Face the State Staff Report
Just hours after the announcement that the Rocky Mountain News would print its final edition Friday, conservatives and free-market advocates gathered for a "Tea Party" rally where a call for new media activism came through loud and clear.
A protest homage to Ayn RandFTS Staff Photo
While the event was organized late in the week, word spread quickly over social networking Web sites like Twitter and Facebook to the hundreds of people who turned out on the east steps of the Capitol for morning protest of big government and wasteful spending. The event was part of a national day of protests organized in response to President Barack Obama's recent signing of the federal stimulus bill. As supporters gathered at the Capitol they signed teabags to be mailed to Democrat Congressman Ed Perlmutter and quickly quieted to hear from speakers well versed in new media strategy.
Speakers included Independence Institute President Jon Caldara, who promoted the event on his blog, Keith Peterson founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, or TCOT, self-described "Twitter Gangster" Rob McNealy, and congressional candidate Brian Campbell.
Caldara called on participants to utilize the Internet to its full capacity, saying, "it's the only way we are going to get our word out or have our voices heard, because it's not coming out of this building," referring to the Democrat-controlled state legislature.
Campbell, a relatively unknown political newcomer, used his time at the podium to bolster his candidacy in Colorado's 7th Congressional District, a seat currently held Perlmutter. He plans to incorporate new media heavily into his campaign and cited today's rally as proof that new media is the way of the future.
State GOP Chair Dick Wadhams said Campbell is the only Republican who has announced an intention thus far to challenge Perlmutter. "Brian has been in our office and he's the only candidate I know of right now that is considering a run."