Richmond's Rally for America - Post Rally Report

03/23/2003 | P8riot

[P8riot]

Great Job Richmond! Over 10,000 strong. Post your comments, photos, etc

[Ligeia]

Did get to say "Hi" to the Governor though, just as he was leaving.

How long did he stay? I only saw him right before the Rally started. Looks like he signed that anti-illegal immigration drivers license bill before he went to the Rally. Who is the Senator with the number "10" on his license plate? That's the only other politician I saw.

[Ligeia]

SADDAM WEARS A BERET. COINCIDENCE?

Great signs! I'm glad you were able to make it, it'd be fun to do this more often travelling around the state. The FRN rally schedule shows another one in Williamsburg but I don't know any details about it.

[Corin Stormhands]

I think the Governor was there the whole time. The security guys on the platform looked like the guys from the EPU (Executive Protection Unit). I think they were there through the whole program.

The Senator was either Walter Stosch (#10 in seniority) or John Watkins (District #10), both local. I think the plate #'s are based on seniority. So it was probably Stosch.

(Coop, this thread is a good run-down of the event)

[Ligeia]

Thanks for the license plate information. I know we've left out some holes in the rally schedule. It was wonderful to have the Veterans here so the crowd could thank them for their service. Michael Graham put out an empty chair to symbolize those overseas who couldn't be there with us. The John Wayne recording which I hadn't heard before. "God Bless America" I'm guessing is the title, tho I don't know. I heard a children's choir mentioned, but they must have sung before I got there. A rabbi offered the Benediction, someone sang that "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" song.

One question I had was the story Glenn Beck told about returning a captured flag to Richmond. Was the person who had the flag in Minnesota? I wasn't sure of the connection to how a Minnesotan would have a captured flag.

[Coop]

Fantastic photos! Isn't it wonderful when you go to a patriotic rally and you can't find other FReepers because there are simply too many people? :-)

[Freedom2specul8]

I heard on the news last night that your rally was the largest pro-rally in the U.S.!! Beautiful pictures! Thank you for posting them..

[Corin Stormhands]

Children's Choir was from the Southside Church of the Nazarene. The Virginians Barbershop Chorus sang "Let There Be Peace on Earth."

Here's the flag story (more or less):

During the Civil War, a unit from Minnesota captured a flag from a unit in Virginia. The flag remains in Minnesota, even though Virginia has asked (I believe on more than one occasion) to have it returned. Jesse Ventura even made some smart-@$$ "you lost get over it" comment.

The guy that spoke in Duluth told Glenn Beck that he couldn't give that flag back. But he had a flag he placed in the fence at Ground Zero in NYC. He went back the next day and the flag was still there, so he brought it home. He gave it to Glenn to carry to Richmond to say "we're standing together."

One other thing: Last week there was talk on Glenn's show (and maybe on WRVA as well) that the Mass Choir wasn't going to sing the Battle Hymn because "it always gets booed in Richmond." When I heard that, I said "that's a load of crap," because I've NEVER heard it booed.

It was nice to hear the crowd singing along.

One of my favorite parts though was the crowd helping Patrick Henry finish his speech.

[Coop]

We had about 500 at the Lincoln Memorial, but check out these incredible photos from the capital of VA.

[wayoverontheright]

Hey, how was your trip?

Great trip, thank you. We left Lynchburg for Richmond Saturday afternoon, stayed at the Omni, had dinner at the Tobacco Co. Sat. night. It's a good thing the hotel was right across the street! Sunday AM we went to Walgreens for poster board and magic markers, prepared our signs and went to the rally.

It was very uplifting to be among so many "right-thinking" individuals.

[Ligeia]

Fantastic photos! Isn't it wonderful when you go to a patriotic rally and you can't find other FReepers because there are simply too many people? :-)

Yes, wonderful! I hope Glenn Beck doesn't get burned out or run out of financial support unless another radio personality steps to the fore. There are still many cities that need a rally! I bought a sign in an effort to help them defray some expenses yesterday.

CorinStormhands, I'm temporarily on a Mac (blech!) and I can't seem to cut and paste two articles on the RTD Va AP wire page: one about this rally and one about a NASCAR patriotic event in Abingdon. I can't open a second window. Would someone be able to paste those two articles here? The RTD is stingy with their online photos. How did the hardcopy pics turn out? If they're good, I can stop by Borders and see if they have a copy.

[Ligeia]

Thank you for recounting the flag story. The crowd truly appreciated it. I didn't hear any booing at the "Battle Hymn" either, but maybe it's because I was singing along, too. The Virginians also sang, "This is My Country" didn't they, or was that someone else? I love barbershop music and we never get to hear it up here unless one seeks out a performance by the Fairfax Jubil-aires or the Alexandria Harmonizers, which are rare.

[Corin Stormhands]

The RTD Metro section has a good crowd shot. The best part of it is the contrast with the photo from the anti-war rally downtown. Incidentally, that one turned violent. At least one protestor got pepper spray in his eyes...what a shame...only one...;-)

Yes, that was the Virginians singing "This is My Country."

[Coop]

At least one protestor got pepper spray in his eyes...what a shame...only one...;-)

Thanks for the ping. And the laugh! :-D

[P8riot]

The John Wayne recording which I hadn't heard before. "God Bless America" I'm guessing is the title, tho I don't know.

The John Wayne recording is "America, why I love her."

[P8riot]

My pleasure. Thanks for the compliment.

[Ligeia]

The John Wayne recording is "America, why I love her."

Thanks! At first I thought it was going to be "Ragged Ol' Flag" but soon realized it was something else. I want to hear it again as I was on the back side of the speakers at that point and couldn't hear it as well as I would've liked.

[Ligeia]

The RTD Metro section has a good crowd shot. The best part of it is the contrast with the photo from the anti-war rally downtown. Incidentally, that one turned violent. At least one protestor got pepper spray in his eyes...what a shame...only one...;-)

Is the crowd shot from the fork lift? I checked the WRVA site and didn't see any pics there at all but am not sure I was looking in the right place. I have yet to see a high shot with the people waving their flags and I know they took some.

I saw at the RTD site side-by-side links to two stories about yesterday's rallies, theirs and ours....only ONE had the word "arrests" in the title.

[RevelationCS]

The Washington Times gave your rally pretty good coverage too (see http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20030324-4847944.htm). I just wish the rally up in Milwaukee Saturday had as favorable of a response from our liberal newspaper who barely gave us a paragraph for the 2500+ who showed up (yes, our liberal paper even understated the number of people there).

[Ligeia]

Good for you all! Wasn't it fun? Thanks for the link to the WT story! I subscribe to the WT and there's a gloious red, white, and blue photo on the front page of the Richmond rally. I forgot to check the REAL LIFE version of the WT this morning until I saw your link. :^)

I'm hoping the papers like the Army Times and the Navy Times just bypass the newspapers who try and pass themselves off as objective journalism and take the stories and pics straight to Baghdad. That's who this is all for anyway.

[Corin Stormhands]

Yes, the RTD pic is from the fork lift. It's a good crowd shot.