WASHINGTON (AP) — Tea party activists gathered in capitals on each coast Sunday to spread their message of smaller government and focus their political movement on the pivotal congressional elections in November.
AP
From the grounds of the Washington Monument, with the Capitol looming at one end of the National Mall, Michael and Judy Parsons-Power of Decatur, Ala., said lawmakers had lost touch with the people they were elected to represent.
“It wouldn’t bother me to make a clean sweep,” said Michael Power, endorsing term limits for members of Congress. “There are some good ones, but we can lose those.”
Thousands of people were expected to rally in Washington, St. Louis and Sacramento, Calif., as tea party leaders try to energize conservatives in the political campaign’s homestretch.
“I want to be a person who just keeps the pressure up,” said Gene Kollak, who drove 13 hours from Fairfield, Ill., to the nation’s capital.
Many attending the Washington rally, the first of the three events, carried yellow flags with the picture of a snake coiled above the inscription “Don’t Tread On Me.”
Organizers say the events were intended to call attention to what they describe as big government run amok and to recall the sense of national unity Americans felt the day after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The rallies also represent an opportunity to build momentum before the November election. The tea party is counting on its members to turn out in large numbers and prove that the movement is a political force with staying power.
“We do not see our commitment as a short-term process,” said Ginny Rapini of Colfax, Calif., the national adviser and coordinator of NorCal Tea Party Patriots, the group behind the Sacramento event. “Our vigilance will not be finished this November, in 2012 or beyond. We see this as a lifetime struggle for all of us to preserve this precious republic that was handed to us by our founders some 230 years ago.”
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, whose nonprofit, conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks helped organize the Washington rally, described the Democratic Party now in control of the White House and Congress as “confused and demoralized. The great source of energy, right now, on the field of politics is the grassroots activists for small government. They’re going to turn out the vote for the small-government conservative,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Tea Party Patriots claims to be the nation’s largest tea party group, with 2,700 chapters, including at least 175 in California.
Party activists reject characterizations of their movement as an extension of the GOP, but the vast majority of its members are Republicans and independents who vote Republican.
Two tea party favorites, conservative commentator Glenn Beck and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spoke to a crowd in Anchorage, Alaska, late Saturday — the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks — and discussed their feelings about that day in 2001.
“Here we are so many years later, and I fear we are forgetting,” Beck said.
___
Hindery reported from Sacramento, Calif.
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NHABE64
Posted on September 13, 2010 at 8:57am2 november 2010. This is when barack obama and crew are going to hear america’s voice. They might control the media but they do not control patriotic americans. In november they are going to find out just how much they underestimated the will of the american people obama says we hide behind our bibles and guns. Well, this narcissist self-proclaimed elitist is wrong. However your damn right be stand with our bible and our guns. It might help if he really took the time to read the bible and the constitution instead of mein kampf and the communist manifesto. God bless america, and yes we are going to take america back.
Report Post »dr pepper
Posted on September 13, 2010 at 1:29amI am for the Tea Party movement, but I am a constitutional conservative. There is no way to register as a Tea Partier, kinda wish there was a way. In fact, I am an American, born and raised. I registered as an Independent at the age of 18 and rarely miss an opportunity to vote. I remember gas lines and the first time gas went over the dollar mark. I survived Pres. Carter and watched this nation go bonkers during the Iranian hostage crisis. Never have I experienced the electorate as in tuned with our nation’s politics, even more so than with Ross Perot. The first time voters from last election just got a life lesson in politics, it’s not what they say they are going to do, but rather what they actually do.
Amending Pres. Reagan: Republican and Democrat leaders, we’re coming to tear down your walls!!
Report Post »thegr8restoration
Posted on September 13, 2010 at 12:03amTo those who may be Confused what the Tea Party is well here it goes… Republicans beware we are not a conscript of the Republican party. Our goal is not to bring ourselves into the Republican party our goal is to take over the republican party. We are not hear to help with your elections, You will Govern the way we want you to govern (within the bounds of the Constitution) or you can go and tend your farm! Once the republican party has been purged of the Taft’s, Hoover’s, and GW Bushes(Sorry GW I luv ya but u folded to the left W/ Tarp) then the American public will no longer have a choice between Big expensive intrusive government, and Realy big realy expensive borderline opressive Government. The only choice that will be left will be ether a constituionaly bound federal republic or an unrestricted marxist regiem. I’m banking Americans will choose the former and once again the good sane democrats will drive the progressives back into the fringes of society or the democratic party will never be electable. America needs ballance!
Report Post »Topcat
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 10:57pmWith November coming ,I give you to work on for the elections…
Report Post »http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=166&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&SectionTree=4&lnk=b&ItemID=164
MOONRISE
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 9:52pmI have been active for 30 years and remember when we had to practically beg people to get involved. I am a member of a tea party group in Florida. It makes me feel good to see so many people becoming involved and doing it without having to be begged.
Report Post »imjerry
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 9:01pmDANGLINGBAGS Is a paid blogger !! How is he much paid from the Obama WH is a big secret!!
Report Post »Put_God_ First
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 8:27pmHas anyone noticed that DANGLINGBAGS is always posting one this website, not matter what time of day. He must be unemployed. Maybe he is employed just to agitated and harassing people that read the blaze. I do see that most of his post are just cut and paste from the democrats propaganda pages. nothing new.
I find it so amusing that anyone would be so dumb as to believe is that democrats propaganda crap.
It may be the first job he has had in 5 years.
There isn’t many jobs open for someone like him.
What do you think?
Report Post »Is DANGLINGBAGS just a stooge for the democrats?….
Put_God_ First
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 8:26pmHas anyone noticed that DANGLINGBAGS is always posting one this website, not matter what time of day. He must be unemployed. Maybe he is employed just to agitated and harassing people that read the blaze. I do see that most of his post are just cut and paste from the democrats propaganda pages. nothing new.
I find it so amusing that anyone would be so dumb as to believe is that democrats propaganda crap.
It may be the first job he has had in 5 years.
There isn’t many jobs open for someone like him.
What do you think?
Report Post »Is DANGLINGBAGS just a stooge for the democrats?….
debak
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:21pmAfter years of being lulled into a largely lethargic, apathetic, silent, group of voters; trying so hard to be “PC and broadminded”; we have emerged into an enegetic, informed and active group of voters that, thanks to the internet sites, Fox News and those willing to get out, form groups and speak up, we realize we were only fooling ourselves. PC should never replace truth and broadminded doesn’t mean brainwashed! We get it!
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:16pm“Tea Parties” don‘t need to seek ’momentum.‘ What people don’t seem to understand is that the “Tea Parties” ARE momentum.
Report Post »debak
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 8:14pmAbsolutely!!
Report Post »YesNdeedie
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:56pmIf you are a conservative you need to vote November 2. Progressives, you can go to walmart and spend your welfare check instead of voting.
Report Post »PATRIOTMIKEY
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:42pmI go back to the morning in late January ‘09 when a guy called into Beck’s radio show and said he was fed up and was going to “unplug”. Stating the MSM doesn’t really report the truth and there was no hope for the country. Glenn said (paraphrasing) “give me a couple of weeks and I’ll show you are not alone and we surround them” and so the 9.12 project was born!…..THINK ABOUT IT, THAT WAS ONLY 18 MONTHS AGO PEOPLE!!! Realize how much has been accomplished in a very short period of time!!! WE THE PEOPLE ARE FINALLY AWAKE, TAKING A STAND, and WILL change the downward spiral this country has been on for decades! It will not be in one election cycle or with one canidate, but with the citizens of America UNITING under a common cause….FAITH, FREEDOM & LIBERTY!!!……………… MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THE U.S.A.!!!
Report Post »PostProgressiveAmerican
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:15pmI, too, was non-political – the corruption in Government, the lies and distortions, the indifference to logic and common sense in DC had left me apethetic. The Tea Parties, Gelnn Beck and 9.12 (among others) have shown me that I am not alone, that my thoughts and feelings are as valid as anyone else’s.
The sleepers have awakened.
Report Post »jcatlanta
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:47pmi’m 52 and I went to the very first political protest or portest of any kind on 4-15-09 in Everett Washington (where I was working at that time). I am sick and tired of the lies and the BS. I saw that I was not alone. I have paid attention to Glenn and when i saw the 8/28 gathering, I got REAL hope. I think that was the true hope America was looking for when Obozo came along, but they didn’t realize he was/is just a puppet. The people didn’t look behind the curtain and see the same old crooks, liers and liberal/progressives pulling the strings. I am more engeges than I have ever been in politics than I ever have been. I’ve always had an opinion, but now I’m involved with time AND money. My wife and kids all say i should run for office, but for now I want to do what i can. I, like so many others am no longer silent!!!!
Report Post »Rob
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:14pmI have never been political, sometimes didn’t even vote! However, I now consider myself a Tea Partier although I have never been to a rally or joined formally in anyway. I am looking forward to voting in November because I don’t like liberals or RINOs. I want the nation back… and I want to keep my money. I have a six month old son and am voting to save things for him.
Report Post »jcatlanta
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:41pmAmen brother. Our founding fathers knew we would likely lose our way, but they had confidence that “We the people” would find our way back and the answer is the Constitution. We owe it to our kids and grandkids. Thanks for getting involved. We need every vote possible.
Report Post »stonebrash
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 8:24pmI, too, have never been politically active until the last three years. But, I have two sons who will be slaves to debt if things continue as they are. It is for them that I am doing this.
Report Post »10rights
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 5:36pmGlennBeck/SweetiePie, If any good comes out of this mosque mess, it‘s that ’We the People‘ have the ’Tragedy of 9/11, More Profoundly Seared Upon Our American Mind&Body&Soul&Heart’, than at any time since the original 9/11, when Islamic Terrorists attempted to destroy the U.S.A. How little do they understand the memory& Spirit of America !!!
Report Post »RESTORATION1787
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:53pmThe time has come to restore Washington D.C. back to the people!
Report Post »We the People, NOT They the Government!
Independent Tess
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:38pmIn order to create maximum effect, those who want change must continue to press forward and not become over confident, thinking the job is done. The wind may be at our backs now, but if we relax it can turn in a minute and we could lose. Everyone must vote.
Report Post »Maybe the GEESE Know More than the BEES Know
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 5:17pmamen Independent Tess.
Report Post »jcatlanta
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:37pmI just sent $400 to a candidate running for congress in Texas. I have never done that in my life and I am sure I am just like so many other people that have not been involved in years or ever.
Report Post »Time_To_Stand
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:35pm*****United We Stand
*****Vote and he heard
*****Silent no more
DON’T TREAD ON ME
Report Post »bbach57
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:33pmI agree 100 percent. Its time for the goverment to be . Of the people and For the people. not thier own pockets.
Report Post »RojBlake
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:33pmPersonally, I’d like to see more tea party people register as democrats so that their cantidates start becoming more in line with fudamental constitutional thought; if the progressives can hijack the message & the party…why can’t we?
Report Post »prano
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:18pmi rather cut my hand off before registering as a demorat and i live in a blue state!
Report Post »jmanuola
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:49pmIn some ways, the TP has hijacked the Dems too. Look at the messages the Democratic candidates are putting out now…many are proclaiming themselves to be for fiscal responsibility…are standing against more stimulus and with extending the Bush tax cuts. Almost NO ONE is touching the healthcare bill or the stimulus unless they voted AGAINST those bills. The message of the TP IS affecting the candidates. What we MUST do is keep their feet to the fire.
Report Post »RojBlake
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 8:32pmjmanuola,
Report Post »That’s just politics, not anything real. As soon as the elections are over most will revert right back to form.
The problem is that the hostility has gotten so bad that niether party, side, ideology is even listening anymore.
The real streength of the Tea party, if we’re lucky, is to transend all that garbage. We have to start screening our cantidates much more carfully & continue to hold thier feet to the fire.
BrentW
Posted on September 13, 2010 at 2:54amI registered Democrat once for a couple of year so I could vote in some Democrat primaries. I felt “dirty” the whole time.
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:30pmTHE TEA PARTY IDEOLOGY:
The Tea Parties are not an ideological movement with a leader who determines the ideology and movement’s objectives. Some of those who organize and publicize the meetings may think that they are ideological leaders but they are simply providing a forum to discuss the discontent with the direction the government is being taken. The Tea Party Participants have their own ideas and those ideas are not necessarily homogenous.
The mere fact that the “Tea Party Leaders” provided the forum and publicity to establish the meeting does not mean that they can dictate the ideology of the Tea Party Participants or even affect that ideology. The Tea Parties are attended to participate in logical discussion of the issues and the participants will base their opinion upon the discussion of the issues. The Tea Party Participant’s ideology and support of any candidates will be unique to each participant not dictated by the provider of the form.
Tea Party Participants are not sheep and the provider of the forum is not the shepherd.
Report Post »http://commonsense21c.com/
PostProgressiveAmerican
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 8:30pm@TOBYWIL2,
I am not a Tea Party member, but I think your comments summarize the movement very well.
Report Post »Buck Bagaw
Posted on September 13, 2010 at 10:40amI am a Tea Party member, and you are spot on.
Report Post »broker0101
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:22pmAP misses the point entirely. The Tea Party Rallies are just a symptom. It doesn’t matter if they disappear tomorrow. The cause of the rallies is a political awakening among the previously “Silent Majority”. That awakening is in no danger of weakening before Nov. 2. Open wide, Democrats, you have a date with a big, hairy ******.
Report Post »smartypoop
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 4:18pmIt is definitely not a short term process. I think in one form or another, the TP is going to be around into the future. We have learned that we cannot afford to be apathetic towards the politicians; we have to keep their feet to the fire and watch the voting records. We literally cannot afford to ever let them run amok again! Busy, busy, busy; Nov, 2012, and beyond!
Report Post »ProgressivesLoveAmerica
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 5:25pmThe Tea Party is a sadly misguided movement. It is truly a waste of populist fervor. The Tea Party is upset at all the wrong things. If you believe the 4th of July speeches, “government of, by, and, for the people,” then government is not some alien force stealing from you. Government, in many ways is the solution, IF the people are willing to take control of it and IGNORE all ideologically motivated nonsense about “small government” this, “cut taxes” that, privatize this, “cut spending” that….
All this small government rhetoric is going to HURT all Americans in the long run. Tea Party members are shooting themselves in the foot and they don’t know it.
There’s a lot to be mad about at the government, but government, as John Dewey articulated is the shadow cast on society by big business. Dewey is famous for saying “As long as politics is the shadow cast on society by big business, the attenuation of the shadow will not change the substance.”
In other words, vote for Tea Party, conservative, & Republican politicians all you want but that’s not going to make things any better!
Report Post »GOTT-EM-MAUSER
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:29pmHey Progressives,
Looks like you’ve replaced DANGLEBAGS as the designated “Agent Provocatur” for the Commie Cause on many threads now. Great to see that apparently you are SadoMasochistic enough to enjoy the pain. But since we all know the only reasone for your head’s continued spherical appearance is air pressure, there’s no reason for us to worry about inflicting any permanent damage.
The ONLY people I can find that see the Government as their “Friend” are the ones standing in line in front of me at the grocery store, making the next payment on their “Diabetes on the Installment Plan” with their state welfare card. Sure they pay cash for the smokes, beer, and chips, and since the total monthly cost of their Section8 house is only $8.00, they can afford the “French Nails” manicure and the new spiffy Tramp Tats and body piercings. Unfortunately, at 300lbs on the hoof, all that seems kind of a wasted effort. But really it’s just “Overhead” I suppose, all of them seem to have at least 5 or more little kids tagging along, and increasing their Government check each month. So as unbelievable as it may be, SOMEBODY has been taking care of business for them. Without fail, if one follows them as they waddle into the parking lot, they all climb into a 40K SUV with 24″spinners and accessory bling galore. Back to the CASA and the COUCH to watch the big screen TV and learn why they should vote DEMO-COMMUNIST.
GREAT WORK if you can get it, little wonder they just LOVE the “Wunerful Gubermint”
However, for those of us that don’t qualify for inclusion in the Government Drone program, those that work everyday for 40 years, drive a 17 year old pickup because it’s paid for, those that live in a house that never had a mortgage on it, and don’t owe anybody a dime, WE THINK YOUR GOVERNMENT SUCKS. And what’s more, we’re all about through putting up with it, one way or another. So you and all your beggars, moochers and thieves may want to start figuring out how to take care of yourselves in the future.
Report Post »ProgressivesLoveAmerica
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:45pmWOW!
GOTT-EM-MAUSER, that was unbelievable! You know how conservatives always accuse liberals & progressives of either being racists themselves or just plain using “the race card” as way to try and deflect from charges of racism and classism? You know how progressives SOMETIMES accuse SOME conservatives of being PASSIVELY racist?
Well, what you just posted (that very comical description of someone you fantasize is taking advantage of government services), LOOKS like it might just be a little bit classist. It also looks like it might be, judging from the VERY detailed description you just gave, a little bit racist!
You might NOT be dressing up in a Nazi uniform or in the Sheets of the Ku Klux Klan & you might not be using ANY racial epithets whatsoever, but your ATTITUDE speaks for itself! You seem to be totally dismissive of the idea that government services can have any benefit to people other than those whom you despise. Don’t you drive on roads & bridges that the government made for you using YOUR tax dollars? Again, I’m absolutely NOT using the “race card” here, but that funny little description you gave speaks for itself.
This anti-government rhetoric is going to shoot you, and many other Tea Party members, in the foot over the long term.
Report Post »PostProgressiveAmerican
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 6:53pmGOTT, I don’t think PLA is replacing DB…DB was a troll, nothing but a spoiler, where PLA is expressing a viewpoint.
PLA – I think you have hit the crux of the issue: Small Govt vs. Large Govt. History has shown that the country is better off with LESS government and LOWER taxes. Big Govt as the solution to any problem is misguided at best. As Ronald Reagan put it: “Government is not the solution, Government is the problem.” Even JFK saw the need to reduce taxes…which resulted in an increase in revenues (imagine that).
Statism, or Big Government, never leads to an increase in wealth, happiness or freedom.
Report Post »ProgressivesLoveAmerica
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:24pmPOSTPROGRSSIVEAMERICAN, thankyou for realizing that I’m not trying to be offensive, or a troll like that DINGLE character.
I’m actually a proponent of responsible government spending. If you look at spending, what you’re really talking about is making an investment on something. That investment will have a return. That is what generous public spending is supposed to be about: you spend on schools & education and it pays off because you have a well-educated workforce that’s competitive in the modern global economy. You spend on healthcare and it’s SUPPOSED to pay off in the form of a healthier, less costly workforce.
I think small government doesn’t really work because it leaves too much to chance. The assertion that reduced taxes result in increased revenues is a controversial one at best. The initial phase of any tax cut results in reduced revenue. The THEORY goes that lower tax rates encourage greater economic activity and thus expand the tax base. However there seems to be a huge difference between theory and real life effects. Take a case study of the 1980s Reagan tax cuts: when you adjusted for inflation it turns out that revenue intake wasn’t all that impressive at all. Add to that the fact that tax cuts contribute to the deficit and a precipitous decline of standards of living due to divestment from the public sector & I start to see big problems.
Reaganomics is a very NEW phenomenon. Before Reagan, workers had more rights. Government, often times, HAS to be the solution.
Report Post »PostProgressiveAmerican
Posted on September 12, 2010 at 7:43pmReagan was unable to implement the second part of the equation: smaller Government, which would have allowed for further reductions in taxes.
We need to keep in mind that the ‘small Government’ mantra applies to the Federal Government, primarily becuase it has over-stepped its Constitutional authority. The majority of what the Federal Government does rightfully belongs with the States. Once we remove the unconstitutional activities and reduce the size of the Federal Government, we can cut taxes appropriately, leaving enough to properly perfom the remaining functions.
By moving control back to the States, we have a certain built-in efficiency (since several layers of bureaucracy are removed), more control by the people, and can have experimentation with a wide variety of implementations. Most importantly, if the people do not like what a State does, they can ‘vote with thier feet’ and move to a State that better suites their beliefs.
Report Post »Beckofile
Posted on September 13, 2010 at 9:26amThis youtube is followed up by 3 more. It is about states rights and the fact that the several states are the primary in the contract called the Constitution. Time to knock the Fed’s back down to the enumerated rights. The TP needs to know this is the vehicle to get the government back to size and scope intended by the founders. Work on your state elections for 10th amendment backers!!!!
Report Post »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H-Hv_cps-Y&feature=related