The claim regarding 60,000 showing up for Palin in Florida....

[YEM]

Wouldn't they be showing pictures of all the people? I really don't buy 60000 people showed up for a VP candidate.

[babylonsister]

1. I googled that, and the only 'proof' I could find is what the sheriff 'said'. nt

[rurallib]

2. Maybe she went to a football game?

[RockaFowler]

12. Well she did go to Disney

Maybe that's the 60,000.

I thought they only gave out 25,000 tickets. How did 60,000 show up, then??

http://www.wptv.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=a3b6c37b-d9b9-4a70-b82f-3d7b8bebbb53
A spokesperson for the McCain campaign says organizers gave out 25,000 free tickets leading up to today's event

[Thrill]

3. Its possible. There is a real obsession with this woman from conservatives

[Union Thug]

4. If true, not surprising: It's a train wreck and everyone slows down for a look. n/t

[madfloridian]

5. Here's the source....

"The Villages, a vast, upscale planned community north of Orlando, has about 70,000 mostly adult residents -- many of them military retirees -- who vote reliably Republican in statewide races. Tens of thousands inched along roads into the picturesque town square of the complex, where they stood in sweltering heat for about four hours as local GOP officials and a country band revved up the crowd.

"Sa-Rah! Sa-Rah!" they chanted at every mention of her name, applauding loudly and waiving tiny American flags that were distributed -- along with free water bottles -- by local volunteers. The fire chief estimated the crowd at 60,000."

http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/NEWS0107/80921022

70,000 live there, 60,000 went to the rally? Bull hockey. Local news showed the crowd but nothing like 60,000.

[CarlFrank]

6. Probably true -- The Villages

It is probably true. The appearance took place at an "active adult" community north of Orlando called the Villages. There are approximately 70,000 "active adults" living there and they are a largely republican bunch. For a great expose of this place, read a recently released book called Leisureville by Andrew Blechman (available on Amazon).

[cynatnite]

13. What does "active adult" mean?

Why did you put it in parenthesis?

[CarlFrank]

16. Active Adults

Why did you put it in parenthesis?

Active adult is a term used by developers of 55+ retirement communities to suggest that the buyers are active, as opposed to old and not active. They are active when they move in, but quickly do become old and not active, like most of us.

[cynatnite]

18. I've never seen anyone put it parenthesis before...

Either way, I don't buy that 60,000 people out of a community of 70,000 poured out of their homes. Seems like it's an overestimation of the crowd which is very common at events like this.

[CarlFrank]

20. The Villages #2

You are probably right about them not pouring out of their homes. But if you read the book I cited above, this is a fairly rabid right wing group. Also, apparently in their "downtown" -- which I put in parenthesis because it is a fake Disney-like downtown -- there are loudspeakers everywhere that blast out announcements and prayers. No doubt the Palin speech was blasted to the ones who did not have tickets. Here is a little tidbit about Gary Morse and his company, the developer of the place:

It gave more than $80,000 to the Florida Republican Party in Jeb Bush's '98 election year and Morse himself gave $100,000 in soft money to the Republican National Committee in March 2000. From the Texans for Public Justice website.

[Demi_Babe]

7. agreed...where are all the pics???

[NYC_SKP]

8. You are correct, I pointed that out, see other threads for actual numbers.

Other more reputable sources put the number generously at 20,000 to 25,000, but the videos and images don't even support that.
The number must include people who were in their backyards or cars withing one or two miles.
The McCain campaign said they distributed 18,000 passes.

There are at least five or six other threads about the numbers, lots of good comments and links there.

[nc4bo]

9. Mccain has his rigged townhalls, Sarah has her rigged rallies. CorpMedia fails to tell the whole

story, as usual.

[Sodan]

10. Probably untrue - but who the fuck cares anyway?!

[gal]

11. +1 I agree..

If I wanted to go see pics of Palin's speeches i'd go to a Republican forum.

[MamaDem]

14. Read this!!! Interesting tid-bit about the Villages...want a laugh!?!?

About a year or so ago they had an outbreak of STD's among the retiree's. Yep, these Bible-thumping conservatives like to swing on more than just their front porch! They had to do some "educating" about the risks of STD's. Here is an article...
http://www.local6.com/news/9283707/detail.html

So, they love McFailin and his sidekick! Probably think she's wholesome! gag!!!

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

15. That tally includes Flies

[1corona4u]

17. Bullshit....read this from my local station;

For her first Florida campaign stop, Gov. Palin couldn’t have chosen a more welcoming place. The Villages is a largely
white, heavily Republican planned community of 75,000, with most residents age 55 and over.

And even on a blazing hot day, people turned out in big numbers.

A campaign spokesperson said GOP offices across the state had issued 25,000 tickets for the event. Those who couldn't pack into the town square watched giant TV screens from the streets.

Gov. Palin arrived at about 4:30pm, flanked by her now famous family, whom she said fulfilled a life’s dream Saturday with a visit to Disney World.

"Thank you for letting us be here," said daughter Piper into the microphone before her mother delivered her speech.


http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d4a815da-21b2-4efe-ac82-f3e417daafee



Oh, and one thing to keep in mind, 25K? What were the other 50K doing??

[stillcool]

19. They got caught lying about another event..

don't know why they wouldn't lie about this one.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

21. florida field in gainesville still 60000?

SHE SURE IS HOT