They gathered, young and old, black, white and hispanic.  They wore spirited clothes, with bold patriotic words on the front.  They held signs, they cheered, they jeered, they made their voices heard.  An eyeball guestimate of between 3,500 and 4,500 people showed up at the Houston Tea Party Society's "Declare Your Independence" Rally and Celebration yesterday afternoon at Discovery Green in Downtown Houston.

Even the stifling heat streaming rivulets of sweat could not dampen the enthusiasm of this crowd.  They came from all over to attend.  They came from Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Clear Lake, Cleveland and  Cypress.  

They came to let the Liberal Left know they've had enough.  They came to say "NO".  "No" to Taxes.  "No" to Cap & Trade.  "No" to Socialized Health Care. "No" to Socialism.  "No" to a President that apologizes for America.  "No" to a President who bows to foreign Kings. 

Lest you Republicans are feeling too giddy about all this, you should take note; The angry, fed-up, take-the-bull-by-the-horns crowd also came to say "NO" to "RINOS" (Republicans In Name Only) and to those in the Republican Party that have lost sight of the conservative values that made America a great nation.

This crowd said "Yes" to Ronald Reagan.  "Yes" to Conservative thought.  "Yes" to the rock of Christian belief upon which the Constitution of the United States of America was written.

The organizers of this rally, The Houston Tea Party Society, did a great job in pulling together an exciting, crowd pleasing group of speakers.  All of the speakers represented the Tea Party Movement in its truest form, because none of the them were politicians.  There was also rocking music and a heartfelt, unapologetic Christian prayer to start it all off.

The perimeter of Discovery Green was lined with booths from vendors, other Conservative groups, and even a few candidates.

Houston Mayoral Candidate Roy Morales braved the heat in order to stand face-to-face with the people.  He shook hands, and he listened.

John Faulk, who is running for Congress against Sheila Jackson Lee, was there. He withstood the heat in order to meet and greet.  John Faulk also passed out the hit of the rally, in terms of memorabilia.  It was a simple round sticker with the initials "SJL" and the universal sign from "NO" scrawled across it.

Conservatives are angry.  They're angry enough and fed up enough to travel to Downtown Houston on a holiday, and to take the time to make signs, and hats and costumes.  They're angry enough to brave blistering brutal heat.  They're angry enough to be the catalyst for change in America.  You know, "Change we can live with."

Click on the adjacent slide show to see some of the activity of the day!