Tea Party group takes to the overpass

By Times-News (Burlington, NC)

Cars speeding below them honked and drivers held thumbs up out their windows in support of demonstrators standing on the Tucker Street overpass Friday afternoon.

They held up American flags and signs reading "Defund Obamacare," "Benghazi," "Impeach Obama" and waved the historic Gadsden "Don't tread on me flag" during the event, which was set to last from 3 to 7 p.m.

"There are too many issues that need to be investigated and are overlooked by the mainstream press," said Steve Carter, a member of local Tea Party organization Alamance Conservative.

Members of the group, which numbered about 17 during the early part of the demonstration, said they were attempting to raise awareness on the need to repeal the Affordable Care Act, investigate the 2012 Benghazi attack on the American diplomatic mission, speak out against the National Security Agency's monitoring of electronic communication and petition the government not to go to war in Syria.

"Obama wants to take us to war and is so sure about chemical weapons in Syria, but hasn't done anything about Benghazi," said Barbara Brown, one of the protestors. Below "Benghazi" on the sign she held read the names of the four Americans who were killed in the 2012 attack.

Carter and Brown said the group was receiving a lot of positive feedback from drivers on Interstate 40/85, and similar protests have been held across the state and country.

"Overpasses for Obama's Impeachment" is a grassroots movement that has held more than 40,000 events around the United States so far, Carter said. A Facebook page for North Carolina participants has more than 2,000 members.

Carter said Alamance Conservative meets monthly, and the group has almost 500 people signed up for its emails. According to Carter, the majority of the group's members are Republicans, though he said some members are conservative Democrats and they have supported conservative candidates from other parties.

"We've supported conservative Democrats for a variety of races -- judges, county commissioners and school board members," Carter said.

The group meets every third Thursday of the month at K&W Cafeteria, and Carter said they would be hosting a town hall event in a couple weeks for city council and mayoral candidates.

He said there was a core group of people that were a part of the demonstration, but the group was expecting other demonstrators to stop by for periods of time Friday.

"Fortunately, most of our members work during the day and can't be here until later," Carter said.

Source: Times-News (Burlington, NC) Tea Party group takes to the overpass September 14, 2013 6:53 am  (c)2013 Times-News (Burlington, N.C.) www.thetimesnews.com  Distributed by MCT Information Services