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Follow us on TwitterTea Party criticizes Rural Tour in Pittsylvania County
Traci White
Energy Secretary Steven Chu addresses the assembled crowd at the Rural Tour listening forum in Blairs on Saturday.
News of Saturday’s Rural Tour in Pittsylvania County has done laps around the Web after county sheriff’s deputies asked members of the Danville Tea Party Committee to leave the farm where the forum was hosted.
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Pittsylvania County last weekend. They toured Piedmont BioProducts and hosted a community forum at a local farm. The tour is visiting different rural areas around the country to talk with local residents about government programs for rural communities and to listen to each area’s concerns.
Sgt. M.C. Davis of the Virginia State Police said that the security detail with the secretaries of energy and agriculture brought the local authorities’ attention to a group of people, which included Bobbie Conner and Nigel Coleman, during the community forum. Coleman is the chairman of the Danville Tea Party Committee, and Conner is its vice chairman.
“Obviously, you look into these things when people act differently than the rest of the crowd,” Davis said.
Conner and Coleman were standing beside a block of seats, about six rows back. The group talked audibly to each other during the forum and looked upset at times with the secretaries’ answers and some questions. They left just before the question-and-answer session ended.
Sheriff’s deputies approached them after seeing the group pull protest signs out of their car, said Capt. Donald Motley of the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.
“When they were approached by law enforcement, the event itself was over,” Motley said. “They told them that if they were going to put those up, they would have to leave.”
Organizers held the event on private property, which allowed the property owner to decide whether law enforcement could remove people.
Buddy Mayhew, who owns the farm where the community forum was held, said he hadn’t heard about the incident until afterward.
Mayhew talked to sheriff’s deputies before the community forum began Saturday about whether they should ask anyone to leave his property. He said that if protesters were there and behaving, then they could stay.
“But if something occurs that is of a disruptive nature, that has no place to be there, you have my permis-sion to ask them to leave,” Mayhew said he told the deputies.
The state police followed up on the incident Monday when a trooper visited Conner’s house.
“They were questioned about their actions during the meeting,” Davis said. “We were trying to inquire that they were asking a question and didn’t know how to go about it.”
The trooper got the information he needed, and the investigation ended.
“As far as I know, it was over with,” Davis said. “They were satisfied with the answer they received.”
The Monday police visit to Conner’s home and the request for the Tea Party members to leave on Saturday have led to other allegations from the committee that the event was staged. Organizers and those who asked questions deny that claim.
Diane Arnold, director of the Danville office of the Longwood Small Business Development Center, at-tended the event and asked a question. Arnold said that she was invited to the forum after a news article about her organization earlier in the year attracted the attention of politicians in Washington.
“I was called and told that folks in D.C. were very tickled to see a group like ours,” she said.
She said that they told her the government was planning a tour of Southside and that they would like her to come to it. Arnold said she got an invitation from the local Chamber of Commerce and then got a phone call from Secretary Chu’s office on July 15.
“She said that if you want to ask a question, just be sure to get close to a microphone,” Arnold said. “She called out of courtesy to make sure we knew about it.”
Arnold added that she was not asked what her question would be, and no one asked to preview her ques-tion.
“I don’t feel like it had been planned, or we would have gotten different questions,” she said.
Two other community members who asked questions also said they were not approached by anyone and were not told to have questions prepared. Ray Emerson Jr., of Pittsylvania County, said he stood up three or four times before the girl with the microphone noticed him.
“As far as something being preplanned between me and the secretary of agriculture is ludicrous,” he said.
Eloise Nenon, of Chatham, also had the chance to ask a question. She asked about solar energy.
“No one asked me to speak, but the people who know me, know that I don’t have to be asked,” she said.
Coleman and Conner said they thought the event was staged after talking with someone who was there. The two men said the person was called in advance about the community forum.
“That leads me to believe it was all set up,” Conner said.
The forum gave cabinet members of President Barack Obama’s administration the chance to see Pittsylvania County and to directly interact with its residents. But that one interaction between law enforcement and the Tea Party Committee has overshadowed the forum, forcing everyone to spend the last four days figuring out what happened and turning the focus away from the Rural Tour’s impact on the community.
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Reader Reactions
InTheSpirit:
I think we just finished with 8 years of seeing things from your side. I’m glad it worked out for you, but many will be feeling the aftermath of W for years to come. Not to worry, you guys just blame it on Obama and act like he created the mess.
As far as being a bleeding heart liberal, you got me all wrong. I voted for Reagan and Daddy Bush, but No Show George and 5 Deferment Dick were complete failures and they should be held accountable.
I’m pretty sure I’m chasing my tail here so I’m out.
By the way, thank you for your service to our country. Because of the efforts and sacrifices of you and other soldiers we are able to have these discussions.
Yeti
1. I’m not a fan of Rush Limbaugh. Never have been. Don’t even know what time slot he’s on FOX. Can you help me with that? I hear you and others spout off so much about Rush Limbaugh, maybe I should start watching his show, if for no other reason than to see what in the world all the fuss is about. So help me out with that, what time is he on?
2. When you first wrote about college loans, you didn’t say anything about financial aid at colleges or universities. I thought we were talking about the loans that parents all over the country take out to send their kids to college. If you want to talk strictly the financial aid that colleges provide to there students, well, duh(?), we know in that situation it’s for students who need help they can’t get from Mom or Dad. That goes without saying. For those other students who get conventional loans for college, my earlier comments are certainly descriptive of a large number of those families—not all—but a large number.
3. Just out of curiosity, why do YOU have a problem with corporate officers taking multimillion dollar bonuses? Unless, of course, you own stock in that particular company. Other than that, on what grounds do you feel it is any of YOUR business what bonus schedule a company has for its executives?
4. On the employment numbers, remember, they are not my numbers. These are stats that come out of the Obama Administration. And on this whole fillibuster thing, I told you before I wasn’t familiar with recent fillibusters. What more do you want? If I didn’t know, I didn’t know. BTW, I still don’t know for a fact, I’m just taking your word for it.
5. As to worst economy since 1929, here comes a history lesson for you—- Jimmy Carter!!! Need I say more?
6. Sand in ear’s etc., really kind of disappointed in you Yeti. Everytime I think I can have a civil exchange with one of you liberals, you just go and mess it up. Very disappointing.
Rockit:
I believe you and the poster before have just pulled the covers back on the real reason why the “ Limbaugh right” does not like Obama.
You can speak with any worker in the financial aid department of pretty much any college or university and find out that a majority of the financial aid is need based. There are many people that have great paying jobs, that don’t have the $80K plus in their wallets. That is for an, in state public school. You can tack on another $60K to that for a private school or out of state public. That is more than medical school cost 10 years ago.
I chuckle everytime I see a Goodyear employee with a W ‘04 or a McCain/Palin bumper sticker. If Goodyear did not have a government contract (which requires products sold to the government to be manufactured in the US) they would shut this plant down and make the tires in China before sunrise.
I have nothing against millionaires. I do have a problem with corporate officers taking huge multimillion dollar bonuses when the companies they are working for are losing money and on the verge of closing down.
Your opinion on the employment numbers has more spin to it than Fox “News”. You act as though you are well versed in government matters, but did not realize the Bush congress filibustered even once, when they actually did it 62 times, shattering the all time record. I can guess where your info is coming from.
Again, EIGHT years of my way or the highway Bush/Cheney leadership created the worst economy since 1929, not six months of Obama.
I must ask; how do you keep the sand from getting in your ear’s and nostril’s?
(ROFLA) That’s it!! That’s the mentality we’ve been looking far. Anybody that can spell like that is certainly somebody whose opinion is worthy of consideration. (LOL) (LOL)
All you folks out there supporting President Obama’s health insurance plan. You need to write in and thank TQua’n(whatever) for so clearly crystalizing the Obama position. One look at that post and we all ought to be able to agree that something drastic needs to be done with our public education system!!
And these are the kind of folks who support Obama. Amazing!!
Yeti
Thanks for the information on the filibusters, I didn’t know.
On the TEA party millionaires, I know of several people who have attended some of the TEA party rallies. Of the people I know, the “richest” one is an insurance agent making about $60K a year. Many of the others are retirees and there are a couple of school teachers and a few Goodyear line workers. I don’t personally know of any millionaires in that group; but, I’m sure there probably are. Just like guys like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Bruce Springsteen, and many many other Hollywood heavy weights belong to and contribute to the Democratic Party. If you feel that there’s something wrong with being a millionaire, then you must really hate the Democratic Party because they got a bunch of’em.
Another minor point: You say that most of the kids that have huge college loans are from families who cannot afford $20,000 a year in-state tuition. How exactly do you figure that? Over the years I have known dozens of people who got college loans for their kids when they were perfectly capable of stroking a check for the whole load. They got the loans because of the cheap money factor: the interest they paid on the loans was so much less than the interest they could make on their investments, why not take advantage of that difference? From an investment standpoint, that makes all the sense in the world.
On the 1929 depression thing. There’s no empirical data to support your conclusion that, lacking an Obama election, we would have slipped into a depression. None. In fact, just the opposite is true. If Obama gets all the programs he is promoting, there’s a real risk of the country going bankrupt in 6-10 years. That’s basically what Douglas Elmendorf reported to Congress a couple of weeks ago and because of his honesty in showing the real costs of Obamanomics, specifically national health insurance, he is now being ridiculed by the Democratic leaders Reid and Pelosi. Yet, he’s their own guy—- he is not from a partisan political group, he’s from the Congressional Budget Office. Apparently, the Democrats are beginning to believe their own hype and that’s a very dangerous place to be.
On the unemployment figures. I’m saying that since Obama came into office, the unemployment rate increased from 7.4% to 9.5%. That’s a 2 point bump on his watch. This is why that’s important. He sold the American people (and snookered the Congress) on the idea that if they would support and pass HIS stimulus bill, that bill would stymie the growth in umemployment by summertime. It didn’t happen. He was wrong. Yet, even though he was clearly wrong in his economic prediction, he still refuses to “own” the economy like any of the other presidents did by this late into their first year. I understand that campaigning is a full time job for any politician. But, as President, at some point you have to stop campaigning and start leading. Obama is yet to do this.
Rockit:
The 110th Congress filibustered a record 62 times during 2007 and 2008 session. The previous record was 41, I believe.
The UVA grads (and any others) waiting tables are to be commended for their efforts for doing what they can to make ends meet. Most of the kids that have huge college loans are from families who cannot afford $20,000 (plus) yearly in-state tuition. That does not apply to all the TEA party millionaires here in town.
Things are a bit different now then in 1929 and a direct comparisson would require more than a few paragraphs. My point was; if we continued on the same road, the country would have slipped into a depression. I assume you are implying that the current unemployment numbers are from 6 months of Obama, not eight years of Bush/Cheney? REALLY!
Pug lover: The event was held on private land, but was open to the public for questions to be asked and information to be disseminated. There was an article in the R & B inviting EVERYONE to come. What kind of government is it that doesn’t want to hear from all the people? Isn’t it their responsibility to hear from EVERYONE? To shut out one group because they hold different viewpoints is not what this country is supposed to be about. Also, it is my understanding that Mr. Mayhew gave permission for people to be removed IF THEY WERE CAUSING TROUBLE. It sounds like that did not happen. I also understand that, at the time, Mr. Mayhew was not even aware these people were asked to leave. As the owner of the property, it should have been his decision. It does sound like Mr. Periello refused to allow these people to ask questions and then had them removed simply because he doesn’t like their point of view and did not want to give them a chance to vocalize it. I don’t want a representative that doesn’t care what I think! They are not serving me when they act like this!
For those who like to liken this recession to the Great Depression (like our Pres): we are nowhere near a great depression. At least we weren’t until Obama took over. Yes, things were shaky but, handled properly, the recession should have been on the upswing by now and unemployment should not have gotten to almost 10% and still heading up. Obama and this congress own everything about the economy since Jan and it isn’t good. The stimulus bill was a joke, the cap and tax bill will do nothing but kill jobs and raise costs for every American and this Health care Nightmare will likely push us over the edge if enacted. Even Roosevelt’s Treasury Secretary during the depression said that the New Deal and other programs Roosevelt put in place to save the people from themselves actually made things worse and lengthened the depression. The only thing that ripped them out of the depression was WWII. I guess some people just never learn from the mistakes of the past.
Yeti - When did the Republicans filibuster? I don’t remember them doing that.
As for your UVA grads, if they qualified for $80,000 in school loans, I wouldn’t worry too much. They are going to be just fine. Once this recession breaks, they with their expensive degrees will be at the head of the hiring line. I’m glad they are at least trying though. You’re not chastising them because they are willing to wait tables, are you?
Referring to the Bush economy as a near depression is not accurate. None of the economic indicators (i.e., unemployment, prime interest, inflation, etc.,) support such a conclusion. In fact, when Bush left office, the unemployment rate was 7.4%. Now, after six months of Obama, that rate is up to 9.5%. Who is guiding us toward a depression?
You right-wingers are going to have a long 7 years and six months in front of you. You should really gather your information from sources other than Rush and Fow “News”.
If you really think our current healthcare system is good, you obviously are fortunate enough to still have a job, and one that actually provides healthcare benifits. Or, you are retired and also provided with coverage from your past employer or are one of the many local multi-millionaires. Good for you and I’m glad everything is good in your world.
You really should turn off the Rush and Fox “News” and go take a drive around town. Our country was basically on the verge of a second great depression when Bush handed over the keys .
I know honors graduates from UVA that are waitng tables, because no one is hiring and they have $80,000.00 in school loans staring them in the face. I wonder how good their health insurance is? I see people who have been released from their companies after 30 plus years of service and after their severence ends have no health insurance and looking at $1500.00 a month premiums for a personal health policy. I have seen hospital bills that include $30.00 charges for Tylenol and $15.00 Band-aids. I could go on here forever.
The right had complete control of the government for 6 of the last 8 years and filibuster protection in the last two. Which the right exercised a record number of times. I guess for some of you things worked out okay, but I can assure you that a majority of your neighbors, relatives, friends, etc. did not have the same experience.
Your side had a chance and blew it in a fashion that has not been seen since the great depression. Six months into the new administration you are pointing fingers everywhere but in the “right” direction and acting like this mess was created by President Obama.
Again, I am glad that so many of you are multi-millionaires or your with a finacialy sound company that can survive this economic mess and still provide you with your benifits. Keep an eye on their balance sheet. Your situation can change in the blink of an eye through no fault of your own, just ask your neighbor.
liberalgirl, I didn’t open my mouth. Unlike you apparently, I don’t move my mouth when I type or read.
I pointed out that you are a hypocrite, because you yourself and liberals like you are nothing but name-callers. If pointing that out somehow translates to “touching a nerve” in your estimation, then congratulations, be sure that Shiela gives you a cookie next time you check in with her.
Oh and you might want to get your keyboard checked, it seems the space bar isn’t functioning correctly. (it’s the long one at the bottom without any of the number/letter things on it)
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