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Traci White/Register & Bee
Tom Harp raises the American flag on the liberty pole, a symbol from the Revolution, during the TEA Party on Saturday at the Danville City Courthouse Plaza.
The Danville TEA Party attracted the ears and attention of local representatives and political candidates on Saturday.
The TEA Party Patriots, a group of residents who believe they are Taxed Enough Already and have protested current federal government policy, invited both former and current political candidates to introduce themselves and address Patriots’ concerns at a rally at the courthouse plaza in downtown Danville.
The rally served as a forum for residents to share their frustrations and for politicians to learn about and meet Southside voters as November’s Election Day draws closer.
“I think it’s very timely. I think the government needs to hear from the people and the people have spoken here today,” said Dave Newman, a Korean War veteran of Danville.
Newman appreciated the openness of the 10 speakers and candidates. He saw the rally as a way to return to the country’s “roots.”
“I don’t see this as a political rally. I see this as a freedom rally,” Newman said. “But I think it goes hand in hand this time of year.”
First speaker Herschel Stone, who ran for Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors in the past, sees the TEA Party as a “movement that is driven from the heart of the people.”
His speech fell in line with much of the day’s rhetoric about reducing government spending and the tax burden on Americans as he campaigned for the Fair Tax plan as Danville’s FairTax community coordinator. The plan proposes replacing income taxes with a progressive national retail sales tax.
The 150 attendees cheered to hear the plan would mean no more income tax filings.
State Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, who recently filed his candidacy for the 5th Congressional District, told TEA Party-goers that he wondered what the nation’s founding fathers would think of the country today.
“They would be heartened at one thing and that is what is represented here —a renewed American spirit,” Hurt said.
Hurt said the TEA Party represents a grave concern among Americans and residents of Southside about the future of the country when a Congress spends and accumulates debt well beyond its means. He said Southside residents need a voice in Washington that would truly represent their views and values.
Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, who is running for reelection in November, reiterated the need for the state government to cut spending when the money’s tight, just like everyday people have to do in hard times.
“People should be speaking their minds about what they think government is doing right and what government is doing wrong,” Marshall said. “Part of my job is to listen to the people — that’s who I represent.”
Mike Mondul, who is running for Danville city sheriff, encourages every Danville resident to learn about all candidates to make informed decisions.
“This is a forum of voters,” Mondul, a current Danville Police Department crime scene search unit supervisor and public information officer, said about the TEA Party.
Feda Kidd Morton, a Fluvanna County educator and Republican Party of Virginia activist who also entered the race for the 5th District seat, told attendees she would uphold constitutional principles. Morton said the more open and larger a gathering like the TEA Party, the better.
“It provides a forum that allows average citizens to express their voices,” he said. “That way we know what the people think.”
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Reader Reactions
hahahahahaha
My Dear Jelaalxx:
Barrack Hussein Obama is President of THE United States.
Barrack Hussein Obama is not President of MY United States.
ergo He’s not my President.
And Jelaalxx it’s okay. He can be your President. But he’ll never be my President. I gave him a chance and he blew it.
rocknwsc - you’re right, I am having a good time with it. I remember when a lot of people for the past eight years used to walk around and say “he’s not my President” when referring to George Bush. Payback is something else isn’t it! (lol)
As to treasonous. Absolutely not. It’s called the First Amendment. Just out of curiosity, how in the world could you believe that me saying that Barrack Hussein Obama is not my President comes anywhere remotely close to being treasonous? Seriously, I’m not being critical, I really want to hear your logic on that one.
rockit, i know you are enjoying this attention but all kidding aside, isn’t your statement a little treasonous?
ROCKIT is Barack Obama President of the United States?
hahahahahaha
He’s not my President!
He’s not my President!
He’s not my President!
He’s not my President!
Anybody know where I can get a bumber sticker?
Did you see in New Orleans where they planted that 4th grader to ask Barrack why people hate him. Jeez!!! Come the freak on!!! He is so wrapped up in himself he has to hire a kid to ask a ridiculous question like that? Is there any level this idiot won’t stoop to? Is there any shame that he won’t violate? I’m so sick of this clown. And remember, he’s done nothing, absolutely nothing to help those people on the Gulf Coast. But, wait, I forgot, that’s all Bush’s fault. Never mind Bush has been out of office for nine months now.
At least now you can see why this guy, this idiot, this clown, this ...... is not nor will he ever be my President.
He’s not my President!
He’s not my President!
He’s not my President!
He’s not my President!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS BARACK OBAMA.
IF YOU ARE A AMERICAN CITIZEN I GOT NEWS FOR YOU.
HE IS YOUR PRESIDENT
HE IS YOUR PRESIDENT
HE IS YOUR PRESIDENT
HE IS YOUR PRESIDENT
I doubt if it was a put-on by Rush, he would have not have reacted the way he did on his web site. He was really upset. Like any good buisness venture you want to go into, you need people who have good ideas and can help make you money and not lose money, like on jersey sales and ticket sales because the general public don’t like your partners.
I don’t know much about country clubs because I don’t belong to any but from the way some talk on this blog they know all about it so we will just have to take their word on it.
Im just the average joe trying to make a living and go to a game or two once in a while. Im glad though that I won’t have to look up in the owners box and see Rush looking down.
FBO. Rush, an obese druggie, and Glenn Beck, a whining cry baby don’t scare me. They preach to the choir which is their simple minded audience of sheep who believe that everything President Obama does is wrong.
As for Bush keeping us safe for 8 years - he was in office 8 years and it was only 9 months into his administration that we suffered the deaths of over 3000 individuals on our shores on one day - you cannot say that Bush kept us safe for 8 years since we were obviously not safe for the first 9 months of his administration. This attack occurred even though there was intelligence claiming that bin laden would attack America. That’s not keeping us safe, in my books. And for the next 7 months, he kept us safe at what expense to freedom - take your shoes off at the airport; don’t pack anything in containers larger than 3 ounces; miss your plane because you have been profiled (middle eastern) and are detailed (next plane to Git-mo?). He kept us “safe” through fear. If you give him credit for no attacks after 9/11 you must also recognize that it was under his watch that we were attacked ON 9/11. You believe that Bush kept us safe because Bush said he was keeping us safe; all Bush tried to do was to keep us in fear that without him we would not be safe. As a nation we were abused by this thinking; had this been a parent doing the same to a child, social services would remove the child. Bush just made us less safe by invading a sovereign Islamic country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.
As for the Tea Party folks, they would shout down any belief that was not their own. Did you sleep through August? Those were Tea Partiers shouting down our Senators and members of congress during the town forums. They deserve mocking and being made fun of; they are a mockery to civil discourse.
And I do agree with you about the lobbyists; we need to take this country back, but the Tea Partyers are not the grass roots groups they are made out to be; they are funded by the same corporate lobbyists who pay your Senators and members of congress.
Peace to you my friend.
With the NFL and Rush Limbaugh, I really believe that was a bunch of nothing. In fact, I think it’s very possible that Rush may have done that just to rattle their cage—believe it or not, he’s been known to do that.
But, have you considered this. The NFL is like a country club. Like any decent country club, they get to vote members in or out. And for all of you out there that honestly believe the NFL is some bastion of tolerance as evidenced by their response to Rush Limbaugh, here comes a most interesting inquiry—- how many NFL teams are owned by minorities? None? My goodness, where’s the outrage? Where’s the protests? Where’s the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons? Oh wait, wait. I get it. This is not about who isn’t a part of the country club. This is only about how the country club’s ACTIONS are seen with respect to being politically correct. Silly me, I had always thought the NFL was a business.
Some people will never get it with respect to Fox News. Here’s a real simple question for you. BEFORE Fox News, where could conservatives in general and Republicans in particular go to get a fair hearing in broadcast media? ABC? CBS? NBC? CNN? HLN? TBS? Answer: Nowhere. That’s right, nowhere. The “mainstream media” has been so eaten up with liberal viewpoints and talkmasters that the Republicans had no chance of getting their views out without that “spin” liberals just love to put on ideas they disagree with. Everybody knows this, I mean it’s not like it was secret. The folks over at Fox recognized this and made what now appears to be a brilliant business decision. The created a news network where conservatives could have a fair chance to present their ideas. That’s what liberals object to.
You notice you never hear JP or anyone else criticizing the inherent bias of the other networks (especially MSNBC). Liberals have everything else sewn up, what’s wrong with the conservatives having one network they can go to? That’s why liberals are so upset with Fox. It’s not the viewpoints that are expressed there that makes them mad, it’s the very idea that they give a stage to conservatives. Think about that the next time you want to discuss a “free exchange of ideas”. It’s not enough that liberals disagree with conservatives, they don’t even want them to be heard. How sick is that in a supposed free society?
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