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December 18, 2009

Tea Party brews in Dalton

Rachel Brown

Packed into Shoney’s in a standing room only crowd, more than 125 people gathered Thursday night for Dalton’s first Tea Party.

Ned Wilford of Dalton said he’s an independent but leans toward Republican values and is considering becoming a Tea Party member.

“I think the only way we’ll get it turned around is on the grassroots level,” he said.

Walker County Tea Party organizer James Groce estimated 30 to 40 of the attendees were from Whitfield County. The rest were from Tea Party organizations in other North Georgia counties interested in helping start the movement in Whitfield. Tea Parties are non-partisan grassroots organizations that want to rein in big government.

Groce said he lived 23 years in Whitfield County and wanted to see a Tea Party started here. Those who left contact information will receive a notice about the next meeting when it is scheduled, he said.

Many attendees said they had never been to a Tea Party before but were fed up with rampant federal spending and unconstitutional programs.

Dalton resident and local physician David Dennard said he became involved in politics three years ago with presidential candidate Ron Paul’s campaign, deciding he needed to “either put up or shut up.” He said he’s concerned about health care reform. While he said he doesn’t have a solution, he says he knows what the answer is not.

“The more the federal government gets involved with something, the worse it will be,” he said.

Dalton resident Bob Harrell said he was expecting only about 50 or 60 people but was pleased to find many people share some of his values.

“I’m tired of paying taxes,” Harrell said. “I’m tired of government — whether it’s federal, state or even the local.”

Dalton resident Shirley Childs said she’s been to several Tea Parties and was not surprised at the large turnout for this one. She said many people are disgruntled with government’s handling of their tax dollars.

“We need to all unite together, and this is just a way that we can,” she said.

Ray McBerry, a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, was the guest speaker. McBerry, who has spoken at several Tea Parties, said he believes in restoring states’ rights and individual liberties by returning to the Constitution.

“I want you to know that there is a constitutional, peaceful solution to every single problem coming out of Washington,” he said. “It is called the 10th amendment to the Bill of Rights — states’ rights and state sovereignty.”



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