Citizens Protest Spending, Big Government at Carson City Tea Party Rally
Submitted by on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 8:33pm
A crowd of about 600 people gathered around the courtyard surrounding the Nevada State Capitol for the tea party rally. Many held signs condemning big-government policies, calling for Senator Harry Reid’s defeat, protesting tax increases, and ridiculing President Barack Obama.
Two children of Tea Party ralliers dressed as the Statue of Liberty and Martha Washington
Some lined the edges of the streets, holding their signs toward traffic to the approving honks of many passing vehicles.
As with most Tea Party rallies, the majority of the attendees were adults aged 40 or above, with some families bringing their children. Cameron Johnson, a political science student from the University of Nevada, Reno, was one of the few activists of a younger age. He expressed his disappointment at his generation’s lack of involvement.
“It’s disastrous,” he said. “The younger generation is — ignorant is a word I would use. Confused. Distracted. I wouldn’t call them stupid. I think it’s just that they don’t care, and they’re so willing to listen to anybody. “
Johnson said many university professors and the younger generation’s popular culture tend to share a liberal viewpoint, making such ideals the only ones his fellow students are familiar with.
On the stage in front of the crowd, many candidates for the coming November elections took the opportunity to promote their political campaigns. Among the speakers were incumbent governor Jim Gibbons and Senate Candidates such as Republican Sue Lowden and Independent American Party candidate Tim Fasano.
“We all understand and realize that we do have some obligation for government. But when I see government running away at twice the rate twice that your income is growing, it’s not long before we, the people who support government, will be broke,” Gibbons said.
Gov. Jim Gibbons addresses the crowd.
Some candidates appealed to radical fringe viewpoints, such as when a spokesman from the campaign of gubernatorial candidate Mike Montandon made comments accusing Obama of not producing a birth certificate proving he was born in the United States, despite the fact that a certified copy of the certificate has been viewable online since 2008.
While some in the crowd seemed happy to be aligned with the “Birther” viewpoint, holding signs calling Obama’s policies a “jihad” and saying “please return to Kenya,” others made it clear that these fringe views are not shared by everyone in the Tea Party.
“The Tea Party is not a bunch of racist homophobe bigots. It’s just that these are the citizens of the United States, and they don’t like the way their government’s going,” said Pat Horgan, a Reno citizen who traveled to Carson City express his distaste for government spending.
Horgan expressed dissatisfaction with the way the media has portrayed Tea Party events, though he likened the situation to a quote by Mahatma Gandhi he had written on ahis sign: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Local artist Matthew Welter also said the Tea Parties have received unfair treatment from the media. Welter drove by the rally with his 30-foot tall cedar sculpture — which he dubbed “Hand of Order” — strapped to the back of a trailer that he towed behind his truck. Welter said that had received media attention for his sculpture in the past, but the attention stopped when he dedicated the sculpture to the Tea Party.
Across the street from the rally stood Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada director Bob Fulkerson, who said that, though outnumbered, he wanted to provide a contrasting view to the tea party’s ideals of limited government and low taxes.
“I think [those ideals] are based on greed and selfishness,” Fulkerson said. “I think they speak to some of the worst instincts that we have.”
Fulkerson said he did not think that private institutions such as corporations or charities would ever be able to provide for the state’s needs, pointing to the failure of Gibbons’ Education Gift Certificate program, which, by the beginning of April, had only received $261 dollars in donations.
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