ST. CHARLES, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Hundreds of tea party supporters attended a rally along the St. Charles Riverfront Monday afternoon. St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann was among the crowd, "I'm very impressed with this kind of turnout," he said. When asked why he came he said he supported the tea party efforts to change Washington, "The government takeover of the health care system," explained Ehlmann.A small group of counter demonstrators held signs calling for a civil discussion of the issues.
"This is democracy in action. We knew we could come and make our statement, too. Just like the tea party group, we're making our statement," said Franklin McCallie, a member of Kirkwood United for Health Care.
Tea Party supporters feel the media have focused on the extremists in these crowds instead of their overall message.
"The issues that folks here are interested in is fiscal conservatism and constitutional governance," said Dave Evans, candidate for the Missouri State House of Representatives.
"We're tired of the pandering politicians who are made out of cardboard and say anything they want to say at election time and then after the election is over they do whatever they darn well please," said State Rep. Cynthia Davis, O'Fallon, MO.
She believes the tea party rallies will send a message to Congress, "We want you to quit bloating the budget and understand what limited government is and get a grip on who your constituents are and we're a force to be reckoned with and were not going to take it anymore."
The Tea Party Express will roll on to Springfield, Illinois next. The bus tour will end in Washington, D.C. on tax day, April 15th. The statement they hope to make is that Americans are already paying too much in taxes.
