Another tea party in St. Louis
Tea parties are scheduled all across this grand nation for Wednesday, the last day to mail income taxes to the federal and state governments. The St. Louis tea party is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at Kiener Plaza (go here for more info).
The tea parties are intended as grass-roots protests against government spending. Most will have a grass-roots feel, but they are being managed by organizations with deep political ties. No matter. I don’t think many of the people who show up at tea parties care whose idea they were or who wrote the press releases. The outrage they feel, though, is real.
I don’t remember these folks being outraged by the off-the-books spending on the Iraq and (much less so) Afghanistan wars. Or outdated defense systems. Still, everyone has his pet cause. Mine might not be the same as yours. But that’s the beauty of this great land. On Wednesday, people will gather in Kiener Plaza to protest government spending. That they can is as important as why they are.
Americans for Prosperity is working hard to get people to come out Wednesday to its Tax Day Tea Party in St. Louis. AFP and a few other, mostly conservative groups are organizing these events across the country. The goal of the tea parties, the AFP website says, is to fight against congressional pork. The site says:
“As big government continues to mortgage our futures in hopes of advancing their flawed ideology of central control, the American taxpayer is fighting back. Taxpayer Tea Parties have sprung up across the country.
And, just in case you’re not up to speed on the issues that would bring you to Kiener Plaza at 6:15 on Wednesday (bring your homemade signs!), the website provides talking points, including:
Federal Spending
This year, the federal government is expected to spend $3.9 trillion dollars—that’s more than
TOTAL federal spending from the founding of the United States until 1974, 185 years!
This year, the federal government is expected to borrow $1.75 trillion dollars to finance its
deficit—that’s more than TOTAL federal borrowing from the
founding of the United States until 1986, 196 years!
The Obama Budget
The 2010 Obama budget contains a net tax hike of $1.35 trillion.
More than 42% of the so-called tax cuts in Obama’s budget are really
checks mailed to people who pay no taxes–old fashioned welfare.
The Obama budget proposes the largest excise tax in history,
disguised as a cap-and-trade energy scheme. He even admitted the
negative effect it would have on consumers; his quote while speaking
to The San Francisco Chronicle can be seen on the right.
The Obama budget brings back the death tax, currently scheduled for
total repeal in 2010—at a top rate of 45 percent—in a FOOTNOTE!
Anyone planning to attend the tea party Wednesday? If so, why?
Jamie Riley is the P-D letters editor and gatekeeper of the letters blog. Before joining the editorial page in May 2005, she was a reporter and page designer. Jamie lives in University City with her husband, Charles, daughter, Elise, and the world's best Jack Russell terrier, Logan, better known as Stinky. 
Some of these Tea Party people are really embarrassing. Did you see this?
http://www.daddyhogwash.com/2009/04/burn-the-books-tea-party-video/
Wow. Someone with the do-nothing job of ‘letters editor’ (Is that a full-time job? No wonder the PD is dragging down Lee Enterprises.) is whining because some people didn’t protest the spending on Iraq and Afghanistan. I don’t see you questioning people who are against the death penalty but for women killing their babies in the womb.
“The tea parties are intended as grass-roots protests against government spending. Most will have a grass-roots feel, but they are being managed by organizations with deep political ties.”
Shall I mention Jamie’s main sources of information, The Daily Kos and Media Matters, and their known supporter George Soros as groups being managed by an organization w/ deep political ties?
Jamie, loved the liberal slant! But nice try at “fairness.” I am wondering why no one is asking where the anti-war, Code-pink protesters are now that Obama is asking for more troops and money to fight the wars. No blog post on that yet?
Conservatives have been angry about the spending for years and spoke up with their votes in 2006 and 2008, hence the Democrats in power. Now they are regretting their votes as Obama has spent more money in his first two months than any president has spent in history.
Good for these folks for organizing and letting their voices be heard. All the ruckus from the left on the tea parties, yes even MSNBC, makes me think they are a little jealous and nervous perhaps?
The reason some of us might not have been so concerned with the spending on Iraq and Afghanistan is the fact that in 2001 this country was attacked by TERRORISTS. The safety of the U.S. and its citizens is the number one priority of the federal government. However, when the new president promises to “spread the wealth” by confiscating money from the decent, hard working, law abiding, patriotic people and giving it to the lazy, illegal or other slothful people, it’s another matter. And, reason to protest. You bet I’ll be there.
Obama is gonna turn this country in the right direction. Old white guys are running scared that everyone is gonna realize what theve been up to, ie proping up corperations, killing the enviroment, using catch phrases to scare americans in to letting them invade for oil. I have a dream that after obama’s secound term republicans will not longer be around.
love u
cole
Just to add to the debate, the top 10% of the population pays 72.4% of the nation’s income taxes. Also, in spite of what the left says, the wealthy shouldered more tax burden under GW Bush’s tax cuts. That is according to the CBO, not some right-wing think tank.
Citizens have every right to protest the irresponsible policies of the president and congress. I am not defending past politicians, nor should I have to. We are in the here and now.
To the author, please, don’t put forth a thinly veiled “b-b-b-but Bush” as a counter-argument to the Tea Party protesters.
It will be a busy day for the MSHP and local law enforcement scoping out all the real “terrorist”..
Will someone be playing the part of the Pied Piper to lead these conservative rats to the river? What amazes me is these people don’t even realize the plutocrats of this country have hijacked their brains; they can’t even think for themselves any longer. Yeah, the plutocracy of this country sure makes a lot of money off ignorance. Joe Cool… A question: have you ever worked in the journalism field? If not, you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, buddy. I guess, in your mind, the words just magically fall out of the sky and coincidentally arrange themselves in the proper order on the page, eh? The submitted letters to the editor — a large amount — also have to be read over; that’s a tough one to figure out, isn’t it? They also have to be verified for publication. A Centrist… If you can’t figure out why Obama has to spend more money on the wars, you’re wearing even bigger blinders than I originally thought.
While we are at it, let’s protest all the rich mother****s who think it is cool to hide their money in Switzerland and not pay their taxes. This has been going on even during the Bush years, just goes to show that the greedy rich, even when given big tax cuts, hide their money no matter what tax rate they are supposed to pay.
String them all up. I paid my taxes every year, even when I was in school full-time, single and only making $20k a year. So with people making a million+ a year can pay up or get strung up on Wall Street.