So far, the coverage of the Virginia Tea Party Convention — the largest Tea Party convention anywhere to date — has been very positive. Here’s an excerpt from what the Richmond Times-Dispatch had to say:
Like a student late for class, Suzanne Curran, 71, marched purposefully through the halls of the Greater Richmond Convention Center in a sticker-covered “November is Coming” T-shirt, an overflowing handbag under one arm and a stack of documents under the other.
A political volunteer and activist since Republican Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign, Curran — one of more than 2,800 people who attended this weekend’s Virginia Tea Party Patriots Convention — called the tea party the most exciting political movement she has seen.
“When we — as people fighting to save constitutional government — can trigger derogatory language from the president of the United States, that’s heart-pumping exciting,” she said. “That means we’re making a difference.”
A political movement that began as a spasm of anger has now settled into something different. With its optimism now matching its anger, the tea party is getting down to the business of effecting change and planning for a long-term future.
For those of you who attended, please leave a comment about your experience and any thoughts you have about the future of the Tea Party, especially in Virginia.
I think that the some comments at the convention about the RTD were unfair…just like in this piece, the RTD has been extremely fair in its coverage of the TP movement generally, and about the convention specifically. Kudos to RTD.
I agree with EricM. RTD coverage was positive and inclusive. One line of caution does not evoke negativity. More importattly, I want to thank Jamie and all who contributed, including speakers and panelists, for a job well done. The entire event brought pride to me as a conservative Virginian. I feel motivated, educated and engaged. The TPVA leaders and participants have been working diligently and the work for the rest of us is just beginning.
Yes, the RTD did a great job reporting on the convention. I was there, and and thought they provided full, fair coverage. Like Suzanne, I too felt like a student running from class to class, and I especially enjoyed learning more about important issues and how we can reclaim our government for the purpose that the founding fathers intended.
Great show – learned a lot – what was the OPT4? Looked interesting
What a great event. My hopes are restored! A movement based on faith, patriotism and unity will not fail! Kudos to the RTD…. GREAT job!
Excellent event and well worth the trip from southwest Virginia and the cost. I was left wanting more!
The seminars were informative and I wanted to attend several of them at once. I thought the general sessions were fabulous and the speakers informative and interesting. Kudos for getting some of the bigger names in the country; I am certain they were a good draw even if some of them were republicans! :-)
I still have to sift through all the handouts, flyers and notes I took.
My wife and I want to thank everyone who donated their time, energy and finances to deliver this superb event. If we didn’t know better, we would have thought that this was the work of a convention planner and a fleet of pros. Very, very well done. It was an entertaining, educational event. We thought the theme; “The constitution still matters” was spot on. This group is about education and knowledge. Our thanks to Jamie, the leadership team, the speakers and all the volunteers who made this possible. Excellent!
SPECTACULAR EVENT ! Very Educational and very well organized. What’s the date for next years event so I can put it on my calendar now.
The convention exceeded my wildest expectations.
Guess that we showed the rest of the country how
to organize a Tea Party convention.
The next thing to organize is a November 2 victory
celebration
It was a really fantastic convention. Loved the opening talk by the Ayn Rand representative. Very appropriate. The choice of speakers and topics was excellent. On my very short list of lifetime-favorite conventions (of ANY kind) ever! I wish there was another day to hear the talks that were given simultaneously and had to be missed. Many thanks to all the people who put it together.