IMPRESSIONS FROM A TEA PARTY: UPDATE

UPDATE:  Since I finished the original post late last night, I was sleepy.  Sorry about the typos.  Hopefully, I got most of them.  At the bottom, I have added to the “Other Views” as promised.

Today has been a busy day.  First, I walked in the Dale City Parade, adding what support I can to the Republican Party ticket.  Then I went to the Prince William County VA Tea Party.  At one event, I passed out candidate literature and chanted “Bob 4 Jobs.”  At the other, I listened to speeches from over a dozen people.

The parade is relatively easy to describe.  The people there were happy.  Everybody loves a parade.   They enjoyed each other’s company, and they felt they were doing something useful, supporting their candidates.  Here are a few photos (from my cell phone) of folks getting ready.  Undoubtedly, the PWCGOP will have plenty of photos on their website in the next couple of days.

The Tea Party, on the other hand, is more difficult to describe.  Instead of a time of celebration, the attendees made July 4th a somber day.  The event began with the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence.    Each of these is inspiring; each also brings a grim reminder.  Freedom comes at a cost.   The Declaration of Independence especially brings home this plain fact.  It reminds us there are those who insist on forcing their will upon their fellow men.

The American Revolutionary War had already begun.  The British had evacuated Boston, but signers of the Declaration of Independence knew the British would be back, and the British most certainly did make 1776 a grim year.  The violence did not end until 1782.

Many spoke at the Tea Party.  The most memorable speakers included:

• Former State Senator Jay O’Brien served admirably as the Master of Ceremonies.  Just as Thomas Jefferson had enumerated all the patriots’ grievances against the rule of King George, O’Brien listed our grievances against our president.  His list included the fact that our leaders show no respect for our Constitution, and their taxing and spending knows no bounds.
• Keith Fimian, the Republican Party nominee who provided surprisingly strong opposition to Gerry Connolly in the last election, condemned Congress’ reckless spending.  He fears the effects that increasing indebtedness will have our liberty and prosperity.
• Matt Hawes, Vice President of Campaign for Liberty, reminded us that the Founders based our republic upon respect for the Constitution.  Without respect for constitutional law, we cannot restrain our leaders.
• Delegate Bob Marshall spoke about George Washington’s and the Continental Army’s the long years of struggle.  From the Declaration of Independence itself, Marshall told us where the patriots found the courage and the strength to fight for their freedom.
  

  And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

  To win, Marshall said we must call upon divine grace. We must dedicate ourselves to working harder and smarter than our opponents. We must learn from our opponents. Just as Barack Obama did, we must contact every voter we can.

• John Hanson, founder of Repeal Income Tax-July 12 Movement, emphasized the corrupting power of the income tax.  Hanson proposed that repealing the 16th Amendment should be the focal point of the Tea Party movement.
  

  Article XVI.

  The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

• Ben Marchi, of Americans for Prosperity, spoke up for fiscal restraint, decrying our government’s extravagant spending.
• Jack Martin, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, made a short but pointed speech.  He said Virginia could do something to discourage illegal immigration.  He suggested that Virginia imitate Arizona’s 2004 law, Proposition 200 (see here).

The program ended with an open mike.  About a half dozen people took up the opportunity.   These included:

• Ron Meyer and Matt Donatelli.  These two young men promoted their own website (wtpshow.com), but they also made a cogent observation.  The Tea Party movement should focus on defending the principles of the American Constitution.  What we lack is principled government.
• Tom Whitmore.  Although he is quite active in the Republican Party, Whitmore did not speak about the Republican Party.  Instead, he emphasized the importance of participating in the process.
• Only one gentleman took the opportunity to express disagreement.  He spoke up in defense of the Social Security program.  Nonetheless, this gentleman made it clear that he understood the program is in trouble, and he blamed our elected officials for raiding the Social Security Trust Fund.

Personal Observations

The people attending this Tea Party were clearly united on one idea.  They want our leaders to obey their oath to support and defend the Constitution.

The speakers uniformly condemned our government’s reckless spending, and they blamed both of the major political parties.  Some expressed fear for future generations.  Others were horrified that we could allow ourselves to become indebted to a dictatorial regime such as China.

The notion of repealing the 16th Amendment received a surprisingly positive reception.  In addition, the attendees like the idea of auditing Federal Reserve.

Other views

The blogs have yet to post much about today’s Tea Parties.  Therefore, I will update this list on Sunday evening.  In the meantime, here are a few samples of what was being posted yesterday.

• Leslie Carbone has a message for the Birmingham Tea Party (here).
• ANTI-BVBL calls the Prince William County VA Tea Party a Tempest in a Teapot (here).
• Spark It Up is excited by the fact Congressman Rick Boucher has opponents (here).
• Blue Virginia is disgusted that Tea Party protesters would dare to protest against Congressman Tom Perriello’s vote for the so-called climate change bill (here).  I offer my opinion of that legislation here.

Tea Parties make big tax and spenders unhappy.  It is not hard to figure out why.

More Other Views

Shadow’s World provides an estimated head count of 500 and pictures (here).  500 is probably not far off.  That is about as many people as usually attend a county-wide political convention.  Inside NoVA, on the other hand, estimates 150 (here).  Given that this Inside NoVA account does not mention Delegate Marshall, Keith Fimian, or Matt Hawes, the reporter obviously arrived late.  We know for a fact there were at least 350 people in attendance.  See this post at Campaign for Liberty.

The PWCGOP has photos of the Dale City Parade and the Tea Party here and here respectively.

RPVNetwork has pictures of the Dale City Parade here.