As Tea Party members assembled to fight for the termination of the Internal Revenue Service, the movement which was once thought to be thrown overboard and left for dead saw a resurrection.
Political speakers and protesters’ signs were congruent in one thing only — that the rally promised to be the “largest Tea Party protest since 2010” was about much more than the IRS’ blatant targeting of conservative groups.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Capitol to collectively raise their voices on a variety of issues ranging from Obamacare to a struggling economy.
“People are awakening,” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said at the rally. “A majority of people are saying ‘we don’t trust the government now.’”
And awaken they did.
The protest, lasting from noon to 2 p.m. featured speakers such as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“I’m a little bit confused,” Cruz joked. “The New York Times told me the Tea Party was dead. The IRS told me the Tea Party is dead.
“There is nothing more encouraging than millions of Americans all across this country standing up for liberty, standing up for the free market and standing up for the Constitution.”
But it was television and radio personality Glenn Beck who really brought the spirit of revival to the lawn of protestors.
Potentially channeling the eclectic ministers and men of faith Beck brought on stage during his enigmatic and lengthy speech, Beck preached to the crowd standing before him.
“If we want the country to change, we have to change fundamentally as people,” Beck said. “America, your job has just begun.”
The conservative pundit admonished the current administration for promoting a war in Syria — “this again will bring nothing but death and destruction,” he said — and its inability to serve the American people.
“The government is not the protector of your rights. It’s the chief violator of those rights,” Beck said.
He sermonized to the crowd, encouraging them to embrace the practices of Martin Luther King, Jr., and to be the next Abraham Lincoln.
“This is our time and the long march to civil rights is here,” Beck said.
For John Rice, a 22-year-old self-proclaimed artist, that march took him from Baltimore to the front steps of the nation’s Capitol. While a student at Towson University, Rice was a part of the college’s classical liberals club, an organization which focused on philosophy and freedom.
“I don’t want to change [the IRS], I want it gone,” he told Red Alert Politics at the rally.
“What is really being charged is our labor and efforts,” Rice said. “That used to be called slavery. What percent are you comfortable with being a slave?”
