The band cranked up way early, at 5:30, long before the crowd rolled in. And they were actually pretty good! Always a bonus, playing a mix of country dance and blues. Here is a little sample:
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Cool, huh?!
The festivities started with the usual prayer (as Lisa Gonzales said, the Clear Lake Tea Party doesn’t do anything without starting with a prayer). and pledges to both the U.S. and Texas flags. Then came yet another stirring acappella rendition of the national anthem from that young lady that has sung at a couple of CLTP events. I really need to write down her name, she wants to be a famous recording artist someday – I need to help!
After the anthem, all of the “dignitaries” on hand were introduced. Dignitaries being candidates for office. And there were a bunch of them, I counted 15. Special recognition goes to….Democratic candidate for Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 5 Wally Kronzer. This is the second Tea Party event that I’ve seen him at but I think he’s been to three or four. Kudos for stepping into the lions den because as of now, tea parties are about Republicans. More on that at another time.
Texas District 7 State Sen. Dan Patrick played the role of emcee and did a pretty decent job of keeping the speakers moving along. Fortunately, he let Apostle Claver go last because it is darn near impossible to keep that guy within a limited time constraint! Just kidding, just kidding! But seriously, Dan did a good job last night keeping the crowd interested, the speakers moving, and the prizes flowing.
The first speaker up was the smokin’ hot Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones. Wow. This was the first time that I’d seen her in person and she is all that. Very good speaking skills and did I mention smokin’ hot? As is sizzlin’? Dan left no doubt that she was running for Senate in 2012 to either replace a retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or to defeat her in the primary. I will say that she can fire up a Texas crowd when talking about drilling moratoriums.
Next up was Rep. Ron Paul. The crowd made him feel most welcome with the loudest and longest standing ovation of the night. I dare say there is a reason he’s been elected to office so many times by these guys – he speaks their language. He was blunt and to the point – Republicans have had many opportunities in the past to downsize the federal government and haven’t. Even though it looks like they’ll have another chance after Nov. 2nd, you’d better keep an eye on them and make certain that they do what they say they are going to do. Now do you see why he got the loudest ovation?
After Dr. Paul, it was Rep. Pete Olson’s turn. Obviously he mentioned NASA and keeping the funding (do you see the disconnect here or is it just me?), as well as delivering his favorite line, that being “ripping the gavel from the hands of Nancy Pelosi”. As usual, it was well received.
Then Dan talked for a bit about the upcoming legislative session, about re-electing Gov. Perry, about taking back the country, and about the Republican Party. One of the things that I always cringe about when Dan talks is his complete integration of Christianity and Republicanism, on this night saying that if the Republican Party drops its Christianity, he’ll leave it. Now, again I’m sure it is just me, but Republicans don’t equal Christians and Christians don’t equal Republicans. I haven’t picked on Dan in a while and won’t here but at some point, I hope he realizes that. But overall, he did a good job of providing this crowd with a message they wanted to hear. Including combining the two.
Last up was the rock star, Apostle Claver Kamu-Imani. Hey, you know you’re a rock star when you are deemed the 8th hottest conservative on the planet. Don’t they know he’s a preacher? Can preachers be hot? At any rate, Claver did what Claver does best, and that is fire people up, get them straining at the leash, raring to go vote! He is an excellent speaker and gets better each time out, which is very, very frequently these days. I’m guessing he’ll be in the million mile flyers club soon. Contact him at RagingElephants.org or via Facebook to arrange for him to speak to your group.
And so ended yet another great event put on by the Clear Lake Tea Party. You won’t hear much about their leaders, they have “term limits” and almost no public mention of their names. But you will see them helping other clubs form, such as the Galveston and Alvin Tea Parties. Next week they’ll be helping Pearland start up a club. They are a very effective group.
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