It began with a warm welcome by Chris Berg, followed by an opening prayer by Pastor Kurt Chaffee, and a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Blind Joe. Then the crowd of more than 2,000 began to cheer for rally organizer Jay Lundeen, Chair of District 40 in Minot, as he outlined the task at hand and defined patriots as those who have to carry the message forward and stay on task.
“These are my kind of people,” Sen. Oley Larsen (R-Dis. 3, Minot)
“These are my kind of people,” remarked Sen. Oley Larsen (R-Dis. 3, Minot). “They’re getting pretty nervous in there,” as he motioned to the capital building. “There are those who are just walking around like this is not happening and just refusing to come out here and see what is going on,” according to Larsen. “They should be out here and see what’s going on.
“This shows the excitement and passion of people getting involved,” said Rep. Dan Ruby (R-Dis. 38, Minot). “It lets leadership know how the voters feel, and that hasn’t happened for quite a while.” Rep. Ruby was also quick to point out that there were many not in the crowd, “There were lot more who would have liked to have been here, but it’s hard to take time off and travel from other parts of the state.”
"I agree, I love to see the passion and excitement.” Rep. Craig Headland (R-Dis. 29, Montpelier)
Rep. Craig Headland (R-Dis. 29, Montpelier) also joined Rep. Ruby at the We The People event. “I agree, I love to see the passion and excitement.” But Rep. Headland said he was not happy about the first few hours of the Special Session. “I am really disappointed in how things are going,” referring to the bills that had made it out of the Delayed Bills committee.
Whether it was Rep. Ruby, Sen. Larsen, Rep. Headland or the many other legislators who took the time to experience the atmosphere of the rally, there was a good reason for the rally, and a common message, “We Are The People, and We Will Not Comply!”
