The Denver Post's overage hippie columnist, Mike Littwin,
did not think much of the Denver version of the Tax Day Tea Party, according to the
report or opinion piece or whatever it is that Littwin writes, in this morning's newspaper
(GOP
burdened with tea baggage). The Littwit claims that he made a brief visit to the
event. Had I known that he was coming, I would have made a "Make Love Not War"
peace sign for him to carry so that he would have felt more at home in such a large and
boisterous crowd.
As is the case with many of his cohorts in the media business, the
Littwit just doesn't get it. The crowd's appeals to limited government, responsible
spending, and opposition to rewarding personal irresponsibility are concepts that are
apparently totally foreign to this guy. They don't talk about that stuff in Journalism
school. Or perhaps he thought that the term "grassroots" meant that the event
would be a replay of a 1960's San Francisco love-in.
The Littwit gave himself away with the comment, "I love a good
demonstration, even one in which no tear gas is involved." Apparently, a lack of tear
gas makes makes a protest rally irrelevant. But despite Homeland Security Director Janet
Napolitano's official warning about "potential right-wing extremists", this
crowd was not one that would require drastic control measures. The protesters were
concerned people from all walks of life rather than the professional protesters that
Littwit prefers. Most had never attended any rally before Wednesday's event. They were
people who respect the rule of law, much to the media's chagrin. It was a far more
respectful crowd than the idiots that took to the Denver streets during last year's
Democratic National Convention. It is not at all surprising that the State and local
police had a much lower visibility during this week's event, and it was not necessary to
call in reinforcements from the suburbs as it was last year.
The goals of the nationwide Tea Party effort could not be stated any
better than they were at the Philadelphia Tea Party by a 16-year old young man named
Jesse Civello, who I hope represents the future for America. Perhaps these comments are at
a level that Mike Littwin and his media cohorts can understand. They are made available
here courtesy of my fellow blogger Jeff Schreiber at America's Right.
Jesse Civello -- Tea Party Remarks Philadelphia, April 15, 2009
My fellow patriots, the clouds of socialism have
reached our horizon. The passion of freedom has been shaken, and the voice of democracy
has released its call.
The patriotic warning of a
government too big. The resonating voice of a
nation unheard. And the squalor of an administration too concerned with bailouts to see a
revolution brewing.
What are We the People to do, when it seems the power players have yet to listen? What are
We the People to do when our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has
become a disappearing dream?
My friends, the answers lie in the rich history of these fifty United States of America
that we call home. We will turn the pages of history in our quest to write our own, and on
that journey we will discover the passion of our founding fathers and the resolve of our
independence.
The year was 1776 and the day was the Fourth of July. It was a hot July day in the city of
Philadelphia and our founding fathers had just adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The radical thought of independence was spreading across the thirteen colonies and the
signal for revolution had been issued. The armed American Revolution lasted 8 years, in
which more than 25,000 Americans perished under the banner of revolution. Today, I stand
before you on the same streets of freedom that our founding fathers have marked, and with
the most pride and prejudice I declare that, today, we make history under the same banner
of revolution of which our past brothers and sisters have fought, and together we can put
an end to the silenced majority.
Our revolution is not an armed conflict. Quite the contrary. Our revolution is a peaceful,
yet powerful signal to our neighbors, to our leaders, and to the world, a signal that the
American people will no longer sit back and watch the debt of our country soar well over
11 trillion dollars, without the transparency that the American people deserve when it
comes to our tax dollars.
When Congress decided to bail out the auto industry, the American people had no say. When
Congress decided to bail out Wall Street, the American people had no input. It's time now
that the political leaders of our country extend that courtesy--and frankly the right--to
the people, so that We the People can decide where our tax dollars are going.
When Congress decided to Recover and Reinvest in America, with President Obama’s
economic stimulus package, the American people once again had no voice. The problem lies
right within the title of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.”
The problem is that the leaders of our country stopped investing in the American people
years ago, and now all of the sudden they believe they can reinvest with the single
largest expenditure in American history, towering at 787 billion dollars. I stand here and
I say "no, absolutely not." Not on our watch. Not on our dollar.
When the leaders of country stopped listening to us, they stopped investing.
When the President signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, he
proved he wasn’t willing to listen. Now, when the leaders of our country ask the
people to submit to the undo burden of unconscionable spending, we are here to rise up and
say "no, absolutely not." Not on our watch. Not on our dollar.
To be naïve enough to believe that reinvesting in the American people now after ignoring
our cries will change the economic situation is simply idiotic. Let us once again go back
in history and discover the path to a true recovery.
We start with our founding fathers. They understood the meaning of a consistent investment
in the patriots of America, the American dream, and the future of the American people.
They realized that, by encouraging the spirit of the American dream to soar high,
entrepreneurship would lead America to the head of the line. Currently, we continue to
battle small business owners with over-taxation and laws that make the spirit of
competitiveness unrealistic.
We need to understand that America is the greatest country in the world, not because we
have fifty states and fifty capitals but because we had a spirit that led to hard work
above all, a determination to succeed against all odds, and the support of a government
who realized the beauty of all American people from all walks of life.
The solution we seek from our founding fathers is this: encourage the worker to work for
himself and find success, tax only what is necessary, and the worker will give back to the
American dream with ingenuity what they aren’t forced to give back in taxes. Allow
the small business owner to accomplish their dreams without the shadow of big government,
and I promise that America will once again recover. The American spirit of greatness is
stronger than the shadow of big government.
When in the history of our great country did our leaders stop listening to the people? The
answer is simple: our leaders stopped listening when they realized that when people are
silent, they can get away with greed and excessive power. The government has learned to
silence the people with fear and determination; they have made us believe that 787 billion
dollars of tax payer money is the only way to American recovery. Once again, history shows
quite the contrary.
I tell the Obama administration, from the truths of history, to open the doors to the
American people so that the solutions of today can be the American solutions of tomorrow
and not the ownership of foreign countries through our debt.
Listen to what we are saying today and tomorrow, and together we will find the solutions.
Right now, we are stuck in the middle of an economic situation what has turned crisis
because government has become blind to the individual American and instead has turned to
special interest groups who whisper the tales of the necessity of big government spending.
The truth of the matter is that, if the Obama administration decides to reverse its policy
of shutting out the voice of the people, America can tomorrow be greater than ever before.
I plead the right of the people to talk, the obligation of the government to listen, and
action of the country to move forward.
The Obama administration needs to stop investing with American dollars and start reinvesting in the American people, with an honest and
transparent government that welcomes the concerns and suggestions of the American people.
It’s time our government has reexamined the concerns of its people, and the truths of
our convictions.
It's time the government listens to the people talk. The time has come for the government
to truly follow its creed of public service and be fiscally responsible, morally
approachable, and free from the chains of politics.
I have no doubt that we will rise above the politics of our current situation. Today, we
show the leaders of our country that, on April 15, 2009, people from all walks of life
came together across the country to protest the irresponsible spending of their tax
dollars, starting a revolutionary movement to declare that people must have a say in their
government. Today, we stand and say, "no, absolutely not." Not on our watch. Not
on our dollar.
I pray the ignorance that surrounds Washington, D.C. will be swept away and the reform of
people above politics will take hold.
If this week’s Tax Day Tea Parties proved anything, it is simply
that those of us who participated cannot now fold our tents and retreat into our political
comfort zones. This week we made an initial statement. Unless we follow through, that
statement will quickly be ignored and forgotten. Hopefully, Wednesday’s nationwide
display of discontent with the direction that our nation is taking will grow into a force
for change that will put us back on the right path toward that great country that our
Founding Fathers created for us.
The first step that must be taken is to make the media fully aware of
who we are, what we truly stand for and what we are against; for it is obvious that it
does not understand or refuses to acknowledge. Most of the media ignored what they heard
was coming, thinking that a few right-wing zealots wearing tinfoil hats would show up here
and there, make a little noise, then slink back into their houses crammed with guns and
bibles. Not for one moment did they suspect that hundreds of thousands of Americans would
show up in hundreds of cities to tell those currently in power that there is a force
opposing them. When they finally did react, their questions and comments displayed a total
ignorance of the nature of conservative America. How many pundits attributed the Tea
Parties to a Republican Party effort? How many times did reporters or columnists ask why
conservatives do not want to pay taxes? How often did you hear a liberal commentator make
the assertion that the Tea Party-goers wanted to do away with the government all together?
Either these people are tremendously ignorant
or they are merely mouthing liberal talking points meant to minimize the purposes and
goals of the conservative movement. Most likely, it is a combination of both. Then there
was the absurd suggestion by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who asserted that the Tea Parties were
“funded by the rich” rather than being a grassroots effort. If nothing is done
about correcting these very fraudulent claims, they will be accepted as facts. If this
week’s activities are to have any credibility whatsoever, they must be continued.
A typical example of the low level of media reporting was the
interview at the Chicago Tea Party conducted by CNN’s Susan Roesgen. While
interviewing a participant, Ms. Roesgen lost what little journalistic objectivity she may
have ever had when she got into a shouting match over why he was protesting. Her totally
mindless question as to how he could be protesting the Obama Administration when the
president’s Stimulus Bill would be bringing $50billion to the state reflected the
typical Liberal mantra that the money to fund the Stimulus Bill comes down from Heaven
rather than from the taxpayers themselves. But then again, Ms. Roesgen’s Journalism
education probably never included a course in Economics 101. Nor could she comprehend that
this basic economic fact was the very reason that the Tea Party was being held. Here is
her interview.
There is a lot of education to be done, which is another reason for
the Tea Party movement to proceed forward.
The Liberal leadership in this country is running scared. The timing
of the Department of Homeland Security’s Report to law enforcement officials warning
of “potential right-wing extremism” was not coincidental. It was released on the
same day that the Tea Parties were held. It described people that hold firm beliefs on
certain issues as “potential extremists” who warranted special attention from
law enforcement officials. The Report, entitled "Rightwing Extremism: Current
Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,"
included such radical people as troops returning home from the war, anti-abortion
activists, and those who oppose illegal immigration. As Jeff Schreiber pointed out in his
posting on his website America’s Right,
Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano feels that even those who believe “that
our federal government should be limited in scope” would be included as potential
“rightwing extremists.” This means, of course, that all 300,000 Tea Party
protesters should be on the DHS watch list. Speaking for myself, and considering the
source, it is a badge that I would proudly wear. That is what the day’s events were
all about.
The events of the last two days bring to mind the situation that
General George Washington faced in December 1776. Defeated earlier by British forces in New
York, General Washington led his small remaining ragtag army across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania,
setting up temporary headquarters across and up the Delaware River from the City of
Trenton, New Jersey. Encountering wholesale desertions and the expiration of many of his
militia units’ terms of duty, Washington’s army was tired and demoralized, much
as conservatives were after the 2008 election. The new nation’s government in Philadelphia
was on the verge of collapse. Realizing that something must be done, on Christmas night
the Father of Our Country led a small band of 2,400 troops across the icy Delaware River
and surprised the Hessian garrison in Trenton. In the battle that followed, the Hessians
were defeated and our new nation was reborn. Did this battle turn the tide of the war? Not
at all, but it served as the end of the beginning. Wednesday, April 15, 2009 was America’s
modern battle of Trenton. There are many more battles to be fought. Do today’s
patriots have the will and stamina of our forefathers? I think we do.
Denver Tax Day Tea Party 5,000 peaceful protesters converge on State Capitol
The nationwide Tax Day Tea Party movement achieved a
resounding success today. As of 10:00pm EDT, Pajamas
TV’s live coverage of the day’s events reported that well over 200,000
people had attended local Tea Parties across the country, with many locations not yet
reporting their participation and more major events scheduled for this evening in the
West.
Here in Colorado, an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 people attended the
Denver Tea Party held at noon at the State Capitol. The crowd size was based on Police
Department estimates and reported as such by the media.
Another 2,000 people attended a rally in Colorado Springs, while
crowds in the hundreds attended rallies in Greeley, Grand Junction, and other smaller
cities in the state.
In Denver, members of the State Legislature looked on from the
Capitol balcony overlooking the protest, many of them waving small flags and cheering the
protesters on. Soon the crowd began chanting, ”Where’s Ritter?”, referring
to Democratic Governor Bill Ritter, who had gone to Colorado Springs for the day. Contrary
to Tea Parties that took place in other locations, the Denver event included speeches from
elected officials whose records in the State Legislature were totally consistent with the
views of the protestors.
As was the case around the country, Denver’s Tea Party was a
non-partisan event. One of the major themes was that this would not be a one-time event
but, rather, just a start in an ongoing movement to return fiscal sanity and
responsibility to both Federal and State Government, while at the same time preserving the
Constitution and rejecting the socialistic direction that our country is taking.
Enthusiasm was high, but it remains to be seen whether the momentum can be maintained.
It is a strange turn of events, to say the least. The site of
hundreds and thousands of flag-waving and sign carrying right-of-center and conservative
citizens attending rallies across the country is something new to the American scene. In
many ways, it will be reminiscent of the sixties and seventies’ anti-war protests,
with one major difference - most of this week’s protesters will be people who bathe
on a regular basis.
Organizers and promoters of Wednesday’s “Tax Day Tea
Parties” are hopeful that a million or more ralliers will turn out in hundreds of
cities across America to send a powerful message to the President and the
Democrat-controlled Congress that we are tired of deficit spending, ever-bigger
government, almost certain tax increases, and the move toward Socialism in the country. We
will have an answer in less than a week.
More important, however, is the message that the rallies will be
sending to other Americans. It is unlikely that the government will stop dead in its
tracks and reverse in ruinous behavior solely because of one day of protests. The media
will do all that it can do to minimize the size and importance of the rallies, if it
covers them at all. Instead, it is hoped that Wednesday will just be the beginning of a
revolution to bring America back to its founding principles of limited government, free
enterprise, liberty, and freedom. Several organizations have planned similar events for
the future that will, hopefully, have a snowball effect of generating the support of a
majority of Americans, much the same as that which took place as a result of the anti-war
protests of the Vietnam era.
This can only happen if Wednesday’s participants are willing to
carry on the effort and be more than “one-day patriots,” And it will be up to
the movement’s leaders to make sure that they will be.
If you love America and are concerned about the direction it is
taking, come out and participate in a Tea Party on Wednesday if it is at all possible. For
more information or to find the party scheduled nearest to you, click HERE.
It should come as no surprise that the Old Media has thus far given
scant attention to the Tax Day Tea Parties that are scheduled to take place this week in
hundreds of cities across the country. The scope of the coordination that has been taking
place seems to be known only to those who have been doing the coordination and those
likely participants who routinely follow conservative websites or subscribe to electronic
updates on the internet.
Thus far, there appears to be only two exceptions to the lack of
pre-event coverage. In the television media, FOXNews
has been the only regular network to provide significant early coverage. We will look at
three of the articles that appeared on the network’s website.
Activists are
brewing more than 500 rallies nationwide to protest "runaway government
spending" as part of the Tax Day Tea Party movement. Crowds of up to 10,000 -- many
of whom are believed to be participating in political protest for the first time -- are
expected at major events from Atlanta to San Antonio to Sacramento on Wednesday.
Smaller movements are
scheduled in all 50 states. Organizers say up to 20,000 could flood CityHallPark in New
York City, where Newt Gingrich is scheduled to speak.
Meanwhile, this
rebellion is showing itself a true grassroots movement. It is flourishing despite complete
disinterest from much of the national media.
Those who said the
revolution won’t be televised were correct. The only thing is, no one cares.
Traditional media is declaring its irrelevance through deliberate disinterest, but the
republic still flourishes. This April 15, the revolution is happening whether the media
like it or not.
The third
FOXNews.com article to be mentioned here
answered a question that, no doubt, many media people have about the Tea Parties. It
discusses some of the “big names” that are in one way or another involved with
the movement. The article is With
Tea Parties, Members of Congress Watch From the Sidelines, written by Cristina
Corbin. It says,
[Senator Jim] DeMint
and other well-known conservatives, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, are
lined up to speak at some of the demonstrations. DeMint will address protesters in Greenville,
Colombia, and Charleston, S.C., according to his spokesman, Wesley Denton. Culberson will
attend a Houston demonstration, but he is not scheduled to speak.
DeMint said he's
"encouraged" about the protests because "so many are ready to stand up and
fight for freedom."
"These are moms and
dads, teachers and students, businessmen and women who are concerned for their
country," DeMint told FOXNews.com. "They are worried that our nation is quickly
being taken in the wrong direction by politicians who are more concerned about the next
election instead of the next generation."
"This cuts across
party lines and demographic divides. It's not about Republican or Democrat, it’s
about citizens who believe America can only survive if we protect the principles of
liberty from a federal government that is out of control and must be reformed now. And
that's a real message of hope," he said.
"The Tea Party
grassroots movement understands and is sending the message to Washington that we cannot
tax, borrow, and spend our way to prosperity," Culberson said.
Other
notable speakers will include TV and radio personality Sean Hannity, who will address the
Atlanta Tea party, and Michelle Malkin, who has indicated that she will probably attend
the Denver Tea Party.
While FOXNews was
performing its role as a responsible member of the media, a surprising member of the New
Media, the Huffington Post, was also discussing
the Tea Parties. A preview article, entitled Tea
Party Video: Right-Wing Tax Protests
Caught On Tape, focused
primarily on individual, uncoordinated rallies that were held in February in a few cities
around the country as an indication of what was in store for this week’s rallies.
The real issue is the amount of media coverage that will actually
take place during and after the Tea Parties. Most pundits who weigh in on this question
agree with Don Gainor in suggesting that the Old Media, for the most part will ignore the
events or provide minimal coverage. This would be consistent with the past performance of
most major media outlets of not reporting or treating lightly anything that is contrary or
detrimental to what most newspapers and television networks consider to be our
nation’s journey to Progressive Nirvana under the leadership of our new President.
I recently received an e-mail from an acquaintance who informed me
that he had contacted the Political Editor of the Denver
Post about the local event that is scheduled for April 15. The response that my friend
received back indicated little or no knowledge of the planned rally. My friend was asked
to provide answers to the following questions.
WHO -- Who makes
up the Denver tea party? Who will be at the rally that might be a newsmaker? Who is behind
the national effort?
WHAT -- What is
the protest about? Does the group object to paying taxes? Paying taxes when the government
is handing out stimulus dollars? Additionally, what is the petition about? Is this
different than the two previous tea party events in Denver that we've covered this
year?
WHEN -- A time
that the event will be held on the 15th.
I personally find it difficult to believe that a major news outlet
such as the Denver Post would have such limited
knowledge about an event of this size and importance. However, it also indicates to me
that local coordinators must find some way to improve their media notification process, as
difficult as that is. The success of the Tea Party movement depends on it.
