PUMAs at the Palin Rally in Carson, California
Today I went to the Sarah Palin rally in Carson, CA with a few PUMAs. This was the first political rally I have ever attended. I regret not seeing Hillary Clinton when she was here in Los Angeles during the primaries, and I did not want to pass up a chance to see Palin live. I had met my Palin PUMA compadres through NoQuarter, when late one night, we realized a bunch of us posting there were all in West Los Angeles (and it turns out, about five minutes from each other).
We set to arrive around 10:30 am, an hour before the doors opened. The event was to start at 2 pm. By the time we got there, the lines were already hitting the street. Almost everyone was pro-Palin, with a small number of Obama protesters making a ruckus to one side. (There were at max 30 of them from what I could see.)
I was wearing a Hillary 2008 shirt with a McCain/Palin button on it. While a sister PUMA had suggested we bring a PUMA sign to find other PUMAs, none of us had time to put one together, so my shirt was the point of contact. We had two different PUMAs approach us due to my shirt.
One was a woman who is at this point undecided and reluctant to vote for a Republican the first time in her life. She is working in an environment that is so pro-Obama that she was afraid to share her full name or have her picture taken, for fear of being fired. (This is the kind of atmosphere that Obamabots create! Wonderful!) She was actually surprised to find “real PUMAs” out in the world - as we know, being a PUMA in Los Angeles can be quite isolating. This woman joined us and sat with us during the event. She was exceptionally nice and expressed many of the concerns all of us PUMAs share.
Another PUMA approached us. She was friends with the woman who created the “We Will Not Be Silenced” documentary and was active in exposing caucus fraud. She was a Latina and very well informed about what had happened in the caucuses. She and her PUMA friends somehow found us again (by accident) once inside the large stadium and sat in front of us during the event.
We were lucky we got there early as we got terrific seats to the side of the stage. It took a while for the place to fill up, but eventually the entire stadium was packed, with people standing along the railings above the seating area to get a view. I heard on CBS news when I got home that there were 10,000 people inside, and 10,000 listening outside.
The crowd was very diverse, with Latinos, Asians, and yes some brave African-Americans bucking the Obama trend in their McCain/Palin t-shirts. The PUMAs I sat with represented women of a variety of ages, younger, older, mixed ethnicities, and sexual orientations. And all the PUMAs were articulate, intelligent, kind and fantastic women.
A handwritten Palin sign was abandoned near us, so we got a marker and modified it to say “PALIN PUMA.” We spotted another PUMA area up in the eaves over to the right of us. They carried a sign that said “Hillary Supporter(s) for Palin.” I tried to wave to them with my PUMA sign, but I don’t think they saw us. It was good to see that other Hillary supporters were there though, even if we could not connect with them.
The event was well-organized, with a variety of speakers warming up the very enthusiastic crowd. These were mostly local Republicans, who thankfully talked briefly, perhaps five minutes or so. There were a lot of women Republicans who spoke, and a few Latinas as well. Actor Jon Voight also warmed up the crowd.
The biggest surprise to me was that the President of Los Angeles NOW (National Organization for Women), Shelly Mandell, arrived to announce Palin! She was greeted very warmly by the crowd and everyone cheered when she said about Palin: “This is what a feminist looks like.”
Everyone went nuts when Sarah Palin took the mike. Let me tell you something. I have been impressed with Palin’s ability to connect in her convention speech and the debate. But is it out with the public that she truly shines. Without the editing by the media, without the ridiculous pop quiz questions, she allows her personality and command of the audience to come through. And she is in command of the audience. Ever aware of what’s going on around her, she provides a give and take with the crowd that is top-notch.
I was also pleased to hear her deliver something beyond her normal stump speech. She started off with Madeline Albright’s quote: “There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t support other women.” The crowd booed at the mention of the Albright, but cheered wildly at the quote. (We PUMAs loved it!) Palin admitted she wasn’t sure if that quote would go over well with the crowd but gave it a shot anyway.
She landed her biggest shot at Obama by calling him out for “palling around with terrorists” aka Bill Ayers of the Weather Underground. As some previous speakers said: The gloves were off and the heels were on.
Palin’s speech was excellent and the crowd obviously loved her. We left feeling quite satisfied. As we walked out, I took my “PALIN PUMA” sign and held it up proudly to the very few Obama supporters lining the road. “PUMA!!!!” I yelled at them. “You should have supported Hillary!”
They were drowned out by cheers of “Sarah! Sarah!”
Posted: October 4th, 2008 under Sarah Palin.
Comments: 17
Comments
Comment from Kimley
Time: October 4, 2008, 9:31 pm
Thanks for the great article!! I wish I could have been there. I love Sarah. Thanks to all the Hillary supporters who have gone with Palin - or at least giving her a chance. You won’t be disappointed!! I think it is very clear that she is the most sincere and least “typical politician” of any of them. She is just a nice, talented woman. Go Sarah!!!!
Comment from M Vorman
Time: October 4, 2008, 10:53 pm
Great article!
I’m a lifelong republican and I’m so glad to see moderate democrats stand up for the classical values of the democratic party that Hillary, Bill, Pat Moynihan, Paul Simon and Tip O’Neill stood for.
The ultra-radical George Soros surrogates who have hijacked the DNC have betrayed the noble efforts of those men who worked together with Reagan to win the cold war.
Whatever happens this year, I hope you PUMAs the best in recapturing the heart and soul of the democratic party and throw the corrupt influences of Dean, Pelosi and Reid out to the ashheap of history where they belong.
Comment from simonetta
Time: October 4, 2008, 11:42 pm
I loved your article, your insights, your feelings and expressions of how you felt, what it was like to be there and how exciting it must have been.
Thank you for this wonderful Article…
puma arizona
Comment from Amazonia
Time: October 4, 2008, 11:58 pm
Thank you very much for this uplifting report. I really enjoy reading
first account of this rallies (with our Hillary before and now with Sarah)
I’m glad you got to meet other PUMAs.
McCain/Palin ‘08
Hillary Clinton/Sarah Palin ‘12
Comment from bayareavoter
Time: October 5, 2008, 1:09 am
Thank you for taking the time to write this up for us! I’m a PUMA up in the SF Bay Area.
Comment from etc.
Time: October 5, 2008, 1:33 am
Good times! What a wonderful day. Damn, you were paying attention. Sarah is such an exciting presence. TV is one thing, but seeing her in person - she’s a rock star. It’s no wonder the Bots are pissing themselves with fear.
Pingback from NOW Los Angeles Head Endorses Sarah Palin! « Texas Hill Country
Time: October 5, 2008, 2:13 am
[...] Stay tuned, I will have all the updates for you as they come in! As Greta said… expect some serious fireworks to start flying! . . For a personal account of the rally CLICK HERE [...]
Pingback from American Sentinel » Blog Archive » L.A. NOW endorses PALIN; PUMA report from rally
Time: October 5, 2008, 2:15 am
[...] election. Owner of the Coyote Blue Jay blog. Read more from this authorA great, first-hand account: PUMAs at the Palin Rally in Carson, California We had two different PUMAs approach us due to my shirt. [...] One was a woman who is at this point [...]
Comment from Infidel753
Time: October 5, 2008, 7:52 am
Thanks for the cheerful report amid all the gloomy media spin we’ve been getting lately. I hope Palin will stop by here in Oregon sometime.
Comment from imustprotest
Time: October 5, 2008, 9:45 am
I was there too!! With my worn and faded Hillary sign. The republicans I met were so warm and welcoming and they cheered my sign and thanked me for coming! I got there really early, about 9am so of course I was able to get real close…standing at the railing just in front of the podium! I saw Sarah up close as she signed autographs and she was so gracious, warm and real! Your description of the crowd and it’s enthusiasm was spot on. Also, thanks for mentioning that there weren’t that many Obama supporters there as the press was reporting. I thought the same, maybe 50 at most. I did the same with my sign as we passed them exiting in our car. I rolled down the window and held out my Hillary sign and a woman Obama supporter said, “oh no….you…..you can’t!!!” and I said, you’ll love this….”YES I CAN!” “COUNTRY FIRST”
Comment from T B
Time: October 5, 2008, 9:50 am
wow this was a great blog! The more I read your work, the more I respect moderate Democrats and wish Hillary had a chance to run against McCain. She has shown more class and tact as a true and respectable candidate for President. You are very right about the oppressive, angry Obamabots who have disgraced themselves time and again. I work in Seattle, WA where McCain signs and bumper stickers are regularly trashed. One extremist nearly set a guys house on fire while burning his McCain sign.
But I digress. Great article and I’m glad to see that not all Democrats have been sucked into the zombie-like worship of Obama just for his political party– way to stand up for what you believe in!
Comment from Sharon
Time: October 5, 2008, 1:16 pm
I am a registered republican woman, I may not agree with most democrats. I do have to say I WAS shocked at the treatment of Senator Clinton during the primariy. She was not given the respect she should have commanded by the party she has so vigorously supported and defended. I can understand the PUMAs being ticked-off… she has much more experience and common sense than the “chosen one”. Do your homework on these candidates, vote your conscience and sleep well at night!
Comment from Maureen
Time: October 5, 2008, 6:07 pm
I was there and yes, it was utterly moving to see the left reaching out to the right and I hope we live up to the trust. I love Sarah because she got everything by herself, I may not think she’s perfect, but she’s pretty (gosh darn) close. Shelly was my attorney in my divorce a few years back and I was stunned to see her there. But I was so moved by the feeling of sisterhood she offered. I have been very impressed with Geraldine Ferraro on the subject too - as others have said, it is so refreshing to hear moderates making overtures. Wow…if only it could continue. And I too, as others have expressed, would have loved to have had Hillary on the ticket and I may have voted for her if McCain had gone with anyone other than Palin.
Comment from Brittany
Time: October 5, 2008, 7:32 pm
I was one of the people who helped organize the event and I was able to talk to a few Hillary supporters that I ran into as I was rushing around throughout the day. I wanted them to know how wonderful it is that they can see past party lines and support another strong woman. I was appalled at how Hillary was treated in the primary and after watching SNL last night I realized I had to stop watching it all together. Back on the campaign trail tomorrow, but I wanted you to know that reading your account of the rally helped comfort me in the knowledge that all of the hard work planning it was worth it. Keep up the amazing work!
Comment from LoveAmerica
Time: October 5, 2008, 9:35 pm
Thanks for sharing the true account, we get very little truth in the media. I am a Hillary supporter, but now supporting McCain who fought for me and Palin who is going to “shake things up in Washington” for me.
Be prepared for more lies from the Obama camp, distortions and attempt to destroy McCain on something he was exhaunirated (sorry can’t spell)on coming up tomorrow.
I wish Hannity’s America expose gets shown a few more times. It was good. I even passed up “Desperate Housewives” to watch it. My country is important to me and comes first over party. I will be changing from Dem to Independent after the election.
I am concerned McCain/Palin will get the votes but Obama has things rigged, like in Ohio already, and the system seems to be assisting him in that, the judges and Jennifer Brunner saying they will allow it if people don’t have proper ID’s, permanent addresses they can check out etc etc. What an outrage. Can’t believe in America this is happening.
Comment from Lauren
Time: October 6, 2008, 5:03 pm
I was there at the rally and I believe I saw you and your friends after the rally. On my way out of the stadium complex, I ran across a few ladies with a sign that said “This Hillary supporter is voting for Palin” or something to that effect. I looked the lady with the sign in the eye and thanked her and said good job.
We appreciate your support! Keep it up!
Pingback from The Shape Of Things To Come | American Sentinel
Time: October 7, 2008, 12:58 pm
[...] PUMAS at the Palin rally in Carson, California. “The biggest surprise to me was that the President of Los Angeles NOW (National Organization for Women), Shelly Mandell, arrived to announce Palin! She was greeted very warmly by the crowd and everyone cheered when she said about Palin: ‘This is what a feminist looks like.’” [...]
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