4,500 Attend Olympia Tea Party (Update)
The Tea Party in Olympia has just broken up. Slated as one of the biggest in the state, the event lived up to its billing. The Washington State Patrol estimates that between 4,000 and 5,000 people packed the Capitol Campus, covering the Capitol steps and spilling out onto the lawn and nearby streets.
Evergreen Freedom Foundation spokesperson Scott St. Clair said the event had a festive atmosphere, much like it was a public holiday.
"We had no idea so many would come out," St. Clair said over the phone. "There were hundreds of signs - some of them pretty witty - kids, old people, families. It was kind of like a political convention with signs from this city and that across the state. This is the people taking back their government."
EFF sponsored the "No Tax - Push Back" rally in conjunction with the BIAW, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce and other organizations. However, the event was transformed thanks to the nationwide Tea Party movement.
A spokesman for the State Patrol's campus office, Sgt. Ted DeHart, said the event was orderly and festive with "no hints of trouble". He also did not see anything in the way of counter-protestors in the crowd.
"One of the long-term employees at the Capitol said it was the largest event he had seen in several years," DeHart added.
Apparently the State Patrol also took aerial photos of the event in order to use them as a measure how to gauge the size of future events.
(The Seattle Weekly will be covering events at the Westlake Tea Party rally today at 5:30)
13 comment(s)
Tim B. says:
Wow, Washington citizens seem to be stirring from their lethargy. Will it translate to votes on election day?
Posted On: Wednesday, Apr. 15 2009 @ 3:11PM
Molly says:
Way to go Washingtonians! Way to stand up for your rights and show that conservatives have a voice in this state too!
Posted On: Wednesday, Apr. 15 2009 @ 3:45PM
Keith says:
This was a great beginning in letting our elected officials know that the sleeping giant is awakening. Fiscal responsibility is no longer an option if we wish to preserve that which we hold as a given in the US - Freedom!
Posted On: Wednesday, Apr. 15 2009 @ 4:07PM
Eric Seeley says:
Fantastic!!! I'm so glad and encouraged to see people come out and share the truth in love.
Posted On: Wednesday, Apr. 15 2009 @ 5:41PM
Xkrat says:
I don't see the protest as a conservative thing. These are all just hard working Americans completely fed up!
Posted On: Wednesday, Apr. 15 2009 @ 9:00PM
William says:
They are fed up... With Obama!TAXES AND STUPID BAIL OUTS THAT ARE DOING NOTHING FOR THE ECONOMY
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 16 2009 @ 8:11AM
William says:
They are fed up... With Obama!TAXES AND STUPID BAIL OUTS THAT ARE DOING NOTHING FOR THE ECONOMY
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 16 2009 @ 8:12AM
Bob Nichol says:
Liberal’s take note: You may have just awakened the sleeping lion. (The silent majority)
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 16 2009 @ 9:19AM
Steven Erickson says:
It was great!!!!
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 16 2009 @ 11:45AM
Whatever says:
Where was everyone when Bush was spending our tax money on bombs? Cowering from Cheney? ;P
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 16 2009 @ 12:40PM
LeeAnne says:
I was there -- it was wonderful. Not just conservatives, but planty of moderates, independents and even some democrats who are unhappy with the out-of-control spending both here and in the other Washington. The real test will be next November. If democrats want to keep their majority then, here's a suggestion: Stop throwing our money away on pork, entitlements, vote-buying, and socialist programs. And don't raise our taxes now to cover for your mismanagement of the budget when times were good.
(Note to those who say the recent spending and sky-rocketing deficit is ALL due to the Bush administration: Congress controls the purse strings. Democrats have controlled congress for the last 2+ years. If they hadn't wanted to waste our money, I doubt President Bush could have forced them to.)
Posted On: Thursday, Apr. 16 2009 @ 2:55PM
Maureen says:
What a great group of people! Friendly but serious, optimistic but serious, informed AND serious. We want to protect America from this destructive bailout mentality. Deficits ARE taxes...and they are going to land squarely on your children and grandkids. We are sensible folks, we understand we need to pay taxes...but we are not clueless. WE DO NOT WANT taxes raised, squandered or passed on to the next generation.
Posted On: Friday, Apr. 17 2009 @ 9:43AM
JayDub says:
OMG 4,000 people! Less than the population of Omak? Must be a movement.
Posted On: Sunday, Jan. 17 2010 @ 6:35PM