More than one liberal acquaintance confessed envy that they weren’t the ones to think of this first. Then in the same breath they proceed to disparage the rallies as “amateurish, poorly organized and immaterial”. Further displaying their characteristic confusion. Other liberals clog up message boards with postings accusing the movement of being financed by some eminence gris.
Playboy more reputable then the NY Times
No less a reputable publication than Playboy (No sarcasm intended, not completely anyway. Can you seriously deny that viz a viz the New York Times or Newsweek, Playboy has more merit? At least Playboy only publishes pictures of fake boobs not fake missiles. And but for possible palpitations, Playboy has never caused mass riots and multiple deaths like certain Newsweek stories.) ran their version of an investigative article accusing the Samuel Adams Alliance of somehow being involved and financed by Koch Foundation and la di da. Of course, they had to retract and return to conducting the type of undercover investigations that they do best.
Conservatives never hold protests
The line on conservatives was that “they never rally,” and it was true. For the most part we really didn’t think that we had any reason rally. For what? Should we have had counter “pro war ” rallies to the liberal “anti war” ones? Who the hell is “pro war”?
Most conservatives have a deep belief that common sense will prevail and that the lunatics will fail no matter how often they rally and make fools of themselves. For the most part we were right, but you know what? The times they are a changin’, the lunatics are now in charge of the asylum and we have to take our country back form the crazies.
Low budget protest and proud of it
Those of us that participated scoff at the idea that this was some high budget rally complete with a stadium in Germany, free beer and a rock band. We had one bullhorn, some great home made signs and that which Soros’ money can’t buy – lots of love for our country. Some rallies across the nation even lacked the bullhorn.
I am proud to say that yes, WE WERE AMATEURISH! Oh yeah, we didn’t know s..t from shinola when it came to organizing a rally and you know what? That’s what’s making us dangerous to the left and to the would-be dictators in the White House!
True grass roots movement
The other thing that really has the old hippies shaking in their Birkenstocks and the new hippies in their hi-top basketball shoes is that the protests were completely decentralized, advertised by word of mouth (or should I say word of blogs) and they show no sign of letting up.
The whole world knows of the heroic plea that Rick Santelli, risking his job (and let’s pray that’s all he is risking) made on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (all you bloggers who called it the Chicago Stock Exchange please keep it up I need readers).
Humble origins
The man has become immortal and in a short time we’ll see how close to Paul Revere his legend will rise. But the thing is, while he certainly brought the movement nationwide, the origins were in far more humble and low-key places than CNBC.
I just found out today that a certain woman who goes by the blogging name Liberty Belle, née Keli Carender, is the one who single-handedly started the entire movement. Here is Michelle Malkin’s account of this remarkable mother cum blogger cum newly christened folk legend’s determination to get this thing off the ground.
I bet that like me, the vast majority of the participants at the rallies didn’t have a clue who she was. And that’s what makes these rallies so powerful – they have a life of their own independent of Rick Santelli, or Michelle Malkin or Keli Garner, and certainly independent of the most humble, yours truly.
Tea Parties may unite the right and the left
But what they really, really, really, should be afraid of is this little secret. Talking to the attendees, I found to my amazement, a handful of far left liberals. I kid you not!
There they were – young and sporting the de rigeur regalia and insignias of their certain far left liberal off-shoot . Heck, at first I thought that they were there to start trouble, so I positioned myself close to them so I could help them calm down if they got too excited. Again to my amazement, there they were listening and more often than not nodding in collective agreement with the speakers.
Most moving was a woman with a sign which asked that the $900 million dollars spent in Gaza be spent to fund homeless programs in the US. Yes she lived and worked at a homeless shelter!
Now I am not ready to call these rallies a unifying bridge between the left and the right, but a common enemy, a common cause, and the certain, soon-to-be common suffering will do wonders.
Yes we are amateurs. None of us there was a veteran professional agitator. Yes we are average Americans pushed to the point where we have no choice but to come out in the streets.
YES WE ARE AMATEURS. YES WE ARE AMERICA!