Fourth of July T.E.A. Party at Bushy Run to focus on liberty

The first Westmoreland County Taxed Enough Already Party coincided with the April 15 deadline for filing a tax return, and the conversation focused on bailouts, taxes and what some speakers saw as reckless federal spending.

The second will take place July 4 and the emphasis will be on individual freedom, organizers say.

Building on the enthusiasm of round one of the T.E.A. Party, when 500 to 1,500 people gathered in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse, the conservative organizers of the T.E.A. Party, Round Two, hope the event staged from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township will be just as successful.

Melinda Donnelly of Jeannette, a rally spokeswoman, said the initial event was “such a great idea, but now we need to take it one step further.”

Donnelly said the holiday rally will be a nonpartisan affair.

“Both Republicans and Democrats are invited,” she said.

Speakers will include Hans Lessmann of Pittsburgh, an optometrist and the founder of the Society for the Education of Physicians and Patients, which advocates a market-based approach to health care coverage. He believes officials should reject government involvement in favor of private Health Savings Accounts.

Lessmann said one of the topics he expects to address at the rally is how individuals can take charge of their health care.

Bill Choby of Latrobe said that, while dressed as George Washington, he expects to talk about the history of the French and Indian War, which ended with the victorious British saddled with a huge debt.

He said he will pivot from that to a discussion of the budget deficit and national debt.

Choby, a dentist and a former Republican candidate for Congress, said people have got to get back to “America’s roots and the freedom thing.”

A third speaker will be Diane Gramley, the Pennsylvania chairwoman of the American Family Association.

The national AFA, which the group’s Web site says stands for “traditional family values,” initiated the first Tea Party Day, which was backed by many of the nation’s top conservative talk shows. According to Donnelly, the AFA is promoting July 4th events across the country. The organization has a T.E.A. Party Web site, www.reteaparty.com, on which it provides guidance to grassroots individuals and thanks volunteers for organizing rallies “in your community.”

It was not immediately clear how many rallies will take place on the holiday.

In addition to speakers, music will be a part of the Bushy Run rally. A jazz band and patriotic singers are scheduled to perform.

According to Donnelly, organizers “had to fight” to stage the event at the state-owned Bushy Run Battlefield. State officials initially turned down the group’s request.

“They didn’t give us a reason,” Donnelly said.

Donnelly said she phoned Republican Sen. Kim Ward for help.

One of Ward’s aides, Debbie Irwin, said she spoke to someone at the state Historic and Museum Commission in Harrisburg.

“It wasn’t anything heroic,” Irwin said.

A commission spokesman, Howard Pollman, said the state “can’t discriminate” against groups wishing to rent space at Bushy Run. There was no explanation why the group’s initial request was turned down.