FT. COLLINS, COLORADO - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Ft. Collins, CO - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: Our team at the Tea Party Express wanted to pass along our special thanks to Lu Ann Busse, Lesley Hollywood, Kathleen Baker, Jeannie K, Amy Oliver and the rest of your Colorado tea party team for working so hard and fast on little notice (bad communication on our end folks, sorry!) and turning the rallies into such fantastic successes! We look forward to seeing you on Tea Party Express III: Just Vote Them Out tour!
EL PASO, TEXAS - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
El Paso, TX - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: Our rally was scheduled to take place at 10:00 AM on a Wednesday. We braced ourselves for a poor turnout, which we were fearing and quite frankly, expecting. Boy were we wrong!
BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Beaufort, SC - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: Yep! That's Congressman Joe Wilson, who gained considerable attention after he called out Obama on healthcare with his shout of "You Lie!" What was incredible was how many people turned out that day for this rally. You see, Tropical Storm Ida was just reaching the area with bands of rain and wind, with squall lines that hit the area at the beginning and end of our rally. But not even a tropical storm could stop these patriots from rallying together. Awesome!
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Los Angeles, CA - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: This is one of the few cities where the Left was able to organize any sort of counter-demonstration. It was small, but one of their biggest efforts to protest us during our first two tours. I like how the woman who made this video noted the difference between true, authentic, grass roots signs made by our tea party supporters versus the manufactured signs of our opponents.
TROY, MICHIGAN - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Troy, MI - Tea Party Express Rally
Troy Video 2: Attorney General of Michigan Speaks
TOMS RIVER, JERSEY - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Toms River, NJ - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: This was another rally where the crowd waited for hours for us to arrive. We left Connecticut earlier in the day in pouring rain. A storm was moving up the northeast coast, and tornado warnings had been out for south New Jersey earlier in the day. Local activists thought turnout would be severely depressed by the bad weather. Then we at the Tea Party Express hit a traffic jam on the way to Toms River, NJ and were delayed by over an hour. But when we arrived we were overwhelmed. The local media called it the largest political gathering there in anyone's recollection!
WACO, TEXAS - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Waco, TX - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: Special thanks to Toby Marie, Michael, Carol, Becky & Greg, and the rest of the Waco Tea Party. There were also tea party groups from the surrounding areas who pitched in and helped make this event such a smashing success. 102 degree heat didn't stop thousands of patriots from coming together. We honor you all with our thanks for making the effort to get involved and help fight back against the bailouts, out-of-control deficit spending, increased government regulation, reduced liberties, push for socialized medicine and government takeovers or oversight over whole new swaths of the U.S. economy. It was under leadership of both major political parties that these offenses were committed, and we will remember that as we put conservative and constitutional policies ahead of political party affiliation.
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Jackson, MS - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: The trick here is to see that near the top of the video screen you can see the bleachers in the back. The seats in this stadium were packed and the people you see at ground level are the OVERFLOW crowd on hand to greet the Tea Party Express. It was an outstanding night of patriotism. We also collected over $1,000 in donations for the families of the Ft. Hood shooting from this great crowd!
BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN - TEA PARTY EXPRESS RALLY:
Battle Creek, MI - Tea Party Express Rally
*Note: Thank you to the people of Battle Creek who patiently waited for us, stayed into the night, and stayed in rain! What you can't see is the huge crowd that the speakers are facing. Behind them (and the 2 rows of people behind the speakers) is a pond and lining this pond was a sidwalk packed with hundreds more tea party activists. We are thankful to you all!