For those who are not aware, George Mason is a pretty liberal university. Big shocker I know!! I will tell you, for anyone who knows history they will know that George Mason would be rolling over in his grave if he were aware of what the school that is his namesake has become. I am sure that he is certainly spinning with a president as liberal as the one who spoke there today.
I met a very nice young couple, Allen and Grace, both Obama voters. Allen grew up in the same area of CT that I did, so we talked a bit about that. Allen is in favor healthcare reform, but it didn't seem to me that he is very jazzed at how it is happening, nor did he seem to feel that it will actually work. Grace was wearing a t-shirt with the date of Bush's last day in office. Allen told me that his family are liberal and he is as well. Although, I get this feeling he is more of a left leaning centerist. He comes about his views on healthcare reform honestly, as his family went through a period of not having insurance, his father had a relatively minor medical problem that took the family many years to pay off.
Allen is a patriot kind of guy, he wants to go work for the government at the NSA or some other type of national security kind of way. He is currently looking for a co-op position that will allow him to finish school and work, then give him a full time position once he graduates. We had a very nice chat.
So, after waiting in line for an hour or so, we get let into the building. The rally was in The Patriot Center, ironically enough. It holds 10,000 people - it was not even half full. Which is very surprising considering it was on a very liberal college campus, I also live in a very liberal area.
The morning started out with the pledge of alligence, the National Anthem, and a prayer. The prayer was something to hear, let me tell you. For those who were not sure what Glen Beck meant when he said stay away from any place of worship that talks about "social justice", this woman is what he meant. Her entire prayer (if one could call it that) was about social justice. If anyone can't figure out how people with views like Obama and Pelosi can have so little problems with passing laws that allow anyone at anytime have an abortion and still call themselves people of faith just need to listen to this woman. It was all about how the scripture says that we need to take care of the needy and the helpless. Which is completely true, but no where in the bible does it say that we are supposed to give to the government to do those acts of charity for us. We are supposed to do that ourselves. But, this woman certainly believes that the government is supposed to. She quoted Micah as her example.
The president comes out and the crowd goes wild, chanting YES WE CAN. I of course was totally surrounded by Obama supporters. Again, that is daily life in Northern Virginia; a sea of blue. The president started out talking about the vote on Sunday, how historic it was going to be, blah, blah, blah. He then went into the same old story of that woman in Ohio. You know the one, the woman who is getting top notch care, that she will not be charged for. Yet, again he left out that part.
He then went into what "people" were saying that wasn't true about the bill. I am assuming when he said "people" he was referring to me and people like me; conservatives. He stood up there an lied. Again, another shocker. What was I expecting? He talked about how he wasn't going to be killing granny, nor would they be adding to the defict.
He also went into this long thing about the "change" he has brought to Washington. Wait for it, he actually had the nerve to say that he wasn't governing by the wims of special interests. I could hardly contain myself. There was no point in me yelling out, as by this point one other person had been forcibly removed for stating some facts. I guess it was in his best interests that he was removed as he was being booed and people were pointing at him.
Another thing that I found amazing, was that he actually said this had nothing to do with his presidency, it was all for us. Yeah, you are the man behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz, don't believe your eyes, just look over here at what I am showing you.
Something that Northern Virginia has a great deal:
Unions
College Students
Liberal Dems
and he still couldn't fill 10,000 seats. He is losing his mojo. What a shame, so sad :{
You can't really make it out, but all the upper level seats were empty, and three entire sections had only a couple of people in them.
Why these people were wearing tuxedos, I couldn't tell you. 
This is the "heckler" being removed
This is the social justice prayer lady. 
Sorry that the pics didn't come out better, but it was hard with all the overhead lights.
Aah, gotta love the media. WashPo is reporting that 8,000 people were at the rally. That is simply not possible; I am not good at estimating crowds, but I know what I saw. Four entire sections had no one. Not one single section was seated to the top. Two other sections were only about 1/2 full. The arena only holds 10,000. With that many empty seats, there couldn't have been 8,000 in attendance.
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Thank you for documenting this historic presidency. The WORST president in history!
I give you credit. I could not have attended a rally like that. I think I'm developing an ulcer just listening to sound bites of him on TV.
TCL:
Know thy enemy. I also think you really need to listen. I wanted to ask a question, but this was simply a pep rally. No questions allowed.
just a comment about the "liberal" George Mason University. You are probably correct because you live there, but what you say is not true with regard to the economics department. I am in contact with one of the professors who teaches there. He is most definitely a conservative!! All is not lost at GMU... or at least not yet.
Maggie:
Your right about the parts of the ecomomics department. But it is the only department that is not liberal. I also have the understanding that while a few of them are conservatives, it isn't the entire department.
To be fair, they also have a couple of law professors that seem to lean conservative as well. But it is a liberal university, and the majority of the students consider themselves liberals.
Almost every liberal university has a handful of conservatives.
Thanks so much for attending and posting! Eyewitness accounts are so helpful!
About WaPo head counts...my son and I attended the Emergency House Call on Congress at the Capitol in November. The events of the day were unrecognizable from WaPo accounts (Dana Milbank). They estimated 5,000 attendees, when it was in the range of 20,000 or more. It was packed, everyone nice and normal...friendly. No one knew a stranger...an incredibly positive experience! But according to the WaPo, we were covered with fake blood, carrying dolls to represent aborted children. http://www.seebenspend.com/media.html This webpage has photos of that day, and a link to the WaPo description. (The See Ben Spend website is about our Blue Dog congressman, Ben Chandler, who can't seem to learn to "go on the papers"!)
One thing about the conservative movement that is especially wonderful...We have the nicest people on our side!!!! Thanks again for the great reporting work. It's essential!
I was searching to find an explaination for President Obama's speech being given on the GMU campus in particular, and was drawn to your site.
I had also felt that small seismic tremor which I attributed to Colonal Mason turning over in his grave, and am curious to know how that (to my mind utterly ironic) venue was chosen. Thanks for producing such a great site.
What a misuse of George Mason's name...How utterly ahistorical to think that George Mason was a conservative. Like ALL of the founders, he was a radical and to use an ahistorical term, he was left wing.
Anon,
I agree that Col. Mason would be considered a radical, particularly by King George and the Ministry. I neither stated nor implied that he was a conservative, in the modern sense. As a product of the Enlightenment, I would consider him a liberal (in the classic sense) thinker.
My original point was: that given his views on limited government, as well as the fact that he opposed ratification of the Constitution because it did not include a bill of rights, seemed at odds with the current administration's expansion of government, and the healthcare reform bill 'pass now and fix it later' strategy.
As to ALL (your emphasis) of the founders being radicals, some thoughts:
John Adams defended the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre, and later signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts. Radical or Conservative?
Thomas Jefferson, slaveholder. Radical or conservative? Both or Neither?
I think it does injustice to ALL (my emphasis) to use such labels when the meanings may be anachronistic, or as you have said, ahistorical.
: not concerned with or related to history, historical development, or tradition ; also : historically inaccurate or ignorant
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Thank you!
Just because George Mason was a conservative that means only conservatives can speak there? I don't follow that logic.
Tornado:
I made no inference as to who should be allowed to speak where. I merely noted the irony of the chosen venu. I can only suppose that Col. Mason would be in favor of dissenting speech.
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