Alaskan women reject Palin with show of numbers

‘Alaska Women Reject Palin’ Rally is HUGE!
14 09 2008

I attended the Welcome Home rally for Sarah Palin this morning. Hooo. It was an experience. About a thousand (maybe) hard-core Palin supporters showed up to hear her speak at the new Dena’ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage.

After shaking it off with a good double shot of espresso, and a brisk walk back to my car, it was time to head to the Alaska Women Reject Palin rally. It was to be held outside on the lawn in front of the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage. Home made signs were encouraged, and the idea was to make a statement that Sarah Palin does not speak for all Alaska women, or men. I had no idea what to expect.

The rally was organized by a small group of women, talking over coffee. It made me wonder what other things have started with small groups of women talking over coffee. It’s probably an impressive list. These women hatched the plan, printed up flyers, posted them around town, and sent notices to local media outlets. One of those media outlets was KBYR radio, home of Eddie Burke, a long-time uber-conservative Anchorage talk show host. Turns out that Eddie Burke not only announced the rally, but called the people who planned to attend the rally “a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots”, and read the home phone numbers of the organizers aloud over the air, urging listeners to call and tell them what they thought. The women, of course, received many nasty, harassing and threatening messages.

So, as I jettisoned myself from the jaws of the ‘Drill Baby Drill’ crowd and toward the mystery rally at the library, I felt a bit apprehensive. I’d been disappointed before by the turnout at other rallies. Basically, in Anchorage, if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it’s a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 people there that aren’t sent by Eddie Burke, we’ll be doing good. A real statement will have been made. I confess, I still had a mental image of 15 demonstrators surrounded by hundreds of menacing “socialist baby-killing maggot” haters.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t tailgating when I saw the crowd in front of the library or I would have ended up in somebody’s trunk. When I got there, about 20 minutes early, the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep! I could hardly find a place to park. I nabbed one of the last spots in the library lot, and as I got out of the car and started walking, people seemed to join in from every direction, carrying signs.

Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here.

Then, the infamous Eddie Burke showed up. He tried to talk to the media, and was instantly surrounded by a group of 20 people who started shouting O-BA-MA so loud he couldn’t be heard. Then passing cars started honking in a rhythmic pattern of 3, like the Obama chant, while the crowd cheered, hooted and waved their signs high.

So, if you’ve been doing the math… Yes. The Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was significantly bigger than Palin’s rally that got all the national media coverage! So take heart, sit back, and enjoy the photo gallery. Feel free to spread the pictures around (links are appreciated) to anyone who needs to know that Sarah Palin most definitely does not speak for all Alaskans. The citizens of Alaska, who know her best, have things to say.

meta4 wrote:I actually feel sorry for Palin, not because she's being beaten to a pulp by the media... because she accepted this insane notion that she should be the VP nomination to begin with. November 5th when she and John are sharing their morning cake and coffee over sobs and nostalgia of the past 90 days... I'll all make sense then.

cardinal5150 wrote:

meta4 wrote:I actually feel sorry for Palin, not because she's being beaten to a pulp by the media... because she accepted this insane notion that she should be the VP nomination to begin with. November 5th when she and John are sharing their morning cake and coffee over sobs and nostalgia of the past 90 days... I'll all make sense then.

She's a big girl, she can handle whatever the media throws at her... at least she's not crying about how hard she's trying like some other candidates did.

floridafun wrote:
LOL!! she isnt permitted by her neocon handlers to do interviews or even answer questions, she refuses to participate in an investigation that a month ago she was eager to get the investigation activated--bring it on, she isnt permitted to talk except give repeats of her no thanks to the bridge to nowhere acceptance speech because she hasnt had sufficient training. her camp decries snl as portraying her in a sexist and derogatory manner of all things--a freaking comedy show who always jabs at whoever is in the political news. yea she is a real big girl. speaks for herself, expresses her ideas, etc etc....when they are what her trainers permit-which the handlers say might happen after reporters learn to treat her with KID-GLOVE-DEFERENCE-you go girl!

Anti-Palin rally organizers receive threats

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-- Opponents of Gov. Sarah Palin's policies are being threatened.

Alaska Women Reject Palin, a local group that opposes the Republican vice presidential candidate, on Wednesday announced plans to host an anti-Palin rally this weekend.

Since that announcement organizers say they've received intimidating messages.

A press release for the Reject Palin rally went out to practically every media outlet in town Wednesday. And one talk radio host decided to share the names and phones numbers of the two contacts on-air.

That decision has left organizers feeling somewhat fearful of practicing their First Amendment rights.

KBYR talk radio host Eddie Burke admits he is a conservative and a "Palinista."

But on Wednesday Burke resorted to name calling when he found out Alaska Women Reject Palin planned to host a Saturday rally.

"They're a bunch of socialist maggots, that's what I'm going to call them -- socialist maggots, that's what they are, a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots," said Burke.

On Thursday Burke pulled back, a little.

"Yesterday, I was probably a little over the top," he said.

The talk show host encouraged listeners to call the two women listed on the press release, which he calls a public document.

Burke says he released the information across the airwaves because organizers had included their contact numbers in the press release.

But some listeners ended up making abusive threats toward the two rally organizers.

One message said, in part, "You liberals need to get a life. What is wrong with you? You think you speak for everybody? You don't speak for nobody but your individual, stupid selves."

An organizer of the rally said the message "shocked" her. Channel 2 News is not publishing or broadcasting the name of this organizer.

"I was honestly shocked because I couldn't believe that a member of the media would take information that I think is pretty standard in a press release and use it for what seems like pretty unethical purposes, for one thing," the organizer said.

This organizer and another woman have voicemail boxes "full of messages," they say, thanks to Burke.

The messages range from people objecting the rally to personal threats.

"To really abusive, hostile, you know, swearing, personal attacks, name calling," they said.

Burke says he never told his listeners to threaten the women. He is backed up by his boss, Justin McDonald.

"I don't think Eddie told anybody to harass anybody; he just said, 'Hey, call and give your opinion,'" said McDonald.

On Thursday Burke returned to the airwaves and asked listeners not to threaten anyone.

"Today I'm going to go on the air and talk to listeners and say, 'Listen, you can express your point of view, but don't threaten people, OK?' Because that, I don't think is good for the public discourse. It doesn't help anything," said Burke.

Burke also announced Wednesday he is sponsoring a counter-rally for the same time and same place as the Reject Palin rally Saturday.

The anti-Palin group says everyone is welcome.

"Our group is committed to staying above the fray, taking the high road. We don't intend to engage in any verbal altercations or anything like that, we just want to speak our mind and go home," said an organizer.

It looks like Alaskans from all sides of the political realm are making plans to gather at Loussac Library this weekend.

The two rally organizers who received threatening phone messages did call the police.

They were told they could file a report alleging harassment against those who left messages.

And even though Eddie Burke did not tell his listeners to make threatening calls, according to Anchorage Police Department Lt. Paul Honeman, Burke did instigate the harassment.

Burke is not facing any type of punishment at this point.

cardinal5150 wrote:

floridafun wrote:
LOL!! she isnt permitted by her neocon handlers to do interviews or even answer questions, she refuses to participate in an investigation that a month ago she was eager to get the investigation activated--bring it on, she isnt permitted to talk except give repeats of her no thanks to the bridge to nowhere acceptance speech because she hasnt had sufficient training. her camp decries snl as portraying her in a sexist and derogatory manner of all things--a freaking comedy show who always jabs at whoever is in the political news. yea she is a real big girl. speaks for herself, expresses her ideas, etc etc....when they are what her trainers permit-which the handlers say might happen after reporters learn to treat her with KID-GLOVE-DEFERENCE-you go girl!

Should we start calling you bman too with the way you are spinning things?

She's not doing interviews for left wing journalists.. if I recall the entire Democrat party boycotted all the Fox news debates... I don't seem to recall you being up in arms about how their fanatical handlers weren't letting them speak. How odd....

She's also not refusing to participate, she's simply not talking to someone who asked her to talk. All they have to do is issue a subpoena (which I believe they did to her husband) and she'll talk. It's a pretty common thing in the legal world... you know.. where you wear big boy pants.. perhaps you'll want to look into that.

meta4 wrote:

Jugomugo wrote:You know who else says those kinds of things... radical Islamic terrorists.