I took the little trip down the road to Columbia to check out the Taxed Enough Already rally at the statehouse. The event was organized by the SC Fair Tax folks, an organization and idea that I support.

I’d estimate there were around 2000k citizens rallying at the event. It was hot though, in the 90s, so there were a lot of people hugging the shade, rather than crowding around the front of the stage. You couldn’t stand there on the concrete in front of that stage for long but there were plenty of trees and they had a good PA so hearing wasn’t a problem. I found a good spot under a tree just to the left of the stage, with a clear view and a nice breeze blowing. I’m sure the crowd would have been larger if it were not for the heat and the fact that many people vacation and cook-out on the 4th.

(click on pictures to zoom in/out)

What’s a rally in South Carolina without a confederate soldier carrying a confederate flag?

The speakers were very good. John Perna from the SC fair tax group rallied the crowd to his cause.

The best speaker was Talbert Black from the Campaign for Liberty, who made a really good speech promoting a move toward freedom and liberty, with less government intrusion.

DeMint was there but he didn’t speak long. It was too damn hot. He was mainly there to stand up for the cause of liberty and freedom, and for a book signing to promote his new book: Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America’s Slide into Socialism.

Here’s a little video of DeMint..

One of things I really liked about this rally is that I didn’t hear anyone mention political parties, except to criticize them, and rightly so. This event had little to do with political party affiliation. It was all about coming to together to promote liberty, freedom, smaller government and lower taxes, no matter your political party affiliation.

I had a great time, the traffic was light and I chowed down on some great seafood. Lots of fun!! I’ll be back for the next one.