Tallahassee's Tax Day Tea Party took place today at 5pm in front of the old capitol. I spent the early part of the day getting my sign ready. Not particularly clever or artistic, but it said what I wanted to say. (Clicking on the pictures will take you to my Webshots album where there are more pics.)
I got there about 4:30pm, and had some trouble finding a parking spot in Klemen Plaza. Most of that was probably due to the legislature being in session. There were a number of fellow protestors, though, who rode the elevator up with me. By the time I got up the hill to the front of the capitol, there was already a good sized crowd. I took a few pictures from the north end of the lawn, and then moved through the crowd getting video. I'm not an expert on these things, but I'm estimating the crowd at 1200-1500 people.
The views on display were mostly concerned with economic issues: the bailouts, government spending, debt, socialism. A few of the signs mentioned Obama by name indicating that some see the issue in partisan terms, even though the bailouts were already in place when Obama took office. True, he's trying to take government spending to a whole new level, but it's a difference of degree rather than kind. The advantage of having Obama as president is that so many conservatives have suddenly remembered that they are opposed to big government. It's like the past eight years were a wild Saturday night, but now it's Sunday and they're back in church.
Yet I digress. Some of the signs...
Basic common sense: "You can't borrow your way out of debt. You can't spend your way to wealth. So how do you figure government can do it?"
Anarchists: I didn't catch the significance of the 'A' when I first saw this sign.
A Culpeper Minutemen flag with the coiled rattlesnake. There were quite a few "Don't Tread on Me" flags, and one guy was handing out small rubber snakes to the kids.
View from the south end of the lawn:
More signage:
An exremist showed up. I spotted him easily by his sign.
This one was pretty clever, although I would say that Obama's policies, so far, have more in common with fascism.
Obamanomics: It's similar to compassionate conservatism only moreso.
I'm not greedy. I'd settle for a billion.
I like her stimulus plan: A hot cup of tea, a beautiful girl, and freedom!
A surprise appearance by Johnny Depp.
Uncle Sam was there.
Part of a speech by a local radio personality named Preston Scott. Sorry for the lousy color.
The crowd was enthusiastic and united in their opposition to government spending, but philosophically very mixed. Whether these protests can serve as a basis for reducing the size of government, or whether they can even slow it down, remains to be seen.
I got there about 4:30pm, and had some trouble finding a parking spot in Klemen Plaza. Most of that was probably due to the legislature being in session. There were a number of fellow protestors, though, who rode the elevator up with me. By the time I got up the hill to the front of the capitol, there was already a good sized crowd. I took a few pictures from the north end of the lawn, and then moved through the crowd getting video. I'm not an expert on these things, but I'm estimating the crowd at 1200-1500 people.
The views on display were mostly concerned with economic issues: the bailouts, government spending, debt, socialism. A few of the signs mentioned Obama by name indicating that some see the issue in partisan terms, even though the bailouts were already in place when Obama took office. True, he's trying to take government spending to a whole new level, but it's a difference of degree rather than kind. The advantage of having Obama as president is that so many conservatives have suddenly remembered that they are opposed to big government. It's like the past eight years were a wild Saturday night, but now it's Sunday and they're back in church.
Yet I digress. Some of the signs...
Basic common sense: "You can't borrow your way out of debt. You can't spend your way to wealth. So how do you figure government can do it?"
Anarchists: I didn't catch the significance of the 'A' when I first saw this sign.
A Culpeper Minutemen flag with the coiled rattlesnake. There were quite a few "Don't Tread on Me" flags, and one guy was handing out small rubber snakes to the kids.
View from the south end of the lawn:
More signage:
An exremist showed up. I spotted him easily by his sign.
This one was pretty clever, although I would say that Obama's policies, so far, have more in common with fascism.
Obamanomics: It's similar to compassionate conservatism only moreso.
I'm not greedy. I'd settle for a billion.
I like her stimulus plan: A hot cup of tea, a beautiful girl, and freedom!
A surprise appearance by Johnny Depp.
Uncle Sam was there.
Part of a speech by a local radio personality named Preston Scott. Sorry for the lousy color.
The crowd was enthusiastic and united in their opposition to government spending, but philosophically very mixed. Whether these protests can serve as a basis for reducing the size of government, or whether they can even slow it down, remains to be seen.
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