Nashville, Tennessee
Louisville, Kentucky
Fayetteville, North Carolina ( courtesy of long-time Joshua's Army member Zeb)
Denver, Colorado
Greensburg, PA
Oklahoma City
Lansing, Michigan
Toledo, OhioThe dinosaur media is largely ignoring this ( a Google search reveals that coverage is almost exclusively on the blogosphere)when they're not ridiculing it,but I think this is a more significant development that snarky, full-of-themselves commentators like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and CNN's Anderson Cooper realize.
For one thing, this is not usually the segment of society that attends demonstrations.
Normally, they're done by the left because the foot soldiers ( students and 'activists) are not usually people with jobs and responsibilities. And the afterparty 'hookup' atmosphere at those things is usually a big part of the attraction, as anyone involved in Obama rallies will testify if they're being even a little honest.
The crowd here is very different -composed largely of people with families, jobs and a myriad of excuses not to find time to attend a demonstration during a work day. You rarely see them out on the streets like this, and especially not in these numbers.
And as my friend Dave Schuler from the Glittering Eye points out, the number of Americans who have zero income tax liability is the highest it’s been in over a half century. The people at the tea parties are part of the roughly 55% of Americans who actually pay taxes.
If the horse is getting tired of carrying the load and shows it this publicly, it's an important change in the weather. I fully expect to see more signs of this in the near future...especially given the current climate in Washington..
The mainstream media are up to their usual tricks: dismissing the tea party protesters as "fringe radicals", claiming (falsely) that the movement was initiated by corporate organizers, using camera angle tricks to diminish the apparent size of the crowds, etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteIt does not matter what the general public sees on television. What matters is what members of Congress see: A significant number of us are NOT happy with what we are seeing from Washington. If you want to be re-elected, CHANGE!
I am reminded of what Admiral Yamamoto is reported to have said after the attack on Pearl Harbor: "I fear we have awakened a sleeping tiger and instilled in him a fierce resolve."
The American people -- Republicans and Democrats, too -- have awakened. With these tea parties we have said "Enough!" and we are filled with a fierce resolve to return to the principles that made this nation great, to reaffirm the values embodied in our Constitution, to hold our heads high again and be proud to be Americans!
Those who do not heed this grassroots groundswell of anger and determination will be buried by it.