Stewart fires up TEA Party

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart excited the crowd of TEA Party advocates when he announced his plans for May 4.

Stewart, a Republican, said he will ask his colleagues to approve a resolution that would prevent county employees from implementing new Medicaid regulations when they take effect in 2014.

"That is a public option that increases Medicaid to beneficiaries by more than 40 percent," Stewart said at a Prince William County TEA Party Patriots rally at the McCoart Administration Center on Thursday.

Stewart, who seemed confident that his resolution will pass, said the county would not provide the benefits until it is compelled to.

"We will not implement those regulations until we are required to do so through injunction, which can only be initiated by the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia," he told the crowd of about 100.

Additionally, Stewart said he believes the regulations will not bear legal scrutiny.

"I do not believe they are legal," he said about 2 p.m., when the crowd had dwindled from a high of about 200 at noon when the rally started. "I do not believe they will serve anyone."

He continued, "I do believe that they will hurt the current beneficiaries of Medicaid -- the disabled, the poor children and others -- who already have difficulty finding physicians who will treat them on the low reimbursement rate."

Stewart said the regulations amount to "unfunded mandates" that will cost taxpayers money and divert resources from other areas.

"I don't think the county should be responsible for administering a federal program," he said.

Still, Stewart said he didn't know how thing would shake out legally.

"I don't know how it's going to work out," he said. "We'll have to see."

In his closing remarks, Stewart called Washington "tyrannical" and urged those at the rally to attend other rallies and to remain vocal.

"There is an attempt to silence us all," he said. "To make us fearful of some sort of consequence, to ridicule us. It's happening right now, but it's up to each and every one of us to stand up and be counted and to do something."

On the other hand, Prince William Supervisor John D. Jenkins said he would not support Stewart's resolution.

Jenkins said that because the health care bill has been signed into law, the county needs to obey and leave it to the courts to decide whether regulations should be implemented.

"The law of the land is in place," said Jenkins, D-Neabsco. "Whatever happened to the rule of law he talks about? You can't advocate anarchy, and that's what that is if he wants to go against the law of the land."

Additionally, Jenkins said local money would be wasted in defense of the resolution if it passes.

Supervisor Martin "Marty" E. Nohe, R-Coles, said he is cautious about supporting the resolu-tion until he's seen the gist of it.

"I can't support any policy that would tell county staff to not obey the law," Nohe said. "If we have a federal mandate, we need to comply with that mandate. To do otherwise would put county employees in a dangerous position."

Similarly, Supervisor Michael C. May said he would hold off on giving his opinion until he's seen the resolution.

He wants to know the fiscal impact of the resolution and if it could be implemented.

But May said everyone on the board is interested in the financial impact the health care bill will have on the county's government.

"The question is: 'What's the best method to address that?'" he said.

And May said he doesn't want the county to get into legal trouble.

"If the goal is to provoke some sort of a lawsuit against the county, I don't think that would necessarily be productive," he said.

Then there was Neil Minke of Manassas. He wants to get out of his parents' house, and he said high taxes contribute to keeping him there.

He said he wants his voice to be heard.

"I want to show my support. I don't want to pay high taxes," the 21-year-old said.

Minke's to-the-point assessment echoed that of others in the crowd who applauded speakers ranging from former Virginia governor and U.S. senator George Allen to regular folk who took to the microphones near the end of the rally.

People in the crowd wore T-shirts and carried flags and signs bearing the Revolutionary War slogan, "Don't Tread on Me."

Terry Landon stood at the edge of Prince William Parkway holding a sign during the rally.

She too wants to be heard.

"I've been the silent majority way too long, and I want a voice and nobody is listen-ing," the 61-year-old Manassas woman said.

Landon said she wants to see a time when groups like the TEA Parties are irrelevant.

"As soon as Washington starts to hear that people think, it will be the TEA Parties. They won't be necessary," she said.

Bruce Moore also stood at the edge of the parkway with a sign. His said, "Congress. Stop Careless Spending."

He said everyone, TEA Party advocate or not, could agree about one thing:

"I think that everybody would agree that they're not crazy about this Congress' spend-ing," the 53-year-old Manassas man said.

Moore said he "carefully" chose the word "careless" when he made his sign.

"We had 2,000-page bills, spending record amounts of money, and they're not able to read it and understand it in time for the vote," he said. "That's careless. They're spend-ing money and they don't even know on what, much less what the repercussions are. That's careless."

Other signs said:

"Save the children, Stop spending their money."

"Stop spending Washington. It's not your money."

"No to socialism."

"November is coming."

"You do not govern us. We are the government."

Thursday's event also was a stop for a convoy carrying a message from state lawmakers to their counterparts in Washington.

In the morning, a group of 17 people gathered in Richmond for the symbolic send-off of a letter from 54 Republican members of the House of Delegates to Virginia's two U.S. senators and 11 congress-men.

The epistle asserts the 10th Amendment guarantee of states' rights and says that the Old Dominion doesn't intend to be merely an arm of the federal government.

"We, therefore, serve notice to the United States government, as its agent, to cease and desist, effec-tive immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers," the letter says.

Del. Richard L. Anderson took the letter from the State Capitol, and the Woodbridge Republican was to hand-deliver it to House GOP Whip Eric Cantor of Richmond on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Senior Reporter Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751. Staff writer Jonathan Hunley contributed to this story.