I'm still waiting for the punchline. This rally was about ... what exactly? Other, of course, than the silly slogans substituting for a real understanding of policy. Most of the signs expressed sentiments that would embarass a junior high debate team: "Throw the bums out" "It's my money, not the government's!"

A few questions: what new taxes? Congress has before it a tax cut for the overwhelming majority of taxpayers. The Bush tax cuts have been extended. Locally, cuts passed int he last few years are unchanged. These people are pissed off by a cigarette tax hike? Please.

As usual, this crowd has no answers, just generic bitching. Cut spending? What in particular? Oh, er, uh ...

Throw the bums out? Uh, yeah, great plan.

And yes, I read your speech Justin. Vague, vaguer, and amazingly even more vague. Sure, your usual blather about the pending fall of civilization. Your understanding of history is weak indeed for a self-proclaimed conservative.

What I found most interesting, however, was the sign about 1776 and 1984. Of course, the best example of Orwell's nightmare come true in recent history is the Bush administration's torture program. But I'm sure the sign holder wasn't thinking of that.

Justin did a good job with his speech and covering the event. There were plenty of people there, and they know what they want. They want to have people like Pragmatist and the other cronies at RIF, to stay out of their pockets. This state is in tough shape. The nation is a mess. Neither party has done a stellar job in their stewardship. People came yesterday because they are frustrated, and I hope we see their smiling faces more. If people wake up and do minimal research before they vote, alot of the foolishness will end.

Most people attending the RI Tea Party brought their own signs, which presumably represent their own genuinely held beliefs. I saw a very wide range of thoughts, from all over the center-right political spectrum. Some were very generic and some were very specific to certain issues.

Sometimes, the best ideas are ones that are summed up in simple slogans or phrases. My favorite has always been "Government is not the solution to our problems; government IS the problem!" Reagan is still right!

The rally wasn't just about taxes, although the generally high levels of taxation on those who are productive is a big problem. It is about out of control spending using borrowed money, that we will probably never be able to repay as a nation without devaluing our fiat currency through hyperinflation or the complete collapse of our economic system. My guess is that a lot of the protesters are against that.

My favorite sign was
..No Taxation for Gay Civil Rights...

Who made this event a anti-gay hate rally?

Nice job, Justin. I have a photo of you, too. I'll send it to you tomorrow.

Pragmatist, I was there with a sign that read: "It's not your party, it's your performance: You're FIRED!" Cute, huh?

It's not about party. It's not about governors or presidents. It's about the gang of thieves in the State House and in Congress who fail to listen to the people they are supposed to represent. For example, hundreds of thousands nationwide clearly told their senators and reps to vote NO on the bailout bills, yet locally our four greedy losers jumped on the partisan bandwagon and voted yes - against our wishes but in their self-interest and the interest of their big corporate contributors - and acted as if they did us a favor afterward. It's that attitude I most protest. Enough IS enough.

As feisty as I can be, I never attended a protest before in my life. But I was there on Wednesday. And I will do it again. The money grab was too big this time; like dominoes, spending bills one after the other passed in just weeks. This reckless behavior in Washington - and similar behavior in Rhode Island - has to be stopped.

Congress and state legislators sit in legacy roles, most in office before, during, and after the limited terms of presidents and governors. Yet they have the audacity to point to the single guy in charge for the messes in which we find ourselves, as if they have no responsibility for the problems. It's time THEY are held accountable.

Well put, Lucie, provided you can look at your own senator and rep with the same critical eye you can see the others. But as long as everyone says, "They're a bunch of crooks...BUT NOT MY GUY!", things will never change. If the people who attended yesterday want to scream "Throw the bums out!" they better be prepared to start with their own, like I am.

Rhody's exactly right. Or maybe that's an insult to him, so I'll say Rhody's exactly correct. :)

Not only do the people who were so fired up about that event need to look at their own elected leaders with a critical eye, but they also need to think about mounting their own campaign against them or helping to recruit candidates to run against them. It does no good to send out lots of anger and hatred against our own politicians if there still isn't a choice for someone else to vote for.

This isn't aimed at a specific party, I'm not necessarily angling for more Republicans to run (though that would be nice), but if you have a bad Republican representative, run against him or her. Or if you want to run and don't want to do it as a Republican against a Democrat, then do it as an Independent or look into the Green or Moderate parties.

Don't just complain, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!

I love the Left , media, and those others who try to deride the protest as not having a focus or that the participants did not know (or were educated about) what they were there for...Anyone who has seen a "leftist/progressive" (using that as a broad generalization) protest see signs that are for any number of causes whether they are related or not.

If you don't believe me check out zombietime.com

The Tea Parties were about people in the country who are fed up with (and feeling disenfranchised) an increasingly distant local, state, and federal government....governments whose priorities no longer represent the view of the vast majority of Americans, not just the "squeaky wheels". They are worried about an increasing nanny & police state. They are worried that some of the same actions that put us in this mess and being used to clean it up.

From what I gather, the participants were Obama supporters who realize that they have been duped and are not getting the "Hope and Change" that was promised....Republican party loyalists, Libertarians, and Conservatives that have realized that their silence over the past few years of the Bush Administration contributed to this mess ((although somewhat understandable with the never ending criticism from the MSM and others about every single thing that Bush did...right or wrong...and not wanting to join that chorus))...and those individuals who are having a real political awakening for the 1st time.

This was a beginning not an end. This was about letting our government know that we are awake and are paying attention again.

None taken, Patrick. Believe me, I'm just as contemptuous of the clowns in our General Assembly as you are.