Tea Party Thoughts
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 4/18/09 @ 1:33 pm - Filed Under Featured, Local Politics
I would say there were over a thousand people in attendance as it was a beautiful day for a political protest. As expected Alan Keyes was a lively speaker and kept the audience engaged during his half-hour keynote address. I do however think he does himself a disservice by continuing his “Is Obama really an American” charade.
Like nearly every political rally I’ve attended, I left with a sense of optimism that if enough people cared then perhaps we really could hold government accountable. Unfortunately, with history as my guide, I’m just not sure enough people do care.
Keyes was right on the money when he said the people need to look in the mirror when they want someone to blame - he rightly asked “where have you been?” A good question indeed. Ranting and raving about the government doesn’t do a damn bit of good if you don’t vote or if you continue to vote for the same people.
The apathy is certainly understandable - I feel it at times myself. What difference can I or this little website make? The truth is probably not much. So how can one start to promote liberty, respect for the constitution and fiscal sanity? Not surprisingly my opinion is that it has to start at the local level. That’s what frustrated me the most about today’s rally.
Where were these people when our local government and their buddies were looting us? From baseball dreams, to gentrification projects and bridges to nowhere. Every part of government has made decisions that would surely outrage these same people but “where have they been?”. Do you even know who your county commissioners are let alone what they actually do every day?
Where were you when the city budget fight was underway and the administration was pushing for an increase in the income tax? Where were you when the county fast-tracked the certain-to-fail Maplecrest Extension project to avoid the new state referendum law? Where were you when the city council voted to cut the tax levy without cutting spending?
If you want to change your government then you might want to start with those closest to you. A group like I saw at today’s rally could have a tremendous impact on local affairs. Congressmen and Senators will never read that e-mail you sent them but you can show up to the city council meeting and talk to your local representative face-to-face.
If you want to change the world then you can start by cleaning up your own backyard. That’s part of what we try and do here at FWP. We want people to understand what’s going on and hear our perspective on it. We also want you to share your perspective and insight. It’s tough for an individual to have much influence but a group of people, even affiliated via a small website, can make a difference…
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19 Responses to “Tea Party Thoughts”
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I was in attendance also. I agree with with Dr. Keyes’ question to the audience: Where have you been in the past?
Unfortunately, I would answer for most people that they have been working, raising their families, volunteering as sports coaches, etc. What we have experienced for so long has been those involved in public demonstrations can because they are: 1. paid to be there 2. unemployed and bribed by someone else to attend or 3. illegal aliens. The constituency not in attendance has been busy providing what we normally refer to as “the American way of life.” We’ve been busy, entrusting the elected officials with responsibility to care for the political matters. Well, they abused our trust. Now we not only need to continue to care for our families, but also protest in the streets now.
My wife and I also attended today’s rally. IMO, the take-home lines from Dr. Keyes speech were when he talked about Democrats and Republicans from the frame of reference that modern Democrats, whose name is taken from the Greek words for “people” and “power or rule”, are no longer interested in rule “by” “of” or “for” the people, and Republicans, whose name is taken from our very form of government, are no longer willing to defend the Republic or honor their oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Dr. Keyes inferred that we need to throw them all out and start over. I don’t disagree, and neither, it seemed, did the crowd. The guy standing next to me said he was ashamed to have considered himself a Democrat most of his life. I told him I felt the same way about Republicans. The general consensus, though, even from Dr. Keyes was that a third party is probably not the answer, and that the GOP represents the most fertile ground from which a new movement can and must rise if the destruction of our constitutional republic is to be avoided. I don’t think the average person is aware just how close we are to such a catastrophe
I agree with the previous commenter that the people who are most able to affect a change in the course this country is on are also the same people who are occupied with doing the everyday things that make this country work. I’ve always looked at it as the reason we elect representatives to be our voice. The problem is that we don’t hold them accountable at election time. I’m betting that if 80 or 90% of incumbents were fired every 2, 4 or 6 years, it wouldn’t take more than 2 or 3 election cycles for them to get the message. You know there’s a disconnect when Congress’s approval rating is in single digits, but 90% say they are satisfied with their individual Congressman and Senators.
Just my 2 Cents.
“Where were these people when our local government and their buddies were looting us?”
Don’t you remember, Jeff? They were locked out of the City Council chambers on the night that really mattered.
Steve/Stan,
Thanks for sharing your perspective and I would agree with Stan that those were the take home lines.
I had a few other thoughts that I should’ve included in the original post.
The whole rally was just too long. There is no need to have that many speakers. The event should’ve started at 11 with the first speaker coming on at 11:15. That should’ve been a 15 minute speech and then Keyes should’ve been introduced for the duration.
If you really expect that many people then you need to have a stage. The acoustics are just too poor otherwise with everyone crowded around.
Local law enforcement did an excellent job by not making themselves out to be an obvious presence. I only saw two law enforcement personnel and one of them was in plain clothes. I’m sure we’ve all seen footage of police who show up to protest events in full riot gear. I believe this only serves to egg the participants on and makes confrontation more likely. Well done by the FWPD and Allen County sheriff.
Jeff - as usual I appreciate your post and love what you said. We must start in our own backyards.
Just an interesting thought that popped into my head-
About 1000 folks showed up to protest government spending. A few days earlier, over 8000 showed up to watch a baseball game in a new stadium backed by tax dollars.
Kevin,
1. What percentage of those who attended that game were of voting age?
2. It’s a bit of a stretch to claim that every who visits a ballpark believes that subsidizing sports is a good idea. That’s like saying that everyone who pays for treatment at Parkview Hospital chooses to support the private healthcare industry.
3. Americans usually spend more time on leisure than they do on political protest. So you will see more people at a sporting event or at a concert than at a protest. Perhaps this is for the best; can you imagine a teenager who spends more time waving a sign around than he does watching TV?
Robert,
1. Ditto
2. I made no claim
3. Who cares?
Kevin, that’s not analogous. It’s a stupid comparison. How many showed up last night? How many will show up in a month?
Thanks for being Graham Richards’ mouth piece.
Abe, Why the hostility? I was simply making an observation that I found amusing.
It also shows how far the “teabaggers” have to go.
Kevin,
You must be taking lessons from Mr. Skinner at R&F.
Kevin,
How many people showed up to protests of the Iraq War in Fort Wayne? Well less than 1000, I would wager.
By your own logic, then, Obama has a greater obligation to reverse course on his spending and taxation policies than Bush had to bring the troops home.
Kevin was simply making an observation. There is no need to get upset with him over it. Each of us can draw different lessons from it. To me it simply means that more people will come to an event that is “fun” than an event that covers a serious topic.
Hugh,
I am not spouting any scientific “logic” in my statement.
I just found it ironic that the two events happened so close together- with very different results.
The teabaggers were hoping for a crowd of 4000- they fell way short.
Kevin said: “I am not spouting any scientific “logic” in my statement.”
At least you are man enough to admit it.
Stay out of it Enders. Let Hugh and Knuth work it out.
Kevin… I find your observation intelligent, interesting, and thought provoking. Wish I’d have though of it myself!
“Wish I’d have though of it myself!”
Paul, remember, according to Journal Gazette policy, direct quotes can be lifted from blogs without credit. This means that you can write Kevin’s comments as a letter to the editor and still claim they are your own!