I went to the Houston Tea Party downtown, and it was definitely grassroots (forget what the media says about this, it's all baloney). No politicians called me up asking me to do, and the majority of people there had hand-made signs, and otherwise just seemed like regular Joes like me. I met several people on the way there who you could tell are not frequenters of protests, but are simply fed up with the feds.O6nop wrote:I'm no expert, but I thought this was supposed to be a "grassroots" style demonstration. I guess all organizers have a different plan but I heard most cities turned down any political figures (governors, congressionals and heads of the RNC) as speakers. Maybe I don't understand it that well.
As for why politicians weren't asked to speak, here is a good quote from the Houston Tea Party's website:
Here's a picture I took which ya'll will enjoy.We’re trying to not be a platform for elected officials and candidates. No one who’s frustrated with political shenanigans wants to come see a politician telling them how they are taking care of you or why you should vote for them. This is something we share and hear from others and are sensitive to. You still may see some speak though, as we’ve reached out to a few that we want there simply in capacity as tax-paying citizens who might have a first hand account to give us an account of what’s going on around them. We will be working closely with these type of speakers to help them craft their message as to not let it become about them but instead for us.