June 2009 – The April 15 TEA Party rallies were declared a smashing success by AFA chairman and founder Don Wildmon, after hundreds of thousands of people attended approximately 3,000 rallies.
According to CNSnews.com, local organizers estimated that somewhere between 500,000 and a million people attended the April 15 events.
The rallies are called “TEA Parties” for two reasons. The first is in reference to the Boston Tea Party, which took place in 1773 when angry colonists threw taxed British tea into Boston Harbor. Also in connection to that event, the abbreviation “TEA” stands for “Taxed Enough Already.”
AFA sponsored more than 2,000 of the rallies and the turnout encouraged Wildmon to immediately begin planning a second wave of gatherings July 4, which will be called American Freedom Day TEA Party rallies.
“The first TEA Party Day gatherings were held April 15 – tax day – because we were focusing on people’s anger over the misuse of our tax dollars,” Wildmon said. “But July 4th is an incredibly important day for Americans, symbolizing our independence and freedom. These rallies are demanding an end to bloated, wasteful and incompetent government in Washington.”
AFA hopes to sponsor more than 4,000 community gatherings July 4. At press time (in late April) nearly 500 cities had already committed to host one of the American Freedom Day TEA Party rallies.
Predictably, the mainstream media played down every aspect of the nationwide grassroots movement that occurred in April. For example, The Associated Press began its coverage by declaring that “tens of thousands” participated. Other mainstream media outlets repeatedly referred to about 750 TEA parties nationwide. The TEA Party story was the second story on ABC and lasted 1.5 minutes. ABC and CBS both alluded to the protests as political events organized by the sore losers of last fall’s elections.
“Their coverage was ridiculous,” Wildmon said. “They make themselves a laughingstock. The media and the tax-and-spend members of Congress still don’t get it. So get ready for the July 4 TEA Parties.”
People who want more information about the reasons for the TEA Party movement or who wish to sponsor a July 4 rally can go to www.afa.net or www.teapartyday.com to get started. 
