The 9-12 March Was Not A GOP Lovefest

In the week following the 9-12 march on Washington, D.C., Big Media and frightened Leftists have tried to marginalize the outpouring of genuine patriotic concern as being a partisan, corporate-driven event. After spending over six hours in D.C. that day and covering a lot of ground, I did not see even one sign that was overtly pro-Republican. However, I did see quite a few that made it clear that Real America is just as unhappy with Republicans who have fostered the growth of the federal leviathan. This sign is a great example:

Leftists and Big Media are currently working overtime to develop the notion that the 9-12 March was all about President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's race. They choose to ignore that Conservatives have been frustrated with big government Republicans for years. When the GOP held the White House and Congress, they grew government. There were some attempts to reform and reduce segments of the federal government, but the party cowered at the sophomoric Democrat defenses. The party paid a heavy price in 2006 and 2008. Many Conservatives voted third party or stayed home. Independents and moderate Democrats who had helped put the Republicans in power decided to give the Democrats a shot. The GOP must take much of the blame for our current state because they first drifted from principle and that drift then gave an ever more radical Democrat party control of the keys of government.

The people who have protested at local Tea Parties, become citizen activists, spoke out at town hall meetings and converged in front of the Kremlin on the Potomac are not uninformed dupes (unlike those who get their "truth" from Katie, Brian, and Charlie). These are not brain-dead cheerleaders. They have a fundamental understanding of freedom and liberty. They know both parties have contributed to our precarious state. They know that "We The People" must hold all their feet to the fire if we are to return our country to the values and ideals that made it great.

Tea Party Patriots are not blindly-loyal Republicans. However, I think most understand that the Democrat Party is now a radical Leftist party that has no grounding in American values. The Republican Party has some connection to conservatism and a general respect for the Constitution. Most realize that "taking back America" first means taking back the Republican Party.

The frustration with the GOP's willingness to acquiesce to Leftist Democrats and make deals has many Conservatives ready to pursue third parties. I think most are realistic enough to know that a third party move will only help the Leftists, but the dissatisfaction with both major parties is real and growing. Tea Party Patriots will not support liberal Republicans. Keep an eye on Florida where Governor Charlie Crist assumed his nomination for the U.S. Senate to be a coronation, but is being thumped by Marco Rubio among the GOP base. Crist is a phony Republican in the Arlen Specter tradition. He is the candidate for Republican insiders who, again, are why we watching President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid shove a Marxist agenda down America's throat.

Around the country, Real America is fighting back hard against the Left's intrusions and usurpations. But, remember, a Republican is not automatically a big improvement over a Democrat. Grass roots activists and Real Americans must remind the GOP of its Conservative base and that compromises with tyranny still march us in that direction. Bipartisanship is not a goal to cherish. Principled partisanship is the only hope for restoring the free market and individual liberty as America's bedrocks.

More Images of the 9-12 March on Washington

Images of Real America's 9-12 Tea Party in Washington, D.C.

I'm still on a high from being a part of Real America's march on Washington, D.C. It was an incredible feeling reading the signs, listening to the speeches and just watching the individuals, families and groups interacting in the spirit of American liberty. I hope you enjoy these images of 9-12.

Washington, D.C. Sees The Biggest Tea Party Yet!

How many Real Americans crowded into Washington, D.C on Saturday, September 12? You have some media outlets reporting the turnout as thousands while other estimates have been as high as 1.5-2 million. My wife and I arrived after the march was already underway and we folded into the crowd working its way up Pennsylvania Avenue. I have been at sporting events with crowds that approached 100,000 and I can guarantee you the 9-12 protest was far bigger. Honestly, I don't have a concept of 1.5 million people in one place. However, I would estimate that Saturday's crowd was no less than 500,000.

Over the next several days, I will be posting some pictures of the event. The whole day was surreal. The frustration many of us feel when we see so many folks who have either swallowed the Leftist Kool-aid or who are blithefully ignorant of everything happening around them turned to euphoria while marching with and milling around among hundreds of thousands of like-minded Patriots. The mix of people was incredible. From old to young. Men and women (actually, I think I saw more women). The number of ethnic minorities would have shocked Big Media if they had paid attention.

My wife and I rode in on the Metro from northern Virginia with a couple from California. They were concerned that their state is rapidly becoming the People's Republik of Kalifornia. These folks were in an agricultural business and had been hit hard by the combination of oppressive regulations from both the state and federal governments. They had to be in D.C. for this event.

The multitude of signs we observed ran the gamut of political ideas. One thing I did not see all day was a sign that specifically hyped the Republican Party. These are people who are fed up with abusive government and do not care if the offenders are Democrats or Republicans. The overarching theme was limited government and individual liberty. The consensus from the overwhelming throng was "enough!"

Whatever the official attendance turns out to be, the numbers demonstrate the power of the New Media and the growing irrelevancy of Big Media (i.e., the mainstream media or dinosaur media). The major networks, most cable news channels, and major newspapers ignored the approach of the 9-12 event. What mentions did happen, made it appear to be no different than a small town Tea Party. Real Americans are seeking others who share their passion for liberty and through local Tea Parties, the conservative blogosphere, and talk radio word spread about the event. Even on talk radio (and I haven't listened as much in the last month since school started back), I didn't hear a tremendous amount of coverage about the march. I think everyone was shocked by the turnout.

The September 12 protest was not an end, but another notch on the timeline that has Real Americans working to march the country toward the tried and true principles on which this nation was founded. Some states have legislative elections this November (including Virginia which has an important governor's race). Congress and President Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama still hope to ram nationalized health care and cap-and-tax legislation down America;s throat before the year is out. In many states, primary races are already underway for 2010 House and Senate races. It is vital that we stay engaged. Regular folks are exhibiting an extraordinary desire for liberty can take this country back from the many decades of government encroachment. We will be victorious!

Why Is There A 9/12 Tea Party March on Washington?

Why are patriotic Americans of all races, all parties, all religions, and all regions of the country coming to Washington, D.C. to march on Saturday, September 12? Here is a small hint:



No, this march isn't about John Conyers. He is simply an incompetent old clown, but his idiotic comments about congressmen reading bills symbolize the myriad problems infecting the federal government. Here is a group of people who wield immense power, most of which is illegitimate. Yet, they laugh in the faces of the American people over the notion that they should actually know what is in the bills they pass. No lawyer should be necessary to understand legislation that will impact all Americans (Conyers has a J.D. degree, but I'm guessing he didn't finish near the top of his class). If a congressman lacks the competence to do his job, he should be dishing up snow cones at the carnival.

This arrogance and abusive attitude is "business as usual" inside the Beltway. One thing that has struck me in the Tea Party protests I have attended is the variety of complaints people bring to the events. Some are upset about excessive taxation. Some are concerned about the growth of federal regulation and control. Some are worried about government takeovers of industries, especially the threats being made toward the health care industry. Some focus on the on-going assault on the family and America's social fabric. Many see through Statist calls for "energy independence" as the anti-energy, anti-freedom, anti-progress non-sense that they really are.

It would also be surprising to Big Media and Leftist Democrats who demonize and ridicule Tea Party protesters that these "angry mobs" aren't much happier with Republicans than they are with Democrats. Whereas Democrats used GOP excesses in spending and government growth to obtain the keys to spend even more, grow even more, and tax much more, these proud Patriots put America first and do not care if the violators are Democrats or Republicans. In some ways, I think protesters are angrier with the GOP because it was their incompetence and rejection of principle that facilitated the Democrat comeback in 2006 and 2008. We know the Democrat party has lurched hopelessly to the Left, but we expect more from Republicans.

This Saturday, September 12, Real America will descend on the one city with more phonies than Hollywood. These folks will be there not because of things they hate, but because of the things they love. They fundamentally understand that the liberty many Americans hold dear is in grave danger. There will be a Fair Tax contingent, a Citizens Against Government Waste faction, and folks chanting "drill here, drill now, pay less." All of the individual issues of concern to Real America come back to a love of individual liberty. The United States does not suffer from a lack of government. It does increasingly suffer from a loss of freedom. The people are finally saying, "we want out lives back." See you at Freedom Plaza on Saturday.