Washington Tea Party Major Success

I remember reading the NY Times when the first Tea Party occurred ( I am proud to have attended) it had an amused and condescending tone to the coverage, . I can tell you this much, today's account is a heck of a lot more respectful and objective:

They came by bus, car and airplane, arriving here from Texas and Tennessee, New Mexico and New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The hand-written messages on their signs told the story of an intense distrust with government, which began well before Mr. Obama took office and extends far beyond the effort to overhaul health care.One sign declared: “Congress: are you stoned or just stupid? Please wake up and save America.” Another said, “We are under attack by our own government.” And several signs said, “Our Constitution has termites!”

The crowd, organized by anti-tax groups, spilled from the plaza onto Pennsylvania Avenue and the surrounding streets as the demonstrators began their march to the Capitol. It opened peacefully, with few visible signs of counter-protestors. The Democrats were leaving their message to the president, who warned in his weekly address on Saturday that nearly half of all Americans under age 65 could lose their health coverage at some point in the next decade.

As the morning wore on, more and more demonstrators arrived, identifying themselves as Republicans, libertarians and independents. Several speakers denounced the health care plan as “socialism.” A few Confederate flags waved in the air, but there were hundreds of American flags and chants of, “USA! USA! USA!” A young girl held a sign, saying, “Don’t redistribute the wealth of my Barbies.”

Ruth Lobbs, 57, a school teacher from Jacksonville, Fla., said she flew to Washington on Saturday to protest how she believes the government has violated the Constitution. She said she did not vote for the president, adding that her anger has been welling for years.

“It’s more than Obama. This isn’t a Republican or a Democratic issue,” Ms. Lobbs said in an interview, as she held a yellow flag that declared, “Don’t Tread on Me.” “I don’t know if anything will come of this or not, but this is a peaceful way of showing our frustration.”

Something has come of all out actions already. This bill was supposed to be law last month, the actions of Americans, bloggers, and even the GOP have stopped it so far and forced the president to pull back. Have we won yet, but we have gained a great deal now that we may be in the home stretch.

For coverage from HA, check here.