Feel the Energy from Portland!

Amy Schroeder of Parcbench produced this video from the Tea Party Express II rally in Portland, OR. You'll definitely feel the energy of this video, and we liked that because the rally in Porland was just that - ENERGETIC.

Thank you to the great people of Portland and thanks to Amy of Parcbench. We hope all our supporters enjoy this short video!

Yippee! Great event in Tri-Cities

ANOTHER OVERFLOW CROWD

THIS TIME IN TRI-CITIES WASHINGTON!

Thank you to the great people of the Tri-Cities area in Central Washington! We didn't arrive into town last night until around 1:30 AM. By the time we got to bed last night (we always end up working for at least an hour or two at the end of each day - in addition to working on the buses all day long) it was almost 3:00 AM. Alarms were set for 7:00 - 7:30 AM as we had to get rolling from our hotel this morning by 8:15 - 8:30 AM.

So we were reallllyyyy tired last night and this morning. It's always like that on these tours, and that's why the energy from the crowds always is so invigorating and helpful.

It was a cool, windy morning. Really, really windy. We pulled into our venue and feared a small crowd, but committed ourselves to doing our best to energize whoever turned out.

But we had nothing to worry about. The momentum continues to build for this effort as we cross the country and word spreads of the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day tour. We walked into the local high school auditorium and saw this - a room so filled that not everyone fit in the room!

People came and went throughout the program - as there were informational and vendor booths in the open area outside the auditorium. Here's a few pictures we took on our camera phones to help give you a feel for the crowd. We were near tears during the end as we paid tribute to our veterans and so many amazing men and women came up on stage - patriots who had served this country and are the reason we remain a free nation where people can speak freely, question their government's erroneous actions & harmful policies, and then has the freedom to vote out of office those who fail us.

We're in Puyallup!! Wow - it's rocking!

We thought Portland was a great event. We've now arrived in Puyallup and it's stunning. The fairgrounds is PACKED. Thousands of people. ALERT: The fire marshall told us there so many people packed the convention hall that they had to move a large part of the crowd outside or else our event would be shut down. When I ran outside to grab something from the bus I encountered the event security informing latecomers that they were not allowed to enter the facility on account of the overflow crowd.

So speakers were set up outside by the buses so the good folks outside could hear. Estimates from officials on hand was that the crowd surpassed 4,000 people. Some estimates place the crowd as high as 5,500 - but my guess is that it was somewhere between 4,500 - 5,000.

The people of Washington State have sure turned out in massive numbers. Washington, D.C. -- can you hear us NOW??

Special thanks go out to the people who helped make this happen: Ken Morse and the Olympia Tea Party, Kirby Wilbur of KVI - 570 AM, and the great people of Operation Support Our Troops.

We just received a video from a great patriot who was at the event - WATCH IT HERE.

We just arrived at our Portland event!

HELLO FROM PORTLAND!

We just pulled into Portland. It's cloudy and cool, but not raining right now. We arrived 30 minutes early - YAY! Nice not to be late. There's a good-sized crowd already and it's growing by the minute. Portland is going to be a great event! More soon. Mark Williams and Deborah Johns are now speaking.

There's a good turnout of media in addition to the hundreds of people on hand. Jeff Kemp of Americans for Prosperity is going to try to call in to Lars Larson's radio show and have his speech to the crowd broadcast live. The logistics of things like this are always tricky, but we'll try to make it work!

UPDATE 1: Portland's ABC affiliate KATU reports "Hundreds Rally for Lower Taxes as Part of Tea Party Express." See their report - HERE.

Woohoo!!! Just wait for the update - we're in Medford!

We just arrived in Medford, OR. We were running about 1 hour late, the weather is yucky - rain and fog have moved in.

But the event here is amazing.

Wait until you see the pictures, folks. It's fantastic! This tour keeps building more and more momentum and we're so very excited.

THANK YOU to all of you who are helping us get the message heard across this nation. It's working, folks!

Hello from Redding!

We're holding our last California rally on the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day, as we're now heading into Oregon & Washington for our next series of events.

It's a fantastic crowd here this morning under bright sunshine and we are appreciating that warm sun - as snowstorms are hitting the Inter-Mountain West where we'll be traveling to in a few days. So we're hoping the snow falls, is cleared off the roads, and we're able to turn out good crowds in the coming days.

We'll have more on Redding later, but here's a picture of the crowd - you'll see why we've had such an awesome time at the rally here today:We're holding our last California rally on the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day, as we're now heading into Oregon & Washington for our next series of events.

It's a fantastic crowd here this morning under bright sunshine and we are appreciating that warm sun - as snowstorms are hitting the Inter-Mountain West where we'll be traveling to in a few days. So we're hoping the snow falls, is cleared off the roads, and we're able to turn out good crowds in the coming days.

We'll have more on Redding later, but here's a picture of the crowd - you'll see why we've had such an awesome time at the rally here today:

WOW! Huge crowd turns out in Walnut Creek, CA - Breaking News

Hello from Walnut Creek, CA - a community in the East Bay of the San Francisco metropolitan area. So in the sea of liberalism stood an island of patriotic Americans rallying together today united in the effort to advance the tea party movement.


There's also a crucial Congressional Special Election coming up here on November 3rd which features David Harmer (a Republican who strongly opposes government-run healthcare) up against California Lieutenant Governor, John Garamendi (a Democrat who is a big advocate of government-run healthcare and the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda of big government, bailouts, higher taxes and out-of-control spending).

Harmer spoke at this evening's rally to an enthusiastic crowd - perhaps the most enthusiastic crowd we've had since the kickoff event in San Diego, CA. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy - we sure enjoyed the great people of Walnut Creek:

CNN Reports on the Tea Party Express

CNN's Jon King interviewed Tea Party Express Vice Chair, Mark Williams, about the "Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day."

A relatively fair interview with CNN's King asking questions and allowing the Tea Party Express's Mark Williams to respond. There's some good stuff in this interview, friends!

Watch the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODMtImVWih8

Carson City Here We Come!

There's an interesting preview article in the Nevada Appeal on our upcoming rally tomorrow morning in Carson City, Nevada. You can read it - HERE.

Hawthorne & Fallon are Fantastic Events!

Good evening everyone!

Above: Deborah Johns speaks in front of one of the Tea Party Express II buses in Fallon, NV.

What a fantastic day. We wrote about the terrific rally to start the day in Tonopah. And then we headed on to our "Whistle Stop" rally in Hawthorne. A "Whistle Stop" is what we call a short rally where we don't do a full program. We've added this Hawthorne event after our official schedule of cities was finalized because local supporters pleaded with us to stop - since it was on the way from our Tonopah, NV to Fallon, NV events.

So we pull up to Hawthorne (population is 3,000 - yes you read that correctly) and we had about 100 people on hand for a Whistle Stop that was organized in just a few days time, in a very small town. It was COLD and WINDY - and more snowflakes fell en route to the rally and again as we left.

The blue bus needed some mechanical repair work and so we sent the red bus off with our speakers and entertainers to our final event of the day in Fallon, NV. Wow! In a city of just 7,000 people, more than 500 turned out despite temperatures that dipped into the mid-30's by the rally's end. Here's a picture of just one sliver of the crowd which spanned in a hemisphere all around the stage.

UPDATE 1: The Lahontan Valley News reports on the Tea Party Express and tea party movement as we pulled into Fallon - HERE.

Hello from Tonopah, NV!

Greetings from the tiny community of Tonopah, NV - population 2,624. The Tea Party Express is making a special effort to visit as many cities, towns and communities throughout Nevada because one of the "worst offenders" in Congress is U.S. Senator - and Senate Majority Leader - Harry Reid.

Yes, the same man who initially promised he would oppose a government-run healthcare plan who now has flip-flopped and is doing the 'politics-as-usual' routine of going against his word, and going against the will of the people. We're going to hand Sen. Reid a "pink slip" in November 2010! So here we are in Tonopah at our Tea Party Express rally and it's a fantastic crowd.

Who would have thought so many people would have turned out at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday morning?!?! This picture shows just one part of the crowd that spanned throughout the convention center:

And to top it off, we arrived at the Tonopah Convention Center and encountered falling snow - mostly just flurries - but snow nonetheless.

We're all very excited with this first event on Day 3... we've got great momentum and we're hoping it continues to grow and grow. With your help and support it will!

Thank you Fresno!

We had a great event in Fresno yesterday. We'll be posting a report in a bit about the event including a few pictures and news reports!

UPDATE 1: CBS-TV Fresno reports on the rally - HERE.
UPDATE 2: NBC-TV Fresno also has a report - HERE.

CNN Reports on Day 1 of Tea Party Express!

We're in Bakersfield, California this morning holding a rally right now - we'll post an update on the event shortly.

But here's the report from CNN on Day 1:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/26/tea-party-express-kicks-off-38-city-tour/

Bakersfield & Fresno: You're Next!

To our fellow patriots in Bakersfield, CA & Fresno, CA - you're up next!

On Monday we'll have these two rallies. Please bring a friend or two, and let's continue the great turnout we've enjoyed so far for the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26th

9:00 AM - Bakersfield Rally
Heritage Park2320 Mt. Vernon Ave.
Bakersfield, CA

1:30 PM - Fresno Rally
Eaton Plaza2400 Fresno St.
Fresno, CA
*NOTE: We originally published the time as 4:00PM. This is incorrect - the correct time is 1:30PM.

UPDATE 1: One family that attended the rally posted their account on their personal blog and were also interviewed by CNN. Read their report - HERE.

TPXII Creates Traffic Jam in Los Angeles!

Hello everyone - we just pulled into our rally location in Los Angeles (Griffith Park) and found ourselves running behind. As we got to the roads off the freeway leading to the venue we were noticing that the traffic was bumper-to-bumper and showed no signs of letting up. And then we realized why.

The traffic jam was from the more than 1,000 people who had showed up for the Tea Party Express rally. All the parking spaces in Griffith Park at our venue were taken. The overflow parking lots were filled. And there were streams of cars still trying to get in, but having no place to park.

Conservative Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore just spoke. He is running against Sen. Barbara Boxer (Liberal-Democrat) and is one of the "good guys." The GOP establishment is trying to woo Carly Fiorina (former HP executive) to run. But she represents more of the same - politicians who believe in power and 'going along to getting along.' We're so excited to see Chuck DeVore passionately articulating a strong, conservative message - and the crowds love him!

Now speaking is Peter Foy of Americans for Prosperity. He was one of the leaders in the campaign to Defeat Prop 1A which was a giant tax increase ballot measure here in California. Again, this is someone who walked the walk - and didn't just talk the talk.

More soon - including pictures.

THANK YOU to all of you who have helped make this first day of the Tea Party Express a giant success. It's been amazing, folks!

Thousands Turn Out for Kickoff of Tea Party Express II

Thousands have turned out in beautiful San Diego for the kickoff rally for the Tea Party Express! It's an amazing crowd, and we're right on the water with the USS Midway as our backdrop.

Wow - folks this is incredible. To those in the media or on the political Left who keep insisting the tea party movement is dead, or its astroturf, etc... well the people of San Diego have turned out and spoken a message loud and clear: WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!

UPDATE: You can see a slideshow of photos taken by local supporter Neil Turner - VIEW SLIDESHOW HERE.

UPDATE 2: The San Diego Union-Tribune has a report on the event. Read it - HERE.

UPDATE 3: And a report from one of the southern California NBC affiliates - HERE.

UPDATE 4: Here's the report from KFMB CBS San Diego - HERE.

UPDATE 5: San Diego News Network has a report on the rally - HERE.

UPDATE 6: Newsblaze update on San Diego rally - HERE.

Support the Tea Party Express! For more information on the tour schedule visit our website: http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

To make a contribution to the Tea Party Express visit our secure contribution page: https://secure.donationsafe.com/tea/

TEA PARTY EXPRESS II: COUNTDOWN TO JUDGMENT DAY
OCTOBER 25 - NOVEMBER 11

All throughout the recent Tea Party Express national tour we kept receiving emails and phone calls from people around the nation who lived far away from the route our buses took across America. We vowed at the time to keep the Tea Party Express effort alive – and that’s exactly what we are doing.

It is our pleasure to announce the “Tea Party Express: Countdown to Judgment Day” which will cross the nation from coast-to-coast, border-to-border October 25th – November 11th — 1 year ahead of the November 2010 congressional elections… or as our Czarina of the tea party movement, Amy Kremer, likes to refer to as “Judgment Day.” The Tea Party Express will kick-off the tour with a rally in San Diego, California on October 25th and wind up the tour with a rally in Orlando, Florida on November 11th (Veteran’s Day). We’ve just posted the new tour map and itinerary (with the dates of rallies in each city) at our website: http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

This won’t just be a continuation of the tour we just completed. We will be having a lot of special surprises and additions as we grow this effort — and continue the fight against government-run healthcare, Cap & Trade, bailouts, out-of-control deficit spending and the growth in the size and intrusiveness of government.

We’ll be publishing the specific itinerary and schedule in the coming days at our website: http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

For now, here’s the route we’ve planned out – so mark your calendars, spread the news to your friends, and get ready to rock America! If Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid thought that after 9/12 we’d just go away and give up well then we have some bad news for them. We’re back, better than ever, and determined to TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!

Poll: Enthusiasm builds for Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day

The good people of Newsblaze published a report on the upcoming “Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day” and included a poll inquiring about people’s interest in the new cross-country tour.

Of the more than 10,000 votes cast so far, the majority plan on attending one of the tour rallies or traveling along with the caravan for part or all of the way. Just 2% say they “don’t believe in it” and 0% responded that it wasn’t “their thing.”

You can vote – HERE.