"Trust The People/CounterCoup" Election Protest (Olympia)

Yesterday I went down to the demonstration at the state's capitol in Olympia, Washington. Although I appeared to be the only counter- protester, I think my presence was noted by many.

The "demonstration" was scheduled to start at 1:00pm. I ran down to the local teacher's store and purchased the makings of a sign to clearly show my support for the Constitution. As I waited for the "demonstration" I assembled my sign and chatted with a number of parents out with their kids enjoying the cool weather, leaves and kid- friendly climbing tree.

At the beginning, there were about twenty-five demonstrators, who pretty much spent their time speaking to the group about the vote, the electoral college, etc. There was also the oft-expressed sentiment that this was a growing movement, and that it was "time for the people to act."

As time wore on, we were joined by blatant Gore supporters as well as the usual assortment of radical college-age radicals which frequent this sort of thing in Olympia. I estimate that before the "demonstration" ended, there were fifty to fifty-five people there. Naturally, the few Gore supporters tried to incite attendees to contact the Republican electoral college members in Florida to "vote the 'will of the people'" Actually most of the time, there was more talking about the need for third parties, changing the system to be more open to fringe parties, and the ever-popular Green/environmental movements.

My conversation with the most outspoken Gore supporter (Bob Sturges) was noted by an earnest young lady who was taking notes, etc. Turns out she was a reporter for the local paper (The Olympian). We had a nice mini-interview and she also took my picture. She seemed to be of the opinion that her article about the "demonstration" would be in today's (Sunday) paper, so we may make it into mainstream press. It will be interesting to see.

I also spent some time in open discussion with a young man who wanted to debate whether the Constitution was a legitimate governing document, whether it was anti-democratic, etc. It was a pleasant interlude, although I don't know if he ever "got" the message about protecting individuals and minorities from the Tyranny of the Majority, why we have a representative democracy (Republic), etc. Afterwards, when he left to join the other radicals in their "protest march down the streets of Olympia", several of the onlookers came up to comment favorably on my knowledge, etc. during the discussion.

The highlight of the day was when a Washington State trooper came up and asked ME if I was in charge of the demonstration. I pointed at some geese nearby and told her that compared to this group, the nearby gaggle was a world-class, finely-trained precision drill team. She seemed to think that was amusing.

Yours in Liberty,
Robert