Thousands Flood D.C. For Taxpayer March on Washington
The second annual 9/12 Taxpayer March on Washington rallied over 100,000 Tea Party activists to show Congress that they have not forgotten the bailouts, pork projects, government takeovers and that they will “Remember in November”.
“I want to thank all of you for coming out today and every day,” said FreedomWorks President and CEO Matt Kibbe. “Your support has been overwhelming and we are proud to be part of what the Tea Party movement is doing all over America.”
FreedomWorks’ Get Out The Vote rally in D.C. was only one of many Tea Party marches around the country on 9/12 with other large gatherings in places like St. Louis and Sacramento. Kibbe sarcastically thanked former DNC Chairman Howard Dean for creating his famous “50 state strategy”, one which Kibbe said the Tea Party movement is putting to good use.
“I believe we’ve got the Republican Party’s attention, we’ve been beating the establishment all over the country,” said FreedomWorks Chairman and former House Majority leader Dick Armey, echoing this sentiment. “It’s time we give the same lesson to the other party.”
Activists met at the Washington Monument in the morning for a non-denominational service then flooded the streets of D.C. for a march down Pennsylvania Avenue which ended at the steps of the Capitol. The rally, which began on the west lawn of the Capitol at 2 p.m., focused on getting out the vote this fall, holding politicians accountable after November 2 and urging them to support the principles of the Contract From America.
The Contract From America, created by Houston Tea Party Society activist Ryan Hecker, is a bottom-up, grassroots document which calls on candidates to support limited government and lower taxes. Voted on and discussed by people around the country, the ten principles in the contract represent grassroots activism at its finest.
“We run things—not only should we be listened to, we should be shown deference,” Hecker told the crowd.
The anti-establishment sentiment was reflected by a speaker list composed predominantly of activists like Ana Puig, Tito Munez, Diana Reimer and others from within the grassroots Tea Party movement.
“The real fight begins Nov. 3,” said Reimer, founder of the Philadelphia chapter of Tea Party Patriots. “Between now and then, get involved. Stay involved until they get it right.”
Puig and Munez, both South American immigrants and naturalized U.S. citizens, lamented progressive policies in their birthplaces and warned the crowd of the direction Democrats are taking America.
“Mr. Obama, I came to America to make it on my own and not to be a burden on the country, the government or the American people,” said Munez, a native of Colombia. “I came here to produce and not to take away.”
Puig, founder of Kitchen Table Patriots, called attention to similarities between her life in Brazil and the agenda of the Obama administration. The use of class warfare, voter fraud and government ideology in schools are clear in both cases, she said.
Also speaking were conservative commentators Erick Erickson and Andrew Breitbart who blasted the liberal media for first ignoring and then slandering the Tea Party movement.
"They've called us bigots. They've called us homophobes. They've called us gun-toters. They've even called us Christians," said Erickson, founder of Redstate.com. “In November, they're going to call us winners."
Breitbart blamed Katie Couric for pandering to the Left with her exhaustive coverage of the NAACP and their unsubstantiated claims of racism in the Tea Party movement.
“What would you do—Katie, if you woke up and you saw on your competitor’s channel: ‘Let’s talk about whether or not Katie Couric is racist’? I think she’d be pissed off,” he said. “We are a citizen journalism army, and we are going to take this country back.”
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Congressman Mike Pence (IN-6) both spoke about the importance of challenging the health care law which was rammed through Congress last Spring against the will of the American people.
“We do not consent to a government takeover of health care and will not rest until we repeal Obamacare—lock, stock and barrel!” said Pence, the third highest ranking Republican in the House.
Under Obama’s version of separation of powers, Cuccinelli said, the states have lost their rights.
“States no longer matter,” said Cuccinelli about the federal health care mandate. “That is one of the goals of this administration and Congress, and in Virginia, where it all began; we are going to fight it until it all ends.”
With the midterm elections so close, Rep. Pence encouraged the crowd to make their voices heard this November.
''If we do not succeed in November, all that once was good and great about this country could someday be gone,'' cautioned Rep. Pence. ''Let's give them a November that they never forget.''
Below is some of the coverage of 9/12 at these links:
(FreedomWorks D.C. event)
(general coverage of all 9/12 events)
