Posted on 01/16/2010 7:35:47 PM PST by mdittmar
CALEDONIA - Education isn't just for your children - it's for you too, Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher told a frozen but enthusiastic crowd Saturday.
The setting for the latest Tea Party - this one dubbed the Tea Party Bonfire - was Wendell Anderson's farm on Highway H.
Despite cold, damp winter weather, organizers reported from the stage that they'd counted more than 3,000 heads. The event jammed Highway H for about a mile in each direction; other participants were shuttled to and from the event on yellow school buses from Caledonia-Mount Pleasant Park. People were still arriving at 3:55 p.m. for the 3 p.m. event.
Nancy Milholland, one of about 20 organizers, said the group had heard this was the first Tea Party of 2010. The name refers both the the Boston Tea Party and is an acronym for Taxed Enough Already.
A pile of wooden pallets provided the fuel for the bonfire that roared about 50 yards behind the stage.
Speaker after speaker provided the verbal fuel, lobbing such topics as nationalized health care, climate change, taxation, immigration and gun rights. The first mention of "global warming" brought loud, derisive laughter from the crowd.
Wurzelbacher, the speaker with the widest name recognition, continued riding the wave of celebrity he has enjoyed since he questioned then-candidate Barack Obama during an Ohio campaign stop in 2008.
His brief message to Saturday's audience was that Americans should be regularly reading about their history and government.
"Get busy for an hour or half-hour each night," he said. "Take the responsibility of being American seriously - because if you don't, another country will," Wurzelbacher said.
Eyewitness to socialized medicine
The Obama health care plan took a pounding throughout the event, but the most compelling view on it came from Dr. Traci Purath, a neurologist at Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints in Racine. Purath recounted stories from six years she spent practicing medicine in Ireland, which had national health care.
She described a level of medical care that was rudimentary at best.
"The truth is: There is not enough to go around under socialized medicine," Purath said. For example, pregnant women did not receive ultrasounds as a matter of course, but only if there were known problems. Sometimes a problem was not discovered until the birth.
Instead of private rooms, hospitals had 30-bed wards, Purath said.
And accident victims were simply picked up and taken to a hospital - with no early emergency treatment before arrival, she said.
The kicker, Purath said, is that since then, more than 50 percent of the Irish have private health care: "As we're socializing, they're privatizing."
After her public talk, Purath said doctors have not been consulted in the formation of national health care. About her fellow physicians, she said: "Everyone's scared ... that we will lose the opportunity for choice."
Several speakers used the event to stump for upcoming election races. State Rep. Robin Vos, R-Caledonia spoke, as did state Senate candidate Van Wanggaard. The audience also heard from Rob Taylor, a Constitution Party candidate; Dave Westlake and Terrence Wall - all running against U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold this year. The mere mention of Feingold's name drew loud boos from the crowd.
Of the three, Taylor presented the most extreme portrait of himself. He called, for example, for getting the United Nations building off of American soil, which brought cheers.
The last speaker was radio talk show host Vicky McKenna of WISN (1130 AM). Reinforcing an often-uttered message Saturday, she said: "Finally, everyone found out it's all about you. The penalty for losing an election should not be losing our country."
Joe the Plumber is not a pipe dream
It should state Caledonia Wisconsin
My husband and I drove over 100 miles to be at the Bonfire Tea Party today in Racine. We all stood on snow and ice for about 2 1/2 hours. I thought about my cold feet for a little while. Then I thought about the REAL patriots at Valley Forge who marched in freezing weather with NO shoes, socks, or boots. Just torn rags wrapped around their feet. It made me feel so humble to think of what others have given for this great country compared to how “soft” we have become. May God forgive us and heal our land.
AMEN
Yes, "Caledonia is the Latin name given by the Romans to the land in today's Scotland"
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
You are correct. I guess we will see what we are made of now in the 21st Century. Standing in the footsteps of our forefathers is a momentous task.
Thanks.
I was there too, and the insulated boots didn’t keep mine warm. I had the exact same thought. Valley Forge was a time of suffering, and the Ardennes forest. We must carry on what they sacrificed for.
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