Hundreds showed up early this morning at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA outside of Philadelphia to protest the appearance of President Obama who was coming to push his health care agenda in a speech. People streamed in on this chilly morning in advance of a 9AM press conference held by the organizer of the event, Independence Hall Tea Party, who put it together on the spur of the moment 3 days ago on March 5. Several speeches were given with an enthusiastic crowd cheering and jeering. The speakers included congressional candidate Mike Fitzpatrick, Steve Lonegan and radio host Dom Giordano (and a few I couldn't identify off hand). Estimates of the crowd size, about 250-300, but there was no official count. Police presence was heavy.
After the speeches - and some spontaneous chants - the crowd pushed towards the parking entrance where Obama would be arriving in his motorcade and lined the streets.
Singing broke out as these American Citizens waited to make their opinion known to their president. Tunes ranged from The Star Spangled Banner to God Bless America.
There were a few Obama supporters in the crowd walking around. They seemed to want to provoke those at the rally into some sort of action, but they were for the most part ignored. Several shouted "Tea Baggers" and other derogatory things and flipped the bird as they walked by the crowd.
I was carrying a sign which read "Illegal Aliens Cost You $330 Billion Per Year" and had two students come up with a video camera and start asking me questions. They were obviously Obama supporters, but when it comes to immigration enforcement it doesn't seem to matter because more than 80% of Americans are opposed to illegal immigration and want the laws enforced. I received several comments from attendees on my sign and noted to them that an amnesty bill is just around the corner and being put together while everyone is focusing on health care.
Several news crews were in attendance and taking interviews with the folks in attendance. Concerns were mainly focused on health care at this event, but there were other issues expressed including overspending, big government and infringement on rights.
It was a very civil event with no incidents. The group was very vocal though when it came time for Obama to arrive. Boos and shouts of "Kill the Bill" erupted when his motorcade appeared. The police kept the crowd pretty far away from his motorcade. Just another sign that he doesn't want to listen to anyone who has differing views. Those in attendance at his speech had to pay money and get lucky enough to be allowed inside. All those attending are supporters of his, just like at every other speech he has ever given. I surely wouldn't spend one dime to listen to him.
This rally was a huge success for that many people to show up on an early morning working day on 3 days notice. The weather turned from chilly to a beautiful day. It's always good to get together with fellow patriots, if you haven't been to a rally yet you don't know what you're missing.
I'll have video coming soon.
Some more pictures below
