President Obama is really hoping he is as successful at drawing a big crowd next week, as he has been at drawing small ones all year. Let’s not forget, by the campaign’s own admission, smaller gatherings are apparently preferable to bigger ones.
Two weeks ago, an Obama campaign official had this to say about those unwieldy big crowds:
“We have plenty of time for big rallies,” Psaki said earnestly. “Our focus right now is on exciting our supporters and winning over undecided voters and the smaller and medium-size events are the best venue to accomplish that because the president can closely engage with the crowd.”
Right. Whether or not you believe this bizarre explanation for Obama’s waning support and voter enthusiasm, it appears they’ve scrapped the so-called “tiny crowd strategy,” and are hoping to revive some of that Obama-mania from 2008. Via The Hill
For weeks, Democrats have been concerned about filling Bank of America Stadium, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. They feared a devastating image of an enthusiasm gap if Obama spoke to empty upper decks at the venue.
But the Obama campaign says it’s got it covered, and that all 73,778 of the stadium’s seats will be spoken for. The campaign also insists this success will showcase a ground operation that will help Obama win North Carolina for a second cycle in a row this November.
“We’re confident we’ll be full,” Jen Psaki, the traveling Obama press secretary, told The Hill late last week. “We have a great ground operation in North Carolina and we’ve registered more voters than any other state.”
Now that its officially game time for the Democrats, they’re faced with a significant issue: How do you sell out an NFL stadium hosting a President who has failed the American people in his first term?
Thankfully, the Obama campaign has worked around the issue. An e-mail sent Thursday night to the DeKalb County, GA Democratic party enlightens us to their strategy. Below is an excerpt from the e-mail. [Emphasis mine]
Everyone who is at Manuel’s Tavern or the Bibb County Democratic Party by noon is eligible for two tickets. Arrive early if you want, but it won’t give you a better chance to win. Just be there by 12 noon!
If less than 50 people arrive, everyone will get a pair! If more than 50 folks arrive, we will do a random drawing to determine our winners.
There is no cost involved. We’re not selling the tickets, we’re giving them away.
Since we’re not selling tickets, you can’t sell them either! If you sell your tickets to someone else, they will be deactivated.
For planning purposes, we expect that President Obama will speak at 8pm on Thursday. To insure that you are in your seat for the speech, you should arrive at the stadium that afternoon. There will be strict security at the event.
Your trip to Charlotte to see the President’s historic speech begins tomorrow.
Considering that tickets are literally being given away to see the President “historic speech,” the question we should be asking ourselves isn’t whether Obama can fill the stadium. Rather, what does it say about the state of his campaign if he doesn’t?
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Hmmm… Free tickets, huh?
Why not Operation Empty Chair on a grand scale? Go get the free tickets and then just don’t show up.
Sure, they can give away tickets… But if those tickets are never used for entry, it still won’t solve their problem of filling the stadium.
Shovel Ready!
Yes, isn’t that the same thing that happened the first few days of the London Olympics? All the tickets were sold or given out, but not everyone showed up. This thought must give them nightmares. They should have included a coupon for a free beer or something along with the seat, especially since they were passing these tickets out at a tavern.
I’m not sure that it will really make much difference. The Progressive Marxist Pathology will cause the Democrat party to beg, steal, intimidate, lie, cheat and swindle for any votes they can get. After that there are the Federal Court Judges who can be pressured to overturn election results. What is needed is an overwhelming rejection of Obama by this country – even the bodies lay rotting in their graves need to reject this presidential poser. This election is just one battle in a very long war of ideals and philosophies, freedom or tyranny – in my opinion.
A full or an empty stadium, what is really needed is for the Obama campaign to get a good swift kick in the groin. Another “You didn’t build this!” would be sweet.
Yes, don’t miss your chance to visit the “Nuremberg 2” rally at Bank of America Stadium next Thursday.
Der Fast und Führeriouser will be ranting on about how the future belongs to him
It would be so cool if he chugged a beer and three Red Bulls and gave the speech in German!
Dunno about German – he might be able to handle Austrian, though…
If they hadn’t picked a right-to-work state they could rely on the unions to bus people in.
Charlotte is not that far of a ride for many union members in other states, say PA, or OH, or even MD. Given how unions have use force in the past for other efforts, such as the WI election, why would anyone think they wouldn’t be even more active and coercive for this?
Conservatives covering the event should be keeping an eye out for large groups of Union members getting bused in from out of state. I can guarantee it will happen, and their buses and tickets will be courtesy of the DNC.
73,000 is a lot of buses and a lot of people to miss work on a weekday – if they work at all, of course. And people are going to have to get there probably six hours early.
They will have to promise free food & drink to fill up that stadium.
If people won’t take time to hear him speak, do you think they will take time to vote for him?
If it werernt an election…a serious election I could almost find humor in the Obama campaigns attempts to reframe things.
First they want small gatherings now they want a big turnout.
First they promised lowering the seas now they spin the economic Titanic as “better positioned”
8.3% Unemployment has become the new promised 5.6%
1.5%GDP growth is now the promised 4.0%.
Thomas Wolfe wrote about this syndrome in Bonfire
Now, I could just shake my head and smile. But in my house, when a turd appears, we throw it out. We dispose of it. We flush it away. We don’t put it on the table and call it caviar.
I’m sure the Obama campaign will use cardboard cutouts and Styrofoam forms of people to fill out the Bank of America stadium to make it look full.
Justimagine what media could do with help from Obama’s Hollywood contributers. They could stage the event and plug in huge crowds borrowed from Gladiator technology….for us to see!
Hey..for a grand entrance use the baloon used by The Count of Monte Cristo..that would be as effective as Daniel Craig and the Queen. As the baloon decends and fireworks signal his arrival…beer recipes could be dropped like confetti!
I anticipate the use of crash dummies to fill the seats.
BTW – According to Weather Underground there is a 50% chance of rain on Thursday.
I’m so praying for rain… a hard rain, but not a hurricane.
Don’t pray for no rain, just the threat of it- to keep the crowds away. If it’s raining during Barry’s speech, the low turnout will be blamed on the weather. It looks way more pathetic for him to have a low turnout during beautiful weather.
How many D-cretins will be bused in from the outliers to help fill up that stadium? Every nursing home, halfway house, SEIU & AFCSME hall, college and university will be scoured for bodies to help cheer on our beloved President. Cars upon cars of liberal vermin from coast to coast filled with lawyers, social workers, artists and other intellectual dandies, like the political zombies they are, will rush to worship at the feet of the Greatest, Smartest, Most Honest man ever to hold the Office of POTUS. Our Media Darlings, such as Chris Matthews, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams will proclaim from on high that Our President gave the speech of a life time and that momentum is now on his side, the side of Righteousness and by tacit approval, their side as well. Ah, I can’t wait.
Is there anyway to determine how many charter buses they’ve booked. My guess is you’ll see more charter buses than cars.
Or, as Rush now calls her, Angrier Mitchell…
I live just south of Charlotte, and I hope the prevailing wind is from the south otherwise the smell could get really bad around here.
Just looked at the extended forecast for Charlotte…..Thursday high 90 with humidity of 80%, chance of rain 40%.
gettin my rain dance steps worked out for Thur……..gee is that racist?
Blow up dolls? How about blow up dolls? I’m sure the Hollyweird porno exec crowd has a few extra thousand to spare.
“For planning purposes, we expect that President Obama will speak at 8pm on Thursday.”
Does this sound a little tentative to you? I mean, why the qualifying prepositional phrase, never mind “we expect”? Wouldn’t a flat statement…”President Obama will speak at 8pm on Thursday” be expected?
mr. creeper says he’s going to bow out. Maybe he’s right.
I think it would be great if a bunch of Conservatives got in, then while half didn’t go into the arena, the other half went in and simply stood in front of alternating seats. So each person had an empty seat next to them. Not a lot Obama could do about it – is Obama gonna have hundreds tossed out for standing? and the visual would be wonderful.
Now if you could get them to wear T-shirts with the Romney campaign underneath their outside clothing, and peel them off – now you’d REALLY have something. It’d take a long time to get everyone pushed out. But only do that on the last day.
Oh, and record everything everyone they talked to said for the prior days – there would bound to be dozens of incredibly embarrassing soundbites.
[…] Legal Insurrection: Obama campaign says it will fill football stadium for convention’s […]
I’ll be cheering from a very distant sideline. Displaying an enthusiastic thumbs down!
I think that the democrats are in a little trouble..
A second “National Empty Chair Day” in one week?
Supposed to rain on thursday night. I hope it pours.
God, is that you?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/sep/1/rains-wash-away-mount-obama/
HA HA! thanks for posting that.
I had not seen this! OMG, what kind of egomanic has a sand bust of themselves. And it was washed away! LOL!
I can see a Branco cartoon of the mini-Mount Rushmore Obama sand castle.
“Fading Bedroom Posters and Melting Mt. Rushmore Sand Castles”?
Reminds me of the song, MacArthur Park……
😉
RIP Donna Summer.
“My name is Obamandius. Look upon me, ye mighty and…..”
Certainly not despair. More like laugh so hard you crack a rib.
Maybe he can recapture the excitement from when he launched his political career in Bill Ayers’s living room.
They’ve nixed the “Tiny Terrorist Crowd” strategy, also.
“There will be strict security at the event.”
No forks.
Haha!!
The Spork Convention!
“May the Spork be with you, Obama-Wan Kenobi!”
Obama Jedi Mind Trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt6bffkFlp8
Obama Jedi Mind Trick:“The Force can have a strong influence on the weak minded.”
Which reminded me of Obi Wan’s assesment of next week’s show: The DNC convention. You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany!
If the GOP was worth a damn with “black” ops this would be an open door for ringers to get in throughout the stadium and at a strategic time in his speech take up the chant “EMPTY chair – EMPTY chair !
Of course they will fill the stadium, they do it all the time to add realism to works of fiction – http://inflatablecrowd.com
I can’t imagine he’ll be speaking at 8. He’s more likely to speak at 9 or 10. 8 pm eastern is only 5 pm Pacific.
This is where the choice of Charlotte is really haunting them. In a union shop state they could readily force a lot of shop stewards from the surrounding area to show up. The closest closed shop states are West Virginia and Kentucky. Lots of luck getting coal miners to drive 180 miles or more to show up for Obama. If it was in Raleigh they might be able to pressure enough state employees into showing up to help fill the gaps. There obviously aren’t enough off duty public employees in Charlotte so they are left trolling the Greater Atlanta area. While it’s a straight shot on the Interstate between the two cities Atlanta is still about 240 miles away. Between the drive there, the hassle of getting past security and the long early morning drive back they are basically asking people to waste two days.
“The Demorats Gather for Convention”
Let us shout, Hallelujah, “THE WON’S” comin’ to town
Our convention’s about to begin.
So put on “happy faces”. Turn those frowns upside down,
And pretend FEARLESS LEADER will win!
We have done all we could to keep hidden the truth–
(CORRUPT MEDIA was his whore from the start).
‘Tho its influence is dying; and its concept of “proof”,
Made the worst of “Three Stooges” look smart.
Still, we’ll muddle along; “It’s all part of the show!”
Doesn’t Barry look, “So hip these days”?
“His ears never looked better, and his golf scores, you know,
Are deserving of the public’s best praise!
Our elites will be here; pray the rabble won’t swoon,
By the “great ones’ high-tech/high-def glow!
Presidenta Jarrett will command the whole room,
Even Godfather Rahm plans to show!
We will bravely ignore those unflattering facts,
Which our Media Whores may not shroud–
(So many of the “faithful” shall be missing “all acts”—
They will lose if they’re seen in our crowd!)
Make the Kool-Aid more potent! Triple pork all around!
We can spend like we’re “Kings for a Day”!
So what if we lose; when THE WON’S lost His crown,
We’ve still BILLIONS safe hidden away!
DERIDE; MOCK; LAUGH AT THEM—YOU’RE PAYING FOR THEIR PARTY.
R & R WIN BIG IN NOVEMBER.
No rights reserved – copy; send; improvise; share the fun!
On a slightly more serious note, the Dems continue to think that they can win North Carolina for a second time. Jen Psaki, the traveling Obama
designated clownpress secretary, isn’t the only one blowing their horn about their great ‘ground game’.As the saying goes for the Pubs, “don’t get cocky.”
I’d like to hear what the polls are in NC, and I’d especially like to hear that the Romney-Ryan campaign also has a great ground game for that state.
I’m confident that you’ll be full of it, too, dear.
The State Prison and all County Jails will be issuing day passes for the big event with SEIU members and Teamsters serving as chaperones. Homeless shelters and street people will also be rounded up and promised a bottle of Obama’s WhiteHouse brewed Honey Ale.
Oh good! I can hardly wait for a few cons to get tanked on Whitehouse Honey Ale! Yeee Haw! Let the good times roll – maybe there will be a few stabbings and rapes to add to the authentic flavor of a Democrat gathering.
One other thing to consider: What event, troubling occurrence or activity will happen or be taking place during the festivities in Charlotte that can be used to hammer the D’s as they and their media darlings tried to do with Issac? I am sure there are any number of things along these lines, starting with the clean up from Issac. Any thoughts?
Despite West Wing misgivings, Bill Clinton will introduce President Empty Chair at the DNC on Thursday night. Edward Klein goes behind the scenes:
My sources inside the Obama campaign tell me that the last thing Obama wanted to see was Clinton, one of the country’s greatest orators, standing at the podium of the Democratic convention and sucking all the air out of the place.
The president, First Lady Michelle Obama and their senior political adviser, Valerie Jarrett, all argued strenuously against offering Clinton a plum assignment at the convention. They wanted to relegate him to a minor, non-prime-time speaking role. However, Clinton, who is viewed as an iconic figure by the party faithful, refused to accept anything less than the all-important nominating speech and threatened to boycott the convention unless his demands were met.
The decisive vote in the matter, according to my sources, was cast by David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political strategist, who argued that the Obamas needed Clinton far more than Clinton needed them. Axelrod had long been aware that things were not going as well for Obama as the mainstream media reported.
—Steven Green
There will be buses…
Most US buses for charter can seat 60, the “Executive Motor Coaches” hold 80. Even if they could get every big one in service, that’s 900 busloads of people.
Maybe Obama can stuff ’em in cattle cars and use the trains?
I hope a few conservative operatives get in using the free tickets, and give an honest accounting of the crowd count and what is truly happening — not to protest or show Romney support. I would love some honest ears and eyes in the crowd doing some solid citizen journalism.
If there is a savvy LI reader who can make it for the speech, I bet the report would make fascinating reading.
“everyone will get a pair!”
*The surgery costs practically nothing our friendly medical staff awaits
*a small donation is strongly suggested.
How hard can it be to fill a stadium? Obama should use the same super power he used to keep the oceans from rising. Seriously, in a bipartisan spirit to save Obama from more embarassment, my advice is for the DNC to pay some of Obama’s Hollywood groupies to come and promise to give autographs or a free concert after his speech. That should do what Obama can’t do!
Bubba Clinton will nominate the man he hates, loathes and despises above ALL others. And, suck ALL the ions outta the hall for his own malignantly narcissistic self-pleasuring. Ohhhh, God, this stuff is too, too rich! Meanwhile, His Infantile Majesty-The Boy King Obam-Bam, will have to grind the enamel off his molars & listen & watch. Torture. Luv it.
And, Hillary will “enjoy” the..Renditioning of The Anointed One from the comfort and safety of half way around the globe.
If Clinton really wants to stick it to Obama for accusing him of racism in 2008, he will have the chance.
More likely Bill will do what he does best, lie his butt off with a smile on his face.