This isn’t really new. The first big round of Tea Parties* on April 15 were products of grassroots activists and Washington-based conservative groups, with Republican politicians glomming onto them only after it became clear that they were becoming media events. There were far, far fewer Republican politicians at this weekend’s events, which is the way many organizers preferred it. They do not see their activity as an outgrowth of Republican Party activism. As Tea Party organizer Michael Patrick Leahy reminds anyone who suggests that, the overarching argument of the movement — that government is spending too much and killing private enterprise — places blame with both the Bush and Obama administrations.

At the same time, right-wing events are, well, right-wing events. And savvy Republicans know that a few “Obama = Hitler” signs will appear at these things as the more dedicated, more fringy activists take over.

*There were some Tea Parties on February 27, but not on the same national scale.

Partial transcript of narrator “Pale Horse”:

A peaceful demonstration of at least a million — hey, if we can get 10 million, even better — but at least one million armed militia men marching on Washington. A peaceful demonstration. No shooting, no one gets hurt. Just a demonstration. The only difference from any typical demonstration is we will all be armed.

My first instinct is to say “good luck getting a permit for that,” but my second is to point out that if Pale Horse is serious about keeping out felons, he’ll keep out militia leaders like Mark Koernke.

Also note that the pictures in the video are all from President Obama’s inauguration day.

Update: The Ohio Militia has apparently taken the video down from its YouTube page. However, DoubleDoseUS has a videotaped version of the original video up here.

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