Here are some quick images from the first of two tea party protests scheduled for today at Congressman John Olver’s office on Main Street
The people assembled were holding their signs and getting a fair amount of response from the drivers passing by. I only noticed one person giving a thumbs down while horn after horn was beeped in their favor.
I talked to people both on camera and off. Justin Brooks got involved in the movement in January mostly to find out for himself what was actually going on. He saw the negative spin in the media and the constant use of the …ism card, “race”-ism, “sex”-ism etc…etc…etc.
What he saw instead was average working people who were not at all what the media claimed to be. I met those people today and as I’ve seen over and over again they are the working class folk that was once the mainstay of the democratic party but feel that they are now being ignored.
Phillip Porter was first
His wife Arlene was very hesitant to go on camera, but she agreed in the end:
The Police asked the protesters to stay to the sidewalk and to be sure not to block parking spaces in front of Congressman Olver’s office, another officer swung by later. He said he had see the occasional protest maybe two a year in the 17 years he had been on the force. This was was no trouble, their main concern was to make sure that egress was not blocked for local businesses.
Jeff Wilson supported Scott Brown and he supports the tea party movement.
Michael Wertz had never protested before but he was protesting today
Some people passed by asking questions and some were interested. One man who worked at a local business had never seen any kind of protest like this (excepting the planned parenthood ones) in Fitchburg before. He also agreed that the health care bill was poor and if he was in congress would vote against it. Unlike the protesters he objected to the lack of a public option. He believed that house democrats should have the courage of their convictions.
When you are dealing with the most liberal congressman in the house it is unlikely that the protesters were going to change his mind, but they wanted to be sure that even if he didn’t change his mind that he was aware of how they felt. Anne Andrews put it best:
“We are tired of an out of control congress.” she said, she was tired of being taken for granted. “We are not dust in the wind!”
Update: Michelle and Robert Stacy are on top of the national stuff.
Update 2: Another Instalanche thanks muchly Glenn. Thanks for stopping by. Learn why Roger Maris is superior to Mitt Romeny, See why the president’s “courage” argument is bogus, learn the wisdom of the Barber Shop, and remember if you want your story told anywhere in the country I’ll do it for $1k plus expenses, “Have Fedora will Travel“
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