Wednesday, April 15, 2009

TUCSON TEA PARTY notes

I attended the party from about 9:40AM to a little before 11 AM. The crowd seemed to average about 400-500 although people were coming and going. All 3 wingnut radio stations, KVOI, KNST and KQTH, were represented and I know KQTH broadcast from the rally until 10 AM.

There was a brisk wind today so I wasn't able to hear most of the speakers but I did catch a few snippets from Dave Mason, a local wingnut computer show clown. He told the crowd that a good friend of his who is head of security at Sandia and Hanford was very upset that the Dept. of Homeland Security had called him a terrorist. This refers to a report issued by DHS that was sent to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to warn them about the possibility that radical, right-wing extremist groups may turn to violence.

I spoke with a middle-aged woman who sat next to me who recommended reading Mark Levin's agit-prop book, Tyranny and Liberty but other than that I didn't speak to anyone. A woman came around and handed out promos for Chick-Fil-E, offering a free Chick-n-Strips salad if you buy a medium coke. A middle-aged man came around to promote his radio show on KVOI called "America's Fabric" that airs from 8:00 to 8:30 AM on Sundays.

I spent most of my time writing down the slogans on the signs people had. Here's what I think is a representative sample:

"Capitalism Yes, Socialism No"

"Obama Lies"

"Defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights"

"Global Warming is an Environmental Scam promoting Socialism"

"Cap + Trade = Hidden Taxes"

"Hail to the Thief"

"Welcome back Carter"

"You are NOT entitled"

"PROTEST - not just for hippies any more"

"Stop killing our Constitution"

"Not on OUR dime"

"Got Change? We Don't!!!"

"No more bailouts"

"My freedom is not for sale"

"Don't tax me, Bro"

"Read my lips - No new taxes"

Several people had yellow flags with a snake and the motto "Don't tread on me" and there were also a couple of guys who had a standard U.S. flag with that motto printed on the bottom stripe.

4 comments:

The Complaint Department said...

R U kidding me? What tea party did YOU go to? There was about 3,000 people there! You liberal imbeds still have no clue even when you are physically present...must be all that good weed...

Steve J. said...

Please, don't exaggerate. It was a nice sized gathering for the time of day.

Anonymous said...

I didn't get there until about 11:00am but there were at least 2,000 people there at that time and around 3,000 at around noon. That's the truth, sorry if it nullify your agenda. The Tucson Police Department estimated 3,800. By the way, I have photos that clearly show a lot more people than your estimate, however, the images are of blacks, hispanics, asians, italians, and anglos demonstrating together. Once again, sorry if those images nullify your agenda.

Steve J. said...

Could you share those photos?

piniella14@gmail.com