Pro-Bush Rally Draws Crowd From Loudoun
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Monday, January 5, 2009
“Thank you President Bush God Bless” is what 14-year-old Chrissy Doolittle’s sign read.
The Leesburg resident stood holding her sign by the Washington Monument for nearly an hour and a half Saturday afternoon with her mother and grandmother to thank President George W. Bush for his eight years in office.
Chrissy’s family was part of a group of around 150 people – the majority of them from Loudoun County – who wanted to make sure that their voices of gratitude were heard, even as Bush’s approval ratings hover around 30 percent and the area and nation turn their focus toward Barack Obama’s inauguration, just a little more than two weeks away.
“We will continue to pray for him as we always do every night, and that God will continue to use him,” said Chrissy’s mother, Annabelle Doolittle, who found a flyer about the rally on her car.
The noon rally on the National Mall was organized by Ashburn resident Shannon Tercero and included a small stage and microphone for individuals to express their messages of thanks. The demonstrators also sang “God Bless America” and listened to a tribute to President Bush by Jerry Alway, pastor of Grace Tabernacle Church in Berryville.
During the rally, a few people passing by saw the signs and joined the group.
Photo Gallery
Thank You, President Bush
From left, Eleng Colesio, Chrissy Doolittle and Annabelle Doolittle of Leesburg hold up their homemade signs at the "Thank you, President Bush" rally near the Washington Monument on Jan. 3. Daughter, mother and grandmother said they pray for President Bush every night. (Charity Corkey)
From left, Regina, Michael and Sylvia Dorham of Aldie hold signs thanking President Bush for his years of service in front of the Washington Monument on Saturday, Jan. 3. (Charity Corkey)
A demonstrator at the Washington Monument holds up a sign for Laura Bush. (Charity Corkey)
Demonstrators at the "Thank you, President Bush" rally at the Washington Monument hold up signs supporting President Bush. (Charity Corkey)
A demonstrator at Saturday's "Thank you, President Bush" rally at the Washington Monument holds up a homemade sign. (Charity Corkey)
Around 150 demonstrators -- including at least 100 from Loudoun County -- gathered at the Washington Monument on Saturday, Jan. 3 to thank President Bush for his eight years of service. (Charity Corkey)
Children write notes for President Bush on a "Thank you, President Bush" sign following a rally for the president at the Washington Monument Jan. 3. (Charity Corkey)
Personal notes for the president cover a sign created for the "Thank you, President Bush" rally in D.C. Jan. 3. (Charity Corkey)
Personal notes for the president cover a sign created for the "Thank you, President Bush" rally in D.C. Jan. 3. (Charity Corkey)
“They were really happy we were having it,” Alway said of the spectators. “One child was approached by two men who said they were anti-Bush, but there were definitely more positive than negative [reactions].”
Saturday’s rally was the second pro-Bush rally that Tercero has planned. The first was on Nov. 22 at Lafayette Park.
“There have been many protesters outside of the White House, and I guess that moved us [to hold a rally] because we are thankful for what he has done,” she said.
Traditionally a Republican-leaning county, Loudoun went for Bush both in 2000 and 2004. But in 2008, for the first time, Loudoun went blue, with 54 percent of the vote for Obama and 46 percent for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
During the Lafayette Park demonstration, two women working for the Bush administration approached the group and asked them to hold another rally, Tercero said. Their comments, along with the positive reactions the group received from people passing by, inspired Tercero to plan Saturday’s larger event at the Washington Monument.
Many Loudoun parents brought their children to the rally. Sylvia Dorham of Aldie helped her two children, Regina, 12, and Michael, 8, make signs for the outgoing president.
Regina’s sign read, “Thank you President Bush for Defending Life,” and she said that if she had a chance to meet President Bush she would thank him for “saving the unborn babies of our country.”
Chrissy Doolittle had a different message for Bush if she were able to speak to him face-to-face: “Thank you for helping our country and keeping us safe.”
Tagged: Democratic Party, politics, Republican Party
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What a pleasant surprise. Bravo.
Posted by Kansasgirl (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 4:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good job everyone. History will tell the truth about George W. Bush. He kept America safe and all the liberal nuts still hate him. But America will be thanking him for years.
God Bless you President Bush.
Posted by stock_diesel (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 4:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Too bad this won't be picked up by major news networks. Spectacles tend to sell more advertising dollars, and people thanking a president is hardly an outrageous story that talking heads can dissect on national television.
Posted by Hoqenishy (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 7:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Right. Thanks Mr. President. For a war that we should never have entered into just b/c you wanted payback for your father. For not finishing Afghanistan and capturing Osama Bin Laden when we had him in Tora Bora. For backing the abstinence only program which has worked out so well - NOT. For decimating our natural resources and continuing to do so. For removing the oversight in the SEC, the EPA, the Park Service, the Dept of Interior ... I could go on & on. 8 years worth of destroying my country. Thanks!!
Posted by ms1234 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's amazing how you can get a group of people together to rally around almost anything. I guess that is what makes this country so great: diverse opinions, freedom of speech, etc.
My personal favorite quote of the article was "...and that God will continue to use him." Where do these people come from? God will continue to use him? What does that even mean? Where do they find these people? That would make a great documentary: spend a day in the life of someone who continues to support Bush.
Posted by masnef2002 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Word on the street is that abstinence is 100% effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy.
So I hear.
Posted by dingus3 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 11:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen to that stock_diesel
Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ms1234,
You have given credit where credit isn’t due
Democratic president Clinton failed to apprehend Osama Bin Laden prior to 9-11, twice. The democrats have controlled Congress for two years and have complete oversight of the Interior Department, the SEC, the EPA, and every other government controlled agency.
Don’t thank the president, thank the Democrats that control the legislative branch of the government for the last two years, which includes the worst financial disaster short of the Great Depression, in US history.
Posted by cutterjohn17 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh don't get me wrong - I didn't say that Bill C & Company didn't have a hand. To the contrary - he should have pummeled them when the USS Cole was attacked. He should have done a MUCH better job in Somalia. But everyone was all atwitter b/c he got a little on the side. Everyone, unfortunately, has a hand in the mess which has become us.
To Dingus3- yes, abstinence is 100% effective - if it's practiced. Sarah Palin - abstinence plan - her 17 yr old daughter just gave birth. A friend of mine who sends his daughter to a Christian school in Loudoun, where they teach abstinence only, has a 17 yr old daughter who will be having the baby any day now. I wonder how the p/t job at Chik Filet is going to cover that.
I'm not saying don't teach abstinence, but people are sexual. Hormonal teenagers especially so. Give them options & knowledge. Learning from only one book makes you one-dimensional and uninformed.
Posted by ms1234 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
While the rest of the country is debating- Worst President ever?
........or merely the worst President we have had in the last 50 years?
.
- the flat earth crowd continues to cast themselves out into the political wilderness
Posted by AFF3 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Can anyone spot the problem here?
"with 54 percent of the vote for Obama and 46 percent for Sen. John McCain (D-Ariz.)."
Posted by jafulle1 (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 1:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great to hear! Thank you President Bush for keeping me and my family safe. I really appreciate all the work you have done over the last 8 years. God Bless you.
Posted by dcgaris (anonymous) on January 5, 2009 at 6:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A rally to thank President Bush?
I was initially surprised, until I remembered that there are Germans out there who recall Kaiser Wilhelm II as a great leader. I realized then that this little rally was just more evidence that Abraham Lincoln was right: you CAN fool some of the people all of the time.
Posted by Pablo01 (anonymous) on January 6, 2009 at 7:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"But everyone was all atwitter b/c he got a little on the side"
Again, the effort is to assign the problem to sex. The problem, ms1234n was with lying to the American people, perjury before Congress, obstructing justice, and parsing the actual meaning of "is" to slide out from under something that anyone else would have done time for. It was never about sex. It was all about his attempts to manipulate the system as a sitting President.
I do see from a couple of posters that Bush Derangement Syndrome is alive and well.
Posted by honchonumberone (anonymous) on January 6, 2009 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's sort of a humorous situation when you think about it.
.
WH staffers are so surprised to see actual Bush supporters outside they immediately rush out to thank them, while asking them to hold more "demonstrations of support".
.
Months later some 150 people show up to celebrate Dubyah in the very same place which millions will be celebrating his departure merely a few weeks in the future. Since no local DC residents can be rounded up supporters are bussed in. Pedestrians and tourists on the street wisely elect to ignore the crazies.
.
Since said "supporters" who do show up can't find any earthly reason to thank Shrub for his horrendous Presidency they look towards the divine unknown for their convictions, deciding instead to thank God for George Bush.
.
Those who do reach deep to find a reason to support GWB decide to thank him for "keeping them and their families safe", despite the painful reality that Shrub dropped the ball and was at the helm while our country suffered the worst attack we have ever experienced on our homeland. Watching New Orleans drown pales in comparison to the incompetence shown by the Executive Branch in the summer of 2001- but since after getting high on prescription drugs Rush Limbaugh told these people otherwise they tattoo the Bush bullhorn photo-op into their collective memories and refuse to question Dear Leader's tenure.
.
13 days and counting
Posted by AFF3 (anonymous) on January 6, 2009 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
AFF, is that cherry or grape kool-aid you've been gulping, or can't you tell the diFF anymore?
Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on January 6, 2009 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
AFF3 thinks we should question every single one of President Bush's decisions, but blindly voted for Obama because he liked his smile... oh, and was attracted to vague promises of change.
Way to go, winner.
Posted by Hoqenishy (anonymous) on January 7, 2009 at 5:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank the non-existent god that the people are part of an ever shrinking minority in Northern Virginia. Perhaps moving to the southern part of the state or West Virginia would better fit into their beliefs and voting track record.
Posted by VAChristopher (anonymous) on January 7, 2009 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
VAChrist: Is that the same West Virginia that returns two Democratic senators to Washington year after year?
Posted by dingus3 (anonymous) on January 7, 2009 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's the same West Virginia that votes Republican in presidential elections. They are anti-abortion, hard core pro-gun right conservatives. The reason for the democratic senators is because the state used to be a huge pro-union state due to the coal mines and republicans being staunchly anti-union.
Posted by VAChristopher (anonymous) on January 7, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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