Lock the Doors

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Ahhh...this is more like it. Advertised as a rally, this event at Furman University actually feels like one. The mostly young crowd lined up over an hour before the event. A teenage band helped pass the time, the room bursting with at least 1,500 people packed standing room only. Two walls had to be collapsed to withstand the flow of people and even that didn't seem to alleviate the pressure of people all around. - Joy Lin, CBS News

I had previously posted the flier for Mike Huckabee's visit to Furman. It was all that I had wished for and more. About 5:45 the lobby began to fill and by 6:15 it was full. At that point we opened the doors to the conference room and by 6:45, two walls were collapsed and the room was as packed as the hog farm I visited this past summer.

Gov. Huckabee had been in a private reception with close friends of Congressman Bob Inglis and at 7:00 he appeared and did a little jam session with "Detour", a high school band from Clemson. At this point, the fire marshal made us lock all the doors and bar anymore people from coming in. We directed them to the side doors so they could stand outside and listen to Huckabee's stump speech. The campus police chief estimated 1500+ people were crammed in there - a huge proportion of them being my fellow students and other young people from Greenville. I was so proud and lucky to have the opportunity to share Gov. Huckabee's message of hope for future generations with all of my friends. If you have some free time, watch him outline his vision for America and his policy positions here.

Mother, Grandmother, and political activist Carole Walters attended the event at and I believe she summed it up best in her Op-Ed in the Greenville News today.

Huckabee brings in the young people

The Republican Party is experiencing rebirth! A look around the Furman rally for Mike Huckabee recently was amazing. The majority of the over 1,500 gathered were young and enthusiastic, first-timers to get involved in any politics. Youth respond to Huckabee's creative use of the Internet, Meet Up groups, Face Book site, tongue-in-cheek ads and stories that touch the heart.

I have been involved in politics in varying degrees over the past 20 years. Often I have seen the Republican Party consisting mainly of older, somewhat affluent people. I had truly become concerned as I attended local party events seeing the aging of the party. However, it looks like Mike Huckabee has struck a chord among the young who want hope in the America that they will inherit. That is what Huckabee does best -- instills hope.

Huckabee's message is: hope in leaving Iraq with assurance that the people and country will be better because our soldiers were there; hope that our borders will be secured as we can get a handle on the immigration problem; hope that our failing, burdensome tax system can truly be fixed in a "fair" way; hope that we will see the end of turning our backs on the most vulnerable members of our society: the unborn and elderly.

As a parent and grandparent, teacher and volunteer to women in crisis, the most important thing I can offer others is hope. As the man from Hope (Arkansas) often says, "We want the greatest generation to be the one that is yet to be born." The twentysomethings are listening and coming out in droves. We say, "Come on in and join the party."
Carole M. Walters
Easley

Media about the event:
Hucksarmy.com Youtube shoutout at Furman University by Gov. Mike Huckabee
Greenville News Photos of the Event
Huckabee Rally Really Feels Like a Rally - CBS
Mike Huckabee woos Greenville, Spartanburg voters - Greenville News
Huckabee’s Home Field Advantage - Fox News
Huckabee Is TCB - ABC
Generation Y: Ready to Rock the 2008 Election - Washington Post

Video: Huckabee on the Fair Tax, immigration
Video: Huckabee on the Greatest Generation
Video: Huckabee jams with Furman students
Video: Huckabee's introductory comments at Furman