Tea Party Weekend: Daytona Bike Week Freedom Rally Is Ready to Rock!

26 Feb, 2010 by Robert Stacy McCain

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One year ago this week, tens of thousands of patriots held “tea parties” in 40 cities in protest of government expansion, bailouts and the stimulus package, launching a nationwide movement — and now those citizens are regrouping and heading back to the streets to “recharge the movement” Saturday.
Feb. 27 marks the one-year anniversary of the first round of protests following CNBC analyst Rick Santelli speech against President Obama’s proposed bailout plan and other massive spending measures.

WND has a long listing of events from sea to shining sea this weekend, but I especially want to call to your attention the Daytona Bike Week Freedom Rally:

Deland, Fla. — Feb. 27-28, Volusia County Fairgrounds & Expo Center, 3150 E State Road 44. Contact Rhonda Lee Welsch at (386) 690-7814

Regular readers of the Other McCain will remember that I met Rhonda Lee Welsch when I traveled to Orlando in November for the final stop of the Tea Party Express 2009 tour, and she was the subject of an American Spectator feature article:

Rhonda Lee Welsch has a vision. “When we go back to Washington next year, there’s going be a lot of Harleys,” the Florida activist said. “And those Harleys make a lot of noise.”
Making noise may not seem like much of a goal to D.C. political strategists, but if thousands of thundering Harleys roll up in front of the White House as part of a national Tea Party march on Washington, Welsch’s vision might make more impact than Beltway wizards imagine. . . .
A breakthrough moment, she says, was when she joined the 9/12 March on D.C. and attended a seminar on organizing led by veteran conservative fundraiser Richard Viguerie.
Welsch returned to Florida and went to work on her vision: Bike Week Freedom Rally, scheduled during late February’s annual motorcycle gathering in Daytona Beach. She’s already booked the Volusia County Fairgrounds for the event, hired a rock band for musical entertainment, and is now in the process of raising more money and arranging speakers.
At a Tea Party last month in Orlando, Welsch handed out flyers promoting the Daytona rally. She sees bikers as a constituency instinctively opposed to big government. “Their motto is ‘Ride Free, Live Free,'” she says, and getting them involved in the political process could make a difference. . . .

Read the whole thing. This weekend’s event will feature FL22 congressional candidate retired Lt. Col. Allen West, the Razorbacks rock band, Tea Party favorites the Rivoli Revue, and “Take Our Country Back” singer Chris Cassone. Here’s video of Chris playing at the 9/12 March:

My own plans to cover this event in person got canceled — I need rest after CPAC — but if you’re anywhere in the vicinity of Daytona Beach this weekend, hop on your Harley and ride!