! (You have a lovely daughter, too.) =o)

[ninergold3]

Arasina - thank you so much for the compliments! I'm a perfectionist (I found a couple mistakes in my post and it's making me crazy) and am always elected secretary of one group or other as I'm detailed - way too detailed.

We are very proud of our daughter. She is a good student, she has a wonderful job, she has had the same boyfriend for a year and a half, she wears a "True Love Waits" ring and loves Jesus with all her heart - she was baptized last year and takes it very seriously.

[Atlantian]

There’s a great video on YouTube called “Palin in Carson”. Shows how enthusiastic the crowd was. I’d link it but I don’t know how. Maybe someone could do the link.

[mrsmel]

“Brat!”

LOL! But yes, he’s quite the looker too. They make a beautiful couple, and with their children, the epitome of the all-American family-the real thing. Not some pseudo Kennedyish wanna-bes like someone I could name (and Michelle and that whole faux “Jackie” thing, I noticed she gave that look up when the Obama campaign had to put her on ice for a while because of her big bitter mouth).

[Stoat]

ninergold3, thank you so very much for all of your hard work, great report (no, it’s not too long!) and GREAT photos!

Libertina and Just Lori, I know this isn’t a “Washington State” related thread but I thought that you might like to see it anyway. The excitement at the event carries over through the report and the photos...it brings tears to my furry stoat eyes because I’m so DARNED proud to be an American and so DARNED proud of the FACT that we may well be seeing our President in 2012 here, and I feel such a sense of happiness and optimism for our great country that it will quite likely be in such capable hands for the forseeable future! :-)

“sniffle”

[reformedliberal]

The camera loves our Sarah! It isn't shallow to notice it. In a previous life I managed some photo shoots, some fashion plus some *how to do it* type illustrations. NONE of the professional models half Sarah’s age ever looked that good in daylight with street make up. I was also amazed at how much makeup goes on the hands of *hand models*! Sarah probably looks terrific first thing in the morning, too.

[loungeSerf]

Hey, thanks for sharing your story and photos! Great job!

[mrsmel]

In one aspect they remind me of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard-Carole was a beauty, but she loved to hunt and fish and camp and do outdoorsy things with her guy, and Clark loved her for that as well as for being beautiful and smart. And Carole was a patriot too, she died in a plane crash coming back from selling war bonds. Aah, those were the days, when Hollywood loved our country instead of hating it (and they made better movies too).

[Inyo-Mono]

Thanks for the great report! Wish I could’ve made it up there (I’m 150 miles south of Carson City on 395) as I know Palin won’t be coming to California.

[LiberConservative]

Worthy of a FR Pulitzer. Good job and thanks for posting. Sarah ROCKS!

[paudio]

Here it is:

Palin in Carson

[Atlantian]

Thanks.

[thatjoeguy]

Thanks for the report and its nice to know they’re the real deal and not just a stage props.

JB

[GVnana]

FANTASTIC!