Chuck Henthorn, who's running for the U.S. Senate, at his Dayton, Ohio, campaign office. For several months Henthorn "has been coordinating Tea Party buses to Washington for an ad hoc Dayton group, the Freedom Institute," reports Bill Donahue, a freelance writer in Portland, Ore., who accompanied an Ohio group to the Glenn Beck rally in Washington in late August.
Andrew Spear
Pamela Holdren, of Oakwood, Ohio, arrives in the District after an overnight bus ride bound for the "Restoring Honor" rally.
Most of the 51 riders are from Dayton's suburbs, "but they started as strangers united by a common mission," Donahue writes. "But I wasn't quite clear why, exactly, these folks were traveling to Washington, or what they stood for."
Lucian Perkins-For The Washington Post
Henthorn, 63, is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who served for 25 years.
On the bus to Washington, he told the group that he is running for the U.S. Senate in 2012.
"And you may or may not think I'm crazy, but five months ago, I got woken up in the middle of the night. The good Lord woke me up when I was sound asleep, folks, and he said, 'You're running for office.' "
Lucian Perkins-For The Washington Post
Henthorn pauses at the Lincoln Memorial as the group of Ohioans he is leading looks for a place to sit and watch the rally. Behind him, holding a flag that says "Don't Give Up The Ship," is Dale Unroe, Henthorn's communications director and acting chief of staff for his Senate campaign.
Lucian Perkins-For The Washington Post
Betty Kleinhenz waves the American flag as she walks toward the Lincoln Memorial to the rally.
Lucian Perkins-For The Washington Post
Ohioan Vicki McKee holds her hand over her heart at the start of the rally.
Lucian Perkins-For The Washington Post
Ohioans Paul and Doris Weaver sit with their grandson, Noah Weaver, in front of the Lincoln Memorial to watch the rally.
Lucian Perkins-For The Washington Post
Paul and Doris Weaver, with their grandson Noah, at home in Springfield, Ohio.
On the bus trip, Paul Weaver talked about how he found Christ 30-odd years ago. "I started praying," he told writer Donahue. "I asked God for forgiveness, and then it was almost like a movie: I could see that shimmering light. And it changed my life."
"We're not trying to make you uncomfortable here," he told Donahue. "I'm really sorry if it feels like that. We just want to help you."
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John Holdren poses with a pet rat at his home in Dayton, Ohio.
Holdren, a 62-year-old retiree, is a Tea Party supporter who attended the rally. "He was such a fan of Barry Goldwater and his libertarian allies that during a 1962 election, Holdren wore holes into a new pair of shoes in a single evening, skipping up and down porch steps, delivering leaflets," Donahue writes.
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John Holdren adjusts his "Don't Tread on Me" flag outside of his Dayton home. "I'm not particularly oriented toward embracing other cultures. I like American culture," he says.
Andrew Spear
Chuck Henthorn works on his upcoming Senate campaign at his Dayton office.
On the bus to the rally, he told other riders: "I believe that elected officials on the Hill should govern from the state that elected them. They shouldn't be up there holding hands singing 'Kumbaya' in D.C. I believe that we don't need the Department of Education or the Department of Energy."
Andrew Spear
Henthorn works with Unroe on the Senate campaign.
Andrew Spear
Gallery Credits:
Photo Editor, Producer Troy Witcher
