Saturday, July 4, 2009

Independence Day Tea Party

Like some 400 other cities across America, Albuquerque had a TEA Party. It was primarily scheduled to be from 4 to 6 this afternoon. I don't know how many people were there, but there were lots. (I'll add an update tomorrow with the official estimates of its attendance.)

A lot of people were near the stage, where there were speakers and musicians. (No, there were no politicians speaking.)

Most of the people attending were spread out along Alameda Boulevard and the median between the eastbound and westbound lanes.

Most people held home-made signs.

My own Congresscritter (whose district does not include Albuquerque) got specific mention.
The front and back of the sign say
        Teague taxes New Mexico
        and hands Al Gore billions

Some of the participants carried historic flags.

There were a couple of signs that I particularly liked. This was one.

Another was a specific message for the Secretary of Homeland Security (who grew up in Albuquerque and went to Sandia High School).

A good time with a LOT more great messages than I can pass on here.

Update: This morning (Sunday), the Albuquerque Journal cites Tea Party organizers as estimating the size of the Fourth of July Tea Party at about the same as the one in April -- about 7,000. The Journal says no police estimate was available. Since Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez has been openly hostile to the Tea Party process, that suggests the police estimate is at least not significantly lower than the organizers' estimate.

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