Am I upset about the Women marching in their protests about the election of President Trump? Absolutely not. Do I understand it no. Is this a picture that brings back any memories? It’s April, 2009, and it’s from a Tea Party Rally. This is from my 2-17-2009 blog:
On 4-15-09 my wife and I attended the Phoenix Tea Party. It is estimated that the crowd was in excess of 5,000. It was a peaceful energetic crowd. The signage was brilliant and creative. The signs told the story. It wasn’t about taxes. Sure, taxes were a big part, but it was far deeper than that.
In front of us were a middle aged couple speaking Russian. Their sign said: Left Russia because of Socialism, Came to America to get away from Socialism, Socialism has followed us to America, Where do we go now?
The crowd was particularly hard on Janet Napolitano. She was the former governor. She left behind a deficit of $3 billion and the state is struggling to find ways to cut expenses. The State Treasurer spoke and he said the bank account went red today, over $200 million. The state is out of money and time. Yesterday Napolitano’s office issued a bulletin that suggested that everyone at the Tea Party was a potential terrorist. This was played up by all the speakers.
The essence of the mood based on the signs I saw was too much government. Too much spending. Too much regulation. Too much distrust. Vote them all out and term limits were big with the crowd. Taxes were issue one. But, in all forms. Local, state, and Federal.
People came out because they are frustrated that their voices are muted. They write letters that get form letter responses or no responses. There is anger, but so far it’s controlled anger. There is no representation from elected officials. The new president was elected by New York, California, New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, and Oregon. New England. Arizona does not want to be like any of these states, broke. Following the recipe cooked up by democratic leaders in these states is the formula they see Obama baking. The results are very obvious in these states. The Tea Party attendees see it. Even in California they see it.
This isn’t going to go away. The groundswell will grow even if the mainstream media sweep it under the rug. Even if Obama and his minions call the people who went unkind names. The people who attended in Phoenix were young and old, white and non-white, working folks and white collars, and everything in between. People you felt comfortable being with in a big group and people you could count as friends. No kooks, hairballs, or nuts. None that I saw.
Mainstream America. Not mainstream Chicago, mainstream Detroit, or Mainstream Maine. Not Washington state or Oregon. Not California, not Minnesota, the state that sent the guy from Saturday Night Live to the senate. Your neighbors, your golf partners, your old classmates, and your relatives. Good people looking for real change.
Today Nancy Pelosi, the wicked witch of the West, went on record saying” this was not a grass roots gathering. It was an AstroTurf gathering funded by the very richest people in America.” I never say any evidence of any funding by anyone,let alone the ultra rich. This statement is central to one of the reasons for the Tea Parties. Lying. America is tired of lying politicians. Pelosi rates very high on that list and she validated the reasons. No one is challenging Pelosi to come up with any facts to support her claims.
Obama chooses not to acknowledge there were Tea Parties. President Obama you gag us, but you won’t silence us.
Obama, the mainstream media, and much of the administration can say it was a non event. But, my guess would be that every Representative up for election in 2010 did not ignore the events. They are in the sights of the attendees who want to vote all the bums out of office, Democrat and Republican. This is far from over.
So, you see, it’s all perspective. I’m sure most who didn’t support the Tea Party rallies didn’t understand why they were happening. I don’t understand the Women’s Marches, but I respect their right to do so.
Back to the present:
Here’s one difference. In 2009 the media tried to hide the Tea Party rallies. Grossly under estimated the crowd sizes and gave them minimum coverage. Honest journalists estimated there were several million attendees around the country. The Tea Party didn’t fit the media’s agenda. But, the Women’s Marches do. So, attendance is inflated and coverage is wall to wall.
Trump is going to war with the media and this is why. It’s high time we got an honest media in this country and I believe Trump will make that happen. It’s just part of draining the swamp.