The Heritage Foundation sums things up nicely:
You can find much more at WND, Michelle Malkin, or Instapundit, to name just a couple outlets.Tomorrow, thousands of Americans across the country will organize on Tax Day to protest the tax, borrow, spend and bailout policies of Washington. Whether large or small, these demonstrations will all have one message in common: Enough! Over the past three months, Americans have seen an already out-of-control government spend their borrowed dollars as if a trillion dollars is a drop in the bucket.
After the bailouts that put the White House at the head of a number of major corporations; after a stimulus bill that the Congressional Budget Office said would lower our nation's GDP at the cost of a trillion dollars, rebuild the welfare state and create few if any jobs; after an omnibus spending bill which combined with the stimulus bill raised discretionary spending nearly 80%; and now with a budget that increases spending by another trillion dollars, doubles our debt and plans an Energy tax that will hurt every American household; Americans are saying: Enough!
The President's War on the American Dream doesn't end there. After expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to include wealthy adults; after making a significant down payment on a government controlled national health care plan; after attempting to pass legislation that would take the secret ballot away from workers, that would allow bankruptcy judges to renegotiate your neighbor's mortgage capital and interest at your expense, that would allow the U.S. Government to set wage and labor controls for every small business in America, Americans are saying: Enough!
So if you want to join your fellow Americans in a grassroots effort that started with nothing more than a few concerned citizens and a rallying cry, we have the information below for you to find them. As Fox News put it: "Conservatives may be catching up with their liberal counterparts in building a Web-driven, grassroots campaign to push their agenda."
Liberals are going to dismiss this effort, and the media isn't going to cover it. Leslie Marshall, a nationally syndicated radio host said "the mainstream media are not covering them because they're not worthy of coverage…Last time I checked, Obama's not taxing you to death — he is spending to stimulate the economy and he is an elected official."
So, Leslie wants American voters to be quiet and take their tax hikes and spending and borrowing and bailing out, and accept that this is the America we now live in. After all, Obama is an elected official! Despite Leslie, and other members of the media elite who will try and ignore this groundswell, viral media organizations like Pajamas TV, Twitter and Facebook will allow everyone to have the power to say to the Leslie Marshall's of the country: Enough!
Where to Find Your Local Tea Party:
Tax Day Tea Party: This site lists hundreds of events, including an interactive Google map, email contacts, facebook groups and local websites. It also has state-by-state sites to help get you to the event closest to your home.
TCOT Report: This site dedicated to the Top Conservatives on Twitter was one of the several driving forces of this movement and a great site for news on your local tea parties.
Smart Girl Politics: This conservative women's network is supporting many Tea Party events, including the Washington, DC rally at Lafayette Park and the Treasury Building, where the President won't be able to miss the American voices. Their site has a handy calendar and lots of local groups and information.
Tea Party Revolution: This site has tips on how to throw your local tea party, an events listing, and other resources.
Pajamas TV: This video site has tons of Tea Party resources including live coverage of tomorrow's events.
Just be aware: the Leftists in the media and government are trying to prevent this grass roots uprising from being significant. They will fail, but the PR battle has been joined - there is a collective condescension rippling through the media, as pundits and talking heads laugh at, mock, and belittle (when they're not ignoring) the genuine anger of millions of Americans who have had enough irresponsible spending by our government. Pay no attention. Though the media will do their best to hide and mislead on just how huge this event is going to be, they will not be able to keep a lid on it. To this point, Fox News is the only major outlet that has given this movement a fair shake, so don't expect any big mentions from anyone else - at most, you might get a small blip from the local stations, but that's about it (aside from more derision and scorn).
Also, you should be aware that the Left is actively trying to infiltrate these peaceful gatherings, probably to cause mischief wherever possible. The word from organizers is to simply take pictures of those people and inform the authorities, and to do your best to keep things peaceful and lawful.
The Washington Examiner pegs one reason for the harsh treatment (h/t Instapundit):
Part of the reason for the mean-spiritedness in some of the attacks from the pro-Obama groups is likely the failure of efforts to turn out large crowds in support of the chief executive's $787 billion economic stimulus package and $3.6 trillion 2010 federal budget, with its $1 trillion deficit and comparable floods of red ink for a decade thereafter. The recent "New Way Forward" gathering here in D.C., for example, was heralded by organizers as the first of a wave of counter-Tea Party Protests, but barely a dozen people turned out. Similarly, much-publicized efforts to use the 13-million email addresses compiled by the Obama campaign to generate pressure on Congress barely caused a ripple, much less a wave of support for the Obama budget.
That should give you an idea of how popular all this spending has been.
The Obama administration is shamefully getting into the act, too, with a recently released report from the Department of Homeland Security saying that these tea parties are the result of 'right-wing extremists' and warning of 'danger':
First of all, there is absolutely no evidence that there are any legitimate plans to cause violence or destruction (that only happens with left-wing extremists like Obama's friend Bill Ayers, Obama's community organizing group ACORN, or other Leftists like Code Pink, the ELF, the Sierra Club, etc.). Second, from all I've read, this report contains no actual evidence supporting the idea upon which this report is based - danger. It's an outright lie, a partisan hit job designed to make conservatives look like crazy extremists.The Department of Homeland Security Report titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" was first brought to light by Stephen Gordon at The Liberty Papers Blog. The Report was issued a week before the scheduled Tea Parties across the country, and is all over the news today. Reading the report is depressing, not because it reveals any current threat, but because of the shoddy definitions and analysis.
One thing that is not clear from the news reports, to begin with, is that the Report specifically states that there is no current real threat, even from the most extreme White Supremacist groups: "Threats from white supremacist and violent anti-government groups during 2009 have been mostly rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts." From the news accounts, you would think there was an actual threat, but that is not so.
But the even bigger vice is how a "rightwing extremist" is defined. I don't disagree that the few remaining White Supremacist groups should be in any definition, but DHS puts a distinctly political spin on the definition (emphasis mine):
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
This definition is so broad as to include anyone who seeks to preserve the foundation of our federal-state constitutional distinction, under the 10th Amendment ("The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people"), because such a person could be deemed to "reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority." So Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has come out in support of preserving the constitutional integrity of Texas now should be on the DHS' extremist and radical watch-list.
Similarly, the reference to "abortion or immigration" is purely political. Why pick those two subjects? If someone is planning violence, that is one thing. But vocalizing one's view on a subject and seeking to influence the government are protected by the 1st Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances").
Only in a highly politicized bureaucracy could the Constitution be viewed as a subversive manifesto.
This is illustrative of the Obama administration - anyone who disagrees with The One's proclamations is to be ridiculed and silenced. Even worse is the continued systemic belief that the Constitution itself is the problem! Never mind the freedom of speech or peaceful assembly, and never mind the 10th Amendment which expressly defines all rights not specifically granted to the federal government as belonging to the people or the states. Dammit, it's what the Obamessiah wants, so IT WILL BE SO!
This is precisely the reason the Tax Day Tea Parties are so important. Our government has gone off its rocker, and is disregarding the foundational documents and laws of our nation at will. Our government is blatantly ignoring the clear statements and intentions of the Founders because their own political views despise them. Our government is teetering on the brink of tyranny, and without an uprising from the American people, they will plunge over the edge, taking this nation down with them in the process. If the American people can stand up -- starting tomorrow, on the economy -- we can bring some sanity back into our national leadership.
If you're not thrilled about what's been happening in the past few months, SHOW UP tomorrow. I know of two major tea parties in Kansas City:
- 12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park (the corner of College & Quivira), from 6-8pm
- Liberty Memorial, beginning at 4pm (speakers begin at 5pm)
And, by the way, isn't it interesting how the Obama administration has suddenly gone from this-is-the-worst-economic-crisis-since-the-Great-Depression to glimmers-of-hope-and-recovery? They're trying to marginalize the anger of the American people so they can say, 'look, everything's fine now, these people are crazy and have no real gripe'. Just wait, and watch. It'll happen. And it doesn't matter...they're wrong. There are glimmers of hope, but they've been there for months, and are only being slowed down with the recent spending binge from Obama and Congress.
Bottom line: SHOW UP. Express your anger and frustration with the utter irresponsibility with Washington, and the spending they've initiated. Demand your country back.
If this new definition of 'right-wing extremist' means someone who treasures the Constitution, freedom, and the principles that made America great, sign me up. If being a 'right-wing extremist' means I'm angry and frustrated at the ineptness, sheer deafness, and utter lack of integrity currently on display in Washington, sign me up. If being a 'right-wing extremist' means condemning the fiscal irresponsibility from our elected leaders and seeking to stop the economic hurricane they've unleashed on our children and grandchildren, sign me up.
If that's what 'right-wing extremist' means, I'll proudly wear the title.
There's my two cents.
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