BOSTON — Saturday Night Live alum Victoria Jackson has just left the stage, after singing a few songs and entertaining the crowd of roughly 1,500 still on the Boston Common, gathered for the Tea Party Express rally.
The rally was scheduled to end at 1 p.m. It began at about 10, and featured former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Two busloads of Mainers came down for the rally, making stops in Old Town, Augusta, Lewiston, Portland and Portsmouth, N.H.
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Jackson, festooned with miniature flags in her blonde hair, quoted scripture to the crowd, saying the country is now in a fight of tyranny versus liberty. She also sang a parody song about the Obama administration and health care reform, with a refrain of “Keep your hands off me; 2010 conservative victory.”
Dave Andreasen of Portland said he came down to the rally to show support for the movement.
“This movement here is nationwide. This is how we get to know each other, hold out our hands in friendship,” he said.
Andreasen is a member of the Cumberland County Tea Party Defenders of the Constitution, a chapter of the statewide Maine Patriots group. There’s two main Tea Party groups in Maine, the Maine Patriots and the Maine Reformers. Organizers say there are 1,500 to 1,600 Tea Party supporters between the two groups and other, smaller groups.
12:19 p.m.
BOSTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has just finished speaking at the Tea Party Express Rally at the Boston Common to a cheering crowd of thousands.
Palin touched on a number of topics, including federal spending,
“They’re obviously digging us into a deeper, darker hole,” she said, “The first test will be at the ballot box.”
People in the crowd carried American flags, and yellow flags emblazoned with rattlesnakes and the words “Don’t Tread On Me.” Many carried signs, with slogans such as “Don’t Mortgage my Future,” and “Liars, Cheats and Power Grabbers.”
Protestors lined up across a paved walkway with their own signs that read “I Have Faith in Obama,” and other things. Several media helicopters hovered high overhead in the clear blue sky, adding to the noise.
The crowd includes at least 75 Mainers who boarded buses to travel to Massachusetts this morning, making stops in Old Town, Augusta, Lewiston and other communities.
Gil Harper and his wife, Susan Harper, of Cushing were working in Boston today. They came to the rally, meeting up with their two adult children, who rode one of the buses down. Gil Harper has seen Palin speak several times, and said she has the ability to talk directly to the people in a crowd.
He said he wanted to come to the rally to support liberty and personal freedoms.
“I’ve got to get away from the television and radio, get out here and participate,” he said.
After Palin left the stage, the crowd slowly began to disperse.
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