Sorry, friends, for the delay in bringing this after-action report from last week's "Tea Party" here in Indianapolis. I have been having some trouble with our camera and was delaying this post so you could see the collage of colorful commentary that was present at the Party. Given the extensive number of pictures, I'll be posting part 2 of the "Tea Party" in order to be able to include that many more pictures from the event. (Given the delay in posting this, this post has morphed into one that is much longer than I had intended. But it's worth the read, and this first batch of pictures ought to keep you challenged and entertained.)
As you presumably know, last week's Tax Day was met with over 2,000 protests across the country as the masses came together to express their outrage at the increased intrusion of both federal and state government in the lives of American citizens. There were literally hundreds of thousands of people protesting in cities large and small from coast to coast. Even here in Indianapolis reliable sources have confirmed that between 12,000-15,000 citizens gathered on the south side of our state capitol. And as the main speaker, "Thomas Paine" impersonator Dr. Bob Basso pointed out, "When Bobby Knight throws a chair across the basketball court, that's a protest; when millions of people gather in the streets, that is a full-fledged rebellion."
These Tea Parties were not necessarily intended to be a Republican or Democrat cause. All politicians in our government have a growing target on their backs. That said, the general perspective being advanced at the Indianapolis Tea Party had a decidedly conservative tone to it. This was to be expected, given the issues at stake and the underlying philosophical convictions they represent. After all, the liberal contingent among us is not generally drawn to a crowd that bitterly clings to their God and their guns. :)
The event included an array of excellent speakers. After the opening comments and prayer (see the picture below), local radio host Greg Garrison (on 93.1 WIBC) challenged the crowd to use this event as a catalyst for a more sustained effort in 2010. As he pointed out, when looking for who to blame for the mess in which we find ourselves, we must first look in the mirror. After all, the out-of-control spending did not start with Obama. Though it seems to be hitting its stride in this new presidential term, George W. Bush could hardly be considered a fiscal conservative by any reliable measure. And the loss of control of the House and the Senate in 2006 lays squarely at the feet of the Republicans themselves, especially those who have attempted to rebrand and water down tested conservative principles for a kinder, more tolerant society. Garrison really challenged those in attendance to identify those leaders in our communities who represent the conservative principles we need and work to get them elected to public office. I couldn't agree more. After all, though we'd like to think that we could just rid ourselves of the whole sordid mess of politics (poly = "many", tics = "blood-sucking creatures" :), reality does not allow for that option. Better then to elect principled leaders than to abandon our participation altogether. As Garrison said, "We do not need our guns so long as we have free access to our ballot box."
The next line-up of speakers were three local citizens who were each given the opportunity to give about a 1-minute stump speech. They each presented themselves well and sufficiently fired up the crowd with sentiment that reflected the general mood of the gathered masses. In fact, the last of the three speakers was a young mother originally from Ireland. She described emigrating from Europe after having attempted to make a life for her family under socialism. Her real-world experience confirmed what history has shown repeatedly about that bankrupt philosophy. Now, she and her husband live here in the States with their three children and couldn't be happier. They became American citizens last year.
One other speaker who was present was Frank Anderson, who had been a part of the "Chaffetz Miracle" in Utah during this past election cycle. He shared how now-Congressman Jason Chaffetz campained against overwhelming odds and unseated a 6-term incumbent by 20 percentage points. Chaffetz has made quite a name for himself nationally, as much for his stated intention to sleep out of his office (to save the tax payers money) as anything else. (You can read more about the Democrat-turned-Republican here.)
Frank Anderson shared some very sobering, and quite revealing, statistics about the past two elections. In making his case that our elected representatives have long since forgotten their constituents, he pointed out the following: In 2006, the approval rating for Congress was at 16%, and yet 94% of the incumbents won relection. In 2008, their approval rating dropped to a staggering single-digit 9% for the first time in our history, and yet the relection rate actually went up to 96%. What's wrong with this picture? The answer is obvious, which is why Frank Anderson & Co. have started the Independence Caucus movement in an attempt to generate a national citizens movement to take our government back from the "Big Money" special interests groups. (You can find out more information about that effort here.)
The main speaker for the event was Dr. Bob Basso, better known as the reincarnated "Thomas Paine", whose video speeches have been burning up YouTube. He is a powerful orator, who not only presented himself quite well, but whose content fueled the stirrings of all who had taken the time to come out to the rally.
The opening prayer was given my a local Christian pastor who was Pakistani by ethnicity. He gave a brief speech and offered a prayer, both of which were unequivocal in promoting his allegiance to God and Jesus Christ. Heads were bowed during this initial act of political incorrectness on the lawn of our Indiana State Capitol. And thunderous applause reverberated afterward.
A wave of red, white, and blue flying high
"Don't tread on me!"
Standing room only at what was a very peaceful protest. (Gandhi would have been proud. :)
Radio host Abdul from "Abdul in the Morning" (on WXNT Newstalk 1430AM) talking to one of the participants at the rally.
This was a multi-generational event, with this young stalwart holding one of my most favorite quotes: "All that is essential for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke.
"Silent majority no more." Indeed, as the organizers pointed out on their Indianapolis Tea Party blog, it is quite likely that we are seeing stirrings similar to what Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto noted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
Overall, it was a very inspiring event. And the two primary organizers, Richard and Laura Behney, did a fantastic job orchestrating the entire project. In fact, if I were to offer only one constructive criticism it would be that they could have done a little bit more to better harness the palable energy from that massive crowd and given them some sense of the marching orders--where we go from here. No fault there. After all, my sense of things is that the Behneys essentially stumbled backwards into this movement, as two average citizens (He's a plumber) who were simply fed up and decided to do something about. They serve as excellent examples of what we each could be doing.
And they are doing something more. On the website, they are encouraging any interested persons to get involved. I'm planning to reach out to them and offer my assistance, and I would encourage any of you in the Indiana area to do the same (or to find similar organizations in your own state). I've preached on this blog at various points along the way about the need to engage, on a whole host of issues. And while I know that that not all of you readers here share my conservative worldview, I cannot ask you all to be more intentional about speaking out (no matter your convictions) without continuing to try and lead by example. Here's another opportunity to put my preaching into practice. :)
Stay tuned for more pictures coming in part two of my "Tea Party" posts. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this. One of our TDD readers asked me last week if I had been able to get down to the Tea Party. When I said, "Yes" he wrote back and said, "Thanks for the update...I'll be sure to let the boys know that they now know a modern day Revolutionary." Well, I don't know about that, but then again, with as much agitation as we are seeing in this country these days, this could be the beginning of a genuine revolution of sorts. Perhaps not (and hopefully not) an armed revolution, but an uprising nonetheless. Time will tell... One thing is for sure: If there is a national groundswell in the making, I don't want to look back and see that I stood idly by when action was called for. Instead, I would echo the call from "Thomas Paine", who challenged the audience to think about the future and to,
Tell your grandchildren on this monumental night of renewal and iron-willed determinationn, you began the greatest adventure of the 21st century. Tell them that you became part of the battle to rescue a mortally wounded America!
Let the second revolution begin... 
