Green Bay Tea Party Recap

Thank you to all (well over 500, possibly 1200?) who showed up at Titletown Brewing in Green Bay for the Tea Party!  Thank you to all who promoted the event in any way! 

It was a raging SUCCESS! 

As organizer Marc Savard, who’s running in 2010 for Kagen’s seat,  pointed out:

“We the people will prevail if we stick to our principles. The key is to get involved, to make voices heard.”

Kudos to Marc who organized this tea party in less than two weeks.

Check out video from NBC 26 of the event.   WBAY was also there and had this recap.

More than a thousand people marched the streets of downtown Green Bay Saturday morning protesting federal government bailouts and government programs.

 An estimated 1,200 people showed up for the Taxpayer Tea Party carrying posters and flags.

Dawn Bahr of Shawano says, “The United States is about trying hard and accomplishing something, not just putting your hand out.”

Ryan Hatch who attended the rally says, “It’s that people don’t feel like they’re entitled. People don’t feel like the government owes them anything. The people need to be self-reliant and responsible for their own actions.

A big promoter of the event, Jerry Bader, spoke at the rally and pointed out the obvious – those who showed up and many others are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

Jerry also pointed out how this country was built by small business, people taking a risk and investing in themselves. 

And guess what?  People involved in small business don’t want government involved.  If you take the risk and fail, government can’t fix that!

Another point made by Jerry was that what we are seeing is “taxes being used as the vehicle to drive the country away from self-reliance.”

And self-reliance defines conservatism.  It also defines personal responsibility.

Jerry had the perfect definition of what conservatism is based on.

“Conservatism is based on I’ll take care of me, you take care of you. … This is often translated to mean we’re not compassionate — nothing could be further from the truth.  Picking my pocket and deciding what’s compassion, is not compassion. When you are forced to be compassionate at the barrel of a gun, we have a word for that, it’s robbery.”

The rally ended with virtually everyone who attended walking to seven blocks to Congressman Kagen’s office that included a ceremonial tea dump into the Fox River. 

The purpose of the rally, which was missed by the local paper and Fox 11, was this:

To send out a message that we believe in self-reliance and capitalism.  While it was a rally against the bailout mentality and stimulus it was just a beginning.  The next step is to be willing to do the footwork to take back America.  That means getting involved by making your voice heard, by encouraging people who believe in conservative principles to run and by being willing to work for those candidates.

In other words – hope.

Update: Check out Michelle Malkin’s coverage.

                    Check out The Daily Beating’s coverage – great photos.