The convention was tarnished when complaints about an admission price of $549 at the luxurious resort were sounded. Several speakers, including Representatives Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, canceled plans to attend the National Tea Party Convention.

One activist, Mark Meckler, calls the convention the “usurpation of a grassroots movement,” adding, “most people in our movement can’t afford anything like that.”

An issue in question is whether the Tea Party movement is the birth of a new party, but most supporters want to see the Republican Party remain or return to committed to conservative and constitutional principles.

SOURCES:
Bloomberg.com Palin Headlining Tea Party Convention at Opryland
nashbillepost.com Blackburn Will Not Attend Opryland Tea Party Convention
nashvillescene.com Tempest in a Tea Party: Activists Denouncing Opryland Confab

Gaylord Opryland Resort promotional video.

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The conservative political movement named itself after the Boston Tea Party of 1773 in which Americans protested against British.

Giannaoulias: “Come November, Congressman [Kirk], your days as a Washington insider are over.”

Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias will contend in November for the U.S. Senate seat that was once President Barack Obama’s Senate seat.

With former Governor Jim Edgar endorsing Kirk and standing at his side, Mark Kirk makes his victory speech. “A quiet despair has descended on the State Illinois.” [Mark Kirk vidtory speech video.]

A quiet despair has descended on the State Illinois. A governor arrested. A senator’s seat disgraced. Corruption rampant. Unemployment rising and families struggling. The people of Illinois now see the arrogance of a one party state. And this election will show that we will not surrender to their dangerous cynicism of low expectations.

Mark Kirk
Victory Speech for Republican Primary
Feburary 2, 2010

Mark Kirk saw a strong win in the Republican primary with about 57 percent of the votes. Giannoulias won a tighter race with about 39 percent of votes — beating Chicago inspector general David Hoffman, who followed with 34 percent of the vote.

Alexi Giannoulias brought out the old campaign of Hope and Change of President Barack Obama, blaming the Bush Administration for today’s financial woes. He associated Republican Mark Kirk with the policies of George W. Bush, as a Washington insider who thinks unemployment is ‘no big deal.’

Mark Kirk’s plan is to move this country backward — back to the failed and reckless economic policies of the Bush administration that got us into this mess.

Alexi Giannoulias
Victory Speech for Democratic Primary
February 2, 2010

But Giannoulias campaign had to fight criticism of the financial state of Broadway Bank, his family’s bank where he worked before he entered politics. Campaigning in 2006, Giannoulias proclaimed his competency for the job of Illinois State Treasurer, and cited his financial experience as the bank’s chief lending officer.

Giannoulias political opponents in the primary campaign, Cheryle Jackson and David Hoffman called for Giannoulias to withdraw from the race — citing payouts of at least $70 million Broadway Bank made in recent years to members of Giannoulias family and $2.5 million directly to Alexi Giannoulias. He also would not answer direct questions about the loans he approved while chief loan officer at Broadway Bank that have since defaulted.

Less than one week before yesterday’s election, Broadway Bank signed a consent order with federal and state banking regulators to raise millions of dollars in capital, restrict dividends, and hire an outside consultant to assess the bank’s top management. The bank was described as “undercapitalized” in the consent order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The order requires the bank to raise funds or lower debts to correct the undercapitalization problem.

As of September 30, 2009, Broadway Bank was among more than 30 Chicago-area banks that had seriously delinquent loans and foreclosed real estate on their books that exceed or approach their levels of loan reserves plus core capital.

Toni Preckwinkle is a Chicago Alderman in the 4th Ward and is the Democratic Committeeman for the 4th Ward. In 1991 Preckwinkle and four others challenged Timothy C. Evans for the 4th ward alderman’s position. In the first round of voting on February 26, 1991 and after two defeats in 1983 and 1987, she won nearly one-third popular vote in the ward by winning 20 of 58 precincts (all in the Hyde Park-Kenwood community). Evans and Preckwinkle again advanced to a runoff election, as they had in 1983, but this time the majority of the eliminated candidates endorsed Preckwinkle. On April 2, 1991, Preckwinkle performed better in the northern part of the ward and was elected by a 109 vote margin, defeating the 17-year incumbent alderman Evans.

Preckwinkle supported Barack Obama early in his political career, endorsing him in his campaigns for Illinois Senate in 1995–6, U.S. House in 1999–2000, and U.S. Senate in 2003–4. She was among those who encouraged Barack Obama to make his first run for the United States Congress in 2000, and she was an early supporter when he ran in 2004. When Obama later became a United States Senator following the 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois, Preckwinkle had a large say in his Illinois State Senate replacement. She became Obama’s Alderman when he moved from Hyde Park to South Kenwood in June, 2005.

According to a New Yorker cover story article in July 2008, Preckwinkle had since become “disenchanted” with Obama. The article’s author suggested that Preckwinkle’s “grievances” against Obama were motivated by Preckwinkle’s perception that Obama was disloyal. Preckwinkle was still an Obama delegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Preckwinkle is also the Democratic Committeeman for the 4th Ward,a position within the Cook County Democratic Party. Each of the 50 wards of the city and the 30 townships of Cook County elect a Democratic Committeeman to the Cook County Central Committee. These committeemen form the official governing body of the Cook County Democratic Party which, among other purposes, endeavors to attract, endorse, and support qualified Democratic candidates for office.

View Chicago Neighborhoods — Kenwood and Hyde Park in a larger map

Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles (11 km) south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. Hyde Park is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Oriental Institute and the Renaissance Society. Hyde Park is formerly the name of a Township that included numerous other neighborhoods that have all been annexed by the city of Chicago.

See also …
Google Tony Preckwinkle
Google News Toni Preckwinkle
Wikipedia Toni Preckwinkle

New York officials and New York residents are worried about …
Logistic affects of massive demand on law enforcement
Congestion of traffic
Strain on budget
Disruption of businesses that are already struggling

Sen. Chuck Schumber (D) New York …
“I called the White House and told them that it would be a very good idea if they looked for alternative sites.”

What are the optional sites for the 9/11 Terror Trials for KSM, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Stewarts Air Force Base/ Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York
West Point

For more references and sources to this topic in context with other terror and global conflict topic, see

GLOBALCONFLICTMAPS.COM New Yorkers Protest Disruptive Terror Trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM)in Manhattan

I was trying to think about who he was tonight. And uh. It’s interesting he is post racial by all appearances … uh … and I was forgot he was black for an hour. You know he’s gone a long way to become a leader of this country — a past with so much history in just a year or two. I mean it’s something we don’t even think about. I … I was watching … I said ‘wait a minute, he’s an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people, and here he is the president of the United States, and we’ve completely forgotten that tonight. Completely forgotten it.