Well I'm off to the HannityTea Party in Atlanta...

Originally Posted By DVC_dad

Well, I have to get ready to head down to the Georgia State Capital to watch and listen to what Hannity, and all the fine Conservatives have to say. I'm going with the question, "Are these people collectively insane?" <--- serious.

I'll make a full and unbiased trip report when I get back in say, 6 hours or so from now.

Actually, I'm mostly going to hear Big and Rich sing. Free concert yay!

 

Originally Posted By DVC_dad

<a href="http://www.bigandrich.com" target="_blank">http://www.bigandrich.com</a>

Awesome, if you like country music.

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

I like Big and Rich's music. John's politics, not so much.

I'd be interested in your report.

 

Originally Posted By mele

Don't forget your teabags!

 

Originally Posted By mawnck

<------- tries to come up with a joke involving the words Lipton and Tetley. Decides he better not.

 

Originally Posted By DyGDisney

Can't wait to hear what you have to report!

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

Looking forward to hear about it.

 

Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF

Well, John Rich is kinda cute. I'd go to see him.

 

Originally Posted By hopemax

It's been more than 6 hours and no DVC_Dad. Hopefully the insanity index wasn't that high.

 

Originally Posted By Sara Tonin

They did look like they were ready to start feeding on themselves, didn't they?

 

Originally Posted By piperlynne

Maybe we should send out a search and rescue?

 

Originally Posted By DVC_dad

LOL! Thanks Piperlynne.

I did make it home and I did survive. I have intentionally taken all day to post or report back. I wanted to digest the whole thing and be certain of how I felt.

CNN.
There was one sign that said, "CNN Sux" and the guy left fairly early that was holding it. There was no talk whatsoever about CNN or any media bias.

Hannity.
I was disappointed that he didn't really speak to the crowd in any significant way. He just seemed to mainly fill the lead ins in front of the camera and talk a little bit, then basically just hang out. He is NOT (or wasn't last night) a leader of the throngs with their pitch forks, stakes, and torches. I think a lot of people felt that he should have riled the thing up a lot more. But no.

Dress
There were a lot of people dressed up in Colonial type costumes, many of them minutemen type outfits and the ladies in long colonial gowns.

Signs
I imagine you have seen them on TV. There was not a single sign that I saw, and I saw thousands literally, that I would say were "threatening" or "offensive." They were mostly rhetoric, the most popular was the yellow flag with a snake that said "Don't Tread On Me" which I know is the Gadsden flag from the Revolution days...blah blah blah...but big deal. Hell...it WAS NOT a confederate flag and those are extremely common here in Georgia and throughout the South. In short, to me, the Gadsden flag wasn't a big deal. In fact, I think it was out of place honestly.

Safety
There was a group of African American college students, (Georgia State University) is one block from the Capital...that were in the very center of the throng, and they were chanting at one point "Obama! Obama! Obama!" and some other stuff in support of the President. They were not hurt or even threatened, in fact at one point they started a rap song of some kind and many many people took video footage and photos of it with smiles on their faces. So no, these people were not as riled up and dangerous and out for blood as some media may claim. I KNOW, I WAS STANDING RIGHT THERE IN AND AMONGST THEM all night. I'm sorry if that is disappointing to anyone.

What now?
Well I don't know. The GOP is trying to build anything grass roots to gain some kind of momentum for the party. I don't think this has the effect that they want. Steele is a smart guy though, and he understands that while this is a very nice beginning, there is a hell of a lot more work to be done. There is still a lot of disjointedness and a power vacuum in the party.

Obama
I think a lot of the talk about how these people are crazy and how they want the country to be ripped apart, and how they are dangerous, etc... is not accurate.

These people just wanted to get together, rally around a common interest, and get some feel good time in. That, and they want to be heard, that they feel that spending is going out of control in DC and that the bail out is just going to prolong and exponentially multiply the bad effects of the recession. I lot of them claim that their children will suffer from this. I'm still waiting for my generation of suffer from the Baby Boomers... maybe I don't understand all that.




What now?

I think based on what I saw, what I heard, and how I feel about the Tea Party last night that President Obama has three options.

1.) Draw a line in the sand, challenge the GOP outright, draw attention to this "movement" publically and really really drive a deep wedge between the economic classes, which we are well on our way to anyway.

2.) He can appease the right, tell them that he is going to look into the tax code, (which I know he sort of has recently) but then appoint some GOP'ers with Dems to really and honestly investigate what we do next with taxes instead of just raise them on the "rich" like Biden and his $260K, and convince everyone that we are going to find a solution that we hope will work for almost everyone.

3.) He can just do nothing. Stay on the track he is on, get his tax increases, get more bail outs, and just ignore the Right. (honestly this is in some ways his best bet speaking just from a personal standpoint). I mean really, these people aren't going to start shooting up McDonald's in DC because they are "mad." If that were the case, the rap singers that crashed the party would be toast already.




So in conclusion I apologize for putting my own spin and opinion into this.

Bottom line, they weren't a bunch of nut jobs. They want to be heard and want a solution to the current tax code. Beyond that, there really isn't much to it at all. I wouldn't even call it a "movement," at least not the kind of movement they are thinking.

 

Originally Posted By DVC_dad

But having said that, there were in excess of 15,000 people there. I guess that's something.

 

Originally Posted By wahooskipper

There won't be real "movement" until someone steps up to lead. That is why the party is in a shambles. Republicans still have their basic, core beliefs (like them or not). MOST of the Republicans I know are NOT extreme and most of us get along with our centrist Democrat friends.

I sleep with a Democrat and we rarely yell at each other.

But, there is no doubt the party lacks leadership and that is to be expected. Who wants to try to break out now while Obama is still basking in the afterglow of his sterling victory?

I'm not concerned about the party today. In a year or two if there is an absence of leadership THEN I will be concerned.

I appreciate your commentary on the things you witnessed DVC.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

Thanks, DVC Dad, appreciate the first-hand view.

 

Originally Posted By DAR

DVC good reporting.

 

Originally Posted By piperlynne

Thank DVC!
You seem like a thoughtful guy and I trust your reporting. Nice to have it from a first hand report.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

<a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/News/Turnout+tepid+modern+parties/1500117/story.html" target="_blank">http://www.vancouversun.com/Ne...ory.html</a>

Don't know a thing about the Vancouver Sub, but here's a Canadian take on the tea baggers. I guess they caught Fox's Neil Cavuto lying about crowd size.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

Sub, Sun, who knows?

 

Originally Posted By mawnck

DVC_Dad for news anchor. Thanks for the report. It has actually made me a bit less pessimistic.

I'm sure a transcript of Rush's show today will be along presently to restore my lack of faith in humanity .......