When Gresham Barrett got up to speak at the April 17, 2009 Tea Party in Greenville, SC, he must have expected to get a “none too warm” welcome. His vote for HR1424, economic stimulus package was an impetus for widespread voter anger and he has done nothing to right that wrong. It doesn’t seem to matter to the voters of the 3rd congressional district that Rep. Barretts single vote would have made no difference overall, and that he has apologized for voting in favor of the bailout, the average voter (-at least as evidenced at last nights Tea Party-) is simply mad as a hornet that Barrett would display the kind of Chutzpah to come to a conservative stronghold such as the Upstate and attempt to speak to a crowd of people who are angry at government in general and high taxes specifically. So if Barrett thought he would get a willing audience, he was sorely mistaken. What he did get was a refusal to listen and a very vocal rejection of his candidacy for governor of SC as well as his audacity to use a Tea Party event as a campaign platform. The booing of the crowd in response to Rep. Barretts appearance was overwhelming at times, often drowning out Barretts speach and making it hard to hear what he was saying.
Although the words of those speaking at the Tea Party were often muffled and difficult to hear (on ground level particularly) the message back to Gresham Barrett was easily heard and readily understood. We don’t want you here, we don’t appreciate your vote on the $700 billion stimulus package and we won’t vote for you if you were the only candidate running against a democrat. Those sentiments were easily understood no matter where you were standing.
If Barrett is going to be elected governor of SC, it won’t be with the help of the Tea Party attendees. But will the support of Tea Party protestors really matter? Maybe not. Considering that Lindsey Graham was re-elected after his wishy-washy stands (or lack of), and “principled compromise”, who’s to say whether Barrett has a shot or not? If the crowd at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville has a say, Barrett may as well pack it in right now, but they probably would have said worse to Graham and he is ensconced in Washington for yet another six years. As the Upstate goes, so goes South Carolina? Obviously not. Keep running Gresham, let’s see how it pans out.
Gresham Barrett Booed At Greenville, SC Tea Party Protest
I Almost Feel Sorry For Barrett….Almost
When Gresham Barrett got up to speak at the April 17, 2009 Tea Party in Greenville, SC, he must have expected to get a “none too warm” welcome. His vote for HR1424, economic stimulus package was an impetus for widespread voter anger and he has done nothing to right that wrong. It doesn’t seem to matter to the voters of the 3rd congressional district that Rep. Barretts single vote would have made no difference overall, and that he has apologized for voting in favor of the bailout, the average voter (-at least as evidenced at last nights Tea Party-) is simply mad as a hornet that Barrett would display the kind of Chutzpah to come to a conservative stronghold such as the Upstate and attempt to speak to a crowd of people who are angry at government in general and high taxes specifically. So if Barrett thought he would get a willing audience, he was sorely mistaken. What he did get was a refusal to listen and a very vocal rejection of his candidacy for governor of SC as well as his audacity to use a Tea Party event as a campaign platform. The booing of the crowd in response to Rep. Barretts appearance was overwhelming at times, often drowning out Barretts speach and making it hard to hear what he was saying.
Although the words of those speaking at the Tea Party were often muffled and difficult to hear (on ground level particularly) the message back to Gresham Barrett was easily heard and readily understood. We don’t want you here, we don’t appreciate your vote on the $700 billion stimulus package and we won’t vote for you if you were the only candidate running against a democrat. Those sentiments were easily understood no matter where you were standing.
If Barrett is going to be elected governor of SC, it won’t be with the help of the Tea Party attendees. But will the support of Tea Party protestors really matter? Maybe not. Considering that Lindsey Graham was re-elected after his wishy-washy stands (or lack of), and “principled compromise”, who’s to say whether Barrett has a shot or not? If the crowd at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville has a say, Barrett may as well pack it in right now, but they probably would have said worse to Graham and he is ensconced in Washington for yet another six years. As the Upstate goes, so goes South Carolina? Obviously not. Keep running Gresham, let’s see how it pans out.