A report on the Joliet Tea Party

Rockdalian attended the Joliet Tea Party and had this to say:

Attended the local ( Joliet, Illinois ) Tea party at the courthouse. Arrived about 11:30am to find about 50 people already gathered. Event began around noon, by then the crowd swelled to more than 300. The event kicked off with a reading of the preamble to the Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance, given by a few school children.

The local organizers spoke mostly about the unfair tax burden and the crushing debt.

A candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor spoke also, mostly about ways to curb the debt through spending cuts.

Met many people. Heard nary a disparaging word, even saw a sign that said Democrats for lower spending, but I suspect the majority of the crowd was of  a Libertarian/Conservative bent.

There was no out of bounds behavior. The crowd was as polite as can be. Lots of clapping and cheering for a prayer and a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.

For my first protest, this was absolutely fabulous. Decent turnout without much advanced advertising. The local paper only mentioned the gathering in this mornings paper.

Looking forward to the next one.

For any of this to have any lasting meaning, these events must continue, even blossoming into a true national movement.