04/16/09
Post-Tea Party thoughts
[A new poll question: Do you believe the Tea Parties will lead to any sustained political activity by the day’s participants, or was it basically a one-time thing for the vast majority of them?]
It was a day to inspire a little optimism for those of us who believe in liberty and expect better from both our state and national governments. Denver’s Tax Day Tea Party was, in my opinion, a great success despite not having a great sound system in place.
The crowd, from young to old, was enthusiastic and generally in an excellent mood.
And the Gadsden Flag (yellow, rattlesnake, Don’t Tread On Me, etc) was on wide display…doing good for the heart of a libertarian.
Although I heard of two people being removed from the event, I never personally saw disruption, nor jeers nor signs from leftist disruptors.
There were hundreds of flags and signs being held by the (my guess) 3,000 people there. Others have estimated as many as 5,000 people. Unlike left-wing highly organized rallies with professionally made signs, you could tell these banners were efforts of love (for our nation and liberty) and frustration (with governments which are destroying both.)
Although a lot had been going on before the noon start time, the proceedings officially began with the Pledge of Allegiance. My thought was “I’m sure MoveOn.org rallies are JUST like this…not.”
Speakers talked of being “sons and daughters of revolutionaries", of “taking back our country", and repeatedly of the massive debt that the federal government is saddling future generations with.
Jon Caldara led the crowd in a round of cries of “No you can’t", as opposed to Obama’s empty “Yes we can” mantra. “Gunny” Bob Newman talked about the time of our founding, including the fact that his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather (maybe I missed one “great") was the guy who signaled Paul Revere to start his famous ride. Politicians and candidates spoke, but mostly avoided partisan politics or mention of political parties.
About 10 members of the General Assembly (and a couple of state Senators) came out to the balcony above the crowd, bringing great cheers as well as a minute-long chant of “Where is Ritter?” (For those of you not in Colorado, Bill Ritter is our truly horrendous governor who has every reason to be a one-termer and actually left Denver today, presumably to escape questions about the Tea Party.)
The Tea Party, rather than being about partisan politics, was about people finally getting angry enough with government to get involved. The message was to stay involved, that the winners in politics tend to be the ones to make an effort.
It’s unusual for conservatives and libertarians to protest. That’s generally something liberals do. Particularly libertarians…we just don’t normally think of telling others what to do. Again, that’s something liberals do. But as I said, the energy in the crowd was consistent and uplifting.
I realize that my liberal readers (not that I have very many of those) will simply not understand what I’m talking about. But that’s OK. Just as they think the world is full primarily of people like them and that we lovers of liberty and respecters of the constitution are a fringe group, I look forward to the day when we can, at least for a few minutes, think the same of them. That time is coming. And the further both the Colorado and the federal governments continue down their current paths, the sooner that time will arrive.
18 comments
Thanks for the pics.
JC Wagner
on 04/16/09 at 13:59
Your reporting is clear, balanced, and concise. And whether you have one view or not you did not ry to exploit it for your gain. You are honest.
I did see the two individuals that were escorted out by the Colorado State Police, but I honestly couldn't tell if they started a small fight with someone else or just among themselves.
In answer to your poll question: "I hope that it will be more than a one time event, and unless and until the take over of government by the left stops, I for one will be participating in this way and in writing and speaking against the leftists.
on 04/16/09 at 14:38
Although our tea party at Porterville, Calif. was not well advertised the people who came were well versed in what the tea parties were all about. Our basic freedoms are at stake.
Would some actions of our elected officials be considered to be treason?? Ed Doyel
STFU indeed.
Ross, I briefly read through the left's baiting you over on freedomworks about the tea party. So many talking points, so little time. Keep the faith.
I must say I think that it is fantastic to see people out and about, protesting and becoming involved in the process of our democracy. That is the foundation of our country and the principle behind democracy.
I have many questions that I would love to discuss with a libertarian, or supporter of the Tea Bag protests. But I will keep to my two largest concerns, and hope to get a response.
I noticed a lot of signs expressing the desire to not pay taxes, or things of that nature. Going beyond the normal, lower taxes, but actually asking for the abolition of taxes. My biggest question is if we did not pay taxes, how would we pay for so many things that are necessary to make our country exist? For instance, police, firefighters, teachers, roads, the navy seals that just saved the ship captain, schools, and well so many things that make the United States a great country.
Secondly, I agree that the government has misspent taxes and that is a cause for concern, but why was their no Tea Bag movement/protest when George W. Bush took a budget surplus and brought the country into the biggest debt that we have had. It seems to me if you are opposed to poor government spending you would have been appalled by the spending that occurred during the previous administration. Why did you not protest then?
Two good questions, and probably the two most frequent questions.
So, first, I do not support elimination of all taxes because I believe there are legitimate functions of government. They just happen to be a small fraction of what government currently does. I support a flat income tax with very few deductions and with the majority of Americans paying something.
For the record, I oppose public education, or at least education that is only provided by government-employed union-member teachers.
Second, too many conservatives were complacent during Bush's administration, although I (and others) complained frequently about the big spending. So your criticism is valid, though I don't think it applies to me. As for why I didn't protest then, a protest of one or a few is sort of pointless, but I did write a lot about it which was the most I could do.
I'd note that these protests were not primarily partisan Republican events. Republicans were not popular and the mention of the word "Republican" drew hardly any reaction. It's only Nancy Pelosi and friends who claim that these Tea Parties were some sort of big-money conservative scheme. They most certainly were not.
You may find this interesting:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=324775037199992
The crowds were estimated to be in excess of 1,000 participants. Our Community has a population of approx. 53,000. That's an impressive percentage for events that were planned and executed within two weeks by two unrelated couples who chose to combine forces.
I'm the organizer of the 4th of July Cowboy Tea Party. I can certainly understand the confusion of some, as to the goals of our National Tea Parties. As just one of thousands of organizers across the country, we are functioning from the heart and have no Central Command. We don't agree amongst ourselves, on every issue. What we DO agree on, is that Government is completely out of control, at every level, by all parties.
The media is obsessively attempting to portray the movement as being "orchestrated". This is blatantly dishonest or ignorantly misunderstood. They've invested all that remains of their withering credibility in in their selection and marketing of the least experienced candidate in our Nation's history. Since the coronation of their chosen, well groomed, puppet, they have behaved like those annoying used car salesmen who attempt to convince you that the car they want you to buy is the best deal in town. If that were true, it would sell itself, with little need of aggressive sales pitch.
The administration's Homeland Security report could have saved millions in ink and printing, had they simply chosen to say, "The Ya-Hoos are coming, The Ya-hoos are coming". What a stunning display of ignorant, bigoted, paranoid intolerance. The only thing surprising about it was their willingness to finally put it on display.
I'm grateful to every organizer and each participant for their courage to take a stand and make their principles known. This is a new experience for 99.6% of us and THAT is what every politician is currently fearful of.....we'll begin by taking our Party back and then march toward taking our Country back. Piece of cake.
Lisa Ray
COWBOY TEA PARTY
4th of July
WY State Capitol
High noon
in Washington, DC.
Your comment represents everything that's wrong with American political and economic thinking today, and everything that's wrong with Democratic Party leadership.
First, why do you have a "right" to affordable health care?
Do you have a right to an "affordable" car, and if so do you have a right to an "affordable" Mercedes-Benz?
Second, do you realize that your so-called "right" simply means it's somebody else's responsibility? Is it my responsibility to make your health care more "affordable"?
And finally, do you realize that a very large part of health care price inflation is because of government involvement and that Obamacare or anything even vaguely in that direction will make recent health care price increases seem small?
Health care providers are giving you a valuable service. It's worth what the market will bear, just like anything else, but those costs would be kept in check if (1) there were interstate competition in health insurance, and (2) there were not such a big disconnect between the health care services that someone consumes and what that consumer pays. People should have larger co-pays every time they see a doctor and that would help the overall cost tremendously.
In the meantime, don't try to put anti-capitalist junk economics into the Tea Party scenario. Tea Parties are about liberty, not about you using government to force someone else to pay for your doctors' visits.
Where is the evidence that the Tea Party groups have any racist motivation?
This has nothing to do with the color of the president's skin. It has to do with his socialist and fascist economic policies and his deliberate effort to weaken the nation abroad and attack liberty at home.
When Tea Partiers went to DC to protest socialized medicine, they stayed around afterwards cleaning up trash from the protests. Sound like terrorists to you?
By the way, the Ku Klux Klan was a Democratic organization, not a Republican one. You basically couldn't get into it if you were a Republican.
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