March on Washington DC
Phil Orenstein • September 26, 2009 • Uncategorized
The following is my article for the Queens Village Eagle Oct. 2009:
A broad cross-section of Americans, young and old, black and white, mostly apolitical folks, flooded the Capitol on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 for the Million Taxpayer March on Washington. Over one million Americans traveled by train and plane and many took one-day bus trips to Washington DC to shake up the Capitol. With a huge resounding voice, they vowed to return America to its Constitutional roots and oust all the political hacks who do not represent their constituents and would instead vote for the current healthcare reform bills now in Congress and other oppressive government takeover proposals and reckless spending bills.
Despite the media blackout and lack of coverage from ABC, CBS, NBC and all except Fox News and AM talk radio, they cannot be easily dismissed as a right-wing fringe, corporate funded old Republicans, or racists opposed to President Obama because he is a black man, as President Carter recently insinuated. Neither are they an “angry mob” that would put on “white hoods and ride through the countryside” as voiced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). They are ordinary hard-working taxpaying citizens. The local organizer of the Long Island bus trip, Laura Millard is a conscientious accountant who felt a calling to rise up and do something for our country. This first-time activist took charge displaying exceptional leadership abilities, and made strenuous efforts with everyone’s welfare and safety in mind. Another woman from Astoria, Queens voluntarily organized a car caravan team for last minute participants. For many participants, this was their very first political activity.
Ordinary taxpaying Americans are fed up with the accelerating pace of “change you can believe in,” abounding with bailouts of banks and automakers, cap and trade energy taxes, stimulus and omnibus spending packages heaping trillions of dollars of debt on an already insolvent economy in a recession $ trillions in the red with 10% unemployed, nationalization of major industries and now government takeover of the health insurance market. They are infuriated with the appointment of over 30 ideological czars accountable only to the president. They have reexamined our Constitution and our shared heritage of individual liberty, freedom, self-reliance, personal responsibility and free market capitalism. They are informed, well read, aware and willing to stand up and fight to restore the Constitutional principles of our America.
Speaker after speaker, and sign after sign proclaimed the messages of a true grassroots uprising. Many handheld signs proclaimed “You Lie!” invoking the words of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), the new popular hero for expressing what was on everyone’s lips. Some of the countless homemade signs read: “King George didn’t listen to us either,” “we employ you and we will fire you!” “redistribute my work ethic,” “we can’t fix liars, but we can vote ‘em out” and “Obama lies and Congress swears to it.” Continuous chants of “USA,” “don’t tread on me,” “no more czars!” “You lie” and “vote them out” rang out all day long. There was a funeral procession for the proposed healthcare reform bill, a woman dressed as the Grim Reaper proclaimed the death of journalism, as well as spontaneous farewell parties for Congress in 2010 with costumed dancers and singers bidding Congress goodbye.
Speakers loudly protested government takeovers, cap and trade energy tax and government control of the most personal part of our lives, our healthcare. They urged the crowd to never back down in defense of freedom until we take our country back. U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) called it a non-partisan battle for the heart and soul of America, between big government collectivism and the people. It’s not a Republican issue or Democrat issue but an American taxpayer struggle for the future of America. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said “you have redefined gridlock in Washington, D.C.” referring to the surrounding expressways shut down by police due to the massive crowds. Rep. Blackburn is from Tennessee where TennCare, enacted in 1994, was a government-run health insurance option similar to today’s ObamaCare, which was designed to insure everyone and drive down the costs of private insurance, but failed miserably, nearly bankrupting the state and ended up terminating 150,000 people from its rolls. They came with a dire warning not to repeat the TennCare disaster nationally.
Everyone was exhilarated and encouraged to return to their home towns and keep up the fight. This is the beginning of a vast new movement to take back America. Media propagandists, administration radicals, and congressional incumbents can no longer dismiss us as a minority fringe or an angry racist mob. The million+ protesters took the message home to hundreds of others to start organizing in their local geographical areas. Starting now, the new grassroots activists will begin identifying the right candidates in earnest that represent our conservative values and will pour our energies into supporting their campaigns in order to oust the incumbents who don’t represent us. Stephen Flanagan, head of the year old Long Island based grassroots organization, Conservative Society for Action, who brought 100’s to the DC rally said “we all agreed on one very important principal: “All Politics Is Local”. This is extremely important to remember as we move forward.”
Several “Candidates Town Hall Meetings” have been scheduled to give a fair hearing to candidates representing town and county positions throughout Long Island. In Northeast Queens, several great Republican candidates are running for this year’s City Council election, including Dan Halloran, Peter Koo and Bob Friedrich, who is a Democrat endorsed by the Republican county organization. They all deserve our support. They are ethical, fiscally conservative, small government advocates and men of integrity and we will pour everything we have into getting them elected to City Council seats in November. This is the first step to take back America one public office at a time.
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