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Lunch » Tags » Politics » Reviews » Tax Day Tea Party Protests 2010

Tax Day Tea Party Protests 2010

6 Ratings: 1.3

Political rally held in more than 600 cities and towns nationwide on April 15, 2010

The Tea Party's protests are a series of nationally-coordinated protests across the United States beginning in early 2009. The protests are part of a nascent, larger anti-tax political movement called the Tea Party movement. … see full wiki

Tags: Politics, Taxes, Tea Party, Tea Party Protests, Tea Party Protests 2010

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A force to be reckoned with!

Apr 16, 2010

by drifter51

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I took a vacation day on Thursday so that I might be able to attend Rhode Island's 2010 Tax Day Tea Party which was held on the steps of the State House in Providence. Here in one of the bluest states in the Union around 3000 souls turned out on a gorgeous afternoon to voice their concerns about the direction our state and our nation is headed. I must tell you that I was very encouraged by what I saw there.

The previous day the Tea Party in Boston attracted around 13000 people. CNN commentator David Gergen described the mood at that rally as "festive and not the least bit racist."   I found the same to be true here in Providence. I took a few notes as the afternoon proceeded and thought I would share what I observed there with you. About 30 minutes before the program began I overheard a man in this fifties explaining to his young grandson "how the government spends money that it does not have".  Then I began to notice the signs. So many signs! Some were quite clever while others made their points very succinctly. Here's what some of these signs had to say:

"T E A........taxed enough already!"

"TEA'D off"

"I blew my middle class tax cut on this sign."

"236 years to build this great republic. 14 months to destroy it. The real change starts now."

"Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples money."

"Born free but taxed to death."

"Support E-Verify"

The three hour program commenced at 3:00 P.M. and featured about a dozen speakers. Unlike the Boston event that featured Sarah Palin there were no "big name" politicians at our rally making the turnout all the more impressive to me. To borrow a phrase from the "left" I would describe the rally as something of a "teach in".  Each of the speakers brought the crowd up to speed on various issues of concern at both the state and national levels.  I noted that those attending the rally were just as concerned with out-of-control spending at the state level as they were at what is going on in Washington D.C. right now. All agreed that we have just about reached our limit and cannot afford any more increases in taxes and fees. One speaker noted that the average Rhode Islander already works about an hour and a half a day to pay his federal tax obligations and another 68 minutes a day to pay his/her state and local taxes. Most of us simply don't have that much more to give. We are tired of the ridiculously generous pensions and benefits government employees receive.  These days most of us in the private sector get no pensions at all. The crowd heard from a young lady who emigrated legally to this country from Russia in 1999. This woman arrived in our country penniless and was unable to speak English. And yet, without a whole lot of help from the government this woman has successfully assimilated herself into our society and speaks English well enough to address the crowd. I was very proud of what she has been able to accomplish!
We also heard from a local fisherman as well as a physician who described how various federal policies and regulations are wreaking havoc with their professions.

But for me the highlight of the day had to be the rousing address by two sophomores at Cranston East High School who have started the first Conservative club in our state at their school. Julie Martin and Evan Gillissie delivered a powerful message chiding our state legislators for what they termed "irresponsible spending" and observed that "our grandchildren will be paying for the ill-advised policies being pursued in Washington these days." It was a very sobering and powerful presentation.

So what to make of the Tax Day Tea Party?   For me it was good to see that there were lots of other people like myself who are extremely worried about the direction in which our country is headed.
The Tea Party offered all of us the support and reassurance we need to continue the battle into the fall elections. In a country where 47% of the population pays no income tax at all we are rapidly reaching the point where those in the wagon outnumber those who are pulling it. This is an extremely dangerous situation and one we need to extricate ourselves from as soon as possible. I firmly believe that the voters will see the error of its ways and make the necessary changes on Election Day in November. Perhaps the most important sign I saw there yesterday quoted Thomas Jefferson. It said "I predict future happiness for Americans IF they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Seems like Mr. Jefferson anticipated the kind of battle that those in the Tea Party movement are waging today.