The first ever statewide Texas Tax Day Tea Party Rally will be held Wednesday, April 15, in Austin. It is expected to draw nearly 100 constitutionally-minded, limited government conservative and other like-minded patriot groups. They will gather on the south steps of the Capitol where, among the many festivities, ordinary people who have done extraordinary things as grassroots activists will be honored for their contributions.
The event will kick off with the 11:30 am “rally before the rally” followed by the 12-1 pm rally. There will be concurrent grassroots training onsite and citizen lobbying for a variety of current state legislation. Breitbart Texas previously reported on these event details.
Julie McCarty, President of the NE Tarrant Tea Party, has been involved in the planning. She told Breitbart Texas that this theme of ordinary people doing extraordinary things came about because “that’s what it requires to create change.”
Three everyday Lone Star conservative activists will be honored. McCarty said they were chosen through a selection process where she reached out to the grassroots over social media.
“I said, tell me who your heroes are around the state.” The goal was to identify those individuals who “saw a need and stepped up to fill it,” she added. The names that came back most resoundingly were Dwayne Stovall, Terri Hall, and Morgan McComb.
Stovall is the popular purveyor of constitutional principles. He speaks to conservative groups on issues of federalism and keeping Texas free. He was the 2014 Tea Party hopeful that took on US Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
Hall is the homeschool mother of nine who tackles Texas toll roads. She is the founder of the advocacy non-profit Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), which among other things, seeks reforms through accountability.
McComb is the Dallas County single mother of three known for block walking on behalf of Tea Party candidates. By her estimation, she knocked on 17,891 doors this last election cycle and all 14 of her candidates were elected.
This ordinary to extraordinary motif permeates more than just the honorees. Rally keynote speaker will be Brandon Darby, Managing Director of Breitbart Texas. It was a choice that was in keeping with the theme, McCarty said.
“We wanted someone that Texans wanted to hear from and he’s been involved as an activist for a long time.” She added, “Brandon was that ordinary person who has done extraordinary things.” Darby will speak to how everyone can do something to make a difference.
Other speakers and presenters include Barbara Harless, North Texas Citizens Lobby; George Rodriguez, Raging Elephants Radio; and Heidi Hansing, Clear Lake Tea Party.
The Tea Party movement is vibrant in Texas and made headlines in the 2014 midterm election with a constitutional conservative candidate sweep. Michael Quinn Sullivan, President of Empower Texans/Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and a Breitbart Texas contributor will look at how far the movement has come in Texas over the past six years.
Tea Party favorites such as state representatives Pat Fallon (R-Frisco) and Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) will also participate. Schedule permitting, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), Jodie Laubenburg (R-Parker), Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving), Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), Stuart Spitzer (R-Athens), Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth), Rodney Anderson (R -Grand Prairie) , Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) and state senators Bob Hall (R-Rockwall) and Don Huffines (R-Dallas) are expected to attend throughout the day.
Rain or shine, the free event is on. McCarty looks forward to the grassroots coming down to Austin to be a part of this new ground-floor statewide chapter in Texas Tea Party history.
To attend, the schedule and information about bus transportation to and from the event are on the Texas Tax Day Tea Party Rally Facebook page.
Follow Merrill Hope on Twitter @OutOfTheBoxMom.
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