Colby Itkowitz
Allentown Morning Call
Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey joined the likes of Tea Party heavyweights Michele Bachmann and Jim DeMint at an anti-health care law rally, telling a crowd of hundreds that the “American experiment” is at stake.
Slightly removed from the Supreme Court building, after the second day of oral arguments had concluded, Americans for Prosperity, a tea party-affiliated group, held a two-hour gathering to stir the type of fervor that was widespread at townhalls and rallies in 2009.
“What is at stake and what is on trial today…” Toomey began. “Freedom,” people in the crowd screamed.
“That is absolutely right,” Toomey continued. “It is actually the American experiment itself. At the heart of that experiment for over 200 years now is the constitutionally enshrined idea that we live as free men and women…”
If the government can force you to buy health care, he said, “trust me it doesn’t end there.”
He told the crowd that no matter what the Supreme Court decided about the constitutionality of the health care law, “we’ll continue the fight for the American people because so much is at stake,” he said. “Hang in there. Never give up this fight for freedom.”
Pennsylvanians also stood at the steps of the Supreme Court to defend the law, speaking passionately about the individuals helped by the reforms. Read here for full coverage of the day’s activities. And watch Toomey stir the crowd here: