TennesseeTicket

Well, better late than never ... I actually intended to post something BEFORE the Tea Party, but it's been a busy week ...

I was at the Tea Party tonight. I've heard estimates of between 2500-3000 people attended. I'm not even going to hazard a guess, but at its peak, the square was approximately 2/3 full of people sitting and standing.

The Hamilton County Libertarian Party has held protests of this nature on April 15 for years now. Last year I was one of three people in attendance. So, I too wonder where everybody was the last eight years. Granted, we didn't have nearly as much publicity as this event did. I suspect if the groups involved had tried to put together a similar event without the benefit of the past Tea Parties and such, attendance would have been much lower.

Ultimately, though, I don't know that I can fault people who are just waking up and becoming concerned about the direction our government is going, as long as they are willing to recognize that it's not just Democrats that have steered us in this direction. As you point out, we've been moving this way for the last eight years, for the most part. I believe that everybody that becomes active in politics, regardless of their point-of-view, can probably point to some event that pushed them out of the cozy box they've been in. As you and I discussed after the City Council meeting Tuesday night, for us it was the Iraq war. Perhaps for others it's the bailouts of AIG, GM, and Chrysler.

So, why did I attend the Tea Party? Because despite any faults or flaws the event might have had, ultimately it was a chance to connect with other people who want to make a difference, who might want to get involved with the HCLP. Even for those who might choose the Constitution Party, or the Republican Liberty Caucus, it gave me a chance to connect with people who are ultimately my allies on many issues. And ... it gave me a chance to show the government that I'm paying attention.