Middletown Tea Party

On the 4th of July I went to a small Middletown Tea Party right in my hometown. There was no advertising, no announcements about this event, I don't even remember how I heard about it. It was all about opposing Obama's socialist schemes, cap & trade, higher taxes, irresponsible spending and so on. First thing that surprised me was that I couldn't see any of my Republican friends there. Not even the Lonegan supporters. The party was nowhere to be found. Well, that should be expected considering that the tea partiers criticised representatives Lance, LoBiondo and Smith who voted for Obama's disastruos tax&trade bill. I can't even believe how many "Republicans" (some with very strong credentials) tried to convince me that the gang of 3 did a good thing, and we need that bill.

Not only was the Republican Party totally absent, but any party official that could be associated with the Tea Party strongly tried to avoid any such association. And despite all this, several hundred people showed up, they were very vocal, and created a lot of noise on Route 35. It was nice to see how must of the passing cars were shouting encouragements and honking loudly. So there is still hope that the people of New Jersey know what they want, despite the weird direction from the party organizations.

Actually, here's what a well-known local Republican figure and former township committee person told me: "First, a monumental failure to stand against cap and trade, then a defense of that failure. The party fails to stand together, then stands together to defend the failure. The party needs to be torn apart. NO MONEY to the state party from those of us who get it. I won't give to the county party either, nor will I support them. We need to start supporting the candidates who deserve it and tear down the party "leadership" on nearly every level. We need to start fighting this battle on the inside."

Finally, here are a few pictures from the Middletown event: