Residents Speak Out at Tea Party Event
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Moore TEA Citizens Town Hall
Over 200 Moore County residents gathered at Pinehurst Village Hall Saturday for a town hall meeting hosted by Moore TEA Citizens.
More than 200 Moore County residents gathered Saturday to express their love for America and speak out against the current political climate in Washington.
Moore TEA Citizens - a local organization related to the national "Tea Party" movement that has swept the country - held a "town hall" meeting at Pinehurst Village Hall. In addition to people speaking their minds about the direction of the country under the Obama administration, the event fostered discussions on health-care reform and carbon cap-and-trade.
The attendees also sang patriotic songs and enjoyed live music from the Ingram Band, which played several folk classics.
"We can do this," said John Oltesvig, one of the moderators, "but we must be willing to sacrifice like George Washington and the Continental Army, and fight for what is right. We must turn this situation around so that our grandchildren can inherit the American dream."
Oltesvig showed off his patriotic spirit by dressing as a Revolutionary War-era general.
Dr. Jim Taylor, an anesthesiologist, led the discussion on health-care reform, while Charlie Holbrook, a geologist, talked about cap-and-trade.
Other speakers included Pinehurst Mayor George Lane, State Sen. Harris Blake and State Rep. Jamie Boles.
"Folks, we've got to get involved, and you've got to get involved, and it starts with your local level," Boles said. "It starts with the school board. It starts with the city council. It starts with the county, and it starts with the planning board. And if you're not happy with what's going on, you have got to get involved."
The end of the program included a "lightning round" in which anyone who felt compelled could address the group for three minutes. Most of the speakers expressed outrage with the Obama administration and Congress, and genuine concern about the future of the country.
Photo Gallery
TEA Citizens Town Hall
These photos were taken at the "town hall' meeting held Saturday by Moore TEA Citizens, a local organization related to the national "Tea Party" movement that has swept the country. It took place at Pinehurst Village Hall.
They also made a point to credit Moore TEA Citizens for its work.
"This Tea Party that was organized to try to counter some of the disturbing opening acts of this administration has really done something fundamentally important," Pinehurst resident John Marcum said. "It has tried to counter this trend toward socialism and even, perhaps in the future, totalitarian forms of government that are absolutely antithetical to our Constitution and our way of life.
"So, again, I think the Tea Party has provided a very, very useful service in its short period of existence."
The town hall was the latest event organized by Moore TEA Citizens, which has grown by leaps and bounds in less than a year. What began as a small, three-person operation now has more than 1,200 members.
Moore TEA Citizens entered the public spotlight last April by holding a "Tax Day" event outside the Southern Pines post office. Organizers hoped to attract a couple of hundred people, but when all was said and done, about 1,000 lined the streets wearing red, white and blue and holding up signs that called for a return to limited -government and more transparency.
"TEA" stands for "Taxed Enough Already" and is a nod to the historic Boston Tea Party, a catalyst to the American Revolution.
Coordinator Dee Park said that fire code prevented more than 225 people from entering Assembly Hall at Village Hall at once, and estimated that 150 people had to be turned away Saturday. The event lasted for more than three hours.
Park said she was thrilled with the turnout and the discussion that took place.
"Over, and over, and over again, Americans are speaking out," she said.
Her husband, Bro, added, "Nothing was better than the spirit today. People were helpful, they were participating. They were just wonderful with everything that went on."
Contact John Krahnert III at (910) 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com.
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Comments
PeggySmetana 3 years, 3 months ago
Very good, comprehensive article. Thanks for the information.
None 3 years, 3 months ago
Senator Richard Burr said that he voted against health care reform because it would add 2 trillion to the 12 trillion national debt. He didn't mention where he was during the Bush administration when he turned a surplus into a 10 trillion dollar deficit. Clinton left him a clean slate. So is POTUS'O supposed to turn around 10 trillion debt in a year. I think politicians are so egocentric that they can't add and subtract using logical reasoning. Yes, Jamie Boles is correct that taxpayers should get involved on the local level and stop the ridiculous out of control spending in Carthage. Perhaps before the big spenders are voted out of office ~ those who approved a 3 million dollar purchase of worthless property in Carthage ~ and tax generated spending for Lane Carter's new Law Enforcement Complex to rival Fayetteville, Raleigh, and Durham, TEA party members should stand outside the county courthouse with signs opposing big spending in county government; but hasn't Boles and Blake supported spending on a local level along party lines? Time to register independent....
lakeforestsw 3 years, 3 months ago
TEA party support folks need to reflect on a bit of history - the following taken from the President's State of Union address today:
"So let me start the discussion of government spending by setting the record straight. At the beginning of the last decade, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. That was before I walked in the door."
Why no TEA party protests over the past decade?
mbamberry 3 years, 3 months ago
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None 3 years, 3 months ago
Write your Washington Lobbyists ~ I mean Congressman ~ and demand as our employees, that they support legislation: FairTax.org Charlie Rangal (D) NY is holding up a bill that was written several years ago.
LB67 3 years, 3 months ago
so I'm just curious, did the tea baggers intentionally misspell Citizen in their little posters? or are they just showing their ignorance? the picture on the front page online edition and one of the pictures in the above link shows it spelled as citzen, is there some idiotic reason for that??
jkrahnert3 3 years, 3 months ago
Don't like to comment on my own stories, but the sign was made by a little girl, FYI
LB67 3 years, 3 months ago
well I'm sure she had a real clear understanding what that tea party was all about
Scooty 3 years, 3 months ago
My husband and I attended the event to find out what we could do on a local level to effect change in the political arena. We only just learned tonight that one of the key speakers, Dr. Jim Taylor, is running against Howard Coble in the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District seat. Why was this not brought to light at the meeting? Isn't the whole point of the movement to find people we can support who will go to Washington and truly represent us? Attending rallies and expressing your discontent is all well and good but the ultimate goal is to clean house in Washington and elect people who can implement the type of change we're looking for.
blessherheart 3 years, 3 months ago
Watching the video just made me cringe and want to vomit. This was just a forum to bash Obama and not for the right reasons either. The ignorant remarks and innuendos about Obama were just well ignorant. I am appalled that Rep Boles and Senator Blake participated in this Town Hall Tea Bagger meeting. The comment made by the coordinator about how they came from all sectors of the political spectrum is pure crapola. If you do a voter registrations search on any of the names in this article they are all registered Republicans. I want to know where all these concerned citizens were during the years of taking a surplus and turning it into a deficit prior to this administration.
None 3 years, 3 months ago
@ blessherheart: here is the reason Howard Coble is considering running again for office! I think boggers posting to threads should provide a source for their messages communicated as factual. Notice how many dollars came from the good Congressman from personal funds? 0 http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00002247&cycle=Career
concerned 3 years, 3 months ago
The misspelled word Citzens was done by a 7 yr. old girl who was there. They had a "sign making table" and anyone who wanted to could and the children participated
concerned 3 years, 3 months ago
LB67, The little girl is my daughter and she and her 9 yr old brother are well versed in what the TEA party is all about. What this government is doing will effect them in the future and we teach them to be concerned.