Tour Journal

2,500 Patriots

Today the American Liberty Tour participated in a huge 9/12 rally in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the shadow of the state capitol building. (That’s figuratively speaking regarding shadow, the sun was merciless.)

What a crowd! We estimate there were about 2500 patriots at peak attendance. The signs were great (pics below the fold), the mood was up, and the sense of something big was in the air.

As many of you may know from my work at Redstate.com, I’ve attended my fair share of protests the last few years; mostly left-wing protests that I was covering. Well I can tell you that yesterday’s rally was different from every single one of those leftist protests right from the start. First we said the Pledge of Allegiance, then we listened to a fantastic rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. The reaction of the crowd to the national anthem would have put a hard lump in the throat of any true patriot. We were also treated to a recitation, from memory, of the Declaration of Independence. If you haven’t read it recently, I suggest you do so soon. Eerily relevant.

We met a lot of great people at the rally, and many of them attended our training and town hall meeting later in the day (watch our youtube channel for video). I met parents who proudly told me their children could recite major portions of the Constitution from memory. I met veterans who teared up during the pledge and shook hands with the conviction and camaraderie that comes with knowing you are among fellow patriots. I met men and women, black and white, young and old. I spoke with those, like me, privileged to be born here, and those, like my grandmother, proud to have earned their citizenship. Without fail, they knew why they were here.

They came for the same reason I did. For the same reason you did. They are tired of the assault on our liberty. They are angry at an irresponsible, unresponsive, unaccountable federal government, they reject the cries for even more massive spending and entitlement, and they refuse to be belittled or marginalized by an increasingly tyrannical “progressive” left in this country.

That dictatorial left and their media familiars have chosen to mock and belittle those who attended 9/12 events, as has the White House. They snort derisively about insurance company profits (ignoring that insurance companies are advocating for Obamacare), they sniff haughtily about racism, extremism, or conspiracy theorists (forgetting that they’ve yet to clean their own house), or they simply pretend they don’t know who we are at all.

White House officials on Friday professed to know nothing of the planned demonstrations. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs queried reporters about the planners and their issues. “I don’t know who the group is,” he said with a shrug.

That’s the word from the President. He doesn’t know who the 2 million people protesting across the country really are. Well I do, Mr. President.

AMERICANS!

Frankly, I’m not too surprised that the Washington establishment doesn’t know who we are. I’m not too surprised that the mainstream media doesn’t know who we are. I’m not at all surprised President Obama doesn’t know who we are. We’re everyday, patriotic Americans, a group he really isn’t all that familiar with. None of them are.

Well I can only say one thing to those who confess to not knowing us. After yesterday, you better get to know us. And fast. The sleeping giant is awakening. Yesterday we showed our numbers and our lack of fear. Get used to it.

Tomorrow, we drive to Fort Collins, Colorado and then on to Denver. We’re going to see more patriots along the way. And at every stop, we’re going to empower them to keep speaking, strong and loud. Get used to us, liberal America. We aren’t going anywhere. You can’t silence us anymore.

Defiance. Not fear.

See below for a few of the dozens of photos I took yesterday, and check the full journal for more notes and on the ground experiences.

– Caleb

September 12, 2009 | Defiance Not Fear, Liberty Rally, Tour Updates