http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0828/Glenn-Beck-rally-I-have-a-dream-theme-takes-tea-party-turnGlenn Beck rally: 'I have a dream' theme takes tea party turn
By Gail Russell Chaddock, Staff writer / August 28, 2010
... America is about “freedom and opportunity, expecting nothing in return,” Beck said. “That really resonates with me,” says Don Vogel, a retired policeman and state worker from Newell, Penn. “I worked for what I got. I don’t know what my son is going to do for a job.”
Many at the rally mentioned the economy and moral decay – defined as abortion and gay marriage – as their top concerns. “This country is in the worst state of peril it’s been since its existence. If things don’t change in about two years, we’ve had it,” says John Nichols, a veteran who says he’s writing a book about his service with the all-black “Buffalo Soldiers” in World War II...
Organizers at the “Restoring Honor” rally discouraged political signs, but yellow “Don’t tread on me” flags adopted by tea party activists were nearly as ubiquitous as American flags. The back of some “Restoring Honor” T-shirts read: “Had enough hope and change?” – a reference to President Obama’s 2008 campaign. Out on the street, a protester with a “Deport Barry Soetoro” sign held forth on the generally discredited “birther” conspiracy theory.
So, was the rally, in fact, political? No, said Peter Wandrie, a retired Detroit policeman, who drove all night to get to the rally from Lapeer, Michigan. “We are taxpayers and we want our government back.” His wife Gen disagreed. “Of course it’s political,” she said. “It’s not a Democratic or a Republican thing. I hate Republicans, too. They’re just Democrats lite.” “They think we’re stupid, that we’re just flyover country,” she added. “We’re hoping to restore America, but if not we’re prepared.”