Raleigh, N.C. Shows Up to Tea Party

Raleigh, N.C., April 15 - For a couple thousand Raleigh residents Tax Day apparently means party time. Tea Party time that is. These party goers were not on the lawn of the Capitol Building to take in the beautiful weather or enjoy a glass of good ole North Carolina sweet tea. Nor were they celebrating some fictional joy of dropping those tax returns in the mail. No, this Tea Party was all about protesting what conservatives across the nation say has become out-of-control government spending.

Beginning at 5 o'clock an energized lineup of conservative speakers took turns invoking memories of the original tea party, when exasperated colonists led by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere threw a ship's contents into the waters of Boston harbor on December 16, 1773. Of course the Boston Tea Party of 237 years ago occurred in protest of British taxation and helped spur the colonies on toward revolution.

Speakers at this evening's tea party suggested, much to the delight of the lively crowd, that now is the time for a different sort of revolution. This revolution would take place in the battleground of the voting booth, with the objective of reigning in wasteful government spending, reducing the size of government, and cutting taxes. Throughout the crowd conservative mottos on homemade signs extended their eager approval. "Take Back Our Government." "You Work For Us." "It's Time For A REAL Change."

Despite rumors of racism and the left's branding of the Tea Party movement as a negative and spiteful group, the message and the environment were very positive. There was a distinct sense of determination among the attendees, and the atmosphere was more like an Independence Day celebration than a protest.

Chairman of the Wake County Republican Party, Claude E. Pope, Jr., was among the evenings speakers. He gave a rally cry for all conservatives to come together and bring about change in coming elections. Frank Roche, Republican candidate for Democrat David Price's seat in the US House, got things stirred up early, invoking both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in his remarks in favor of more responsible governance.

The crowd was also decidedly upbeat. While listening to the various speakers I perused the crowd to find out what others were thinking. Dave Burton, a computer consultant from Cary, said he wanted to help take back our country. He was fed up with the wasteful spending, the entitlement programs, and the recklessness of the approach towards new legislation. Burton was eager to discuss possible solutions to the problems facing the country, and I found this to be typical of the people present. Each partier I spoke with wanted to add their part to the process, and each had an expectation of success.

The Tea Party concept has been depicted as a white movement, a rich movement, and a selfish movement. Prominent Democrats have recently associated paying higher taxes with being patriotic, which would mean these Tea Partiers are being unpatriotic in their protesting. What I saw this evening was a totally different story. I saw a crowd full of diverse races and social classes. I saw stars and stripes eagerly waving throughout the crowd and smiling faces looking toward the bright futures that they each desire for their children and grandchildren. There is no question that some people have expressed their protesting in wrong ways over the last year, but the Tea Party that I was a part of tonight was nothing more or less than an American Movement. May God bless the USA.