Wows Larger-Than-Expected Crowd at Invitation-Only Capital Hill Event!
By Brad Friedman on 2/9/2005, 5:26pm PT  

Just in minutes ago from a source attending an invitation-only event at the Capital City Brewery next to Union Station in D.C.

With the last of the challengers for DNC chair now having dropped out of the race, an invitation went out just last night for "A Grassroots Celebration with Governor Howard Dean" organized by Democracy for America.

The crowd was so much larger than expected (the source estimates 2000 were there), that Dean moved outside to make his speech.

Below are some of the excerpts we were able to transcribe via the live cell phone connection from our source who was standing just next to the good doctor during his impromptu speech:

We're gonna change almost everything...We had the best grassroots organizations I've ever seen during our campaign, but it wasn't enough...We're gonna change that.

We have to NEVER be afraid to say what we believe! [HUGE CHEERS]

The people of this country are extraordinary exceptional people. 95% percent of the people want the same thing...Whatever category you think you fit into...We want to be respected in the world, not just have the strongest military in the world...We want jobs and job opportunities and to keep them in America. We want economic security...The largest number of personal bankruptcies are because of people who have medical emergencies, even those with insurance...We want to improve our public school system so we have the same chances our parents and grandparents had.

We're gonna do a lot of things together, because I can't do anything without all of you...This is your party, not mine.

But above all, we need not just to organize, not just to raise money, we need to stand up and speak up for what is right!

I will never use rhetoric that is used to divide America merely to win elections...We will never divide one American from another in order to win. If we do that, we will not be able to make an improvement once we get here.

...Take a look behind me (pointing to U.S. Capital Building)...In 2006 we're gonna make major strides in taking that building back and in 2008 it'll be a Democrat walking up Pennsylvania to take the oath of office! [CROWD WENT WILD]

We're not big Democrats around here these days. But we're big supporters of Dean, and couldn't give a crap what the detractors say (and boy, will we be hearing a lot from them now! We suggest you ignore them and smile in their general direction!), he's the man to change the party into something that's worth fighting for. Let's see if he can do it.

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