Lynda Farley of Edmonton, Kentucky drove to the Tea Party in her infamous Liberty Van from her home town to Washington D.C to protest Federal Government spending. I asked her why she drove the thousands of miles to attend the rally held near the Senate and she told me she’s “one p----d off grandma with eight grandkids and six kids and she doesn’t want them to live in a communist country“. Linda has driven the Liberty Van to every state capitol in the country to protest myriad government interventions apart from Hawaii and Virginia though she is headed to the Capitol of the Commonwealth as I write.

There is much criticism in the main stream media that the plethora of tea party groups across the country is just a Republican Party front. One gentleman, Jeff (who declined his last name) when asked for his reasons for being there said “I’m sick of Republicans acting like Democrats, and Democrats acting like Marxists”.

If anything, most of those in attendance Saturday seemed to be independents or libertarians of the Ron Paul slant; Congressman Paul’s book ‘The Revolution’ was promoted widely on vendor stands at the event.

CNN was the only major news organization present and they were not given a particularly friendly reception. A hard core group of about fifty surrounded CNN Deputy Political Director, Paul Steinhause, who was shouted down as he attempted to film his piece to cam. Cries of ‘Communist News Network’, ‘Chicken Noodle News’ and ‘State run media’ drowned him out for over 15 minutes. One wag yelled out “I went to journalism school and now I’m a lap dog”.

On the CNN website, journalist, Rachel Streitfeld, led her report of the event thus:

Nothing could be further from the truth. For one, personal grills, sparklers and fireworks were not allowed anywhere near the Fourth of July celebrations and there was more Red, White and Blue at the Tea Party than there was on The Mall. I am not sure where Ms. Streitfeld was on Saturday but it was not the same place I was.

The signs(most of them hand-made) t-shirts, buttons along with the speakers, were both entertaining, serious and everything in between. One little girl who looked about six held her own hand made sign saying ‘Obama Don’t Steal From My Piggy Bank”, with a cut out picture of a pig.

Speakers at the Tea Party included Tito the Builder and chiropractor, Patrick Beck who flew in all the way from Arizona to address the crowd. Patrick said he would ‘rather be back home in Arizona with his wife and five kids but that his one purpose and one purpose only was to get involved.

Mr. Beck was reading MarketWatch.com when he realized there were so many other like minded individuals and rather than expect someone else to do it for them they realized that somebody had to be them. Goals were, and still are, to make a difference, educate people and make them understand the power they have as individuals and in groups.

One woman, Jennifer, dressed as Wonder Woman, when asked the reason for her attendance, she replied she was there was ‘to defend the Constitution and the hold the Government accountable“. She went on to say that she wanted to leave the rally knowing she had made some sort of a difference and that the Government would hear their cries.

A disparate group of people but all with the same goal; to get Government out of their lives.