Tea Party in Plains, Georgia
How did you spend your Independence Day? If you live in Southwest Georgia, did you remember the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence by going to the lake, watching fireworks, or grilling in the backyard or did you go to Plains, Georgia?
The Independence Day Tea Party in Plains, Georgia attracted an estimated crowd of more than 400, not too shabby for a town with a population of 700. We had watermelon, games, and close friends. We gathered in the same spirit of the signers as we took a stand against an out of control government. We even had James Brown, Jimmy Buffett, and Elvis! Okay, James Brown is a pastor from Barnesville that spoke, Elvis was sung by entertainer Jimmy Hudson, and Jimmy Buffett was a llama that shares the same name as the famous performer and is the second famous “Jimmy” in the small town of Plains.
The day started off with the pledge to the flag, an invocation, and gospel music by the Freeman Group. Guest speakers included attorney Bill Moorhead, Pastor James Brown, Tom Knighton, attorney T. Gamble, and Dr. James Hattaway. We also had several people approach the stage for open mic time and Jimmy Hudson performed Elvis classics along with other songs. This was not your standard protest!
I served as the M.C. and between speakers called Representative Sanford Bishop and Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss so they could hear the crowd that had gathered.
Unlike the previous Tea Parties in Leesburg and Albany, this event had a festival appeal. There was popcorn, watermelon, crafts, booths set up for FreedomWorks, Libertarian Party, FairTax, and the Ray McBerry campaign. There were games like horse shoes, ladder ball, sack races and “knock out the pork”, and all of the games included prizes.
If you missed this Tea Party, you missed a chance to have your voice heard by your Representative and Senators, you missed educational speakers, and you missed a lot of fun.
What’s next? On July 17 we will protest outside of Sanford Bishop’s office. Around the same time we will host town hall meetings on the healthcare bill that is being proposed in Washington. There is a national march on Washington scheduled for September 12, 2009. We can no longer point our fingers at others and say they are responsible for the tact that our government has taken. It is time that we roll up our sleeves and do the work to put the greatest nation on the earth back in her rightful place. Please join us!
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July 5th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Well it sounds like you had a lot of fun at the Tea Party. The turnout is quite a disappointment I’m sure. If you consider the fact that we combined the Leesburg and Albany Tea Parties to get this. The Leesburg Tea Party had more than 500 people alone! And the Albany Tea Party had 300 people. You should have easily gotten 800 people if not more. But that’s what happens when you destroy the grassroots part of the grassroots movement. The Tea Parties were never meant to be “regionalized” and you see the affects of it. Some early estimates by your organizers were at least 1,200 people! It had 1/3 of that. The Tea Parties were meant to remain local. Well, you had your fun. You can count me out of all of the rest of the Tea Parties in Southwest Georgia. Maybe in some other part of the country I’ll go.
July 5th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Kyle, I had a long response written to you but decided that it wasn’t worth hitting submit. It’s pretty clear that you now have an axe to grind. suffice it to say that there were likely a lot of factors that contributed to people not coming out. Heat and the holiday were two biggies, as many had family traditions that they decided to follow through with instead.
July 5th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I’m not sure why Plains should be excluded from having a local grassroots event? We will have events in every city in the region/state that wants to have it. Every town doesn’t have someone with the time/energy/knowledge to organize an event and we will help any area that wants to have one.
July 5th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Kyle,
I was not disappointed with the turnout. The census figures that I found for Plains listed it under 700 people. We drew more than half of the population to the city. Tom is correct that other issues like heat and the holiday were factors. Even you were on vacation as I recall. The grassroots movement was there. We had people come from the crowd to talk, but we also had so much more! It wasn’t just a venting opportunity. Too bad that you have packed up your toys and gone home… I do wish you a safe trip home though.
July 5th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
[...] SWGA Politics » Blog Archive » Tea Party in Plains, Georgia By Bill Waller The Independence Day Tea Party in Plains, Georgia attracted an estimated crowd of more than 400, not too shabby for a town with a population of 700. We had watermelon, games, and close friends. We gathered in the same spirit of the … SWGA Politics – http://swgapolitics.com/index/ [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 12:58 am
We would like to thank all of the organizers for your hard work and dedication. We at FairTaxSOWEGA are honored to have been included. We had a very successful day and we got to spend lots of quality time with lots of quality people talking about FairTax. Also Thank You for allowing Charlie to speak about FairTax. We look forward to working together with you again soon.
.-= Suzanne´s last blog ..467K jobs cut in June; jobless rate at 9.5 percent =-.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Glad to see the Ray McBerry campaign was there! He is a true supporter of States’ Rights and the only candidate for Georgia Governor that will put his foot down and be willing to stand up to this out-of-control federal government! Lets take back our State with Ray McBerry!
Ray McBerry is Pro-Life, Pro-Constitution, and Pro-Liberty. The man we truly need in these perilous times!
For more info on Ray and where he stands on the important issues, visit http://www.GeorgiaFirst.org
He has also recently announced the upcoming Georgia States’ Rights Tour kicking off in Cherokee County on August 1st. Visit his site for more info!
.-= Steven´s last blog ..More proof liberalism is a mental disease =-.
July 10th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/jjackson/4th-of-july-tea-party-in-plains-ga
Check it out on the Georgia page of FreedomWorks!
July 11th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Very cool! Thanks for the shout out Donna
July 11th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Kyle,
As I recall you had, as you put it, ” bid us farwell” when you did not get your way in the last meeting you attended. You are young and will find as you go through life that all must work together willing to give and take. Each group were able to get part of their desires put into the program. If you get involved in another group the chances are slim that you will always have it your way, that is just not how people work together. We had a great event because we all worked together. The issue of a smaller crowd has already been addressed. If you are not a part of the solution you are part of the problem so rather than kick and jab either help are go away.
July 15th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
4th of July Tea Party Rally in San Pedro/RPV, CA
More than 150 people showed up to celebrate the 4th of July in San Pedro/RPV, California. To read and see a video about what happened at the event, and what is being planned for the 17th of July please check out the website http://www.teapartyactnow.com Thanks for your support!! May God Bless America and all the TEA Party Patriots!!!
September 9th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Where is Tea Party going to held in Southwest Georgia Sept 12-09…. Please e- mail