Meifert says she is impressed, enlightened by number of ‘straight allies’ who have said they will participate in Oct. 3 event

Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin leaves her hotel for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Tuesday, Sept. 23, in New York. Palin will be in Dallas on Oct. 3 for a fundraising luncheon, and local activist Dawn Meifert has planned a protest outside the hotel where Palin will appear.

It looks like there is going to be a Texas-sized crowd gathered outside the Fairmont Hotel to greet Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Friday, Oct. 3. But it isn’t likely to be a friendly welcome.

Palin will be at the Fairmont for a $1,000-a-plate fundraising luncheon on Friday, the day after the first debate between her and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Activist Dawn Meifert said this week she is expecting between 200 and 300 people to participate in the protest she has planned for the Alaska governor’s visit.

But, Meifert added, the crowd could be much larger.

“How many are going to be there? I wish I knew. I am guessing 200-300. But when I said that to a friend of mine, he laughed and said we have unleashed something much bigger than we realize,” Meifert said.

“My friend said there could be 700-800 people there. I don’t know about that, but it’s just gone to so many places that we didn’t expect. We are getting tremendous response. I think it’s definitely going to be lively.”

Meifert said the response from such a wide variety of people has been “an enlightening thing for me.”

“We have had so many straight individuals reach out to us when they hear about the protest,” she said. “There was the 40-ish straight soccer mom who said Sarah Palin says nothing about her values and her life. There have been a lot of straight Jewish women who have gotten their synagogues involved. We’ve gotten response from several animal rescue groups, from Planned Parenthood and, of course, from Stonewall Democrats. It feels really good.”

The protest will begin about 11 a.m. on the sidewalk across the street from the Fairmont Hotel, 1717 N. Akard St. in downtown Dallas. Meifert said she wants protesters to be there when people start arriving to attend the V.I.P. reception with Palin that starts at 11:30 a.m.

She warned those who want to participate to be mindful of the fact that traffic is likely to be heavy in the area, especially given the extra security precautions that will be in place for Palin’s visit, and to plan accordingly. She also asked those attending to bring their own signs for the event.

“Again, we are asking that people focus on two main issues: LGBT equal rights and women’s reproductive rights,” Meifert said.

She added that volunteers will be posted along the sidewalk where the protest is taking place to make sure that “people keep moving” to avoid citations for loitering.

Meifert said she organized the protest as much to “get the attention of the people who might support” Palin financially as to send a message to the candidate herself.

“We also want to get the attention of the media,” she said. “All the media is talking about how all the white women are supporting McCain now because he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Well, not the white women we know. We want to show the media and everybody else that isn’t true, not even in areas like Dallas that are traditionally considered to be conservative.”

For information, e-mail Meifert at meifert11@yahoo.com.

E-mail nash@dallasvoice.com


   
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 26, 2008.