The Tea Party Express, a political action group based in Sacramento, Cal., made a “Whistle Stop” in Franklin County on Friday, Sept. 4. The group is making a cross country trip from Sacramento to Washington D.C. with 33 stops planned in a 15 day period.
The tour will culminate on Saturday, Sept. 12 with a march on capital hill protesting big government. The stop in Franklin County was not orginally included on the group’s itinerary, but was added at an East Texas supporter’s request.
Word of the stop spread quickly, and approximately 750 people attended the rally. A majority of those in attendance were carrying homemade signs decrying their stance on a variety of subjects from taxes to healthcare to government regulations. Some of the signs read, “Time to Read Animal Farm,” “No more taxes,” “Obamination,” and “Save M’care.”
There were approximately 60 Franklin County residents in attendance. Many supporters had traveled from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Others spent two to three hours on the road to attend, and arrived around noon for the 2:45 p.m. appearance. The three buses in the entourage arrived at the rest stop at 3:40, and a wave of cheering supporters immediately surrounded them.
“We anticipated 20-25 people would be here,” said Levi Russell, the communications director for the group. “This crowd just goes to show how much people want change.”
Upon arrival, Mark Williams and Deborah Johns, spokespersons for the tour, climbed into the back of a pickup belonging to George Olsen of Paris to address the crowd. The tour is not a slick operation with staff organizing choreographed performances. It is a grass roots effort to gather support to “take back America for the people.”
What ensued was a mini pep rally to stir support against deficit spending, proposed health care reform and irresponsible bailouts. The crowd was led in saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem and God Bless America. After 30 minutes of speeches and pictures, the group reboarded their buses to continue to their next stop in Little Rock.
Click here for more photos of the Tea Party Express stop in Franklin County Texas.
