Philly Rally - VALLEY FORGE

[Ozwest]

So you're playing in the Rose Bowl, there's 10 seconds left on the clock, and your 15 yards from the end zone, and down by 6 points. The tight end drops an absolute "sitter" of a pass in the end zone which wins you the game... You're angry, you just saw your season pass before your eyes, but there's still 4 seconds left on the clock... What do you do, pay the living shit out of the tight end when he comes back to the huddle and give up? Or do you keep your act together and send your fullback towards the goal-line, right behind the guy who dropped the pass? If Vince Lombardi was alive he'd sort some of you guys out.

 

[jonesohms]

How about having a giant TAILGATE PARTY for Ron Paul!

 

[angelatc]

These are legitimate questions that should have been asked and addressed much earlier.

Well, either everybody lied to Semetary when he was working on this, or the campaign made some expensive changes.

 

[ACJohn]

We, as grassroots supporters need to let the campaign do their jobs! I just read on another thread that someone is using their November 5th money to take their wife out to dinner. Why, because they are mad? Give me a break! This is the future of our country we are talking about! If someone can be disuaded to donate or support Ron Paul because a rally location was moved, or because the campaign made a cheesy ad, then to the curb with ya! We don't need that kind of "support". We have a serious problem in this country, and Dr. Paul is our last hope to fix things peacefully. I understand the frustration of the local organizers, but why didn't someone wait for an official word from the campaign before promoting the location?

Ben,

I was the one who suggested I would use my 5th money for a day out with my wife. The point being that I wanted to voice what I thought could be a downside to the decision to move the Rally in an exaggerated manner to make my case. Hyperbole look it up.

You may want to just let the campaign do their jobs (I have heard the same sentiments about the current President), but I reserve the right to dissent with my words and my pocketbook. I am not “mad” but angry that the potential for a huge rally in a highly populated area has been downsized to an inconvenient venue.

Have a good day and enjoy the traffic on I-76 on the 10th.

John

 

[angelatc]

Apparently a Delegation is going to HQ tomorrow to try and resurrect this thing... I sure hope the campaign liaisons with the Grass Roots in a productive way after this meeting.

I'm just shaking my head here. Yesterday when it was all speculation, the one sentiment was that it might be OK as long as they didn't move it to Valley Forge, for the very valid reason that there is no public transportation.

So they moved it to Valley Forge?

 

[Ozwest]

DAMN! My football coach, Chuck Schrader, used that same speech in 1975 for the State Championship. Sounded good at the time, but get's no traction here. My apoligies, I have got to "lighten up" about Ron Paul. Naaaah!

 

[BizmanUSA]

As previously posted the $140K high cost for the event equipment site logistics is BUNK. I know as I quoted the prices and unless the camapign added other items to make the real numbers inflate to these NEW posted amounts they can only be posted for a - don't want to really hold a HUGE rally in Philly - excuse.

YES, there were sime quirky situations with the park but nothing that we could not deal with and at last resort there was insurance ALREADY arranged and money collected.

Apparently the park has NEVER had a rally of this type before. They have had probably hundreds of events and with thousands attending but not in this fashion.
Think of it as an outdoor concert style rally with RON PAUL as the headline act.

While the costs to produce this HUGE rally in such a major urban/region multi-state market were on the high side - they were no where near the high end what was posted on the RON PAUL 2008 campaign website.

Refer back to Post #130 Page 13 of this thread

BizmanUSA

Originally Posted by LibertyEagle
$140,000 is a lot of money. From what I was told it could end up being more than that too. Like if the grass was damaged, etc.

These are legitimate questions that should have been asked and addressed much earlier.

 

[Nefertiti]

I remember when Sematary first went down to the park to talk to them about it they said they hadn't had an event like this in years but also they were excited about the potential of it.

 

[Ozwest]

I'm just shaking my head here. Yesterday when it was all speculation, the one sentiment was that it might be OK as long as they didn't move it to Valley Forge, for the very valid reason that there is no public transportation.

So they moved it to Valley Forge?

There is not a more energized group of citizens in the world than Ron Paul supporters. When you begin to throw away some of the "shackles" that bind you, situations like this will be turned on their head and you'll realize that anything is achievable...

 

[Ozwest]

Why spin your wheels about some Bot scam, and realize how you are beginning to "tame" the media through your powerful "rebuttals" and the economic power you have, which is statistically demonstrated throughout the mainstream and net with your viewership and surfing. You are a powerful force to be reckoned with.

 

[BizmanUSA]

Why spin your wheels about some Bot scam, and realize how you are beginning to "tame" the media through your powerful "rebuttals" and the economic power you have, which is statistically demonstrated throughout the mainstream and net with your viewership and surfing. You are a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Huh?

 

[literatim]

I think all meetup groups learned something from this: never let the official campaign take over one of your grassroots projects.

 

[Ozwest]

Sorry Bizman, it's Friday night here in OZ and 9:30 PM. I often have a couple of Glenfidich's about this time... Can't stop thinking about how dissapointed some of you must be... Hope you guys keep your shit together. What you are doing is the single most important endeavor to the well-being of the world and my Family in the States.

 

[tfelice]

Wow, talk about people having a hissy fit. It's a rally for pete's sake and the campaign shouldn't have to shell out 100K to do it. For that matter the grassroots spending 100K to have it is a waste of money as well. Moving it is a wise idea. The venue is good and the location is easily accessible.

Some people seem to forget that there is a Presidential campaign being run here and ultimately they are the ones in charge and know best how to run things.

 

[tmg19103]

No Surprises Hear

I was one of the original people involved in getting this rally going on this board after several board members came up with the idea. I also personally proposed the idea to the Philly MeetUp back in end of August when their Organizer was on vacation (I live in Philly) and they loved the idea.

None of this surprises me, and it is why I bailed on the Philly rally a ways back and decided to focus on NH. Infighting started between the MU-25 Organizer sand his Assistant Organizers, who all left MU-25 and formed MU-972 - which is the true grassroots Philly MeetUp that hits the streets, posts banners over highways, hits up the Dem. Debate at Drexel, etc.

This infighting soured me to the idea working. There is a lot of blame to go around here. IF the original Philly MU had been cohesive and IF the members on this board and that MU had run with this rally back in early September we would have raised the money and made this a huge event at the Mall. So, while we did everything we could to get this rally going early from a grassroots standpoint, it was stalled for a while in MU-25 which was given credit for winning the fundraising competition - even though it was a multiple MU effort.

However, what happened on the MU level no doubt concerned the national campaign, so they took the rally over. When that happened I still did not not want to get involved because I knew how small the campaign staff was and is, and I was concerned they would not come through as RP became more popular and they became swamped. This too has come true and the national campaign deserves some blame here.

HOWEVER, what is done is done. The rally is in Valley Forge. If you are angry, let's vent it by making this a huge Valley Forge rally. What would are motivations be? Forgive and forget. If you are angry, funnel that anger into making this a huge event which will make the campaign regret not doing the Mall.

RP is getting some real bad press right now due to this botnet thing. Newspapers are saying all his supporters are bots. Yes, bots can't give $5.1 million in one quarter, but the press no doubt leaves that out of their articles.

WE NEED TO REGAIN MOMENTUM HERE AND GET POSITIVE! A strong turnout for the Nov. 5 money bomb and an overflow turnout at Valley Forge will still show the press (even if they don't write about it) that RP has REAL and ENTHUSASTIC supporters. At least it can help quell the current negative press.

Great YouTubes can still be made at the convention center and we can all truck over (and maybe RP can come over with us) to Valley Forge Park and get some great YouTubes in front of historic sights with tones of supporters and banners. Let's overflow Valley Forge. At the very least have voice, if not video, of RP's speech projected to an overflow crowd outside or somewhere else inside the convention center.

Let's get creative here and stop feeling sorry for ourselves or the most important thing - the message of Liberty and RP winning the campaign will never happen.

 

[KewlRonduderules]

I was one of the original people involved in getting this rally going on this board after several board members came up with the idea. I also personally proposed the idea to the Philly MeetUp back in end of August when their Organizer was on vacation (I live in Philly) and they loved the idea.

None of this surprises me, and it is why I bailed on the Philly rally a ways back and decided to focus on NH. Infighting started between the MU-25 Organizer sand his Assistant Organizers, who all left MU-25 and formed MU-972 - which is the true grassroots Philly MeetUp that hits the streets, posts banners over highways, hits up the Dem. Debate at Drexel, etc.

This infighting soured me to the idea working. There is a lot of blame to go around here. IF the original Philly MU had been cohesive and IF the members on this board and that MU had run with this rally back in early September we would have raised the money and made this a huge event at the Mall. So, while we did everything we could to get this rally going early from a grassroots standpoint, it was stalled for a while in MU-25 which was given credit for winning the fundraising competition - even though it was a multiple MU effort.

However, what happened on the MU level no doubt concerned the national campaign, so they took the rally over. When that happened I still did not not want to get involved because I knew how small the campaign staff was and is, and I was concerned they would not come through as RP became more popular and they became swamped. This too has come true and the national campaign deserves some blame here.

HOWEVER, what is done is done. The rally is in Valley Forge. If you are angry, let's vent it by making this a huge Valley Forge rally. What would are motivations be? Forgive and forget. If you are angry, funnel that anger into making this a huge event which will make the campaign regret not doing the Mall.

RP is getting some real bad press right now due to this botnet thing. Newspapers are saying all his supporters are bots. Yes, bots can't give $5.1 million in one quarter, but the press no doubt leaves that out of their articles.

WE NEED TO REGAIN MOMENTUM HERE AND GET POSITIVE! A strong turnout for the Nov. 5 money bomb and an overflow turnout at Valley Forge will still show the press (even if they don't write about it) that RP has REAL and ENTHUSASTIC supporters. At least it can help quell the current negative press.

Great YouTubes can still be made at the convention center and we can all truck over (and maybe RP can come over with us) to Valley Forge Park and get some great YouTubes in front of historic sights with tones of supporters and banners. Let's overflow Valley Forge. At the very least have voice, if not video, of RP's speech projected to an overflow crowd outside or somewhere else inside the convention center.

Let's get creative here and stop feeling sorry for ourselves or the most important thing - the message of Liberty and RP winning the campaign will never happen.

When did the campaign take over?

 

[Ridiculous]

Someone should let the campaign know that it is know that the convention center is not public transportation assessable.

I just checked SEPTA, the local bus and rail system, and it is a 25 minute walk from the nearest station:

http://airs1.septa.org/bin/query.exe/en?seqnr=1&ident=8x.08861.1194009686&OK#focus

Directions are from the planed area of the rally to the convention center.

Convention center site: http://www.vfconventioncenter.com/

 

[tfelice]

When did the campaign take over?

When Paul is appearing somewhere it becomes an official event, and then they have no choice but to take over.

 

[KewlRonduderules]

Ben,

I was the one who suggested I would use my 5th money for a day out with my wife. The point being that I wanted to voice what I thought could be a downside to the decision to move the Rally in an exaggerated manner to make my case. Hyperbole look it up.

You may want to just let the campaign do their jobs (I have heard the same sentiments about the current President), but I reserve the right to dissent with my words and my pocketbook. I am not “mad” but angry that the potential for a huge rally in a highly populated area has been downsized to an inconvenient venue.

Have a good day and enjoy the traffic on I-76 on the 10th.

John

Have you ever thought of the possibility that there is something else to this? The money thing alone just does not make complete sense. There is something else going on here. The problem is that people are focusing solely on the money issue.

You have every right to be angry and to feel disappointed. No one can argue with that but to suggest to others to with hold money in protest?! That really does no one favors and it just makes things worse.

Do you really want Dr. Paul as president? I know I do. I was hurt and upset. I cried going to bed last night but that does not mean I will withhold money.

If you think the moving of the rally was a bad move, then suggesting not donating on the 5th is a REALLY bad move! You just create apathy, animosity, and conflict.

In fact, I was going to split my donation between the 5th and the 11th. I think I am going to give more on the 5th just because of what you said. I'll donate $750 and $250 on the 11th.

 

[Nefertiti]

That's simply untrue. For example, the campaign did not take over the Arab American Leadership Conference last week just because he was speaking at the event.

This was supposed to be a Liberty Rally with Ron Paul as a keynote speaker, one of many speakers. He could have simply been invited-the campaign did not need to get involved.