Greenville, S.C. Tea Party At The Bilo Center – April 17th, 2010
Posted by Scott @ 5:32 pmApr 18
I had the opportunity to attend the Tea Party on Saturday at the Bi-Lo Center on April 17th, 2010. There were lively discussions regarding out of control government, massive spending and and unsustainable debt. The overall sentiment was to throw all the bums out and start over using constitutional principles as the guide.
The Master of Ceremonies was the president of Insensitivity University and professor of non-politically correct studies, our own Bob McClain.
Here are some shots of the crowd.
There were some great signs at the event.
There were two standout speakers at the event.
Former Congressman Tom Tancredo
Tom Tancredo is a true American patriot and it was an honor to hear him speak.
The turnout was somewhat disappointing, with an estimated 3000 attending, but it was quite warm outside, which I think factored into the turnout. I got lots of sun. Last year, the rally was on late Friday afternoon and there were closer to 10,000 attendees.
Here is a comparison of the crowds from 2009 and 2010
2009
2010
Let’s hope the lower turnout this year is an aberration. Some of the other Tea Parties around the nation were much larger than last years’. Those who don’t get off their butts and let their voices be heard should quit whining.
Apathy is enemy of liberty.
You can quote me on that!!
Nice photos!
Some thoughts on the last one. Do you happen to know what time the last one was taken? It doesn’t look like the peak crowd, it looks more like toward the end of the event.
There’s no questioning that the crowd was smaller than last year. Some estimates last year were 10000 people. Two estimates I got this year were 3000, but it was very hard to estimate with how spread out the crowd was.
To put that in perspective though: There were many more tea party events in the Upstate this year than last year. There are new groups and tea parties being formed, such as Pickens and Powdersville. There was even another tea party right in Greenville on the 15th. So… we can hope that more people went to *other* tea parties instead of sitting at home.
We have a lot of work to do. I’m thrilled that the local groups are having regular meetings, educating people, and getting involved in national, state and local issues.
Jonathon, the last picture was taken around 3:30pm and yes, it was just after the peak. Still, the crowd was considerably smaller than last years’. I think your numbers are about right.
I think you make a good point, though. There were many other options this year. However, some of the other options were nothing more than GOP rallies (Boiling Springs). I have a feeling that the movement will lose many independents, like myself, if they allow themselves to be folded into the GOP.
When you have Sara Palin campaigning for John McCain, there’s a big problem. I’m not interested in supporting progressive neocons like John McCain or Lindsey Graham. The desire to purge progressives from the GOP was the main reason I got involved in the Tea Party movement. If the Tea Party movement continues to creep in that direction and they allow themselves to be hijacked, the Tea Party movement will be dead.
I’m willing to support true GOP conservatives and even some neocons in very blue states but when the opportunity arises to oust a progressive in favor of a true conservative, we in the Tea Party need to support the true conservative candidate.
I want to hear the so called Tea Party candidates propose how they plan to shrink government, cut spending and lower taxes. If they aren’t campaigning on specifics to achieve these goals, they should not get our support. I’m certainly willing to work within the GOP to elect candidates who believe in principles of smaller government and maximum liberty, but they WILL need to walk the walk. If they don’t, the GOP will be pretty much dead and having lost all credibility, it will be time for a 3rd party to carry the freedom and liberty torch.
I think there are many people that would have turned out but decided not to since the SC Tea Party movement has become a wing of the GOP and the GOP at the state level is doing nothing to change with the times. Too many conservatives have been taken in by the “conservatives” in the GOP and find that they are not what the party represents itself to be, not does the GOP seem to follow it own “Planks.” The GOP is not the savior of the nation any more than George Bush cut the size of government and spending. Obama is not a constitutionalists by any means, but the changes he is making is waking people up. Now, when will the “true Conservatives” come out of the woodwork and make their own party. Neither the DEMs or GOP can or will address the issues in an honest fashion. So it must be addressed from outside those parties. That is why many people see the Tea Parties as becoming ineffectual. They are just the GOP repackaged.
There is a risk that the Tea Party will be folded into the GOP and certainly some members of the movement will be sucked in.
As I mentioned, I don’t have a problem working within the GOP framework, as long as we can be effective. The big question is whether the GOP establishment will embrace Tea Party candidates. The Democrats haven’t embraced the Tea Party movement at all, just the opposite actually.
Crist in Florida is a perfect example. Tea Party candidate Rubio is going to win the GOP primary. Will the establishment candidate step aside, as he should, and support the winner? That’s the big question. The GOP has been warning that independent Tea Party candidates will split the vote. In this case, the Tea Party worked within the GOP to affect change so the GOP establishment had better not support Crist, unless they wish to appear as hypocrites who have lost all credibility. The GOP establishment can’t have it both ways.
The upcoming election cycle in November will tell the tale. I don’t think it’s time for a 3rd party run yet, but if the GOP establishment offers up and runs interference for another progressive in 2012, it will be time for 3rd party run.