Posted on 04/16/2009 12:31:48 PM PDT by AmericanArchConservative
My wife and I took our eight months old baby daughter, and went to the tea party here in Clarkston, Washington; wife's eldest brother Xxx and his wife K. showed up, my mother-in law Lxxxxxx, as well as (brother-in-law) Kxx's wife Dxxxxx, their second oldest son L., and their twin daughters. I also saw my friends from my local Catholic parish, Dr. Pxxx and Lxx Sxxxxxx and their four kids.
Overall, the "party" was very well attended (probably 700 to 850 people), "We the People" were very civil and well-behaved, and our signs were for the most part hand-made, and quite creative, but there was a clear undertone of frustration with the years of excess spending stemming out of Washington D.C.
The Clarkston rally drew more than three times as many people as the combined totals from Pullman, Washington (home of WSU), and Moscow, Idaho (home of the U of I).
These numbers should be taken as especially encouraging, in light of the fact that the total population of Clarkston is 10,000 or less, while Lewiston, ID (just across the Snake river) has a population of about 32,000.
To place this in proper perspective, this would be like a crowd of 20,000 (or more) showing up in a city of 1 million. Folks, those are numbers that, in scale, seem comparable to Atlanta and we had no "luminaries".
If ever there was an example of hardworking, play-by the rules, taxpaying producers going "grassroots", this was it!
There were grizzled, older, Harley-riding men, young housewives with one to three children in tow, Grandmothers with grandkids, whole families, aging bachelors, young college men and women...
Attendees were strongly encouraged to sign a local petition, shake hands, meet their neighbors and fellow townspeople, continue to organize, and develop telephone trees, e mail lists and make new friends.
Plan are already in place for another such "Tea Party" meeting in early or mid May, and all present were encouraged to bring as many new friends and neighbors as they could.
As one of the businessmen was giving his speech, he admitted he was nervous and not used to speaking in front of so many people, a wheelchair-bound gentleman in the audience called out, "Not too bad, considering you're doing it without a Teleprompter!"
The crowd exploded into laughter at the obvious spontaneous joke at zer0bama's expense...
In reply, the speaker answered, "I wonder how I would sound with a Teleprompter!?"
Whereupon another person in the crowd called out loudly, "Uh-uhh-uhh, uhh-uhh!"
(okay - I confess, it was this FReeper reporter who did that!) and everyone roared with laughter again.
After the initial get together, handshaking, and speeches at the Clarkston Quality Inn, many attendees walked as a group across the nearby "Blue Bridge", crossing the Snake River from Clarkston into Lewiston, and posed for some video footage for the local CBS affiliate, KLEW-TV.
Then it was on home to relax for the evening with my wife and child.
I leave you all, my fellow FReepers and Americans with these thoughts:
Together, we must succeed in preserving the future of this precious Constitutional Republic that the Founding Fathers created for us, which countless hundreds of thousands of valorous military veterans have fought to protect and defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and which we now see in imminent peril.
Our American way of life - indeed our very freedoms depend upon it - upon us, and if we do not stand up for ourselves and take back those which we have already lost - we may lose more, never to regain them.
“”We the People” were very civil and well-behaved,”
Damn Right Wing extremists.
you guys need to buy some vowels
Thank you for your service yesterday. You did a great thing for America. Please thank you family and parish friends too.
As one of the businessmen was giving his speech, he admitted he was nervous and not used to speaking in front of so many people, a wheelchair-bound gentleman in the audience called out, “Not too bad, considering you’re doing it without a Teleprompter!”
[The crowd exploded into laughter at the obvious spontaneous joke at zer0bama’s expense...
In reply, the speaker answered, “I wonder how I would sound with a Teleprompter!?”
Whereupon another person in the crowd called out loudly, “Uh-uhh-uhh, uhh-uhh!” ]
HAHAHAHA!! That is so funny!
According to liberals if you paint all Muslims as being like Osama bin Laden, you're a hater.
If you paint all blacks as being like Willie Horton, you're a racist.
But if you paint all conservatives as being Timothy McVeigh, you're an enlightened liberal.
Liberals are narrow minded bigots - they just don't know it.
My local Tax day Tea Party ping!
A.A.C.
Good post. It only takes a spark to get a fire going. I think the spark was lit yesterday.
the “givers” are tired of funding the “takers”, and the “takers” are shocked that the gravy train might not be federally funded forever. there are still one hell of a lot of liberty loving patriotic americans, and they are angry. finally.
Thanks for the ping!
My mom was one of those Great-grand-mothers, she reported to me last night that she had to stand outside since the building (Quality Inn) they had it in would hold no more people. I had heard that they had 1000 people. The ratio of attendees and city population is GR8. I was in a small town of Colfax and we had 60 plus people attend that rally. That town only has 2000 if that.
Thanks for the report from the banana belt.
Here is some video form small town Idaho.
New tagline
Mainstreet Block Party. They should add a Flea Market and Beer Garden.
Updated numbers from organizers have the total attendance for yesterday’s event at between 1,000 and 1,200
WAY TO GO SMALL-TOWN AMERICANS!!
A.A.C.
wife’s eldest brother Xxx and his wife K. showed up, my mother-in law Lxxxxxx, as well as (brother-in-law) Kxx’s wife Dxxxxx, their second oldest son L., and their twin daughters. I also saw my friends from my local Catholic parish, Dr. Pxxx and Lxx Sxxxxxx and their four kids.
you guys need to buy some vowels
As one of the businessmen was giving his speech, he admitted he was nervous and not used to speaking in front of so many people, a wheelchair-bound gentleman in the audience called out, "Not too bad, considering you're doing it without a Teleprompter!"
The crowd exploded into laughter at the obvious spontaneous joke at zer0bama's expense...
In reply, the speaker answered, "I wonder how I would sound with a Teleprompter!?"
Whereupon another person in the crowd called out loudly, "Uh-uhh-uhh, uhh-uhh!"
PRICELESS!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.