full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign. I went to Qualcomm because that's where the fight to maintain human rights is being waged.
Let me be clear. I've been to a lot of all day music festivals, and generally people skip the first seven hours. So maybe that's what's going on here. But after a couple hours at Qualcomm earlier for the massive Yes on 8 rally organized by The Call...nobody's here. Check out the poor but illustrative video I grabbed with my Flip Video. I was down on the field, just to stage left. Joint was empty. They threw a party and nobody came.
The parking lots were mostly empty. The trolley station that goes essentially right up to the door was almost entirely empty. The concourses and hallways were empty. Most of the seats were empty. A popular shirt as I walked around (but don't have a picture of right now) was a bright yellow Tshirt reading "You can't change God's Law: Yes on Prop 8." But you know...don't worry about this being the effective repeal of the separation of church and state. It's just God's law. Being written as state law. Right. "It Ain't Just Genetics" was another personal 'favorite' of mine.
Let me also add: Not a single solitary counter-protester. Nobody at all. Everyone's on the phones making real calls. Completely non-political friends of mine were talking last night in the midst of Halloween parties about their plans to phonebank today. This campaign is doing a tremendous job channeling the energies of supporters to the work that really matters. Really impressive to see.
Update: Photos from earlier today can be seen here
Update: I'm about to crash, but I wanted to confirm: nobody else ever showed up. The No on 8 counter-rally at 9pm in Hillcrest rivaled the Qualcomm turnout- it stretched for blocks and blocks, many people deep. All the more striking because the Qualcomm rally was designed for busloads from around the state and across the country while the No on 8 rally was only motivated locals. Volunteer now. We can do this.
