FLASHREPORT

Not since Ronald Reagan's final campaign rally at Orange County's Mile Square Park on the eve of the 1984 election, have thousands of Californian Republicans gathered. Neither Bush could do it. None of last year's Republican presidential candidates could fill the Home Depot Tennis Center. 

The Center has 13,000 court side seats. All those seats plus the suites were filled to capacity. Still thousands more were slowly streaming into the stadium quickly filled up the court yard. Thousands more found standing room around the rim of the stadium. Over 20,000 people were there to celebrate, shout and scream. It was a party. Lots of families, lots of color, and a whole lot of women. Yet, the clouds overhead were threatening with a little misty rain.

The crowd waited patiently for hours. The tickets were hard to get. Many people had to give several hours at local McCain/Palin HQ's to get inside. It was hard to imagine our side could fill a stadium, with a few days notice and no advertising in LA. 


State CRP Chairman Ron Nehring, started the show by giving a cheerful talk inspiring the troops. Next Tony Strickland, in the state's most hard fought contest, Senate District 19, looked like a winner leading the masses for more cheers for the main speaker. Academy award winner, Jon Voight, former leftist, father of Angelina Jolie, got the crowd to shouting. [See him in David Zucher's American Carol, this weekend]


Slowly the sun emerged. No hint of rain. The them moment came.

Shelly Mandell, the current President of Los Angeles National Organization for Women [NOW] --- in the Republican OC suite several of us were scratching our heads--- introduced Sarah Palin. It was an awkward introduction. . Mandell, stated she didn't agree with Sarah on everything,  that she is a democrat, that she Mandell supported the failed Equal Rights Amendment campaign but the crowd exercised tolerance.  Ms. Mandell will get a lot of angry calls from the hard left, but she embraced the moment and stood with Sarah Palin. When Palin took the mic, the people exploded. Everyone stood during her entire 30 minute address.

I counted over 37 TV cameras, plus at least 5 more on the side. Not even Arnold can get that attention. Sarah roused the rancorous multitude that California is still Reagan country. Cheers. Then Sarah warned that when she quotes Madeline Albright that there is a "special place in hell for women who don't support women."  the press will somehow screw that up. More cheers.

Sarah Palin stirred the throng by asking Obama rhetorically "wouldn't it be nice, for Barack Obama, to say once that he wanted the US to win" in the Middle East?

I rushed out early to blog this report.  All the few dozen Obama vagabonds disappeared. 

Carson had more Republicans gathered in its city confines since its incorporation in 1968. This rally is a milestone. It proves that the Party can be vibrant, enthusiastic  when presented with an articulate conservative. Sarah Palin  attracted swarms of young people, Latinos, Asians and Pacific Islanders [ basically the demographics of Carson]. The lesson cannot be clearer. Give us Ronald Reagan optimism, quote Reagan like Sarah did , that "government is not the solution but the problem," - - -and  they will come.