Liberal fail: Palin protest edition
I just received a breathless e-mail from Erin Neff and Brian Fadie of ProgressNowNevada, bragging about how their group stood up to Sarah Palin at her book signing in Reno.
Dear Friend,So with that build-up - promising to expose "the real Palin" - I clicked on the news stories expecting something dramatic. Instead, I read this:
There were eight inches of snow. It was 10 degrees.
But that didn't stop us from shining the light of truth on Sarah Palin when she came to Reno on Wednesday night.Our members braved the elements because the truth matters.
And, thanks to our stalwarts in Reno, we helped make sure the good people of northern Nevada got to see the real Palin.
http://rgj.com/article/20091209/NEWS/91209016&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews
We even made the press back in Palin's home state: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_alaska/story/1048248.html
Ahead of the book signing, the Nevada Democratic Party urged members to join activists at a protest outside the venue to show "we won't stand for her lies about" health care reform legislation that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and others are trying to push through Congress.So in response to one of the Left's most hated (or feared) conservatives, ProgressNow turned out 12 people. And were any of them not paid employees of Progress Now or the Democratic Party?
But with temperatures in the low teens after an overnight low of minus 6, only about a dozen Palin critics showed up and they were told by Costco officials they were not allowed to be there on private property, said Brian Fadie, a spokesman for the event organized by the nonprofit ProgressNowNevada.
"As soon as we unfurled our signs ... Costco told us to vacate the area. They wanted us to go way across the parking lot. It's just so cold a lot of people dispersed after that," he said.
Contrast this with the 1,000 supporters who showed up to have Palin sign her book for them. Some even camped out overnight in the freezing weather.
Most of the 1,000 supporters who waited several hours, some overnight in sub-zero temperatures, said Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's book signing Wednesday in Reno was worth the wait...That's right, more people were in line overnight, in freezing temperatures, waiting for Gov. Palin's autograph than ProgressNow could get to come for a (very) brief rally.
"It was totally worth staying overnight because I'm warm now," said Jeff Hardie, a special education teacher who drove about four hours from Windsor, Calif., to be among the first in line Tuesday night. "I'm definitely a supporter."
Supporters and curious onlookers gathered in the aisles inside the store, eager to catch a glimpse of Palin.
"I like that she's a common sense conservative," said Truckee resident Bob Van Gelder, whose Uncle Sam outfit included a fake white beard and top hat. "I've read her book and it's an incredible life where she talks about fighting corruption and that's what we need." ...
The line for Palin's visit began to form at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday and about 20 people stayed overnight, Costco general manager Bob Tote said.
Wow. Congratulations, ProgressNow. Way to brave "the elements because the truth matters" and then leave after a few minutes because you got cold. I guess the truth doesn't matter as much if you need to get back to the warmth provided by burning fossil fuels. And I still haven't stopped chuckling about that "shining the light of truth" line. What truth is that? That conservatives were (and are) far more energized right now than anything your organization can put together? In that case, keep shining.
Now, there's no shame in having a small political rally. But to brag about it and act like you revealed "the real Palin" - that's just embarrassing. Or maybe compared with ProgressNow's previous efforts, this is a resounding success ...
In case ProgressNowNevada is wondering what a true grassroots rally worth bragging about looks like, here's an example. (Video after the jump.)
Update: Thanks to Texas4Palin for the link.
