Report from the Boston Rally
It was a wild day in Beantown! Thanks to Anna for the timely summary (scroll down) -- I'm still catching my breath and didn't have time to post until now.
First and foremost, we dodged a major bullet. A fierce thunderstorm was threatening to blow in all morning and the wind gusts were incredibly strong. All the posters and signs had to be anchored down and the tall signs at the back of the crowd had to be held up by two or four people (side note: duck tape and trash ties are beautiful things). The thunder got really loud about midway through the Governor's speech but the first drops of rain didn't start until a few moments after he finished...and the skies really opened not long after that. Whew!
Mass for Dean volunteers and DFA staff arrived at Copley Square this morning around 8am to set up. Security was much tighter than at past rallies, apparently. So more volunteers were needed to corral attendees and the media, make sure everyone was where they should be, etc. The press area was mobbed. Our MFD photographer and videographer got credentials and mingled with the real press, which was a new experience to say the least! By the way, high quality MPEG video of the speech will be available tomorrow.
We had great t-shirts made for the rally that said "Democracy, Freedom, Action. Howard Dean in 2004." One of our members, Kelly Fitzsimmons, introduced the Governor. Kelly has never volunteered for a campaign before. She did an amazing job of speaking to the theme of the day -- we all need to be politically active in order to safeguard our democracy. You can see a picture of Kelly, along with Dean and numerous Massachusetts state representatives who've endorsed Dean HERE (Kelly is on the right in the brown suit).
Another MFDer, Kim Elliott, was profiled at the rally by Claire Shipman for a "Good Morning America" segment that will air later this week, apparently. (Here's a picture of Kim and I flyering at Fenway Park recently; I'm on the right, Kim's on the left.)
My favorite quip from the speech: Dean spoke about how Bush has refused to deal with North Korea because Bush doesn't like Kim Jong Il. "Well, I don't like him either, but..." Heh.
Best sign from the rally: We Believe! Red Sox '03, Howard Dean '04
Oh and on a personal note, my mother checked the O-blog for the first time today. I've finally corrupted her! Bwahaha! And, to top it all off, my rock rib Republican grandmother informed me this past weekend that she won't be voting for Geedubya in '04...and though she's leaning toward Clark, she thinks Dean is legit. The tides are turning, folks! :-)
First and foremost, we dodged a major bullet. A fierce thunderstorm was threatening to blow in all morning and the wind gusts were incredibly strong. All the posters and signs had to be anchored down and the tall signs at the back of the crowd had to be held up by two or four people (side note: duck tape and trash ties are beautiful things). The thunder got really loud about midway through the Governor's speech but the first drops of rain didn't start until a few moments after he finished...and the skies really opened not long after that. Whew!
Mass for Dean volunteers and DFA staff arrived at Copley Square this morning around 8am to set up. Security was much tighter than at past rallies, apparently. So more volunteers were needed to corral attendees and the media, make sure everyone was where they should be, etc. The press area was mobbed. Our MFD photographer and videographer got credentials and mingled with the real press, which was a new experience to say the least! By the way, high quality MPEG video of the speech will be available tomorrow.
We had great t-shirts made for the rally that said "Democracy, Freedom, Action. Howard Dean in 2004." One of our members, Kelly Fitzsimmons, introduced the Governor. Kelly has never volunteered for a campaign before. She did an amazing job of speaking to the theme of the day -- we all need to be politically active in order to safeguard our democracy. You can see a picture of Kelly, along with Dean and numerous Massachusetts state representatives who've endorsed Dean HERE (Kelly is on the right in the brown suit).
Another MFDer, Kim Elliott, was profiled at the rally by Claire Shipman for a "Good Morning America" segment that will air later this week, apparently. (Here's a picture of Kim and I flyering at Fenway Park recently; I'm on the right, Kim's on the left.)
My favorite quip from the speech: Dean spoke about how Bush has refused to deal with North Korea because Bush doesn't like Kim Jong Il. "Well, I don't like him either, but..." Heh.
Best sign from the rally: We Believe! Red Sox '03, Howard Dean '04
Oh and on a personal note, my mother checked the O-blog for the first time today. I've finally corrupted her! Bwahaha! And, to top it all off, my rock rib Republican grandmother informed me this past weekend that she won't be voting for Geedubya in '04...and though she's leaning toward Clark, she thinks Dean is legit. The tides are turning, folks! :-)
Comments