The Bungalow Belt is the social conservative part of Chicago--comprising the Northwest and Southwest Sides--that backed Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984. This afternoon the Tea Party movement came to the Belt, specifically the Garfield Ridge neighborhood west of Midway Airport. It was organized by the Chicago Tea Party Patriots.
Nature blessed the Tea Party attendees--there were about 150 of us--it was an unseasonably warm 70 degrees on the Southwest Side.
"Change" was in the balmy air, but not the far-left bait-and-switch socialisitic flavor that was emitted from Grant Park by Barack Obama twelve months ago.
Among the speakers at the event were two Republican candidates for statewide office, Adam Andrzejewski who is running for governor, a native of the South Side. John Bambenek, pictured on the right, who is gathering signatures for the Putback Amendment, which among other things will install eight year term limits for members of Illinois' General Assembly and ban gerrymandering.
But it was ObamaCare, not the warm weather, which brought emotions to a fever pitch.
Several times during the rally, Catherina Wojtowicz, who calls herself the "chief chick" of the group, asked the audience to call the Chicago and Washington offices of Rep. Dan Lipinski, who represents Chicago's Southwest Side, and tell him to vote "No" on ObamaCare.
I'm calling the Bungalow Belt Tea Party a success. Most of the people there were locals, and for many of them, this was their first political protest. I hope there will be another one soon, I grew up in the area, and take it from me--the folks of the Southwest Side and adjoining suburbs are used to being overlooked and taken for granted. But that doesn't mean they like it. The Chicago establishment media doesn't cover much of what happens in the Bungalow Belt--the rare murder of course being the exception.
Republicans--there is fertile ground for your conservative message near Midway Airport.
UPDATE November 8: Lipinksi voted "aye" on ObamaCare. Oh, take a look at Tom Mannis' slideshow on Chicago News Bench.
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