Thoughts and Impressions
The Tea Party was a big hit. There were a lot of interesting people that I talked to and met, including several political candidates. I also got a bunch of photos, despite having more issues with my cell phone camera.
I made up some business cards and passed them out, so hopefully some of the people I met will visit this site. (I apologize for the crudity of the cards — the slicer at Kinko’s wasn’t working right.)
As for now, I am in the process of preparing a full post covering the event, but between collecting and organizing the photos and other duties of the day, such as shuttling children around, housework, reading for school, and fixing what will be possibly the most delicious pot roast I have ever made, I haven’t had the chance to get everything together. Consider this to be kind of a placeholder, and a promise that I will get a full review up by tomorrow.
Okay, on to the great Kansas City Tax Day Tea Party …
This Tea Party had a similar feel to the one I went to in Topeka, only much bigger. I didn’t feel like a “protest,” more like a rally, or even a fair. The back of the ballpark was filled with vendors, and not all of them were politically oriented vendors. The atmosphere was very positive and upbeat; a sharp contrast to the negative portrayal of the Tea Party in the media. There were a lot of young people at this Tea Party, as well a children — something you almost never see at left-wing protests (probably because it’s not safe for them there).
There were no incidents of violence, no incidents of bigotry. The media must be so sad. And there was only one liberal plant that made an appearance, and he was pretty lame.
There were a lot of really good speakers at the event. Darla Jay from Talk Radio KCMO was the master of ceremonies. Cecil Washington led a very moving prayer and opened with a song with his wife. Obama’s newly-famous cousin, Dr. Milton Wolfe, gave a very rousing speech. Secretary of State candidate Dr. Kris Kobach spoke on constitutional issues, and Apostle Claver from Raging Elephants gave the keynote speech.
One of the most deeply moving events was the veterans’ tribute, which ran for almost an hour. I think it could be argued that this was the climax of the rally (with all due respects to Aposlte Claver, who gave a magnificent speech). The honoring of those who sacrificed personally for our nation seemed to embody one of the central themes of the Tea Party – that service to the United States is a virtue, not a means to power, and that we should sacrifice to protect the nation, not be pilfered from to provide entitlements.
Two local talk radio stations, KMBZ 980 and KCMO 710 were present. KMBZ’s Darla Jaye was MC, and handed her live broadcast over to a very capable guest host while she rallied the crowd. KCMO’s Chris Stigall was also there, and also gave a speech. Darla even interviewed a young man that was there because he was opposed to the Tea Party, but wanted to check it out anyway to see what it was really like. It was a great interview, and the young man (I believe his name was Brandon) was very calm and articulate in expressing his opinion. (After the interview, people went out of their way to shake his hand and thank him for coming — what are the odds of seeing that at a left-wing rally?)
There were a lot of informational booths for different organizations. Americans for Prosperity, supporters of the FairTax, the Kansas City Objectivists, the Libertarian Party, and many, many others were there. Political candidates were also present in swarms, and I have more bumper stickers than I can possibly fit on my car.
The signs were pithy and creative. I saw maybe one or two pre-manufactured signs, but most were hand-drawn. A nice lady named Beverly donated some poster board and sharpies, and was next to the KMBZ booth helping people make signs if they hadn’t brought one.
So, on to some pictures. I ask forgiveness for poor image resolution — my cell phone camera is only so capable and has limited memory. (If anyone would like to donate a bit of cash toward a new camera, I’d appreciate it!)
Nice Deb also has some pretty extensive coverage.
General Approach
I thought about getting some pictures of the parking lot, but didn’t bother. There were some interesting bumper stickers, though. I had never been to the Community America Ballpark before, so I got a shot of the front gate.
It's a ballpark, so there were concessions. The presence of a BBQ place proves the anti-muslim sentiment present!
Fresh sqeezed lemonade on a sunny day. No kool-Aid here.
It got to be a pretty good sized crowd.
Radio Row
Given as how there are two prominent talk radio stations in the KC area (at least that are not solely devoted to sports), there were, in fact, two talk radio stations present.
The rather spiffy looking KCMO van.
The KCMO table. Chris Stigall wasn't around by the time I got there.
The KMBZ van. I'll confess I listen to 980 at least in part because I can get it out in Lawrence, but 710 doesn't come through.
Darla Jaye, live on the air! When I went to meet her, she even remembered the Republican Heretic!
Here is Darla interviewing Brandon, the young man who was opposed to the Tea Party. She talked to him for quite a while.
A view out from the 980 booth. The girl in the center has a sign that says "Lady Liberty is My America Idol (Sorry Simon)"
Signage
There were some very creative and original signs out there. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get them all, or some of the pictures didn’t come out. Here are some of the ones I managed to get.
This is one of the best signs that I saw. Beverly, the nice lady who donated the poster board, is holding it.
Another really good sign, held by a man who doesn't seem aware that Obama is the Second Coming.
Let me be clear - we don't like you because you're a socialist.
This one was great. Nothing like a kid being in debt to illustrate the effects of Obama's spending.
ZOMG! It campares Obama to Hitler! Hatemonger!!1111! Except for the fact that Obama's policies do seem to bear an uncanny resemblance to the policies of other socialists from the past ...
Not really a sign, but I'll allow it. The FairTax wants to bury the IRS. I'm sure this will be seen by the left as a call to violence.
Who All Was There
There were myriad candidates there for numerous offices, and I’ll be covering them in a separate post. These are some of the other groups and vendors that were there.
The Libertarian Party made an appearance. So much for the Tea Party being partisan.
ZOMG! Religious extremism!
Young Americans for Liberty is a libertarian group that has a presence on the KU campus. Yeah, I know this guy.
FairTax! The lady at the booth had a copy of FaitTax: The Truth signed by both Boortz and Linder!
Bumper sticker shop.
Tea Party Crashers
I was actually kind of disappointed that we only had one obvious crasher there. He was pretty desperate for attention, standing in front of the KMBZ booth and shouting crazy every once in a while. They checked signs at the gate so people couldn’t bring it stuff that was too outlandish, which may account for the low number of crashers, but this guy appears to have rolled his sign up and smuggled it in his pant leg.
Our pathetic crasher. The sign is hard to make out, but it reads: "Islam+e=Islame. I know who obama is. Puppet barrack and the muslims terrorist. He kill them. He kill US. Get out 'D-words!'"
People kept getting in my way. I got one good picture, but my phone crashed and I lost it. The lady next to him is Beverly, holding a sign that reads "Liberal Plant"
Get out of my shot! On the other hand, maybe it's good I didn't get his face. You can get a better view of Beverly's sign here.
Well, that’s pretty much what I got. Be sure to check out Nice Deb for some more coverage of the KC Tea Party.
The Republican Heretic 