Live from Music Row Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed co-founder and national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots Jenny Beth Martin to the newsmakers line.
During the second hour, Martin reflected on the recent passing of Lloyd Marcus from the Tea Party movement describing him as well-liked by everyone within the party. She added that it was his faith in God and positivity that will be most remembered by all who knew him.
Leahy: We are joined now on our newsmakers line by my very good friend Jenny Beth Martin who is the co-founder of the Tea party Patriots back in 2009 and is now the President of Tea Party Patriots Citizen Action Fund. Jenny Beth, it’s a sad day because we are here to talk about the passing of our very good friend Lloyd Marcus. Tell us about how you first met Lloyd.
Martin: I met him face to face the first time that I met you. And that was when we went to California right after our first round of Tea Party’s back in February of 2009 to meet face to face at PJTV. I met you and him and Mark Meckler and Eric Odum for the very first time. And Amy Kremer traveled with me to that. Lloyd was such a good part of the Tea Party movement. He brought a musical talent and a focus on culture. That’s what he was doing the very first time that I met him.
Leahy: He was such a nice guy. And he was very talented musically. And he took a lot of grief because he was a Black conservative who supported the Tea Party movement. His personal character I think strikes me as just compelling. Tell us about his character and what kind of person he was.
Martin: I met him and learned that he was a Christian man. And I at the time I was going through a personal financial crisis. I had just lost my house within the month prior to that meeting. And I was talking about that and making sure people understood a little bit about my background.
And he talked to me about how he had been through his own personal financial crisis. And how he and his wife had financial issues. But even as he talked about it I could tell he had a sense of peace and a faith in God and a faith in Jesus. He was calm.
And it helped me think, OK. I’m standing next to somebody who has been where I have been and survived it and come out with a really good attitude. That was something that was very important to me. I didn’t really want to come out and just be a bitter angry person.
Leahy: He was a very positive person. It was interesting if you recall because all of the early Tea Party organizers were very passionate about the cause of limited government and free markets and fiscal responsibility. We all had sort of our points of view. And on occasion, we would have some heated discussions the right way. (Laughter)
Martin: Drama. Right.
Leahy: But there was Llyod. Steady. Got along with everybody.
Martin: He really did. And he had a smile. And there was drama in the Tea Party movement. Honestly Michael there is always going to be friction when you have different and very strong-willed passionate valued people who are focused on the values that they care about and people gathering together.
There will always be a little bit of disagreement here and there. And you have to learn how to get passed that and move on. Yet with Lloyd, I say that because the people will do that. I never heard an unkind word about him in the Tea Party movement or in the conservative movement. Everywhere he went people genuinely liked him. They liked his smile.
They liked what he had to say. And he had a passion as well. But his passion really and truly I talked about it and I think of him in terms of politics but everyone who knew him also knows that he was focused on his faith and that God gave him a sense of peace. And that peace shined through to everyone who knew him.
Leahy: We were exchanging emails to talk about our memories of Lloyd and you said something that was quite profound and true. You said I don’t think I’ve ever heard one negative word spoken personally about him. I think that’s true.
Martin: Yes. I think that it is very true. Of course, the Left is going to be the Left and do what they do and attack people. Maybe not always people but attack the values of people. And they attacked Lloyd. But the people within the conservative movement and the Tea Party movement I never heard one negative thing said about him.
And if you reached out and asked him if he could share some information to his list he was always willing to do that. He reached out to us from time to time asking if we would share information about a new song or an op-ed that he wrote for American Thinker. And it was a pleasure to do that for him because he just was such a good man and nobody, nobody has ever said anything bad or negative about it within the Tea Party movement that I can remember.
Leahy: Another thing that strikes me about him, again this is something you wrote about him. He built bridges rather than burning them down.
Martin: That is so true. He really did build bridges. Sometimes people especially in the early early days of the Tea Party movement there were people and bridges being burned. Not only would he go through without burning anything down but he also helped people who maybe had disagreements and find a way to smooth those over and remember what we are focused on. It takes real talent.
Leahy: It does. I was just going to say I remember when we all got together in Los Angeles back in 2009 and we were doing the PJTV program. It was very intense and very positive. And there came Lloyd amongst us and would sing one of his songs, the Tea Party Anthem and it just sort of brought harmony to the group that I thought was spectacular.
Martin: It was. That Tea Party Anthem he went around the entire country with the Tea Party and singing that song and riling up the crowd. And getting them excited about the speakers who would be there. And it was just really an amazing thing to watch.
I’m not positive that I’m right on this detail but I’m pretty sure that right before we did the Tax Day Tea Parties on April 15 there was an event in Orlando I think the weekend before that and I think he sang at that event. It was a massive event. I remember when we watched that on television thinking that we were building something much bigger than we ever realized. We really were beginning to build a movement.
Leahy: So he came up in early April. We did several programs on PJTV which was the beginning of internet television. We had a round table. You and I were there. And Amy Kremer, Mark Meckler, and Eric Odum. And we were sort of setting the tone and the themes for the April 15, 2009 Tea Parties. Lloyd was there and he would perform on air.
Then on the 15th, I think you went to Atlanta for the event there. And Lloyd went up to Sacramento I think and performed with Neil Cavuto from FOX was there and performed in front of a crowd of 20,000 and brought down the house. It was spectacular with his Tea Party Anthem song.
Martin: Yes. And it really was just amazing to watch him make a crowd be really excited. And he was singing about things that we cared about. And at that time it really was the Tea Party Anthem. I think that was in the Tea Party movie that Luke Livingston did. I’m just really going to miss Lloyd. Learning about his death was a very sad day.
Leahy: And not only was he an entertainer he was a pretty good writer. He wrote from 2008 to just his passing last week. He wrote once or twice a week for American Thinker. And he called himself the “un-hyphenated American.”
Martin: That is right. And when I was reading what people over at the American Thinker wrote about him as a tribute to him they said that he was one of their most prolific writers. That there were some weeks that he would write three or four pieces. I didn’t realize that he was writing quite that much. I knew that he wrote there and he was regularly writing there. And I found that as an interesting bit to learn.
Leahy: He also provided energy for so many events. You’d call him up and he would come. Just a great guy and we miss him so much. Jenny Beth Martin thanks so much for joining us today and good luck in fighting the good fight.
Martin: Thank you, Michael. And thank you for bringing us together with Lloyd.
Listen to the full second hour here:
– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Lloyd Marcus” by Lloyd Marcus.
I was saddened to learn of Mr. Marcus’ death last week. I enjoyed reading his no nonsense commentaries on Red State. God rest is soul.