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Column: Dispelling myths about Tea Parties
Greg Sainer / Columnist
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Opinions
When most people hear the words "tea party" they probably think about children playing house, or perhaps the original American demonstration that took place in colonial Boston in 1773. This was not the case on April 15.
Who knew Tax Day could become a day to protest against government irresponsibility? While these Tea Parties were organized in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party, their premise was not "taxation without representation." The people who took part in the protests last Wednesday are a part of a growing number of Americans who are publicly voicing their displeasure with increased federal spending.
Contrary to the popular perception of MSNBC, CNN and the liberal blogosphere, this was a true grassroots movement brought about by non-profit organizations using the Internet to spread the word and organize possibly 2,000 events attended by up to 1 million people. There was no official organization by the National Republican Committee, no origins in Fox News and nobody was protesting the fact that the Democrats hold the majority control of the government.
The people at these "Taxed Enough Already" Parties were mostly present for one reason and one reason only: to demand the government stop excessively spending our tax money, along with money borrowed from overseas, while the government's ability to control our private-business sector grows and the national debt deepens.
Naturally, Barack Obama's supporters repeated the all-too-familiar campaign promise that 95 percent of all Americans will receive a tax break. However, one little fact has been left out of the 95 percent tax-cut argument: The tax cuts enacted under President Bush will expire after 2010.
Will President Obama extend these tax cuts or perhaps make them permanent? To the partygoers, the tax increases proposed in his budget don't indicate he'll stand behind such legislation. The initial outrage over President Obama's trillion-dollar budget proposal, coupled with the increased federal involvement in the private-business sector - unfortunately initiated by President Bush - and a realistic fear of higher taxes, has since grown into what we saw on April 15.
As of right now, additional Tea Parties are being planned for Independence Day. In a Rasmussen national telephone poll released Tuesday, 60 percent of Americans polled said that the federal government has "too much power and too much money." This doesn't appear to be a one-time nationwide flash mob. While the Tea Parties may have only represented a small portion of America, the fact that so many people met across the nation says something.
To me, the Tea Parties say there are Americans who have grown sick of the ever-increasing $11 trillion debt being piled onto their descendants, and the taxes that are helping to build that debt. They are the ones who refuse to give in to the continued "Obama & Friends will save us all" outlook on Obama and the Democrats' policies pushed by the national media, whether they voted for Obama or not.
How far this will all go remains to be seen, but don't expect the Tea Party movement to disappear anytime soon.
Greg Sainer is a freshman chemistry major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
Who knew Tax Day could become a day to protest against government irresponsibility? While these Tea Parties were organized in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party, their premise was not "taxation without representation." The people who took part in the protests last Wednesday are a part of a growing number of Americans who are publicly voicing their displeasure with increased federal spending.
Contrary to the popular perception of MSNBC, CNN and the liberal blogosphere, this was a true grassroots movement brought about by non-profit organizations using the Internet to spread the word and organize possibly 2,000 events attended by up to 1 million people. There was no official organization by the National Republican Committee, no origins in Fox News and nobody was protesting the fact that the Democrats hold the majority control of the government.
The people at these "Taxed Enough Already" Parties were mostly present for one reason and one reason only: to demand the government stop excessively spending our tax money, along with money borrowed from overseas, while the government's ability to control our private-business sector grows and the national debt deepens.
Naturally, Barack Obama's supporters repeated the all-too-familiar campaign promise that 95 percent of all Americans will receive a tax break. However, one little fact has been left out of the 95 percent tax-cut argument: The tax cuts enacted under President Bush will expire after 2010.
Will President Obama extend these tax cuts or perhaps make them permanent? To the partygoers, the tax increases proposed in his budget don't indicate he'll stand behind such legislation. The initial outrage over President Obama's trillion-dollar budget proposal, coupled with the increased federal involvement in the private-business sector - unfortunately initiated by President Bush - and a realistic fear of higher taxes, has since grown into what we saw on April 15.
As of right now, additional Tea Parties are being planned for Independence Day. In a Rasmussen national telephone poll released Tuesday, 60 percent of Americans polled said that the federal government has "too much power and too much money." This doesn't appear to be a one-time nationwide flash mob. While the Tea Parties may have only represented a small portion of America, the fact that so many people met across the nation says something.
To me, the Tea Parties say there are Americans who have grown sick of the ever-increasing $11 trillion debt being piled onto their descendants, and the taxes that are helping to build that debt. They are the ones who refuse to give in to the continued "Obama & Friends will save us all" outlook on Obama and the Democrats' policies pushed by the national media, whether they voted for Obama or not.
How far this will all go remains to be seen, but don't expect the Tea Party movement to disappear anytime soon.
Greg Sainer is a freshman chemistry major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Christopher
posted 4/23/09 @ 12:09 PM CST
Also don't expect people to take these tea parties seriously anytime soon. It's obvious this is a partisan movement promoted heavily by Fox News. Don't say they were just covering it because it was news. (Continued…)
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