I wasn't at the March 07 protest . . . did this actually happen?

[HughBeaumont]

http://eaglesup.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=124

I was on another thread having to do with Melanie Morgan and the Move Murka Backward legions . . . one link led to another and I came across this "Eagles UP" nonsense. Mind you, this is head moran Michelle Malkin talking, so take it as you will. Still, this would be an exaggeratedly giant turnout on the pro-war side if true . . .

"Earlier this year, I reported on a new, non-partisan movement that arose to challenge the surrender lobby. On a bitter cold weekend in March, the Gathering of Eagles brought together veterans, families of active-duty servicemen and servicewomen, Rolling Thunder members, military bloggers, and their grass-roots supporters to raise their pro-troops, pro-mission voices. I interviewed Eagles who flew in from San Francisco, rode motorcycles south from Georgia, drove all night from Boston, and trekked in caravans from coast to coast to answer ANSWER. At the crack of dawn facing biting winds and contemptuous taunts, tens of thousands of Eagles stood guard over war memorials threatened by anti-war anarchists and lined the streets where bongo drum-beating retreatists marched. The Gathering of Eagles turnout was unprecedented. The Cindy Sheehanistas and socialist rabble-rousers had never been met and matched with such force. Now, the Eagles are organizing a return to Washington at a historic moment in the global war against jihad. Gen. David Petraeus, top commander in Iraq, and US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are expected to testify before the Senate on September 11. Yes, that September 11. Four days later, September 15, is the deadline for the President to submit reports to Congress on how Iraq is meeting benchmarks for progress since the troop surge was announced in January."

"tens of thousands" of freepers???

Every time I've been at a DC protest, there's never more than a hundred. In January 2007, there were maybe 25-30 at BEST.

Who was at the March protest? Did this really happen?

Oh, and Hugh WILL be among the many Ohio constituents at OUR Nation's Capital on the 15th.

[rox63]

1. I wasn't at March '07, but I was at September '05

And the RW counter-rally had about 30-40 hapless freeps, as opposed to hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters. And public opinion of the war has dropped tremendously since then. So I think they are full of crap.

[HughBeaumont]

4. I was AT that one.

If you don't count the laughable and nauseating Protest Worriers, I think I counted, (between that area in front of, ironically, the J Edgar Hoover Building where they were gathered) about 75 at BEST.

Whole buncha stupid, with their weirdo Cyclops JimRob right in the middle. I got a sweet pic of him from that rally. It's funny.

[SteppingRazor]

2. The Washington Post put it at "several thousand":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/17/AR2007031701280.html


In any case, it was certainly the best turnout they've ever had, based largely on ridiculous rumors that antiwar protesters intended to deface the Vietnam War Memorial.

[HughBeaumont]

7. Yeah, that's another thing I found strange . . .

"defacing war memorials"???

Let's look at anecdotal: My mother lost two classmates in Vietnam, my Grandfather was a Pearl Harbor survivor;

Let's look at empirical: We have many thousands of anti-war vets on our side and, by my estimation, 80 to 90% of anti-war protestors have relations, marriages or friendships with veterans or servicemen.

So . . . why the HELL would anyone have ANY reason do that?

Did the freepturds skip the grade school health class where logic pills were being handed out?

[demnan]

3. There weren't tens of thousands

There might have been a thousand though. And they were mean and cowardly. A pair of middle aged women we saw at Constitution Gardens were thrown down and had their signs torn up. When I called in Washington Journal the next day I wasn't the only eyewitness to this kind of thing, usually attacks on women alone or in very small groups. They left mixed sex groups alone.

These people verbally threatened us too on Memorial Bridge.

There was also police brutality. They got away with these things because there was a huge snow storm up north that kept a lot of people from coming.

I don't think they'll get away with it this time.

[XOKCowboy]

5. bongo drum-beating retreatists

OMG not bongo drums! I haven't seen a pair of bongo's in years! Talk about using symbolism. I can visualize a whole crowd of Maynard G. Krebs (google it youngsters) lookalikes converging on The Vietnam Vet memorial with sledge hammers and picks.

[ComerPerro]

6. the most important lie is not the number of freepers, but the very idea

that they had to be there to protect the memorials from the anti-war protestors.

[XOKCowboy]

8. Totally made up story by Faux....

It was only big, big news on ReichWing websites and radio shows. So the 28%ers all celebrated "victory" in their non-event. Whoopee.

[leveymg]

9. 01/27/2007 - About 100,000 of us, no more than 100 of them.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=58100&mesg_id=58145

[HughBeaumont]

10. Went to that one too . . .

. . . the stand of the infamous Munchausen candidate, Josh Sparling.

Nice day it was. The next day in Ohio - 18 DEGREES AND A BLIZZARD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Sparling

[Arkansas Granny]

11. The freepers made a big deal out of this. JimRob even rode in

a motorcade across the U.S. to get to it. I don't know where they got the idea, but they thought that those "durty libruls" were going to deface the Vietnam Memorial and other D.C. memorials and they met in D.C. to guard them from vandalism. I think it was just a ploy to rally the troops.

[YOY]

12. All those folks who need to be enlisting or enlisting their kids

Instead they think we'd actually harm the Vietnam Veteran's memorial.

I wonder if any a**hole actually has had the balls to deface it at any point in time.

[niyad]

13. there were only a couple of hundred of them, max. will see if I can find the pics

gathering of eagles likes to have everyone think they are big and bad. on another board I frequent, one of the resident trolls is a member, and we just laugh at him--and rub his face in the proof of the numbers.

[hootinholler]

14. THey must not have been in DC if they:

"rode motorcycles south from Georgia,"

Just sayin that would put them in Fl somewhere.

-Hoot