Kerry in Portland Or

[Parche]

I just went by the waterfront, and it is packed with people
the bus was overloaded with supporters, there will be at least
40,000 there, the lines were miles long
This is great


GW Bush is here also, talking in incomplete sentences at the
Airport, he will be going to Beaverton , west of Portland
soon, Barf

[movonne]

1. I live on the coast of Oregon and was wondering about how he

did in Medford???? Have not seen anything on DU.

[swag]

3. Medford was great, I heard

Read and see pics here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=616946

[Parche]

medford

I heard he did OK, for what Medford is
The right wing of Oregon down there

I can see from here that the Fremont bridge is closed
Smirk will be coming thru shortly
I will give him the ONE finger salute

[roguevalley]

79. actually, it was held in the fairgrounds at Central Point. <SNIFF!> :)

[SheilaT]

2. Not to mention how

incredibly lucky you are simply to live in (or near) Portland.

[Amaya]

4. Wish I was there

Lived in Portland for 10 years. Miss that place :(

[Rambis]

5. I wish I was at the Barley Mill right now

Rubinator in hand (3/4 Terminator Stout 1/4 Ruby ale)

[Droopy]

8. Welcome to DU, Rambis

I've made it out to Portland on several occasions, but I never got the chance to do any sight seeing as I was always there on business. Nice town, though.

[Rambis]

15. thanks, I am stuck in Iowa

It is a good place to raise a family but I miss Portland I used to visit once a year at least. The country fair a couple dead shows, hit the Cup and Saucer for a morel mushroom omlette and the Cafe Co-existance sp? for some pizza downtown and then to the Space Room for a Marg and some ludes (just kidding)

[swag]

88. Fuck, man, at the Space Room

did you ever have that Lucille Ball waitress?

She's the best.

Went there once with Ceegar-smokin' Steve from SF and she drilled his manhood with, "What are ya smokin' there, dog turds?"

[Rambis]

91. You gotta be kidding me

She is still there? :) I guess where else would she go. Too funny! I had a friend who met Lucille in NYC while she was buying a Lee nail repair kit in a voice lower than he could have ever imagined.

[MissB]

11. My old haunting grounds

I still love that place. Dh is a deadhead, so the decor draws him in :)

[swag]

12. Rubinator!

I hadn't thought of that.

Quick, get me to the Blue Moon!

[Bandit]

6. I heard it was 100 degrees there today

Are you all sweltering? Kerry is drawing crowds that rivals rock stars. Also have you been seeing any or many Bush*/Cheney signs around about?

[MissB]

9. The morning started out cool

It was a little more than 60 degrees overnight. It doesn't really heat up until 2 or 3 pm, then gets unbearable closer to 5 pm.

So everyone down there should be doing okay.

I wish I was there. I'm sitting here waiting for my contractor to show up. Sigh.

[arwalden]

7. Bush* Still Playing "Follow-The-LEADER?"

How much more pathetic (and obvious) can the criminal Bush* be?

[loudsue]

17. Good call, arwalden! It only shows, by contrast, how the PEOPLE

support Kerry, and ignore the shrub. I'm sure bush wishes he could have his buddy CEO's at all his rallies. That's the only way he'd draw a crowd. In fact, I think the CEO's and the military are the ONLY real crowds bush has ever drawn....and the military are there 'cuz they HAVE to be.

Bush is a pitiful little pimple.

:kick::kick:

[arwalden]

18. "Pitiful Little Pimple"

You certainly know how to turn a phrase, Sue.

Let's squeeze that little bastard until he pops!

-- Allen

[Qutzupalotl]

80. Someone here suggested

Bush was following Kerry around to force potential protesters to choose between venues. Not a bad strategy, if true, but would speak volumes about how they view their chances.

[swag]

10. My partner here in the IT department is headed down to the Waterfront

right now. She's taking her Blackberry, so I told her to send me dispatches of anything exciting so I could post to DU.

Here's is a snap from a webcam of the Hawthorne Bridge (which I was just informed is closed - and mobbed with people) and the edge of the waterfront rally:



Of course that pic will have changed completely by the time this post ages 10 minutes.

[MissB]

13. I wish I was there!!!!!

Man, I hate being stuck here -today of all days. I could be there right now with the kids. Damn.

I bet he draws 40k+ people.

[GregW]

14. I was bummed he didn't make a public appearance in Eugene

Oh well .... GO DUCKS!

[swag]

16. One of the KOIN cams

http://www.koin.com/weather/koincams.asp

[swag]

19. KATU CAM - another edge of the crowd

[MissB]

20. And it isn't quite noon- I'd expect the crowd to swell at lunchtime. (nt)

[Amaya]

21. Lots of memories in that park.

:)

[swag]

23. Come back for a vist sometime!

[swag]

22. It'll be kind of hard to fit 40k people into that part of the park

I hope everybody has fun and stays cool.

Kulongowski just spoke,
Now the great Senator Ron Wyden is winding 'em up,
Rep Darlene Hooley up next,

And Kerry's bus is rolling right up I-5 and into town.

[MissB]

24. Well, one thing we know

It'll be a whole lot more people than the number that Bush will be speaking to today.

I am thoroughly disgusted by the Bush campaign's decision to hold private rather than public events. The admission price to one event that I was invited to is just mind-boggling and disgusting.

[swag]

25. Meeting DU's own Prankster was my favorite part of the rally so far

and it wasn't even at the rally:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2210218&mesg_id=2210218

[swag]

26. Blackberry dispatch from the Kerry rally:

Quote:

"Do you think it's coincidence that the Republicans are in town at the same time as the Democrats? The Republicans are playing "follow the leader!"

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, 3rd CD, Oregon, MY CONGRESSMAN!

[swag]

27. Shrub's 600 donors at that Beaverton High School

looks quite pathetic in comparison.

Shrub's ops have obviously planned it so Shrub's speech will coincide almost exactly with Kerry's. They fucking hope.

[MissB]

28. Well, it is rather disgusting that the local news stations are carrying

Bush's speech right now. I can't get a picture of the rally on the waterfront at this moment- all three local stations plus NW Cable News are carrying Bush's speech. I was watching KATU, and Paul Linnman said "we'll be interrupting our coverage of the Kerry rally to carry the President's speech live. We'll carry the complete speech" and we'll try to pick up pieces of the Kerry event.

Jerks.

[swag]

29. Oh, that is such shit!

That fucking skullhead will get a nice email from me, I assure you.

[swag]

31. Ha, heard back from some poor sap at KATU

"Sorry. Kerry isn't at the rally yet."

[MissB]

32. Yeah, but chances are he'll be there before Bush finishes talking

So we'll see. You're downtown with a Blackberry, right?

I'm stuck at home, so I can only watch tv. I'm sure if you could post when he shows up, I can see if he's on any of the stations :)

[swag]

34. My co-worker has the Blackberry.

No word on the Man appearing yet, but it's coming soon.

Smirking chimp rambling on like an idiot in Beaverton, and the cork-heads are just eating it up.

[Amaya]

33. Typical Portland news.

:grr:

[swag]

30. Leonardo talking now, probably on environment

From the Blackberry correspondent.

>Beautiful! Did you get into the park okay?

I'm in! Leo is talking right now, then Bon Jovi, then Kerry

[swag]

35. FOX 12 has best coverage so far, Portlanders! (yeah, WTF?)

I guess not even they can listen to that drueling nincompoop any more.

No hay Kerry yet, but soon, it looks like.

That park is so fucking packed!

[Irishladdie]

36. Caller on Randi Show is at Rally!!

He sounds pumped up!!!!

[swag]

37. okay, so CH 12 is back to Bush for a second

he's talking to some Beaverton woman about eating cookie dough.

Perhaps next we'll be discussing playing with a pet goat in the back yard.

Sorry for people who don't give a shit, but I and a few others are just so ramped up to have John Kerry here.

[MissB]

38. I'm stopped at channel 11

Kitzhaber is giving some speech. I think channel 11 is a cable channel.

It's better than Bush.

[swag]

40. Any minute now, seems like

maybe 2, 6, or 8 will get with the program.

Love the drumming protestors outside the Beaverton, HS where Bush is showing his dirty ass.

[Generator]

39. Cool!

I had the networks on no Kerry! Split screen on Fox12. Thanks! I'm so excited just watching it on TV, he's only minutes away!!

[Generator]

41. No retreat no surrender!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He's here! They are playing the Springsteen song.

[swag]

42. Crowd is so fucking pumped - they are blasting Springsteen

Bush is winding up his idiocies with his "solemn doody to keep his country safe. Nobody wants to be a war president," blah blah blah.

KERRY IS HERE!

CROWD IS FUCKING MASSIVE!

[swag]

43. Sea of people. A sea of people down by the river.

[Amaya]

44. Are the local channels showing it?

[swag]

45. Yeah, most on split-screen now, with Bush still rambling on

Now Chris Heinz introduces Teresa.

God, she's gettin' the love!

[swag]

46. Teresa:

It is important to have a president who not only understands but also enjoys complexity...

to have a president who has attended all four global climate conferences in the world...

essential to have a president who believes that diplomacy is intrinsic to the making of peace...

[swag]

47. Well, this sucks, now FOX 12 flips back to Bush lying about

equipping the troops.

Yeah, his ass ain't gonna talk his way out of this shit.

[swag]

48. Now the old hands-cut-off story.

Shit, I want my Kerry!

Do me a favor, DU (I'm not worthy) - just make sure this guy doesn't get elected because I never want to see this dickhead in my town again.

[faithnotgreed]

53. how awful - the least he can do is get the story right this time and

not say that he "took the guys hand" or took him by the hand
or some such awful stumbling over the story that hes done before

that psychiatrist who wrote "* on the couch" has him exactly

[swag]

49. finally, John Kerry

and local TV finally leaves the coverage of the drueling jerk.

[Generator]

50. The guy that Kerry saved-Rassmussen from Oregon is speaking and

they are fucking showing the Shrub speaking. GAG.

This is the last stop on the tour. Chris Heinz said it was the biggest crowd so far and Teresa said it was the warmest.

Kerry is spending the night here. No way could * risk that!

[swag]

52. He knows that if you get to Columbia Gorge territory,

you don't just jet off.

You enjoy the gorge!

Windsurf!

[MissB]

55. Which he is going to do tomorrow, apparently

Or at least that was the blurb I caught on the news earlier today.

[swag]

57. Yeah, that's what he just wove into his speech

on an environmental theme, talked about habitat, etc.

[MissB]

51. SWEEEEET!

Koin just cut from Bush's speech to Kerry. Full screen for Kerry.

[swag]

54. Shout out to the Firefighters here

AFSCME
Painters Union of America

You have a right to expect a government that lives by the same rules that you do. Values that come at you in the form of 30 second attack ads ...are not values.

He's good. Who the fuck said this guy was stiff. He's kicking ass and he's just getting warmed up.

[swag]

56. A good economy

"is not out of reach, but it depends on the choices that you make."

He's got the facts on the economy.

He's laying out the plan.

Tasty.

I'm going to quit logging at this point, gotta get some work done.

...energy independence...

"Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a President of the United States who actually believes in science?" Huge cheer. Oregonians for Rationality, indeed.

Okay, bye and thanks. Be proud of your candidates for President and Vice President. Fight for them.

[faithnotgreed]

58. as someone who loves these reports and lives in dc, i thank you

swag for the report from oregon throughout the day

i have enjoyed it and cant wait to see the pictures!

[swag]

62. Thanks for the note

What part of DC do you live in? I lived there from 83 to 92.

[faithnotgreed]

69. fairly new to adams morgan/u street area. where were you

[TNMOM]

86. These are great posts, Swag

Thanks from me as well. I live to hear about those Kerry crowds. Made my day.

[GalleryGod]

59. McGreevey,Hell! Bush finds Kerry's Butt So Attractive that....

He's stalking him everywhere hoping JK will "Stop Short"
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW:puke:

[swag]

60. Very good on every topic

Health Care
Education
Environment
National Security

"I will make certain the USA never goes to war because we want to, it will only be because we have to. That's the standard for our nation. So Oregonians - Republicans, Independents, Democrats - - - the most important election of our lifetime. That's something that everyone at every stop along the way has told us.

"There isn't anything we can't do. We can look these challenges straight in the eye

"Just today the CBO released a report that says that under this admin the tax burden of the wealthy has gone down and the tax burden of the working American middle class has gone up . . .

He's a little hoarse, but he is the man.

[swag]

61. Last dispatch from my associate with the Blackberry

Subject: AWESOME!!

_____________________________

I hope anybody who wants to can play this video link of Kerry hitting the stage today.

http://easylink.playstream.com/katu/040813kerry_arrival_waterfront.wvx

[DaveSZ]

64. It's funny how Bush follows him around

Hehe

[WI_DEM]

63. Bush had the crowd advantage in Davenport

but Kerry is clearly in the advantage here. It will make great visuals.

[swag]

65. Note: all the webcam shots dynamically update, so they're no

longer current.

Sorry. But if you return to this thread, you can probably see some bridges and rooftops.

[kaitykaity]

66. I was there.

It was really hot.

Teresa was great.

I was melting and so I left.

The campaign paid for thousands of bottles of bottled
water and handed them out to the crowd.

I was impressed.

[grasswire]

67. what's with that ABC political analyst...

...on KATU? Tibbets I think his name was. Very sour. Kept talking about how Bush had given a better speech, and how there couldn't be 50,000 people at the Kerry rally. VERY sour.

I never watch Portland television. Are they all wingnuts?

[MissB]

68. Tibbets has always seen pretty fair

But KATU seems markedly right-wingish lately.

[Parche]

75. hibbits

Hibbits didnt watch the same GW Bush speech or poor use of words
that I watched
Bush must have said entrepreneurial 100 times, and something
about sps, m5g, or something like that 50 times.


Kerry's speech was like always fantastic

[sandnsea]

70. Fat bald guy?

Kerry has a chance? But Bush was strong? :crazy:

On one of the other channels the analyst was saying Kerry would win Oregon if the election were today but Bush still had a chance to turn it around. That's alot more accurate from what I see. I live in a slightly right area and it's ALL Kerry here. (Almost all anyway)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

71. 50,000 people at the Kerry rally!?!!

seriously is that real?

[MissB]

72. It would be hard to fit that many in the bowl at Waterfront Park

Who knows? I wouldn't be too surprised.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

73. I think 20,000 is the latest 'official' estimate. nt

[grasswire]

74. does ANYONE have a long shot of the waterfront...

...so we can see the crowd? All the time I was watching, the shot only showed the people nearest the stage.

[OnceUponATime]

76. Just got back from rally... 40,000 at least

My friends and I stood in line for two hours and still didn't get in, but we got close enough to hear Kerry speak. Absolutely huge crowd, with lines stretching back across the bridges toward the east side of the river.

A policeman there told us there were 40,000 in the park, but there were at least several thousand who weren't allowed into the park that lined the streets of downtown.

p.s. this is my first d.u. post!!!

[nborders]

77. 60,000 on Kerry's blog

http://blog.johnkerry.com/




Welcome to DU, BTW.

My wife and I stopped by after having a bite at the Bite of Oregon. I am not one for huge crowds, so I avoided the actual event. We walked to just under the Hawthorn bridge just to get a look at everyone. Looked like a good time.

~n

[Amaya]

83. I love Portland!

Very nice :D

[faithnotgreed]

81. awesome on all counts! a warm welcome to you here

[mediaman007]

82. Welcome

to our zoo.

[eeyore]

85. Welcome to DU!

Keep them posts a comin'!

-eeyore

[OnceUponATime]

87. Thanks!

for the warm welcome.

I was so pumped when I got back from the rally, but I just watched NBC nightly news and became somewhat deflated when they didn't show or even mention the huge crowds today in Portland. All they showed of Kerry was him speaking to a small group in Springfield this morning. But they sure showed Bush at his 600 person invite-only rally. It's downright enraging. Well, I guess I shouldn't expect anything better from our "free" press.

Oh well, I don't think you can hide the truth from people for too long when these kind of crowds are showing up.

Glad to be part of the D.U. community. I've been reading here for a while now, but I finally decided to stop being shy and start posting!

:hi:

[West Coast Democrat]

78. 40-50 thousand people

I was there. It was incredible!!

[eeyore]

84. I was there too!

The photos do not even begin to tell the story of how many were there. All you can see in those shots are the people who got in. I was one of the unfortunate who did not - stood in line on the Hawthorne bridge for 2 hours before the fire marshall closed the gate. The streets were packed with people outside the park. I was amazed at how many people just stood quiet and attentive, straining to hear what was going on inside the park. You really had to work hard to hear, but people stayed through the whole thing!

The vibe was very upbeat and positive, and there was very minimal presence of anti-Kerry idiots. I saw one guy with a Jesus sign screaming about his love for the Chimp, and he was getting it from everyone who walked by. Another guy drove by and yelled at the crowds in line. He actually stood up out of his driver's side window (while continuing to drive) and yelled "Kerry's a fag and he's going to ruin our country!!!!". We all took it as a positive sign that he thinks Kerry will have the chance to ruin the country.

Didn't get in but still had a great day! Woohoo!

-eeyore

[jsw_81]

89. Liberal press? I think not

Seattle's KIRO TV news just had a whole segment about Bush's fund raising trip and then briefly mentioned that Kerry greeted a few "hundred" supporters down in Portland.

Does this look like a few hundred people to you?



Kerry attracts what is probably the largest crowd in the state's history and our "liberal" press writes it off as a few hundred. Unbelievable.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

90. That's a stadium sized crowd, easily 30,000 if not 40.

This is incredible by any measure. I have never heard of this kind of thing in a campaign, well maybe RFK in 1968, but this is a story in itself.