Philly Rally - VALLEY FORGE

[Ozwest]

Keep your powder dry! Three thousand-six hundred acres of National Park. Time for a turkey shoot!

 

[thehittgirl]

Surprisingly, the move would actually make me want to go MORE. My partner and I love to tour battlefields, and although we've both been to VF, neither of us have been there for years. I would be more interested in being there than in inner Philly, but that's just how we would feel. Just a thought.

JM

We actually had plans to go to Valley Forge the next day for the son's birthday which is right on the 11th. We take the boys to historical places a lot.

 

[jgmaynard]

We actually had plans to go to Valley Forge the next day for the son's birthday which is right on the 11th. We take the boys to historical places a lot.

That's great - I know someone who is a homeschooler, and she brought her daughter to see the Liberty Bell, and there was all kinds of security, ID checks, etc. Her daughter (maybe 11?) turned to her and said "This shouldn't be happening HERE, should it?"

JM

 

[Ozwest]

thehittgirl, I respected your thread and posts today. A decision made from the heart in a volatile environment. You are courageous.

 

[Primbs]

A photo shoot of Ron Paul "Defender of the Constitution" outside of Independence Hall would be priceless.

Wasn't the main point to dramatize Ron Paul at Independence Hall to go along with all the campaign material that have already been produced at this point.

Isn't this one of the main focuses of the campaign, to get back to reading the constitution, the founding fathers etc?

 

[thehittgirl]

thehittgirl, I respected your thread and posts today. A decision made from the heart in a volatile environment. You are courageous.

Thank you. I felt bad for blowing up, but I'm human..

 

[mika813]

Hi Everybody,
I would like to start by saying thank you to all those folks who have worked so hard to get this off the ground and promoted this! It is universally agreed that the Independence Mall location was the bomb, and I too was a bit disappointed when the venue was changed because of its historical significance.

Why was it changed? Because of money, well what isn't being said? I can only speculate to this, but if I was able to “twist an arm” to get someone to pay over priced cost and rates I would wait until they had some pretty good investments made into a plan/location so that it would be costly and severely damage their efforts if any changes to the plan/location are made. Now I've got them by the “short hairs” and can make demands that might be construed as extortion. Now the Campaign can not come out and make claims that they are being manipulated or extorted, all they can hope for is that if they make a stand on principle and do not give in, the support for the man and his message will not be so fickle and “fair weather” that we would jump ship. Was the Rally for the Mall or the Man? So, maybe something behind the scenes punched us in the face, did that knock us out? Will we let their tactics beat us?

I've been to two “rallies” for Hillary and Barrack promoting Dr. Paul, and one thing I like to point out to the people waiting to see those other candidates is how they are charging them for access just like they do with the lobbyist and call it a “fund raiser.” Then I brag about how Dr. Paul speaks to the people for free (as it should be) and if you agree with his message then he asks for your support, and one way but not the only way, is a monetary donation. I have to smile when I see “Sematary” make statements that continue to support the rally despite the venue change. He gets it. I hope we all do! I look forward to meeting everyone in Valley Forge, another historically significant local to the first American Revolution, the place where Washington's rag tag Army nearly dissolved, a few dedicated patriots stayed on and saved the cause. Will we do the same? I will!

 

[tfelice]

A photo shoot of Ron Paul "Defender of the Constitution" outside of Independence Hall would be priceless.

Wasn't the main point to dramatize Ron Paul at Independence Hall to go along with all the campaign material that have already been produced at this point.

Isn't this one of the main focuses of the campaign, to get back to reading the constitution, the founding fathers etc?

While it would have been nice to be in Philly, those from outside of the area have no idea what a colossal pain in the neck the city & the unions can be. The way I see it, is they didn't want a rally of 10,000 + people there (security, cleanup, traffic, etc) so they stick a huge price tag on it and make it near impossible to pull off.

 

[Deadwing]

So let's pound on whoever at HQ to supply charter buses to/from Inde Park to Valley Forge CC - it would take probably 20 buses min at 4-5 trips each to cover the crowd. HQ will still save THOUSANDS of dollars transporting the RP rally supporters than holding it at Inde Park Mall (min 40 per bus x 20 x 4 = 3200)

BizmanUSA

I hope I'm wrong but I don't see this rally drawing anywhere near 3200. Just chalk it up to years and years of experience with these things, but hey, maybe I'm getting old and I truly don't know anything. However, if I was planning on attending this rally and didn't know much about it I would certainly check a few websites the day of or day before just to make certain it was happening. The thought that 3200 will show up at Independence Mall with no clue the rally has been moved really is hard to believe. I'd love to just go to Independence Mall myself to see if I'm right, but I'll be in Valley Forge.

 

[BizmanUSA]

I hope I'm wrong but I don't see this rally drawing anywhere near 3200. Just chalk it up to years and years of experience with these things, but hey, maybe I'm getting old and I truly don't know anything. However, if I was planning on attending this rally and didn't know much about it I would certainly check a few websites the day of or day before just to make certain it was happening. The thought that 3200 will show up at Independence Mall with no clue the rally has been moved really is hard to believe. I'd love to just go to Independence Mall myself to see if I'm right, but I'll be in Valley Forge.

We had about 2 weeks notice for the Pittsbugh Rally and the campaign indicated that they would be happy with 400 - 500. With a little bit of serious grassroots effort we got a minimum of 1200+ to show. The hotel had to expand the meeting room twice!

The Philly crew has busted some serious tail and pounded every place in the region plus all the PA Meetups spreading the HUGE Rally word around for a 6-8 weeks if not more.

I'd be rather shocked not to see more than few thousand show up scratching there heads

Seeing that Philly has appprox. 4 times what Pittsburgh has for population plus pulling for the NY, NJ, DE & MD I would easily see 5K do a mall day.


On another note:
As for blaming the city/state/feds not wanting a rally this size, well this is true bunk! Just about every man, woman and child who would come to this rally is going spend money for food, drink, maybe shop and sleep over somewhere bringing in tax revenue and bringing business to the local and regional merchants.

BizmanUSA

 

[jgmaynard]

"As for blaming the city/state/feds not wanting a rally this size, well this is true bunk! Just about every man, woman and child who would come to this rally is going spend money for food, drink, maybe shop and sleep over somewhere bringing in tax revenue and bringing business to the local and regional merchants."

I know it would have been great for the city, you know it and everyone on this forum knows it. That does NOT mean that someone or some organization in the city government didn't want it to happen! They don't always do what's best for their city, but rather what is politically expedient for them at the moment. Hard to believe, but true...

JM

 

[Primbs]

If it went well, the city could have sold other political groups on rallies at Independence hall. The city is hurting for business and tax revenue. The convention center has problems.

I am surprised the city wasn't more accommodating.

This could be regular cash cow for the city every four years.

 

[parocks]

Do you remember the thread from yesterday? There were a couple of helpful contacts there. I think you asked someone from the entertainment industry to stay in touch. Do you recall?

was that me?